Will I get eaten by a bear if I hike solo in Alaska?

I would call a Denali ranger and ask them. It’s always safer in groups (used to say groups of 4+ have never been attacked), but you need to learn about brown bears and the deterrents recommended in Alaska. In some areas there, guns are recommended. Youtube has video lectures from experienced people. Don’t watch the movie ‘Grizzly Man’ before you go.

Maybe those on this forum who live there can answer…Karen, David, Luke, etc.

Brown bear behavior can be region-dependent in Alaska. It depends on if they are locally hunted, interior vs coastal bears, if they are habituated to humans, if they are in a park where human behavior is well regulated, etc. But in general I think you have little to worry about. I have lived on Kodiak Island for over 30 years. I have solo traveled thousands of miles through the southcentral Alaskan backcountry. I have run into hundreds of brown bears in that time and haven’t been eaten yet. You will be okay.

Enjoy your trip.

Listening to this podcast featuring Tom Smith, bear biologist at Brigham Young University, really helped address my concerns about hiking in grizzly bear country.  He’s highly entertaining and shares lots of useful, research-based information.

https://thetrek.co/walking-distance-20-bear-safety-ft-tom-smith/

I hike solo in bear country all the time, but it’s the Sierra mostly and PNW. It’s perfectly fine. BUT, alaska is a different animal so to speak. I hope that you decide that it’s comfortable and safe to do this! Sounds like a wonderful experience. listen to those who know Alaska! that said: make sure that you feel safe going in. I’d hate to see anxiety spoil your trip. And I’d have to really assess for myself how comfortable I’d be in Grizzly territory. I might decide to go elsewhere in order to relax and enjoy the wilds; or go with some others who know the territory. Or, I might decide it’s fine! I suppose the risk is greater or less in different places, so find out about that too.

You’ll be fine if you bring a trekking pole: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=skurka+bear

Alaska has 80 times the drunk driving deaths as bear-attack fatalities, so don’t bother with a .44 Magnum, bring a breath-alyzer.

I get that new stuff is scary.  We were on edge amongst the lions, elephants, Cape buffalo, crocs and hippos of Zimbabwe in a way that the locals weren’t, just like we’ve come to terms with the exceedingly low risk of bad bear outcomes, do the simple things to be safer, and go about our lives in the outdoors.

So I see it as “How to get chill like a local so you can enjoy yourself?”  The stats are all out there (or ask and I’ll provide) that, like anywhere, the most dangerous part of your trip is getting to the trailhead on the road system.

Sure, we have more bear attacks per capita than any where else, but far riskier are
1) drowning / immersion hypothermia,

2) hypothermia from non-water activities,

3) small plane crashes (that’s ALWAYS far more than bears each year),

4) (in winter) backcountry avalanche risk.

Our biggest household safety rules are: NEVER drive tired – everyone has permission to be late because they pulled over to take a nap.  And ALWAYS wear a life jacket in any open boat.  Bears don’t even come close as a hazard.

I’m in Fairbanks. I’ve lived, camped, backpacked and hiked in Alaska for 30 years, and have seen plenty of bears, some too close for comfort. I’ve been lucky but also careful. They still make me nervous. Mostly I go with other people on overnights, but I do solo day hikes all the time, depending on location. I’d hike Angel Rocks, Chena Dome, and Kesugi Ridge solo. I wouldn’t hike Granite Tors trail alone. They’re not all that different terrain-wise, but I know the history of those places, and some of the stories.

Denali – I have hiked solo there a lot, and bears can be anywhere, but there are places that tend to have more bears, and in those areas I always go with others (for ex. Cathedral Mtn, Toklat, Tattler Creek). I’d hike any of the east entrance trails solo, but still be careful. I always carry pepper spray and it’s always easy to grab. I always make noise when I don’t have good visibility or if I’m near a noisy stream. Basically you’re checking in with land agencies wherever you go hiking, and follow their advice too. They may know of recent bear activity and places to avoid.

There are places in Alaska I wouldn’t go without having someone along with a decent firearm, for ex. parts of the Brooks range, remote rivers. But bears are really everywhere, even in the cities at times.

More critical than your question about bears, though, is that you say you want to go alone in non-touristy places. How far will you go? Will you tell anyone where you are going? Do you know how to find your way back? Getting lost, breaking an ankle, or trying to cross a burly river are all more likely to get you killed than getting attacked or eaten by a bear. Not having good warm gear and waterproof stuff even in July can get you killed. Maybe you know all about that stuff, but Alaska really is “different” imo. I always take more gear, and often use it, stuff I wouldn’t bother with in a lot of places in the lower 48. Having that extra stuff has saved my life.

Not trying to intimidate – I still love it here (although winters are getting awfully long…) and being outdoors is 99% of that. So welcome, enjoy your visit and have a safe adventure!

Note that bear spray and common pepper spray are different. Buy or rent bear spray in Alaska if you are flying, since you can’t fly with it.

And bear spray is not bear repellent. You spray it only when the bear gets close. Can attract bears if sprayed on bushes, etc.

Useful:
https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/safety.htm

— Rex

For you that have not visited Denali or planning in the future to do so, the site that Rex suggested above https://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/safety.htm  is an excellent source of wildlife and bear information to look at.

Insider Knowledge on Staying Safe in Grizzly Country

By Gregory Colligan, Wildlife Technician, Denali National Park & Preserve

Over time, there has been much debate between bear safety educators regarding the best way to accomplish the task at hand. It’s safe to say that two camps have emerged from this debate.

Camp 1: Give people a few simple rules to remember that will keep them safe in most situations.
Camp 2: Encourage people to be fully prepared should they encounter a bear; this means more than just avoiding bears but also understanding how your behavior will likely influence a bear’s behavior.
My tent stakes are firmly planted in Camp 2. I think that the intention of keeping things simple and easy to remember backfires very quickly when people end up in close proximity to a grizzly bear. I believe the Camp 1 approach oversimplifies things, with the result that people don’t actually take the time to truly learn the rules. Grizzly bear behavior is complex, and oversimplification does a disservice to both bears and the people that encounter them.
If someone has never hiked in grizzly bear country, their other backpacking experience has almost no relevance in a close-proximity grizzly encounter. To me, the Camp 1 approach is a bit like teaching someone to take off in an airplane but not how to land it, and then sending them out on a solo flight. This inevitably leads to both people and bears being injured or killed.

Here’s how I approach the subject: Be fully prepared to encounter a grizzly bear. Do not begin a trip hoping to avoid bears; expect you will encounter them, and be prepared for the event. This means thinking about more than the normal list of cautions (though you should still practice these: carry bear spray, hike in groups, make noise to avoid surprising animals, and don’t run from a bear). Your preparation to react properly to an encounter with a grizzly bear could be the difference between a good campfire story and serious injury or death.

My number one rule for preparing for a grizzly bear encounter is to become a student of bear behavior. Learning to read bear behavior will enable to react correctly if you encounter a grizzly bear at close range. This may sound like an overwhelming task, but with some research and practice, your ability to recognize bear behavior may surprise you.

Grizzly bear behavior is complex, and can be highly dependent on geography, the individual bear, and the situation’s circumstances. The best way to learn about bear behavior is to watch bears. If you’re not lucky enough to watch live bears every day, watch videos of bears before your trip. Read about bear behavior. I highly recommend Stephen Herrero’s Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidance. A close encounter with a grizzly bear is a dance of sorts, where the bear will be reading your behavior; and if you know how to read their behavior, the chance of everyone walking away unscathed is greatly increased.

When you fly in, stop at Costco to get your bear spray; they have the best prices, typically. Get everything you need in the bigger cities before heading out. There is almost nothing on the Denali Highway in terms of services. Be self-sufficient.

If you hike in the Fairbanks area, Kyle Joly’s book “Outside in the Interior” has some nice hikes, gives directions, etc. I wouldn’t describe any of those hikes as touristy except Angel Rocks. That one is still worth it, but def feels like the entire bus came with you.

If you’re on FB Fairbanks Area Hiking Club fan page is a great place to get ideas, ask advice, and meet people. The page is well moderated with lots of “old hands” to make useful suggestions. Use the Hiking in Alaska FB group with great caution – lots of idiot trolls on there giving truly bad advice, even dangerous advice! Just plain mean. I hope they’re not actually Alaskans.

Walmart has bear spray at decent prices, too.  There are REIs and Sportman’s Warehouses in Anchorage and Fairbanks, as well.

I’ve sometimes left a package with bear spray (and fuel, DEET, weaponry, etc) for BPL members at their lodging or “behind the guardrail support post closest to the Milepost 100 sign on the Parks Highway” so they can grab it on their way to Denali, Brooks Range, etc.  Ping me as time grows nearer and I have a better idea of my travel plans.

Agreed, the Denali Highway itself is pretty sparsely populated and settled.  Cantwell on the western end doesn’t have much either – two gasoline-station convenience stores and a post office.  Healy, 38 miles to the north of Cantwell and 11 miles north of the Denali NP entrance has the most services of anywhere on the Parks Highway.  The Three Bears warehouse and the attached True Value Hardware store are surprisingly well stocked.  Multiple cafes, restaurants (in the summer), zip-lining, off-roading, and the replica of the “The Magic Bus” of “Into the Wild” fame.  Or maybe it’s not surprising since other than Healy, it’s 111 miles to Fairbanks for more choices.

Thanks for the advice folks. I chatted with a ranger at Denali who promises I won’t get eaten. Well, she didn’t exactly promise but she gave me enough confidence to plan a moderate day hike or two, nothing too far off the beaten track but far enough to satisfy me.

I wonder if our resident Alaskans would be willing to give me some more detailed advice on my itinerary as I’m working on it? I’m starting to narrow it down a bit and would love some local input. I can PM you if you’re game…

Thanks!

You can totally PM me if your questions are Fairbanks related. David is better for Kenai area or thereabouts. I suppose we’ve all seen plenty of Denali!

Lisa, you’re welcome to DM me, but you can also conduct a Q&A with me here and then others can peruse the info, too.

It takes a bit of advance planning and being online at 8 am Alaska Time 183 days in advance, but a variety of Forest Service and Wildlife Refuge cabins are available for rent ($40-$75/night) that make a hike a much more all-weather affair (and could make you less critter-phobic than sleeping in a UL tent).  heading out to a 12’x12′ modern log cabin with a wood-burning stove, makes the hike doable in almost any weather, since you can be warm and dry that night and get your clothing dry.  And it saves the weight of a tent.  Alas, unlike such cabins in New Zealand and Hawaii cabins, they do NOT offer stoves, pots, utensils, fuel or sleeping pads (wish they would, so each party didn’t have to tote that stuff in and out each day), but they are dry and warm an hour after you light a fire in the wood stove.  If you go that route, I’d add a very small pull saw to your kit to harvest the 1″ diameter dry dead spruce branches in the rain shadow of the upper green branches on every spruce tree around.  There are a few through (or bounce) trips, such as on the Resurrection Trail on the Kenai Peninsula, on which the cabins are spaced out every 4-7 miles, so you can pick your daily mileage and have a safe harbor guaranteed each night.  Our family has been to this one a lot over the last 20 years and one of my engineers took his family there for 3 nights over Christmas: 

They all have a huge axe and a crappy bow saw.  Most have a boat, PFDs, and multiple oars which are somehow, always, slightly different lengths.

If you’re a canoeing stud muffin, the OTHER (than Boundary Waters) national wilderness canoeing area is on the Kenai Peninsula and I have all the gear one might want to borrow (e.g. the canoe).  A solo canoe trip is tougher than with 2 people, though – doable by an experienced paddler, but the paddling and the portaging is so much easier with 2 or 3 adults.  Here’s just half the system:

Wow, that’s a beautiful cabin. given the weather will be impossible to predict in advance, that’s a pretty sweet option. I hear it can rain at times in Alaska.

One can cover a lot more miles on a day hike without a lot of weight on the back. And it’s really pleasant.

You won’t get eaten.

As others have said bear density can very with region and season. I’ve spent a LOT of time behind binoculars hunting big game in Alaska. I’ve seen bears but not as many as you’d think.

If you want true wilderness do Denali Park. If you want a more established trail system Denali State Park or the Kenai are good choices.

Be smart but enjoy the trip.

Lots of great info y’all, thanks! I’ll probably be reaching out to one or two of you separately, really appreciate the input so far!