How do you protect yourself from quick and intense bear attack like this?

I used to work in the bush in Canada so when you spend 100-200 days per year in bear habitat, you tend to see more of them.

The best way I know of to not to see any bears (other than to not have food in your sleep tent and store and process your food properly) is to buy expensive black bear tags during hunting season. I know that usually results in me seeing NONE..........
 
Early in July a friend and I will take our bicycles up to Northern Montana, just to the West of Glacier National Park and head South for 3 weeks roughly following along a route called the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR).

That start area is known to have a high concentration of Grizzly. Every year hundreds (or even thousands) of people follow the same route. I am not aware of a single grizzly attack that has occurred on that route in the decade or so it has been in use.

I am well aware that they are there and I will follow due caution. I will have bear spray and be loud and generally obnoxious while moving on the trails. Food bag goes up a tree or in a locker (if available) when camped and no chow in the tent.

The community that uses that route all are aware of the bears and many of us are quite scared of an encounter and take appropriate caution. The reward side of the equation should be obvious: the chance to take in some of the most beautiful country in the world in a physically challenging manner.

Bears aren't the real risk though. Automobiles are far more deadly to cyclists than wildlife, and their range is far broader.
 
Early in July a friend and I will take our bicycles up to Northern Montana, just to the West of Glacier National Park and head South for 3 weeks roughly following along a route called the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR).
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That sounds amazing. And worth the risk.

I think there's something primeval in this fascination with bear attacks. As a species we haven't spent that much time at the top of the food chain. As others have pointed out bears are not a big risk relative to other contemporary threats.
 
dont ever camp in bear country is best defense , if you must stay inside RV or other protected shelter, not flimsy tent.

also carry a Glock 20 10mm pistol for sidearm and a 12 ga shotgun loaded with magnum slugs.

Alaska State Troopers use the G20
 
A few years ago, I was reading through the Alaska game stats on bear attacks. As I remember it, full on 25% of the bear attacks happened so fast that an armed human couldn't pull a firearm before the attack was in progress.
These things happen.
 
ghbucky said:
Early in July a friend and I will take our bicycles up to Northern Montana, just to the West of Glacier National Park and head South for 3 weeks roughly following along a route called the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route (GDMBR).

That start area is known to have a high concentration of Grizzly. Every year hundreds (or even thousands) of people follow the same route. I am not aware of a single grizzly attack that has occurred on that route in the decade or so it has been in use.

I am well aware that they are there and I will follow due caution. I will have bear spray and be loud and generally obnoxious while moving on the trails. Food bag goes up a tree or in a locker (if available) when camped and no chow in the tent.

The community that uses that route all are aware of the bears and many of us are quite scared of an encounter and take appropriate caution. The reward side of the equation should be obvious: the chance to take in some of the most beautiful country in the world in a physically challenging manner.

Bears aren't the real risk though. Automobiles are far more deadly to cyclists than wildlife, and their range is far broader.
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Your route goes through Columbia Falls, about 15 miles west of this encounter: A grizzly bear attacked and killed a 38-year-old mountain biker Wednesday as he was riding along a trail just outside Glacier National Park. Columbia Falls won't have any bears but north of that your route hits the western boundary of the Park.

Having said that, thousands of hikers and campers spend the night in Glacier each year and don't have a problem. This attack was really a freak event. I only bring it up as I live a couple hours away and it was big news after it happened.
 
Based on my extremely close encounter with a feral hog a couple of years ago, and how fast things happened, I’m sure that if a bear was surprisingly within 40 yards of you and decided to attack you, you would be in desperate straits. Maybe if you had a gun in your hand already, you’d get a shot or two in. That hog could have had me if he had wanted to. The speed was shocking.
 
If attacked by Mr. Griz or Mr. Brown, I would say to survive you would have to carry a big bore magnum and be faster and a better shot than Jerry Miculic with a 9mm on his best day.
 
If attacked by Mr. Griz or Mr. Brown, I would say to survive you would have to carry a big bore magnum and be faster and a better shot than Jerry Miculic with a 9mm on his best day.
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Your chances would be much better with bear spray than a firearm. A near miss with the spray can still stop a bear.

Your route goes through Columbia Falls, about 15 miles west of this encounter: A grizzly bear attacked and killed a 38-year-old mountain biker Wednesday as he was riding along a trail just outside Glacier National Park. Columbia Falls won't have any bears but north of that your route hits the western boundary of the Park.
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Well, the beast of logistics has made its attack on our plans. We will have to pick up the trail in Helena. So, no bear alley this year.
 
That start area is known to have a high concentration of Grizzly. Every year hundreds (or even thousands) of people follow the same route. I am not aware of a single grizzly attack that has occurred on that route in the decade or so it has been in use.
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I've been away for a while, so I could not update this thread.

The day before my friend and I left for our bikepacking trip, there was a fatal bear attack on a bikepacker in a camp in Ovando, MT. I don't know any of the people involved, but from what I have read it seems that they had food in their tents when the bear entered camp. They ran it off with spray and secured their food, but the bear returned later and killed a woman in her tent.

The bear was causing trouble in the area before the event, (raiding chicken coops) and the bear has since been dispatched and positively identified.

My friend and I had entertained the idea of starting the route at the Canadian border but this event clinched our decision to start out in Helena.

In a touch of irony, on our first camp night we had an unknown bear pass through our camp and took a big leak a few feet from my tent. (our food was hung in a tree roughly 50 yards away)
 
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Best Bear deterrent ever!

Years ago I was camping in Bear country and in the middle of the night my German Shepherd dog growled and flew out of the tent and something big crashed away thru the underbrush! I was not sure what it was until the next morning when bear prints were found a few feet from my tent! WOW!:eek:
 
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