Archive for the ‘grizzly bears’ Category

Second on the Food Chain

Tuesday, September 20th, 2011
Hikers venturing into Montana’s backcountry, especially in Glacier National Park, will find themselves second on the food chain. At the very top of that chain are 800-pound grizzly bears.

Spend any time in Glacier and you’re almost guaranteed to see a grizz, especially if you visit the Many Glacier area. We’ve seen several grizzlies and black bears on all three of our visits to Glacier. On our most recent visit we saw a couple of lone grizzlies on separate hikes, and on another, saw a mother grizzly and two cubs early on, and then a group, or family of five grizzlies later that same day. In each of those instances the bears were several hundred feet above us.

However, we did have a couple of much closer encounters towards the end of our trip, which began to spook us a little. On our last day, while returning from Otokomi Lake, we ran into a couple of hikers who told us they had just passed what sounded like a something growling and smelling like a wet dog, which they assumed to be a grizzly that may have been protecting a fresh kill. This freaked us out a little, especially since they were the first people we had seen on the 10.5-mile hike. Although we never saw or heard anything, we were pretty relieved to return back to the trailhead.

The day before that, only 200 yards from the parking lot on our return from Iceberg Lake, a large male black bear crossed the trail less than 30 feet in front of us. Fortunately there was another group of hikers directly behind us, so it wasn’t quite as unnerving as it could’ve been.

The headline story of the trip, however, came about a week before leaving for home. We were hiking along the Gunsight Pass Trail, a trail notorious for lots of tall vegetation, not being well traveled, and passing through excellent bear habitat. Kathy had just yelled out a “hey bear!”, and no more than 30 seconds later, and maybe only 20 feet away from us, we heard a large animal crashing through the undergrowth as it tried to get out of our way. Now it’s possible it could’ve been a moose, but I really don’t think it could’ve moved that fast. Additionally, I think we would’ve been able to see it above the vegetation. More than likely it was a black or grizzly bear foraging for berries just off the side of the trail. Either way, it scared the (insert your own word here) out of us. What has perplexed me since that incident is why the bear didn’t immediately run away after my wife gave that shout out.

Fortunately Glacier does a great job of managing the interaction between humans and bears.

There are roughly 300 grizzlies and 900 black bears within the park. How does Glacier know that? If you’ve ever hiked in Glacier you may have noticed one or two trees with yellow tags, and have barbed wire wrapped around their trunks. Since bears like to use trees to scratch their backs, the barbed wire allows biologists to collect hair samples while bears are scratching their itch, The DNA collected from the samples is then used to estimate bear populations.

To be safe while out on the trail, Glacier highly recommends that hikers make a lot of noise. This includes yelling out “hey bear” every few minutes in order to give bears a heads-up that you’re entering into their territory. Bear bells, by the way, are pretty much useless. We passed several people wearing them, but really couldn’t hear them until they were within only a few yards. This just doesn’t give enough warning, thus increasing the chances of surprising a bear, which, obviously, is dangerous.

Park officials also recommend that hikers carry bear (pepper) spray. One hiker, during a break, had to put his bear spray in his shoe after this squirrel tried to drag it away:

Finally, the park also recommends hiking in groups. Most bear maulings occur when a solo hiker surprises a bear. Hiking in groups, however, increases the amount of noise. Glacier used to recommend hiking in groups of three or more. They’re now saying groups of four or more are safest. Parks Canada recently passed a measure making it mandatory that you travel in groups of four or more while hiking in parts of Banff National Park. One person in the group is also required to carry bear spray. A fine of $25,000 can be imposed on people breaking these laws.

Other things you can do to increase your safety while hiking in Glacier is to partake in ranger led hikes, many of which visit the most popular destinations in the park. You also have a great opportunity of meeting some interesting people from all over the world. For the most part the rangers travel at a pretty good pace, while providing information on the flora, wildlife, history and geology of the area. However, there are some hikes that are painfully slow, and others that attract some very large groups.

We did partake in a few ranger led hikes ourselves, but most of our hikes were alone. Due to the presence of grizzlies, many hikers tend to gravitate towards each other once on the trail. There were several occasions where we hooked up with other couples or groups. Other times we would try to stay in close proximity to another group. Given the situation, most people seem to be real open to this.

The park has also taken steps to help protect backpackers by setting-up separate food preparation areas at all backcountry campsites. Some campsites even have metal bear boxes for backcountry campers to store their food.

When the park experiences “bad bear” activity on any given trail, they’ll close it for several days at a time. Unfortunately this happens to some of the most popular trails on a fairly frequent basis.

I think I conquered my grizzly bear paranoia on this trip, but not my fear. Everyone should have a healthy degree of fear. To not fear a grizzly is to not respect them. And if you don’t respect them you’re eventually going to put yourself in a dangerous situation.




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Glacier National Park, Second on the Food Chain, grizzly bears | Comments Off

Air Horns as Bear Deterrents (revisited)

Monday, January 24th, 2011
Almost two years ago I posted a blog that explored the question as to whether or not air horns make for good bear deterrents.

My thoughts were that the high-decibel noise coming from an air horn might be more effective than bear spray because:

1) You don't have to worry about the direction of the wind (or rain)

2) You don't have to wait for the bear to get close enough before sounding the horn

3) Bears have much better hearing than humans, thus the noise would bother them even more than humans

That posting generated quite a bit of interest, so I decided to revisit the subject to see if there was anything new to report on. In particular, were there any new studies providing hard evidence as to whether air horns actually work or not?

It seems that the idea of using air horns as a bear deterrent has actually gained some traction since I last visited this topic. However, I couldn’t find anything definitive. In other words, I couldn’t find any studies that have actually been conducted on black bears or grizzly bears to determine the effectiveness of air horns as a deterrent.

Here’s what I did find:

In a recent “Ask A Bear” column, Backpacker Magazine cited a test conducted on polar bears in the 70s that found that ultrasonic frequencies fine-tuned and blasted over large speakers repelled bears roughly 69% of the time.

This was the only study that I could find that was even remotely related to my question, but it really doesn’t answer it. One, the test was conducted on polar bears, and two, air horns weren’t used in the test. I should point out that the column also states that bear guru Stephen Herrero thinks that an ultrasonic bear repellent is worthy of further study and testing.

The Get Bear Smart Society, a Canadian organization that works to educate the general public as well as government agencies across North America, believes that air horns can be effective when used in conjunction with human dominance techniques to move a bear off (as mentioned in their A guide to non-lethal management techniques).

On their website, they state:

Noise deterrents work by making a loud, unpleasant sound that causes the bear to be uneasy and move away. Noise deterrents are advantageous if you are a long distance away from the bear. Furthermore, they cause neither harm nor injury to the bear when correctly used.

In some cases, noise deterrents do not work either because the bear has habituated to human noise or because it has no natural fear of the noise. For example, a habituated bear is very unlikely to respond to a vehicle siren if officers remain in the vehicle. Unlike human dominance techniques which speak the language of the bear, a bear may have to be taught that noise deterrents are followed by an unpleasant or negative situation. However, once a bear makes the association, an officer may only have to cock his shotgun to make the bear leave (link).

I found several governmental websites in the United States and Canada that offered similar advice. For example, the Kenai Fjords National Park website states that “It is a good idea to carry a non-lethal deterrent such as an air horn or pepper spray in case of a surprise encounter…”

As a result of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published Deterrence Guidelines in the Federal Register, which states that:

These guidelines…are appropriate for safely and nonlethally deterring polar bears from damaging private and public property and endangering the public. The use of commercially available air horns and other similar devices designed to deter wild animals…may be effective in deterring bears while causing no lasting or permanent harm to individual animals.

The Department of Earth & Atmospheric Science at the University of Alberta has this advice on their Bear Safety Information page:

Make lots of noise, especially when traveling in dense vegetation. Sing, shout, or talk loudly. You can carry portable air horns, cans of rocks. (Please note that bear bells are not effective – they do not make enough noise to warn a bear that you are approaching. You need to be loud so the bear can hear you coming!) Remember that the noise you make can be masked by loud natural sounds such as the wind or water. Therefore it is possible that the noise you make can go unnoticed by a bear whose attention is focused on feeding. You must make every attempt not to surprise a bear. In areas of loud natural noise, be louder!

However, they do warn that air horns can sometimes provoke a bear into attacking.

The Alberta Sustainable Resource Development website makes these points about deterring a bear:

• Noisemakers are best used to deter a bear that is at a distance – one that sees you and continues to approach or one that’s heading to your camp or settlement.

• Before using noisemakers, be sure to assess the situation. Make sure the surroundings are clear of people and the bear has an obvious way out. A bear that’s been startled by a noisemaker may not be able to avoid groups of people as it flees the area.

• Remember, the noisemaker may not immediately deter the bear, especially if the bear has had previously experience with noise deterrents. Also, noisemakers may not prevent the bear from returning to the area.

• Bear spray is best used when you need to deter a bear at close range.

The bottom line, I guess, is that there’s no 100% safe and reliable way to deter a bear. Each bear has a different personality, and each encounter is essentially a unique situation. In addition to air horns and pepper spray, high pitched whistles are also known to be of help in some situations.

Your best bet is to make sure you make a lot noise while hiking in bear country, and to practice bear awareness and avoidance techniques.

If anyone has access, or knows of any definitive studies that have been conducted with air horns, please let us know and/or provide a link in the comments section.





Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Air Horns, bear deterrents, black bears, grizzly bears | Comments Off

Video: Grizzly bears charge photographer

Sunday, September 12th, 2010
This will keep you awake in your tent at night:




Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, and more.

Posted in Leon Lorenz, charge, grizzly bears, photographer, video | Comments Off

Two more bears killed in Yellowstone

Thursday, August 19th, 2010
A couple weeks ago I posted an article about several tragic deaths that have occurred in Yellowstone this summer, including that of several bears that have been killed in or just outside of the park.

Now comes word that two more bears have been found dead near Fishing Bridge in the east central section of Yellowstone National Park.

One was a giant 576-pound grizzly, currently in Bozeman undergoing a necropsy to determine the cause of death. The other, a black bear, was probably hit and killed by a vehicle sometime Tuesday afternoon.

A total of seven bears have now been killed this summer within Yellowstone park boundaries.

Earlier in the month, park biologists were forced to euthanize an adult female black bear that had been seen frequenting the Slough Creek area in the north central portion of the park. The bear was acting aggressively towards several backcountry campers in the area in recent weeks.

In two separate incidents in June, a female adult black bear and a young grizzly bear were both killed by hit and run cars.

In that same month, in two separate accidents in two days, two bears were accidentally killed during capture attempts by park biologist. One was a young grizzly and the other a young black bear.

Additionally, the mother grizzly bear that went on a rampage with her three cubs, killing one man, and injuring two others in a campground just outside of Yellowstone last month, was also euthanized.

A Yellowstone Public Affairs Officer stated that more bears may be coming down to lower elevations this year because one of their favorite foods, the whitebark pine cones, are in short supply. As a result, bears tend to do more feeding at lower elevations, thus increasing the chances of human-bear conflicts.


Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com

Posted in Fishing Bridge, Yellowstone National Park, black bears, deaths, grizzly bears, killed | Comments Off

Glacier National Park: Fire and Rain

Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Kathy and I made our first trip to Glacier National Park just as the region was beginning to sink into the grips of a long drought. Late summer also happens to be the peak fire season for the park in northwestern Montana.

About midway through our vacation a couple of fires began to pop-up in and around the park, including one less than 10 miles outside of East Glacier, the town where we were staying. At one point the fire got so big that they parked a train - loaded with foam - just outside of town. This was to be our protection in case the wind changed direction.

Six years later, in 2004, we decided to return and explore more of the park. By this time the region was now in a severe, multi-year drought. So as we made plans for another late summer trip, forest fires were an obvious concern.

Part of our plans for this vacation was to spend a night at the historic Sperry Chalet. Similar to the LeConte Lodge in the Smokies, the only way to reach the backcountry chalet is by hiking-in via the Sperry Trail. The trail, located near Lake McDonald on the west side of the park, is a 6.7 mile hike that climbs 3300 feet before reaching the chalet.

As fate or irony would have it, Glacier was getting a soaking rain the day we arrived. The next day it was still raining as we hiked up to Sperry. It proceeded to rain all night, and then it rained all the way back down to the trailhead the following day. We were fortunate enough to have – literally – a five minute window that evening where the clouds parted long enough for us to see Lake McDonald and the valley below us.

When we arrived a few of the guests were already huddled around the wood-burning stove in the dining hall area. As time passed, more overnight guests, campers and day hikers came in to warm themselves and to dry-off soaked bodies, clothes and boots. With limited space around the stove, people had to jockey for position to get close enough to feel the warmth from the fire.

At some point in the late afternoon, guests were asked to leave the dining hall so that chalet cooks could prepare for the evening meal. When we returned a couple hours later we were served a tasty feast of turkey, which included all the trimmings, as well as dessert. Maybe it was partially due to spending an entire day in nasty weather, but the food was quite delicious.

Although Sperry Chalet has a beautiful native-stone exterior, the interior is just as rustic as the cabins on LeConte. With paper-thin interior walls, you can literally hear people turning over in their beds two doors down! The extreme sag in our bed left us to conclude that it was probably as old as the building, which was built in 1913.

All in all though, it was still a great experience. We met a lot of great people as well as a few interesting characters.

During our two visits to the park we had an opportunity to hike on some of the most scenic trails in America. Some of those trails that I highly recommend include:

Highline Trail: If you’re afraid of steep drop-offs, this trail probably isn’t something you want to attempt. In fact, Kathy swears she’ll never do it again. However, if you crave spectacular alpine scenery, don’t pass this gem up. The trail is famous for the section, maybe a half-mile long, where hikers walk along a ledge on what’s known as the “Garden Wall”. The path is roughly 5 feet wide, with a cliff face on one side and a sharp drop-off on the other. Although the trail continues all the way to Swift Current Pass and the Granite Park Chalet, we only hiked out about 3 miles. It was far enough to take-in some of the stunning scenery beyond the ledge.


Grinnell Glacier: Besides the opportunity to walk on a huge glacier, one of the unique things about this trail is that you can take a series of boat taxis to reach your destination. Hikers have the option of walking the entire 6-mile trail or taking two boat shuttles that cut-off more than two miles of walking. From Many Glacier, our ranger led hiking group took the shuttle across Swift Current Lake, made a short hike over to Lake Josephine, and then took another boat taxi before making the climb up to the glacier (Note: you may no longer be able to walk on the glacier as a result of shrinkage since we last hiked it in 1998). Trail data: 7.6 miles roundtrip; climbs 1600 feet.

Scenic Point: This is a relatively short, but steep hike leading to spectacular views of Two Medicine Lake. As we ascended the canyon, the ranger leading our hike relayed the story of how a friend of his, a park concessions employee, was killed in this area by a grizzly sow and her cubs in 1998. It’s precisely due to the large number grizzlies in this park that most of our hikes were ranger led so as to avoid being out on the trail by ourselves. There are many ranger led hikes throughout the summer. And yes, we saw several grizzly and black bears on both of our trips. Trail data: 6.2 miles roundtrip; climbs 2350 feet.


Iceberg Lake: A very popular hike to a beautiful alpine lake hemmed-in by sheer cliff walls. Even in late August we saw icebergs floating in the lake. As we were soaking-in the magnificent scenery, one fairly large iceberg calved and rolled over, triggering a nice sized wave to ripple across the lake. Trail data: 9.4 miles roundtrip; climbs 1200 feet.


Dawson Pass: This was another hike that offered an opportunity to take a shuttle boat to cut-out about two miles to our destination. After crossing Two Medicine Lake, the trail leads to the Continental Divide at Dawson Pass and offers stunning views of the Lewis Range, including Lupfer Glacier directly across the valley. The hike also includes Twin Falls. On our return trip back to the trailhead we found a large patch of huckleberries that we gorged on for some time. Trail data: 10.4 miles roundtrip; climbs 2450 feet.


Cobalt Lake: This is a moderate day hike to a deep blue-green lake sitting at the base of Two Medicine Pass. Before reaching Cobalt Lake, roughly 3.4 from the trailhead, the trail passes Rockwell Falls, a series of cascades that extend for almost a half mile up the valley. The falls are also a popular final destination for many hikers. Trail data: 11.4 miles roundtrip; climbs 1400 feet.

With over 700 miles of trails, Glacier National Park is without a doubt a hiker’s park. Besides numerous hiking opportunities, one of the other things we really liked about Glacier is the fact that it’s not commercialized. In the handful of towns that surround the park, there are no national restaurants or hotel chains. Most of the businesses are small mom & pop establishments, which probably explains why the food was so good in most of the places we visited. Serrano’s in East Glacier is a must stop. They have the absolute best Mexican food we’ve ever tasted, and that’s compared to foodie meccas such as Austin, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico.

If you do stop at Serrano’s, make sure you get a slice (or two) of their huckleberry pie. It’s out of this world good!

While you’re in the Glacier area don’t forget to try a huckleberry shake, huckleberry ice cream, huckleberry beer, huckleberry chocolate, syrup, jams, etc., etc. There are plenty of opportunities to find wild huckleberries along many of the trails as well.
















Jeff
HikingintheSmokys.com Detailed information on trails in the Smoky Mountains; includes trail descriptions, key features, pictures, video, maps, elevation profiles, news, hiking gear store, and more.

Posted in Cobalt Lake, Dawson Pass, Glacier National Park, Grinnell Glacier, Highline Trail, Iceberg Lake, Scenic Point, Serrano’s, Sperry Chalet, grizzly bears, huckleberries | Comments Off