What to do when encountering a black bear

1. A good distance off trail
   1. Doesn’t See You – I would walk slowly trying to get by on the trail without it noticing me
   2. Sees You – Same but might talk to the bear nicely.
2. Close to the trail
   1. Doesn’t See You – I would back up until I’m at a good distance and wait for the bear to go along.
   2. Sees You – Back up until I’m at a good distance talking to the bear in a calm voice. If it starts coming towards me, I would raise my arms and speak more aggressively.
3. On Trail
   1. Doesn’t See You – I would back up until I’m at a good distance and wait for the bear to go along.
   2. Sees You – Back up until I’m at a good distance talking to the bear in a calm voice. If it starts coming towards me, I would raise my arms and speak more aggressively.
4. In Camp
   1. Doesn’t See You – Back away grabbing my food if it’s with me and put up in locker or bear pole
   2. Sees You – Back away grabbing my foody if it’s with me and put up in locker or bear pole  and talking to the bear nicely unless it starts coming towards me then I’ll have to make the decision at some point to drop my food or not.
5. You surprise it at close range – Talk to it nicely unless it starts coming towards you than I would try to be big and speaking aggressively.

Joey,

Nothing wrong with your 11 answers, IME/IMO, having dealt with black bears for decades all over California, Grizzlies/brown bears in Banff, and black and brown throughout Alaska for the last 28 years.

1a 1b 2a 2b and 3a are more timid than I would be with a black bear, but not wrong.  3b is correct for a black but (not that you were asking) wrong for a brown bear.  Don’t challenge a brown bear (unless it starts chewing on you).

Like in the Sierra, there have been no brown bear in dozens of generations of black bears (brown bears kill and eat adult black bears) around Rainier so if there’s no hunting in the area, they’re not used to being scared off.  And you’re most likely to see the most habituated bears with the least fear and most experience with humans running off and surrendering their food.

And yet, every time I’ve run at a black bear, yelling and waving a stout stick, intent on bashing it with the stick when I get there, it’s never there when I get to the food hang or our camp.  It does surprise the bear initially, but they seem to dredge up genetic memories of having been second banana since at least the last ice age, 11,000 years ago and only getting a free pass for the last century.  It reminds me of being scared of the territorial dogs on my newspaper route as an 11-year old and therefore they’d chase me.  Once I realized I didn’t need teeth or fangs, just acting skills, neither dogs or black bears have been an issue.  My one thought is beating the crap out of it when I get to it and it picks up on that.  BUT NEVER DO THAT WITH A BROWN BEAR.

I’d argue my approach is also best for the very rare predatory black bear – typically an old injured one who needs the calories enough to tolerate getting Goretex stuck in its teeth and goose down up its nose.

Also, not about black bears, but here’s former BPLer Erin and her husband Hig (my wife and son just got off a trail work BPing trip with them) doing everything right with a hungry spring brown bear in the middle of nowhere Alaska.  Agencies ask for permission to use it for training since they can’t recreate such a situation, although the comment section is predictable idiotic, being it’s YouTube:

I’ve seen many bears in the Pacific Northwest.  They always run away as soon as they see a human.  Usually, before the human sees them.  You have to have your camera ready at all times.

In the Enchanted Valley in the Olympics, I walked to within 50 feet of a bear before I saw it.  It raised up on a tree and started scraping the bark with it’s claws.  I think it was screwing with me, trying to scare me.  Later it would talk to the other bears about the human it scared : )

I took a picture of a bear from 500 feet on Mt Hood.  It didn’t see me.  Later that day I walked up to this ridge right as the bear was walking up from the other side.  Maybe 50 feet away from me.  It ran away.  Amazing how fast they are.

I doubt you’ll see any bears in Rainier in August, too many people.

A ranger at Olympic National Park was telling me someone was injured by a bear.  After the human had shot it.

I try to hang my food 10 feet from the ground to prevent bears from getting it, but in the PNW I don’t worry about it a lot if there’s no good place to hang it.  I have had rodents eat my food though, you have to hang it high enough to keep it away from them.

In the Sierras, totally different.  Clever bears will get your food if you’re not careful.  I might drop my food rather than fight a bear for it.  And I don’t know about grizzly territory.

Jerry, it was decades ago and perhaps an urban legend but I heard someone claim that the black bear population in popular areas in the Sierra needed more calories than could be obtained from natural sources – that enough human food was lost to maintain a larger-than-natural population.   Given how much food I saw being lost in the 1970s, I could believe it.

So while I don’t like carrying a bear canister, I understand and comply.  Although I think many more food lockers should be placed in campsites.  So what if it’s in a “wilderness”? – I got there on a trail going over bridges and a habituated bear isn’t exactly natural.

Sorry guys. Just realized I put this in the gear forums. I meant it for general.

Awesome video David! Thanks for sharing. Love watching bear encounters on YouTube.

In Olympic national Park you’re required to carry bear canister except for places with near wire or locker.  I hate carrying an extra 2 pounds, but so be it.  I’d hate to feed a bear that then has to be killed.

Great video “we’re not food” :)

I’ve come across a half dozen or so.

All but one on trail, some close.  One about 50 yards away, sauntered off after looking back with curiosity.   A few quite close that saw me first and bolted.

Once was a sow feeding on a berry patch with 2 cubs about 50 feet in front of me but didn’t see me.  I first checked wind direction, confirmed I was down wind then waited a few minutes.  When it was clear that they weren’t moving, I stepped out but shaded, reared my poles up and hollered at the bear till it moved.  When I passed I saw the mother about 50 feet off trail on its her hind legs waiting for me to get moving.

With black bears, it’s important to have an air of confidence

https://bear.org/bear-facts/how-dangerous-are-black-bears/

One was in camp, 3am type thing.  My ursack was properly hung and Opsak did it’s job.  She tore up the bench seating around the fire and left.

The best strategy really depends on how they’re habituated where you’re going.  For example, I haven’t carried my spray in years but if I was canoeing in the middle of Algonquin, darn right I would.  Those bears drag food barrels off and are notorious for not leaving a site once they detect your food.

Brown bears are a different beast and no way I’d travel into their territory without spray.  Haven’t run into one yet because I’m in Ontario but am doing Iceline and Rockwall in Sept and I’ll definitely be packing spray

Since there are not going to be grizzlies where I’m going, I’m not going to take bear spray. But since I’ve never seen a bear yet, I’m not sure how I’ll act when I do and just want to have a clear decision tree embedded in my mind in case nerves take over.

All the established sites at Rainier have bear poles, and they usually have rodent cones on the poles as well unless they’ve come off in the course of the season. I’ve done a lot of hiking and backpacking at Rainier, and have never experienced aggressive bears. The approach you describe in the scenarios all sound fine, but hard to keep straight in high anxiety scenarios (like seeing a bear). I’d say as a general principle to keep top of mind, at least at Rainier: keep calm and don’t run, let the bear know where you are by talking calmly, and give it wide berth as much as you can. Especially if you’re solo hiking, vocalize when you are hiking through an area without sight lines (blind corners, through brushy areas, around areas with ripe berries, etc.). That’s what I do, at least, and the bears usually scamper away or just ignore me. And hikers coming the other way will often tell you about any wildlife up ahead — the advantage of hiking a busy place like Rainier.

And, if you get a report or clues of a bear ahead, join up with another group.  For all bear species, small party size is a very strong relative risk factor.  Although I believe much of that is that 5 people NEVER travel quietly down the trail since there are 2-3 convos going on, louder because they’re talking over each other.  I frequently walk up on and then through a large party before they notice I’m on the trail with them.

But black bears in a National Park?  Don’t fear an encounter, hope for a sighting.  Driving to the trailhead truly is the most dangerous thing you’ll do that day (by over 100:1 here in Alaska).  You’re more likely to “get lucky” and succumb later to a nasty STI then to met your demise from the continent’s original omnivore.   

In the Olympics, enchanted valley, people passing me told me there was a bear ahead.

Good thing they did because otherwise I probably wouldn’t have seen it and got a picture of it

It was laying down, 200 feet from trail, watching people walk by.

I then told people I passed about it

I think there is some natural selection going on here. Over the centuries the aggressive bears have been weeded-out (killed). So the remaining genetic pool is mostly non-aggressive . I am referring to Black Bears The species (not the color). Here is WA state I have seen bears many times, and each time they have run away. BUT (!) we never eat in our tent or keep food in our tent, and we always put our food in bear proof containers. ‘Cause a fed bear will associate humans with food and cause trouble, and end up shot dead.

We also try not to eat dinner in the clothes that we will sleep in ’cause we don’t want our clothes to smell of food. This is not always possible, but we try as best as we can.

We also bang our trekking poles together as we hike, to let the bears know our whereabouts.

In Olympic National Park I can think of three bear encounters where the bear ignored me, didn’t run away

On Mount Hood, Three Sisters, and The Trinity Alps, when a bear saw me, it ran away very quickly.

They don’t allow hunting in Olympic National Park but is allowed those other places. Maybe that’s why bears are fearful of humans

I’ve had somewhere north of 20 bear encounters/sightings that I know of–after all, bears are stealthy and can slip in and out of camp after dark. In the Sierra, bears are largely habituated to humans. and so they can be bold. That said, most bolt off into the trees when you encounter them. At well established campsites I’ve seen bears stroll casually in and wander around looking for unattended food. they all seem to know the rules: if there’s no food out, they move on. So don’t leave food out, ever. The only somewhat frightening encounter I ever had was under extraordinary circumstances. A huge snow pack had delayed the opening of Tuolumne Meadows until July 1. Even then, snow was constant from the road and of course up higher. Almost no one was hiking up and in and the bears were missing their food. At a site about 14 miles in a pair of kids wandered in in the dark and hung their packs in a tree and on a bent bear pole. Yes, their entire packs. The bear spent an hour pushing over the bear pole then went up the tree and crashed down to the ground with a terrifying roar and the second pack. The pair of hikers were cowering in their tent about fifteen feet from the action. My friend and I were some few yards further off and kept heaping tree limbs on a small fire while making some noise. needless to say the late arrivals high tailed it off through the snow without breakfast or lunch or anything edible the next morning. Again, it had been a long hard winter. This is the most aggressive behavior I’ve ever seen by a bear by far. As for all the other bear encounters, I’ve enjoyed them. Stay calm, don’t make direct eye contact if they seem aggressive, speak in soothing tones, look to the side and wait for them to move on. Rainier bears are used to humans. And most of all, don’t leave food out!!!

“We also try not to eat dinner in the clothes that we will sleep in ”

So where do you put the dinner attire when you’re sleeping? I can’t imagine carrying enough clothing on a backpacking trip, to be able to change out of any that I’ve worn when consuming food during the daytime. A second puffy, hat, gloves, rain jacket, fleece, etc.?

Yeah, I never quite understood (nor practiced) the whole “change clothes after eating”.

But then I’m not frying fish or bacon with its attendant plume of microdroplets of stinky oil settling on everything.

As a whimpy teenager too afraid to scare off black bears, I observed they go first to the pack with the Italian dry salami in it. So I’ve avoided smelly foods ever since.

I’ve had many black bear sightings.

As recently as yesterday morning the dog and I were sitting treating water at the edge of the woods in a remote spot in the Gore when a mature bear walked by maybe 200′ away. It smelled us, stopped and stared. I thought it was behaving a little bold, so I got up, waved arms and had the dog bark at it. That did the trick and it walked off. Unfortunately in the direction we were going, but we made noise and never saw it again; although the dog definitely picked up its track here and there.

Living close to the Canadian Rockies I would agree with everything that David has said previously.

I have had a few black bear encounters but thankfully far enough away to not feel threatened.  I would add that the behaviour of each bear was different.  Some ran away.  Others slowly followed and then got bored and sauntered off.

Carry bear spray and learn how to use it.

As recently as yesterday morning the dog and I were sitting treating water at the edge of the woods in a remote spot in the Gore when a mature bear walked by maybe 200′ away. It smelled us, stopped and stared. I thought it was behaving a little bold, so I got up, waved arms and had the dog bark at it. That did the trick and it walked off. Unfortunately in the direction we were going, but we made noise and never saw it again; although the dog definitely picked up its track here and there.

The unacclimated black bears we encounter in Colorado definitely try to avoid dogs. In fact, I can say the same for pretty much all Colorado wildlife except coyotes and moose during the rut. Enjoy wildlife when you see it and don’t forget to take photos!

We haven’t had bull moose in rut on our 13 acres, but in early May when the moose cows are calving, they get really protective of the vulnerable wobbly calves and will cross a road to stomp on a dog that looks at them wrong.  We take it as a compliment that they’re comfortable enough around our house to sit down on the lawn and chew their cud while starting to go into labor (you can see the contraction start).

Twice in our current dog’s 14 years, she stopped on the trail and refused to go ahead.  In prime brown bear habitat.  A dog that LOVES to be on hikes.  We were never sure what it was, but pretty sure we did the right thing by turning around.

when the moose cows are calving, they get really protective of the vulnerable wobbly calves and will cross a road to stomp on a dog that looks at them wrong

Good point. I haven’t run into this personally, but this exact thing happened this May in Colorado when a cow moose with very young calves attacked someone and killed a dog. When I’ve run into moose with young, they have moved along quickly, but I’ve never had the privilege of seeing a really new baby.

Now that I think about it, even female elk will get defensive in that scenario, and stand up to a dog, especially in a group. A couple of years ago, my dog and I ran into a group of about 50 elk, and instead of running off, 8-10 mature females formed a line facing us and held their ground.

I was in Yosemite two weeks ago and upon picking up our wilderness permit the ranger recommended keeping the bear canister close enough to the tent so we could hear if a bear was checking it out at night. That way we could get up and scare it away.

Her reasoning was that the bears sometimes get into canisters (didn’t say how or which ones) if given enough time so it’s best to keep them away from them altogether. That is definitely a change from what we were told previously — that canisters were working and bears realized they were not an easy source for food.

I’ll bet that any recent change in Yosemite ranger advice has to do with people who are not securing their canisters properly. And no matter how much rangers, signs, policies, laws and permits advise on not feeding bears, some dingdongs do anyway. The dingdong problem is real, everywhere.

As a solo hiker – about to enter Yosemite soon! – I’m unlikely to try to scare away a bear in the middle of the night. Instead, I’ll keep a clean camp, ensure all smellies are secured in the canister, and put it far enough away that I won’t interact with the bear at all. I won’t wipe melted chocolate on my pants. I also keep everything inside the canister inside a Nylofume bag, to reduce odor to the greatest extent possible. I don’t heat food in plastic bags or have messy trash from used bags; I eat out of the pot and clean it. I do sometimes bring salmon packets, but I always rinse them after eating (not in someone’s campsite!) and double bag the trash. On my upcoming trip, that stuff is way too heavy! This trip will be almost all really dull smelling and minimally appetizing food that is lightweight, i.e., freeze dried, and it will be all I can do to get it down into my own stomach. Bears will not likely be the slightest bit interested.

I don’t mind seeing a bear from a distance, but I’d prefer not to dance with any.