Craig Knelsen's Bear Encounters

Bears are very unpredictable and are typically just as afraid of us as we are of them (although many tend not to believe that). However, bears have their own personality. When in bear country, make noise to let any bear in the area know you're coming. A surprised bear is more likely to act aggressively than one is that is aware of your presence. If you encounter a bear a few things to keep in mind are:

If a warning signed was posted at the trail head, the wardens/rangers are aware of the bear but do not consider the bear to be overly aggressive. However, remember that bears are unpredictable. If you decide to proceed, remember to make an extra effort announcing your presence. I like to tap on rocks with my hiking stick. Others use bells (although these can get a bit annoying after a while) or holler just before they enter a section of trail that has extensive brush, they come to streams or round a bend.
Be on the lookout for fresh scat (bear droppings) on the trail. Hopefully any scat that you find will not contain bear bells! :-)
Grizzlies are more likely to be aggressive than black bears. Grizzlies are, in general, larger than black bears and have a hump above their shoulder. Black bears tend to have a sleeker profile than their grizzly cousins. Not all black bears are black -- they come in a number of colors such as black!, brown and cinammon.
Assume the bear will make an aggressive move. Immediately stop and start backing up slowly, perhaps talking to it in a low voice.
If the bear charges, the majority are just bluffs and they will veer off just before they reach you. However, what you decide to do at this point, I leave up to your judgement.
If an attack seems imminent, you can try to climb a tree if it's a grizzly as they are not good climbers. You will have to make sure you can get up the tree in time and its sturdy enough to resist any bear's attempts to bring it down. If it's a black bear, climbing trees is not generally advised as black bears are good tree climbers. If you cannot get up a tree, you can attempt to play dead. Drop to your knees, put your head between your knees and protect with your arms. If the bear pushes you, roll to resume this position.
A sow with cubs is extremely dangerous if you happen to come between the mother and any of its cubs.
If you find a large dead animal that appears to have died in a struggle, leave the area immediately. A bear may be nearby and will likely be very aggressive when defending any kill.

July 24, 1997: Young black bear

Trail: Pyramid Mtn, Jasper NP

Trail is actually a fire road so I ascended with a mountain bike. About 45 minutes in, I heard some rustling in the trees on the right. I stopped and turned in time to see a young black bear scurrying off into deeper forest cover.

July 31, 1996: Grizzly sow with cubs

Trail: Mt. Tyrwhitt, Kananaskis Country

At the trail head in Highwood Meadows, a bear warning sign informed me of a grizzly sow with cubs in the area. Just as I was about to head out, I talked to park maintenance worker about the sign. He said that the trail had been closed about a week ago but was reopened. See my Mt. Tyrwhitt trail summary for a description leading up to the bear encounter.

I had just reached the first viewpoint of the arch. As I lowered my binoculars and looked around, my eyes fixated on a grizzly sow maybe 100 feet away in a small stand of trees! She looked at me for a few seconds while I tried to get my heart out of my throat. She then turned away and scampered off further into the trees. A few seconds later, a cub suddenly appeared in the brush in front of me and quickly ran after its mother. About 10 seconds later, a second cub appeared from the brush. The cub ran a few feet, turned around, stood up on its hind legs and looked around. It saw me and immediately turned and ran after its mother. I stood almost motionless during the entire time perhaps expecting to see the sow make a sudden reappearance. I stood there for a few minutes to see if I could determine where they were exactly. I then backtracked to go around the stand of trees high up onto a rocky slope. I then waited for another 15 minutes or so to see if they would make another appearance -- they didn't. I then continued on my way to Mt. Tyrwhitt. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the bears.

August 6, 1992: Young black bear

Trail: Floe Lake, Kootenay NP

At the trail head, a bear warning sign informed me of a bear in the area. About an hour in (11 am), I came across a trio of hikers who were walking cautiously. They informed that they had just seen a young black bear on the trail. I passed them and sure enough, I caught a glimpse of the bear on the trail. Due to heavy ground cover, I lost sight of the bear in a few seconds so I continued with caution. I obviously passed it because I did not encounter it again on the way in to Floe Lake. On the return back to my vehicle, I made extra noise to ensure that the bear would not get startled if he was by the trail. Around 3:30pm as I was descending a moderate grade, a bear's head popped up from behind a bush on the right side of the trail. He saw me and I immediately halted and started to slowly back up. Fortunately, the bear did not make any aggressive moves although we were perhaps only 30 - 40ft apart. After about 10 seconds he went on with his business although keeping a wary eye on me. He came a few feet closer and then turned off to left side of the trail behind brush. I decided to get my camera out and wait for a re-appearance. Sure enough about five minutes later, he re-emerged onto the trail.

I was able to get a few good pictures as he straddled the trail while looking at me. Then he scampered down an embankment on the right side of the trail and that was the last I saw of him.

Due to its relatively small size and his non-aggressive behaviour, I felt reasonable safe. After waiting another ten minutes, I continued on down the trail to my vehicle.

July 28, 1992: Adult black bear

Trail: Maccarib Pass, Jasper NP

On the return from the pass, I came around a bend in the trail and a large black (although it was cinammon color) bear was walking in the creek on the right side of the trail. I stopped dead in my tracks. This was my first face to face bear encounter (I had seen a black bear while fishing when I was just a kid but that's another story) and it took me by total surprise. Even though it was perhaps only 20ft away, it did not appear to see me. It was raining at the time and he was keeping his head more or less down so he probably didn't see me. After watching him for about 10 to 15 seconds, I slowly backed away from trail into some brush. I managed to get my camera out in time to just get a picture of his backside as he had just left the creek and headed into the brush on the *opposite* side of the creek. After about 10 minutes, seeing if it was going to backtrack, I got up and continued my return, although the adrenaline rush continued for a few minutes thereafter.

WARNING While the encounters detailed above did not result in injury or any aggressive behaviour, do not assume this outcome if you happen to encounter a bear. You must always consider any bear a serious threat and act accordingly.