I personally love seeing wildlife on the trail, and to me it can take a pretty average trail and make it into a really memorable outing.  However, there is one animal that no matter how well prepared I am that always freaks people out: bears. 

Every time I go into bear country, especially grizzly country, many of the people in my life get a little nervous, and fair enough honestly.  Bears are big and unpredictable, have sharp teeth, and we’ve all heard some of the horror stories about bear attacks. 

But when I go into bear country, I’m never too afraid, cautious of course, but scared?  No. 

The reason for that in my mind is there are a series of guidelines that if followed correctly, will greatly reduce the chance of you having a dangerous encounter with a bear. 

There are many things you can do to avoid bear encounters all together, and if you are in a situation where you come face to face with a bear, there are a number of things you can do to make sure you make it out safely.

If you’re planning a national parks trip, consider purchasing an America the Beautiful Pass.

Avoidance: 

Avoidance Tip 1: Make Noise

You hear it all the time, and may be hard to believe, but bears are more scared of you than you are of them.  I know, sounds crazy, but it’s true.  The majority of the time, if a bear hears you coming, they will get out of the way. 

Bears do not view humans as a food source (except in the most extreme circumstances) so to them there is no point in coming into contact with people.  When I have been in close proximity to bears on trail, the majority of time they either moved out of the way before we got there (I heard about the bear from other hikers), or as soon as it heard us it ran into the woods. 

If you make noise while hiking (have conversations, carry bells, sing, etc.) you will avoid the vast majority of bear encounters.

Avoidance Tip 2: Hike in Groups

To be honest, I am a frequent violator of this guideline, but if you hike with other people, you are much less likely to encounter bears.  For one, you will be making a lot more noise than if you were alone. 

Second, groups will have a much stronger smell than a lone hiker.  And finally, if you do encounter an aggressive bear, it is much more likely to back off if faced by a group of people as opposed to a lone individual.

Again, I hike alone all the time, and my recommendation is the hike with others when possible.  If you’re going to hike alone, be aware that you are going to be at more risk of a bear encounter. 

If you follow the other guidelines closely, you’ll most likely be fine, as bear attacks are exceedingly rare, but be aware that hiking alone is always a risk, especially in bear country.

Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors.

Avoidance Tip 3: Don’t Leave Food Unattended

Bears will eat anything, and they have an amazing sense of smell, so if you leave food out somewhere, eventually a bear is going to find it.  The reality is that if you are camping or hiking, you are likely going to have your food outside at some level, so how can you avoid bear encounters? 

Don’t leave food sitting out where a bear can get at it.  Once a bear starts associating humans with food, that bear is going to start seeking out humans, which will create more problems. 

Keep your food close by, and bears probably won’t approach, and when camping, be sure to use a bear safe container, either bear boxes at campgrounds, or other bear storage while backpacking.

Avoidance Tip 4: Store Your Stuff Correctly

Building on what we just talked about, it is crucial to store not only your food correctly, but any item you have that has a scent.  This includes toothpaste, deodorant, chapstick, sunscreen, flavored drinks, and any other item that has a smell.  When camping, keep your stuff in a bear box if the campground has them. 

When backpacking, hang your food (make sure you do it right though), use a bear canister, or use a bear bag.  Make sure your food is stored at least 200 feet from your camp so if a bear does follow the scent, they don’t trip over your tent.

If you see a bear:

Identify What Type of Bear:

If you see a bear on trail, the first thing you should try and do is identify which type of bear you are looking at.  It might seem simple, if it’s black it’s a black bear.  If it’s brown it’s a brown bear.  While that sounds great, it’s actually incredibly misleading. 

The color of a bear is not a reliable way to identify the species.  Many black bears actually look brown or red, and some brown bears can look very black.

In my opinion, the easiest way to identify which species of bear you are looking at is to look at the shoulders.  Grizzlies have a large hump above their shoulders which they use to pick up boulders to access food.  Black bears do not have this hump at their shoulders. 

If you can get a close look, you may notice that black bears have a straight face profile while grizzlies have a concave or dished face profile.  And if you are unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a bear’s claws, grizzlies have much larger claws than black bears, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that!

If the Bear Does Not See You:

If the bear doesn’t notice you, keep your distance, and either wait for the bear to move away from where you want to go, or give it a wide berth.  Never try to force the bear to move, if it doesn’t want to move, it’s not going to.  It’s best to wait for the bear to move off the trail or move away from your intended path. 

You do not want to surprise a bear, so if you find yourself suddenly on top of a bear without it noticing you, remain calm, try to move away, and speak calmly but firmly.

If The Bear Does See You

DO NOT RUN.  Let me repeat, do not run.  If you’ve ever interacted with a dog, you’ve probably noticed that if you start running, the dog will run after you. 

That’s because predators have a natural instinct where if they see something running, it’s in their nature to chase. 

So again, do not run.  Also, bears can run way faster than you, so running really won’t do any good.  Instead, remain calm, talk to the bear in a calm but firm voice, make yourself appear larger by raising or waving your arms, and slowly back away. 

If you have small children with you, pick them up, and give the bear space.  Do not use food to distract the bear or try to lure it away.  The bear will most likely move away at its own pace and disappear into the environment. 

If The Bear Attacks

If you follow all of the suggestions I have given you in this article, you are very very unlikely to ever experience a bear attack.  If you are in a situation where you are facing down an aggressive bear, the first thing you need to know is that bears often will give a bluff charge. 

The goal of a buff charge is to scare or intimidate you, but you need to remain calm.  Don’t run, hold your ground and stay calm.  If it is a bluff charge, the bear will break it off.  At that point, back away slowly, speak calmly to the bear, and keep your eye on it until you are out of site.

If however the attack is not a bluff charge, your response will depend on what type of bear you are facing.  Generally, when grizzlies attack, they are not trying to kill and eat you.  They see you as a threat, so the general wisdom for a grizzly attack is to get down, and play dead. 

Leave your backpack on to protect your back, cover the back of your neck with your hands, and lay flat on the group.  Remain in this position until the bear leaves. 

On the other hand, if you are attacked by a black bear, you need to fight back.  Black bears do not attack humans unless they view them as a good source, so you need to fight for your life.  Use anything you can find, rocks sticks, trekking poles, knives, and aim for the face.  If the bear realizes you are going to fight back, it may break off the attack.

How to Use Bear Spray

If you’re hiking in grizzly country, you should always carry bear spray.  Check your local outdoors store for bear spray, or visit a store in grizzly country.  There should be instructions on the bottle or packaging, so be sure to read those carefully. 

Bear spray continues to be the most recommended and most effective bear defense that I have seen.  Essentially, it’s just pepper spray that you spray a bear with when it gets close.  It has been proven to be an effective deterrent to grizzlies.  The data is less clear when used on black bears.

Don’t be rude; always following basic etiquette when on trail!

Should I Carry a Gun in Bear Country?

In my opinion, there is not a need to carry a gun while hiking in bear country.  This is certainly true (in my opinion) when purely in black bear habit. 

Most (not all) would argue that you don’t need to carry a gun when hiking in bear country in the lower 48.  However, there are many who would argue that you should carry a powerful firearm when hiking in dense bear environments like Alaska, but I do not have experience there, so I won’t comment on that specifically. 

I have never met someone who hikes with a firearm in bear country, but there are people who do.  If you are considering carrying a gun to defend against bears, be sure that your weapon is high powered, as most pistols will do nothing but piss off an already agitated animal.

All in all, if you use common sense, and follow the basic recommendations given here as well as all the other resources on bear encounters in the woods, you will almost certainly be fine.  When you leave the trailhead, you are always taking a risk.  You are entering the wild, and all of the things that go along with the wild: weather, animals, and remoteness.  I would argue that you need to be more concerned about animals like moose than bears, but always be smart, always be bear safe, and you give yourself a great chance of making home safe.