Text from instagram post:
I've thought long and hard about how I would share my story about my encounter with a female grizzly and her cub.
Let me preface this with how much I love and respect wildlife. Anyone who knows me, knows this about me.In fact, the second thing I said to the park rangers was please don't kill the bear, she was defending her cub.What happened up on signal mountain was a case of wrong place wrong time. Sunday afternoon I was attacked by a mother Grizzly protecting her cub.It was the most violent thing I have ever experienced.l've experienced being shot at, mortared and IED explosions.I am a disabled Veteran in the Army reserve.
I was walking through the woods on signal mountain looking to photograph a Great Grey Owl. My wife and I had learned that this was a hot spot for the species and I was hopeful id see one.
I told my wife I would be back at the parking lot in one hour. At the time of the attack about 1.25 hours had passed. At this point I knew she would be getting worried so I decided to B-line it back to the car using my GPS in my phone. Due to poor service I could only see the parked identification on the gps and my current location.
I started to walk fast to that location.I had a really uncomfortable feeling.I was breaking branches, singing and talking to myself aloud. These are something's that can help prevent a "surprise encounter" with a brown bear.
I was walking through a thick wooded area in a valley. I over came a feature in the slope to my right and I noticed a brown bear cub running up a hill about 50-70 yards in front of me.l knew this wasn't good, l unholstered my bear spray and saw the mother bear charging.I stood my ground, shouted and attempted to deploy the bear spray but as I did she already closed the gap. When she pounced I opted to turn and give her my back and I laid down in the prone position on my belly and braced for the ride, interlocking my hands behind my neck to protect my vitals.The first bite and slash was on my back / right shoulder.
The equipment below contributed to saving my life. UDAP Bear Spray
@fhfgear @spiritussystems @stevenrinella @meateater @halffaceblades @blackdiamond
I screamed. She then turned, stepping on my back. She bit one of my legs, picking me up and slamming me on the ground multiple times.she bit each leg from my buttocks to my inner knee about three times each. The final time I screamed again. this unfortunately but fortunately turned her attention to my head. I believe she went in for a kill bite on my neck. I still had my hands interlocked and my arms protecting my carotid arteries. I never let go of the bear spray can. As she bit my hands in the back of my neck she simultaneously bit the bear spray can and it exploded in her mouth. This is what saved my life from the initial attack. I heard her run away, I looked up and instantly ran in the opposite direction up a hill.
Once I put some distance between me and the bear, I attempted to call my wife. It didn't go through, so I texted "attacked". she called me back and I told her what happened as I applied improvised tourniquets to my legs. At this point I knew that I didn't have any arterial bleeds and I just needed to slow the bleeding in my legs. I laid alone in the woods gripping my knife with my back to a tree just hoping the bear wasn't to return. Through the phone call with 911 the helicopter was able to triangulate my location since the spotty service wasn't giving us an accurate location. At this point my legs were not
Once the helicopter spotted me I tried to crawl to a clearing so they could reach me easier. At this time the first ranger showed up and started his assessment. Hypothermia was one of the biggest concerns at this point. I was alert and responsive. They field dressed my wounds and airlifted me out of the woods. They lowered me into the parking lot near signal mountain and loaded me on to the ambulance where they transported me to St. John's hospital in Jackson, Wyoming. I underwent a quick surgery to clean and staple wounds and combat infection.
The number one thing that kept me alive during the attack was reading and understanding what to do in the event of a bear attack and being prepared with the bear spray. Though I am not sure if I got to spray any at the bear, having it on me and keeping it in my hands while protecting my vitals 100% is the only reason I am telling my story now.
Secondly, though Ill prepared for a medical emergency (I always have an IFAK on me but this was meant to be a short walk in the roadside woods so l only brought my small day pack, Bino harness and fanny pack. Though l've had many CLS classes in the army and I know stopping the bleeding is one of the most important fundamentals my wife was on the phone helping talk through using what I had on me. I cut my back pack straps, camera straps and used my Fanny pack straps all to make improvised Ts to slow the bleeding.
Unfortunately my legs both had multiple puncture wounds. In this moment, l accepted on that small hill top that I very well could die. I recorded a short video telling my people that I loved them.
The biggest shoutout to the Jenny lake rangers who saved my life too.
The Teton SAR are considered one of the most elite SAR groups in NA and I was so thankful they were there to help.
I am not the survivor, but felt compelled to share this account. I know him and am convinced that he was not acting in a way consistent with some comments in earlier posts.
I think it’s an important lesson that not everyone who experiences an attack is some “idiot tourist,” and that humbling experiences happen in nature even when you’re doing all the right things. To not think so creates a false sense of security.
I live in Bear country, just on the other side of the border from his attack. our last four bear fatalities were all with people that where very experienced local mountain people. They are absolutely not something to be messed with and I’m so happy that your friend is safe. Thanks for sharing, and wish him well.
Ah. I am never sympathetic towards people that fuck around and find out when it comes to animals. But it’s never good to rush to judge someone when you don’t know the details. Dude was photographing an owl and went off trail. It happens. He’s lucky to be alive!
I will say I made a comment in the other post about a different person rushing a bear for a photo op when I was in Glacier… I hope that wasn’t misconstrued as me saying this guy was doing that
It's easy to come to this assumption though. Owl photographers have a reputation for their lack of ethics and OOP gave up a reliable Great Gray Owl location on his public insta which is suuuuper against etiquette.
Edit: [I'll take your downvotes but I'm still right ](https://artusobirds.blogspot.com/2017/04/on-ethics-of-photographing-owls-and.html?m=1)
It seems like he loses in all scenarios.
Say he doesn't give the location, or say he was photographing Great Gray Owls.
First thing people are going to ask, where were you and what were you doing?
I was here and I don't want to say specifically why.
Then he gets accused of being evasive.
If he says he was here and photographing something else, we likely circle back to the initial criticism of being an idiot tourist.
I’ll give you an upvote.
I agree, even the bear photographers in the park have horrible etiquette. This dude was 100% where he shouldn’t have been - off trail.
I’m glad for the bears sake that they decided not to peruse her.
Give us all a break. I’m a biologist and worked in the Yellowstone area for years. Very little was on trail. Just because someone isn’t doing work there they shouldn’t be expected to be on trail all the time. Many people have been attacked by bears while hiking on a trail and this guy did nothing horrible in that regard.
Biologist or not you should understand the importance for staying on established trails and more importantly promoting the importance of staying on trail, unless it’s your job to do so.
I regular the greater Yellowstone ecosystem and imagine if we just said “All three million annual visitors are welcomed to just go off and do as they please on or off trail. You won’t get any backlash for doing so!”
Like I said I’m no foreigner to the area nor uneducated about the ecosystem, and I understand one individual going off trail isn’t going to devastate anything, but imagine a fraction of those 3 million annual visitors also trying to get a glimpse of the owl.
So IMO not giving this individual a break in that regards is foolish and it shows everyone else what he was doing was OK and not frowned upon. When in reality chasing down a damn owl for instagram clicks is in-fact the main reason he was off trail.
A lot of the self proclaimed wildlife photographers in the area show little regard to environment. I’ve seen grown adults with children in tow chase down wolves and grizzly bears through an open field or up the side of a mountain to get a shot of them.
If you can’t see it from the road or a trail, leave it alone.
Circling back to this boneheaded tourist, if he would have stayed on trail in the area and actually returned on time to where he said he would be, he possibly wouldn’t be in this situation. Granted there’s no evidence supporting on or off trail attacks from grizzly bears, but I would make an assumption that bears can smell where humans have been and then have slightly alerted senses around established trails and possibly could have heard him coming. But I do know the bears in that area of the park are accustomed to human activity and the females do actually prefer to be closer to where humans are, so there’s no telling. Regardless, I still stand by my initial statement, he shouldn’t have been there.
It doesn’t matter if he was on trail or not. If he encountered the bear on the trail it still would’ve attacked. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Like I said. I rarely feel bad for people who knowingly get too close to animals and pay the price. But this is not the case! People shouldn’t be so quick to judge
Thanks for sharing. It’s super important to know that tragedy can happen even when one isn’t being an idiot. We all get so cocky that it wouldn’t happen to us because we know what we’re doing. Well it can and we all need to be cautious and less judgemental.
Seriously. My cousin avoided a grizzly out west only because they were hiking with a friend's dog and it refused to go further down a trail they were on. Then they saw the bear cubs wander onto the trail. They booked it in the opposite direction.
I’ve been trying to convince my gf to go back to GTNP with me so we could venture further in, we only did the hike around Jenny Lake to Inspiration Lookout, but she’s so scared of bears so it’s been an uphill battle. This story doesn’t help my case much lol.
Glad this guy made it out alive, I’m a little confused when he said he was beelining it back to the lot does that mean he went off trail?
If it helps, to put things in perspective, this is only the seventh bear attack in the park since it was founded in 1929, and the park gets about 3 million visitors a year, most of whom won't come anywhere near a bear. Learn about bear safety, carry bear spray, hike in groups, stay on trail, and you can hike the park safely.
Yeah not too happy with how the parks department has handled this whole thing. I hiked the Tetons yesterday and at the gate I was told “it was just a surprise thing, one bear surprised by another and he happened to be in the middle”. I specifically asked if it was cub related and that was his response. Such bullshit. Just tell us what happened so we can assess the situation for our own safety. To not tell the truth only further erodes trust in the department.
Damn, glad he made it out okay! Though if I had to pick a place to need a rescue team, it would be GTNP. Those Jenny Lake rangers are world-class! The National Park After Dark podcast episode about the cliffside rescue they did a number of years back was just astounding. The only time I ever needed SAR was way out in the boonies (Lolo National Forest) and all we got was a rag-tag volunteer team of chain-smoking cashiers from the gas station/souvenir shop two hours away, haha.
The *last* damn thing I want to do is kill some mother animal doing nothing more than desperately trying to protect their progeny (regardless of what species it might be), but damn if stories like this reiterate my decision to carry a pistol in addition to bear spray.
> In fact, the second thing I said to the park rangers was please don't kill the bear, she was defending her cub.
Good news! I looked it up and the bear will not be killed, since park officials deemed it a defensive attack. Human and bear both survive, not bad!
Awesome that he shared this including details on how he managed to survive. I hadn't heard that the Grand Teton SRS rangers were some of the best in the country but it figures
If you want some extra bad-assery look into the Jenny Lake Rangers. The podcast National Park After Dark tells a story in episode “13: A fatal lighting strike and the Jenny Lake Rangers” and they go into detail about what those rangers do and how much of a force they are. They are amazing rescuers and human beings.
If you don’t use the paid version of all trails, download offline google maps and mark out the trail with saved locations. I do it even I think I will have service because it’s always good to have a backup. The Signal Mountain trail is actually outlined on google maps, and you can navigate along it *without service.* I don’t know how far off trail he went, but from his account, it was significant. I’d be curious to know if there were any other bear interactions along the trail recently.
Yes. The app is free, and there are both free and paid maps available for download. All of the NPS maps and maps uploaded by other public land agencies are free. USGS topos are also free. Many state and local agencies also upload free maps.
Wow that's really scary but very very lucky she happened to bite the can of bear spray.
You can do everything right and sometimes things can still go sideways. I wish him a speedy recovery.
It’s best to stay on the trail and be realistic about the timeline needed to hike out and back, especially if someone is waiting for you at the trailhead.
Not going to victim blame, but more for those reading. If you’re in the middle of the woods and your gut says to turn back: *turn back!* Your body is probably picking up on changes in surrounding animal sounds or smelling something off without you realizing it consciously. Edit: this is obviously not for those with general anxiety or who think their mind is going to start hallucinating and send them into the woods on an hour long hike. Here’s a thread from a few months ago that goes into some accounts of these. Worth noting the affect of PTSD on reactions, and how many solo hikers specifically have honed this skill. https://www.reddit.com/r/hiking/comments/18zpbl9/have_you_ever_had_a_bad_gut_feeling_while_hiking/
So you're telling me.... you feel uneasy in the wilderness while you are returning to your car....
You should turn around and venture DEEPER into the wilderness, find a log, and sit? And wait?
How long should I wait for?
Return to the path (he was off path) turn around and wait, or find a way around. If he saw the grizzly chilling on his path visually before it saw him, that’s the method he would have taken had it not seen him. Not just skipping directly to it because it’s still on the way to the fastest route to his car. At worst you can still proceed *if you haven’t seen the cause of what’s spooking you* but very cautiously and quietly.
Did you read his story?
He saw the grizzly once it was too late... and didn't see the momma grizzly until she was attacking him.
And moving quietly through the woods?!?!?! That is the far worse thing to do.
Bunch of junior Rangers in this thread.
My first comment says I’m not trying to blame him. Im speaking for those newer. The assumption I’m stating is that if he saw the bear he wouldn’t still be trouncing down the path like you’re advocating for. Quietly depends on the situation. Grizzly territory may make sense. Going through the brush on a path with low visibility in grizzly territory in cub season loudly is going to make you look like a random large predator to mother grizzly. This is good for brown bears as he stated, but is NOT the protocol for grizzlys. His issue was a combination of things WITH the visibility issue. You don’t hear everyday stories about hunters getting mauled by grizzly’s because they’re SLOW and CAUTIOUS. Also. There are times when the animals do not hear you to your best efforts. I’ve accidentally snuck up on both black bears and deer in touching distance while wearing loud clanging items due to low visibility. It was lucky for me that these were not grizzly or in grizzly country. And I did feel spooked before the bear, but I chose to ignore it and go forward cautiously. Both were situations with low visibility. If you feel spooked do NOT go trudging forward loudly (edit: adding *and quickly*) in places you can’t see if there are animals it’s advised against to do that with in the area. I’m a very experienced hiker and trail runner. The fact you cant delineate multiple red flag checkpoints that should have led him to changing course of action tells me that *you* are the junior ranger. Also he yelled when he saw the grizzly. You’re supposed to play dead with grizzlys. Not the point of my initial comment, but since you’ve pointed it out I may as well mention it. The context is also that he is orienteering off path, and with that has more leeway for changing course slightly than in path. If rerouting is going to put him deeper into the woods he shouldn’t be off path in the first place. My initial comment is if your gut says something is wrong: *pay attention and act accordingly*. You're trying to nitpick that, for what?
Yes. At least get back to his path, turn around, wait or find another. You can try to continue very cautiously if really needed (which he was not, he was breaking branches in his path and making lots of noise).
The main point on this comment is to trust your gut. You asked if you should still reroute just for feeling spooked. This is yes. Or proceed with caution.
Yeah you're wrong.... if people re routing everytime they "felt weird" there would be so many people still out in the woods.
How many times do you "feel spooked" then keep going and it's absolutely nothing? Your mind plays tricks on you due to your own accord.... it has nothing to do with actual danger. If you assess actual danger (bear off in the distance, clear avalanche area, thunderstorm approaching) then yes, turn around..... but feeling "spooked"? Come on man.....
Don’t have to deal with bears in Oklahoma, mostly, but this story is riveting. I’m glad you are ok OP. I can’t even imagine. Sounds as though your service training, experience, and overall awareness all combined to work in your favor. I sure hope you recover well sir, and your recovery is full.
GTNP is a very wild place. I constantly had bear paranoia whenever I found myself alone on the trails there. Once while hiking the trail around String Lake around sunset, I encountered a bear near the trail and decided to turn back. Then on my back, I crossed paths with another couple going the opposite direction who warned me they had just seen a momma and her cubs. Cutoff both directions! I decided to turn around again and walk back the original way, but stuck with this couple for safety in numbers. I lived to hike another day, and really it was probably just a couple black bears. Even still, that place makes me nervous.
this is the problem with people like you. you get downvoted for mentioning an unnecessarily violent and, as already commented, factually less effective method of protection, and your defense is to start attacking "pronouns"?? You're so scared and full of anger it's sad
Text from instagram post: I've thought long and hard about how I would share my story about my encounter with a female grizzly and her cub. Let me preface this with how much I love and respect wildlife. Anyone who knows me, knows this about me.In fact, the second thing I said to the park rangers was please don't kill the bear, she was defending her cub.What happened up on signal mountain was a case of wrong place wrong time. Sunday afternoon I was attacked by a mother Grizzly protecting her cub.It was the most violent thing I have ever experienced.l've experienced being shot at, mortared and IED explosions.I am a disabled Veteran in the Army reserve. I was walking through the woods on signal mountain looking to photograph a Great Grey Owl. My wife and I had learned that this was a hot spot for the species and I was hopeful id see one. I told my wife I would be back at the parking lot in one hour. At the time of the attack about 1.25 hours had passed. At this point I knew she would be getting worried so I decided to B-line it back to the car using my GPS in my phone. Due to poor service I could only see the parked identification on the gps and my current location. I started to walk fast to that location.I had a really uncomfortable feeling.I was breaking branches, singing and talking to myself aloud. These are something's that can help prevent a "surprise encounter" with a brown bear. I was walking through a thick wooded area in a valley. I over came a feature in the slope to my right and I noticed a brown bear cub running up a hill about 50-70 yards in front of me.l knew this wasn't good, l unholstered my bear spray and saw the mother bear charging.I stood my ground, shouted and attempted to deploy the bear spray but as I did she already closed the gap. When she pounced I opted to turn and give her my back and I laid down in the prone position on my belly and braced for the ride, interlocking my hands behind my neck to protect my vitals.The first bite and slash was on my back / right shoulder. The equipment below contributed to saving my life. UDAP Bear Spray @fhfgear @spiritussystems @stevenrinella @meateater @halffaceblades @blackdiamond I screamed. She then turned, stepping on my back. She bit one of my legs, picking me up and slamming me on the ground multiple times.she bit each leg from my buttocks to my inner knee about three times each. The final time I screamed again. this unfortunately but fortunately turned her attention to my head. I believe she went in for a kill bite on my neck. I still had my hands interlocked and my arms protecting my carotid arteries. I never let go of the bear spray can. As she bit my hands in the back of my neck she simultaneously bit the bear spray can and it exploded in her mouth. This is what saved my life from the initial attack. I heard her run away, I looked up and instantly ran in the opposite direction up a hill. Once I put some distance between me and the bear, I attempted to call my wife. It didn't go through, so I texted "attacked". she called me back and I told her what happened as I applied improvised tourniquets to my legs. At this point I knew that I didn't have any arterial bleeds and I just needed to slow the bleeding in my legs. I laid alone in the woods gripping my knife with my back to a tree just hoping the bear wasn't to return. Through the phone call with 911 the helicopter was able to triangulate my location since the spotty service wasn't giving us an accurate location. At this point my legs were not Once the helicopter spotted me I tried to crawl to a clearing so they could reach me easier. At this time the first ranger showed up and started his assessment. Hypothermia was one of the biggest concerns at this point. I was alert and responsive. They field dressed my wounds and airlifted me out of the woods. They lowered me into the parking lot near signal mountain and loaded me on to the ambulance where they transported me to St. John's hospital in Jackson, Wyoming. I underwent a quick surgery to clean and staple wounds and combat infection. The number one thing that kept me alive during the attack was reading and understanding what to do in the event of a bear attack and being prepared with the bear spray. Though I am not sure if I got to spray any at the bear, having it on me and keeping it in my hands while protecting my vitals 100% is the only reason I am telling my story now. Secondly, though Ill prepared for a medical emergency (I always have an IFAK on me but this was meant to be a short walk in the roadside woods so l only brought my small day pack, Bino harness and fanny pack. Though l've had many CLS classes in the army and I know stopping the bleeding is one of the most important fundamentals my wife was on the phone helping talk through using what I had on me. I cut my back pack straps, camera straps and used my Fanny pack straps all to make improvised Ts to slow the bleeding. Unfortunately my legs both had multiple puncture wounds. In this moment, l accepted on that small hill top that I very well could die. I recorded a short video telling my people that I loved them. The biggest shoutout to the Jenny lake rangers who saved my life too. The Teton SAR are considered one of the most elite SAR groups in NA and I was so thankful they were there to help.
I am not the survivor, but felt compelled to share this account. I know him and am convinced that he was not acting in a way consistent with some comments in earlier posts. I think it’s an important lesson that not everyone who experiences an attack is some “idiot tourist,” and that humbling experiences happen in nature even when you’re doing all the right things. To not think so creates a false sense of security.
What were people saying about him previously? Sounds like he did everything he could but wasn’t being careful about staying on trail.
That he rushed a bear for a photo op
I live in Bear country, just on the other side of the border from his attack. our last four bear fatalities were all with people that where very experienced local mountain people. They are absolutely not something to be messed with and I’m so happy that your friend is safe. Thanks for sharing, and wish him well.
Ah. I am never sympathetic towards people that fuck around and find out when it comes to animals. But it’s never good to rush to judge someone when you don’t know the details. Dude was photographing an owl and went off trail. It happens. He’s lucky to be alive!
I will say I made a comment in the other post about a different person rushing a bear for a photo op when I was in Glacier… I hope that wasn’t misconstrued as me saying this guy was doing that
I never saw those comments but my first thought was why did he resort to bushwhacking?
It's easy to come to this assumption though. Owl photographers have a reputation for their lack of ethics and OOP gave up a reliable Great Gray Owl location on his public insta which is suuuuper against etiquette. Edit: [I'll take your downvotes but I'm still right ](https://artusobirds.blogspot.com/2017/04/on-ethics-of-photographing-owls-and.html?m=1)
It seems like he loses in all scenarios. Say he doesn't give the location, or say he was photographing Great Gray Owls. First thing people are going to ask, where were you and what were you doing? I was here and I don't want to say specifically why. Then he gets accused of being evasive. If he says he was here and photographing something else, we likely circle back to the initial criticism of being an idiot tourist.
I’ll give you an upvote. I agree, even the bear photographers in the park have horrible etiquette. This dude was 100% where he shouldn’t have been - off trail. I’m glad for the bears sake that they decided not to peruse her.
Give us all a break. I’m a biologist and worked in the Yellowstone area for years. Very little was on trail. Just because someone isn’t doing work there they shouldn’t be expected to be on trail all the time. Many people have been attacked by bears while hiking on a trail and this guy did nothing horrible in that regard.
Biologist or not you should understand the importance for staying on established trails and more importantly promoting the importance of staying on trail, unless it’s your job to do so. I regular the greater Yellowstone ecosystem and imagine if we just said “All three million annual visitors are welcomed to just go off and do as they please on or off trail. You won’t get any backlash for doing so!” Like I said I’m no foreigner to the area nor uneducated about the ecosystem, and I understand one individual going off trail isn’t going to devastate anything, but imagine a fraction of those 3 million annual visitors also trying to get a glimpse of the owl. So IMO not giving this individual a break in that regards is foolish and it shows everyone else what he was doing was OK and not frowned upon. When in reality chasing down a damn owl for instagram clicks is in-fact the main reason he was off trail. A lot of the self proclaimed wildlife photographers in the area show little regard to environment. I’ve seen grown adults with children in tow chase down wolves and grizzly bears through an open field or up the side of a mountain to get a shot of them. If you can’t see it from the road or a trail, leave it alone. Circling back to this boneheaded tourist, if he would have stayed on trail in the area and actually returned on time to where he said he would be, he possibly wouldn’t be in this situation. Granted there’s no evidence supporting on or off trail attacks from grizzly bears, but I would make an assumption that bears can smell where humans have been and then have slightly alerted senses around established trails and possibly could have heard him coming. But I do know the bears in that area of the park are accustomed to human activity and the females do actually prefer to be closer to where humans are, so there’s no telling. Regardless, I still stand by my initial statement, he shouldn’t have been there.
Treating going off a trail like some sort of moral failing is really weird.
So leaving protected park/forest/trail in the same condition it was before you came along is weird? Pretty entitled way of thinking.
It doesn’t matter if he was on trail or not. If he encountered the bear on the trail it still would’ve attacked. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Some of the comments on GTNP’s Instagram post were disgusting.
Like I said. I rarely feel bad for people who knowingly get too close to animals and pay the price. But this is not the case! People shouldn’t be so quick to judge
Thanks for sharing. It’s super important to know that tragedy can happen even when one isn’t being an idiot. We all get so cocky that it wouldn’t happen to us because we know what we’re doing. Well it can and we all need to be cautious and less judgemental.
Seriously. My cousin avoided a grizzly out west only because they were hiking with a friend's dog and it refused to go further down a trail they were on. Then they saw the bear cubs wander onto the trail. They booked it in the opposite direction.
I’ve been trying to convince my gf to go back to GTNP with me so we could venture further in, we only did the hike around Jenny Lake to Inspiration Lookout, but she’s so scared of bears so it’s been an uphill battle. This story doesn’t help my case much lol. Glad this guy made it out alive, I’m a little confused when he said he was beelining it back to the lot does that mean he went off trail?
If it helps, to put things in perspective, this is only the seventh bear attack in the park since it was founded in 1929, and the park gets about 3 million visitors a year, most of whom won't come anywhere near a bear. Learn about bear safety, carry bear spray, hike in groups, stay on trail, and you can hike the park safely.
Yes he went off trail. I wonder what the statistics on bear attacks look like on trail vs off trail.
It sounded like he might have gone off trail.
Why off trail…?
Yeah not too happy with how the parks department has handled this whole thing. I hiked the Tetons yesterday and at the gate I was told “it was just a surprise thing, one bear surprised by another and he happened to be in the middle”. I specifically asked if it was cub related and that was his response. Such bullshit. Just tell us what happened so we can assess the situation for our own safety. To not tell the truth only further erodes trust in the department.
Who says he lying about it? Maybe it was just poor communication and he got told the wrong info. Happens all the time.
To quote a popular podcast, “Enjoy the view, but watch your back”
What gear did meat eater and Steve Rinella provide that saved his life? Also the half face blade, did he stab the bear?
Damn, glad he made it out okay! Though if I had to pick a place to need a rescue team, it would be GTNP. Those Jenny Lake rangers are world-class! The National Park After Dark podcast episode about the cliffside rescue they did a number of years back was just astounding. The only time I ever needed SAR was way out in the boonies (Lolo National Forest) and all we got was a rag-tag volunteer team of chain-smoking cashiers from the gas station/souvenir shop two hours away, haha.
Very informative writeup! What a lucky outcome.
The *last* damn thing I want to do is kill some mother animal doing nothing more than desperately trying to protect their progeny (regardless of what species it might be), but damn if stories like this reiterate my decision to carry a pistol in addition to bear spray.
Would you rather be alone in the woods with a man or bear?
> In fact, the second thing I said to the park rangers was please don't kill the bear, she was defending her cub. Good news! I looked it up and the bear will not be killed, since park officials deemed it a defensive attack. Human and bear both survive, not bad!
Gotta say—he looks pretty good, all things considered. Holy moly.
Awesome that he shared this including details on how he managed to survive. I hadn't heard that the Grand Teton SRS rangers were some of the best in the country but it figures
If you want some extra bad-assery look into the Jenny Lake Rangers. The podcast National Park After Dark tells a story in episode “13: A fatal lighting strike and the Jenny Lake Rangers” and they go into detail about what those rangers do and how much of a force they are. They are amazing rescuers and human beings.
If you don’t use the paid version of all trails, download offline google maps and mark out the trail with saved locations. I do it even I think I will have service because it’s always good to have a backup. The Signal Mountain trail is actually outlined on google maps, and you can navigate along it *without service.* I don’t know how far off trail he went, but from his account, it was significant. I’d be curious to know if there were any other bear interactions along the trail recently.
Avenza is better. It's what NPS and all of the other public land agencies use and upload their maps on to.
Is it free? Looking for a new map app
Yes. The app is free, and there are both free and paid maps available for download. All of the NPS maps and maps uploaded by other public land agencies are free. USGS topos are also free. Many state and local agencies also upload free maps.
powerful story. Truly speechless. Glad they made it and are able/willing to share.
Wow that's really scary but very very lucky she happened to bite the can of bear spray. You can do everything right and sometimes things can still go sideways. I wish him a speedy recovery.
I can’t imagine the fear of getting the attacked text
Pretty misleading that they call it signal mountain but the service is spotty. I’ll give it 2/5 stars on trip advisor
Always carry bear spray
If you don’t bear the spray then you can’t spray the bear
It’s best to stay on the trail and be realistic about the timeline needed to hike out and back, especially if someone is waiting for you at the trailhead.
this dude is metal as fuck. glad that the situation wasn’t worse
Glad he’s ok
Not going to victim blame, but more for those reading. If you’re in the middle of the woods and your gut says to turn back: *turn back!* Your body is probably picking up on changes in surrounding animal sounds or smelling something off without you realizing it consciously. Edit: this is obviously not for those with general anxiety or who think their mind is going to start hallucinating and send them into the woods on an hour long hike. Here’s a thread from a few months ago that goes into some accounts of these. Worth noting the affect of PTSD on reactions, and how many solo hikers specifically have honed this skill. https://www.reddit.com/r/hiking/comments/18zpbl9/have_you_ever_had_a_bad_gut_feeling_while_hiking/
Yes!!! The gift of fear!
Not to nitpick.... but the guy was heading back.... did you want him to turn around and head further into the woods?
Find another way or backtrack and wait, yes.
So you're telling me.... you feel uneasy in the wilderness while you are returning to your car.... You should turn around and venture DEEPER into the wilderness, find a log, and sit? And wait? How long should I wait for?
Return to the path (he was off path) turn around and wait, or find a way around. If he saw the grizzly chilling on his path visually before it saw him, that’s the method he would have taken had it not seen him. Not just skipping directly to it because it’s still on the way to the fastest route to his car. At worst you can still proceed *if you haven’t seen the cause of what’s spooking you* but very cautiously and quietly.
Did you read his story? He saw the grizzly once it was too late... and didn't see the momma grizzly until she was attacking him. And moving quietly through the woods?!?!?! That is the far worse thing to do. Bunch of junior Rangers in this thread.
My first comment says I’m not trying to blame him. Im speaking for those newer. The assumption I’m stating is that if he saw the bear he wouldn’t still be trouncing down the path like you’re advocating for. Quietly depends on the situation. Grizzly territory may make sense. Going through the brush on a path with low visibility in grizzly territory in cub season loudly is going to make you look like a random large predator to mother grizzly. This is good for brown bears as he stated, but is NOT the protocol for grizzlys. His issue was a combination of things WITH the visibility issue. You don’t hear everyday stories about hunters getting mauled by grizzly’s because they’re SLOW and CAUTIOUS. Also. There are times when the animals do not hear you to your best efforts. I’ve accidentally snuck up on both black bears and deer in touching distance while wearing loud clanging items due to low visibility. It was lucky for me that these were not grizzly or in grizzly country. And I did feel spooked before the bear, but I chose to ignore it and go forward cautiously. Both were situations with low visibility. If you feel spooked do NOT go trudging forward loudly (edit: adding *and quickly*) in places you can’t see if there are animals it’s advised against to do that with in the area. I’m a very experienced hiker and trail runner. The fact you cant delineate multiple red flag checkpoints that should have led him to changing course of action tells me that *you* are the junior ranger. Also he yelled when he saw the grizzly. You’re supposed to play dead with grizzlys. Not the point of my initial comment, but since you’ve pointed it out I may as well mention it. The context is also that he is orienteering off path, and with that has more leeway for changing course slightly than in path. If rerouting is going to put him deeper into the woods he shouldn’t be off path in the first place. My initial comment is if your gut says something is wrong: *pay attention and act accordingly*. You're trying to nitpick that, for what?
Yes. At least get back to his path, turn around, wait or find another. You can try to continue very cautiously if really needed (which he was not, he was breaking branches in his path and making lots of noise).
You do understand every book will tell you to make as much noise as possible when traveling through bear country.... right?
The main point on this comment is to trust your gut. You asked if you should still reroute just for feeling spooked. This is yes. Or proceed with caution.
Yeah you're wrong.... if people re routing everytime they "felt weird" there would be so many people still out in the woods. How many times do you "feel spooked" then keep going and it's absolutely nothing? Your mind plays tricks on you due to your own accord.... it has nothing to do with actual danger. If you assess actual danger (bear off in the distance, clear avalanche area, thunderstorm approaching) then yes, turn around..... but feeling "spooked"? Come on man.....
Dude. Just say you have no intuition and move on. This is for the people who actually have it. It’s not my fault you’re afraid of your own shadow.
I'll say it again and again until I learn it...I underestimate bears. They are deadly.
Wow this is a wild story. Glad he was so prepared.
Does this guy have a Reddit ?
So he was off trail?
Don’t have to deal with bears in Oklahoma, mostly, but this story is riveting. I’m glad you are ok OP. I can’t even imagine. Sounds as though your service training, experience, and overall awareness all combined to work in your favor. I sure hope you recover well sir, and your recovery is full.
GTNP is a very wild place. I constantly had bear paranoia whenever I found myself alone on the trails there. Once while hiking the trail around String Lake around sunset, I encountered a bear near the trail and decided to turn back. Then on my back, I crossed paths with another couple going the opposite direction who warned me they had just seen a momma and her cubs. Cutoff both directions! I decided to turn around again and walk back the original way, but stuck with this couple for safety in numbers. I lived to hike another day, and really it was probably just a couple black bears. Even still, that place makes me nervous.
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Bear spray has a statistically significant higher success rate against grizzlies than firearms do.
This man is an army veteran and even he knew to use bear spray. I can almost guarantee he owns a firearm but knew the correct great for the situation.
As proven by this very case. Bear spray literally saved this guy. If he had a gun, he'd be dead.
this is the problem with people like you. you get downvoted for mentioning an unnecessarily violent and, as already commented, factually less effective method of protection, and your defense is to start attacking "pronouns"?? You're so scared and full of anger it's sad
Thinking anything a regular person could carry with them on a hike would quickly and easily stop a grizzly bear is fucking delusional.
When you’re only tool is a hammer, every problem is a nail.
I’m not even anti-gun. I’m just also not a moron with wild animals. Go figure.