[pasayten]

On the Methow BB from an encounter on Wolf Creek Rd...

[Bernardo]

gb, pasayton those are some interesting bear encounters. Pasayton, did you shoot that video? That's a magnificent animal. Look at the size of the head. And that's not even a real big bear. I'd guess 200 lbs, but maybe some folks have a better eye for such estimates. Not sure what was going on there. Was it just curious? Did it associate people with food?

[pasayten]

Not my encounter... Just another member's post on the BB... Kyle Northcott It was a great and interesting video... Thought the bear was going to open the car door and look inside!

[omhk]

Saw a bear in the Silent Lakes area of the North Cascades this weekend. It sauntered through the lakes area then down into Grizzly Creek. We had seen fresh scat all through the Fisher Basin but were really shocked to see one so high up. There was one other group of people up there at the lakes who fell apparently forgot to close their bear canister and were hustling back from their day hike to get back to it. Lucky for them the bear dropped immediately down into Grizzly Creek. It was a windy day, so maybe it couldn't smell the food in the canister? On our descent back to Fisher Basin, we saw what we were pretty sure were bear tracks in the snowfield. I know bears are much more sure-footed than us humans, but it was pretty crazy to see it come up into such rugged terrain

[texasbb]

Saw one today. Smooth Ridge trail in the Washington Blues, just north of McBain Spring. Rounded a bend and saw him/her maybe 20 yards ahead. We locked eyes for a moment, then s/he tucked tail and ran. Small blackie, so small I was worried there might be a mom around, but never saw or heard such. Might have been a small female. Always fun to see them.

[BigBrunyon]

Heavy Bear presences can be felt up western side Pasayten! Some of those areas up there, either basins or creeksides, look you can just tell there's a heavy presence...

[timberghost]

Saw 2 bears both on the road into South Navarre TH on Friday and lots of sign off the road. Looks like some thinning out is in store.

[thunderhead]

Saw a mother and 2 cubs recently at a certain semi suburban trail within the confines of the seattle metro area. Cute! Also there were elk eating the grass at the maple valley taco bell.

[RumiDude]

I think my all time favorite bear encounter was when I took my father to the North Cascades. We had parked the truck and had gone out exploring. We were coming back to the truck when my father said "that's a big dog there." I replied, "Pop, that's not a dog, that's a bear." Rumi

[Brushbuffalo]

[pcg]

Here's a short video of a grizzly sow and two cubs my wife and I encountered in BC a little over a week ago. It was shot with a 300 mm lens so the bears were farther away than they appear. It's not great quality, but it's a decent depiction of a typical encounter I think. We were out in the middle of a large meadow when I spotted them (they were in a low area that hid them from view until we were about 150 yds away), and my first thought was there were no trees to climb and nowhere to hide from view. We were down wind, and the bears were slowly working there way across the meadow and angling closer to us. I didn't want to try to hide somewhere in case they grazed much closer and then discovered us at close range. So I made sure they saw us as soon as possible, while we were still far away and thus would hopefully appear less threatening to them. We slowly climbed up on a large boulder, they saw us, paid little attention, and we waited for an hour, until they had grazed past where we wanted to go, and we proceeded without incident. To me it is a luxury to roam across OR and WA and not have concerns for grizzly bears. On the other hand I love the wild lands of BC and experiences like this, but it's definitely a more stressful experience for me knowing there are grizzly bears around. I know some who hardly give it a second thought. https://vimeo.com/298877974

[Bernardo]

Hey pcg, That is a great encounter. It must get the adrenalin flowing to see those bears in the wild. Not surprising them sounds like a very good idea.

[BigBrunyon]

I's up northeast olys up ridge south of dose crested into the meadows and there was one there it was probably only bout a boot sprint away luckily i could tell right off it wasn't grizz

[wolffie]

Boundary Waters Canoe Area, northern MN wilderness, 1960's. Popular campsite on Lake Insula. There was a note warning that a bear was raiding the campsite, so my uncle followed all the routine precautions with extra care. All food packs (large canvas "Duluth packs" for canoe travel) were left open in the middle of a large bare rock slab, tarped over and covered with all of our empty cans and pots, so no bear could get at it without making a racket. No food in the tents of course. My uncle slept with his army .45 under his pillow. Of course, I had to take a crap in the middle of the night. After wishing it would simply go away for an hour or so, I padded back to the crapper in my shorts. Trying to relax upon the seat of ease, I got that feeling that I was being watched -- just like in the scary stories. Slowly, slowly, I turned around and suddenly flashed my light behind me. Two big, yellow eyes shone brightly at me, perhaps 6 feet away, at face level. To this day, it's the only flying squirrel I've ever seen. In the morning, we found the bear had cleaned us out. All the cans and pots had been silently carried to the one available grassy spot. Peanut butter jars, powdered milk envelopes, all cleaner than a dishwasher could get them. We had a couple cans of Spam for about 8 kids and 2 adults (remember when Spam was something you could eat?). Luckily, it was our last day, so no big deal.

[reststep]

Not my story but thought I would post it here. Interesting bear encounter story on the Ptarmigan Traverse