Boise, Idaho man said attack happened too fast to use either when he surprised the bears-
Fortunately he was able to walk 4 miles to the trailhead.
Update: the original story has been replaced by a much more detailed one below.
Boise man in hospital following griz attack. By Karin Ronnow. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer
. . . and there have been more recent encounters.
Two Alberta men recovering from grizzly attack. Edmunton Journal. They were searching for elk antlers. A lot of grizzly bear attacks have happened to those looking too intently for elk antlers while in grizzly country.
Glacier National Park jogger survives grizzly attack. Missoulian. By Jim Mann in the Daily InterLake. The jogger forgot his pepper spray. At any rate, jogging on trails in dense grizzly country like Glacier National Park is not a good idea.
Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He was a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and was also its President for several years. For a long time he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Again and again,
Hiking solo is not smart!!!!
Joggin in Glacier or Yellowstone is not smart!!!
May I say, some people are just STUPID!!
Whether you’re relying on bear spray or a firearm for self-defense, don’t put yourself in a situation where you have to rely on them, because you might not have time to use them.
I think solo hiking is fine, provided you pay attention. But if things go wrong, a charging bear is more likely to make contact with a single person than a group of 2 or more.
I have a confession for brainwashed disciples of the bear spray cult–I think the Canadian guys gathering shed elk antlers would probably be better off carrying bear spray than a rifle.
I think the message from all three of these stories is the need for vigilance, although details on the elk antler gatherers is incomplete.
It’s all over the Canadian media that they had a rifle and shot at the bear. And missed. One of those surprise encounters people have, that LH expects hunters to avoid, but not hikers, antler collector$, photographer$, etc. Only hunters.
DS are you as hard to talk to in person as you are to have a conversation with on a blog? I believe the thread you are referring to #1 WAS about hunters #2 I also remember my comments were in the form of questions. . which weren’t answered.