Forum Index > Trail Talk > Are Bear Attacks a Concern in Washington State?
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Brushwork
Food truck



Joined: 18 Aug 2018
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Brushwork
Food truck
PostWed Sep 11, 2019 4:32 pm 
Fullripbrian wrote:
I’m your huckleberry.
Lol Good to see some humor! All the bears that I have seen have either taken off like a shot, or were wary. As to any that I haven’t seen....,obviously they didn’t want to be.

When I grow up I wanna play.
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Randito
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Randito
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PostWed Sep 11, 2019 7:19 pm 
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Bootpathguy
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PostWed Sep 11, 2019 7:45 pm 
I have surprised 4 black in my adventures. 3 recently checking trail cameras. Even "surprised", they've choosen flight, instead of fight. 2 of those 3 were very curious. They ran to a distance that they were comfortable with, stopped, stood on there hind legs and sniffed the air. Yes! Of course I followed. Wildlife nerd It's the beginning of rutting season here. I was charged by a bull elk today. I'm way more cautious around them then I am a black bear ( mother's with cubs excluded )

Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want
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Brucester
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PostWed Sep 11, 2019 8:20 pm 
Maybe a few years ago reports of Williams Lake aggressive bear? A few years ago. Don't see the movie "Backcountry." I always get asked if I carry a side arm or bear spray. I carry neither. I've seen very few bears in Washington although I did see the largest near Stehekin back in '02. He bounded down hill crossing the PCT and kept going. VW bug sized crossed my mind.... Respect all bears equally! Don't listen to folks claiming black bears aren't dangerous.

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Just_Some_Hiker
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PostWed Sep 11, 2019 8:50 pm 
Personally I'm far more worried about cougars than bears in WA. I've had a couple interesting run-ins, and I've been stalked on more than one occasion. Had a REALLY close encounter a couple months ago in my backyard after a cougar ate my landlord's cat and dog.

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Joseph
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Joseph
Joseph
PostWed Sep 11, 2019 8:52 pm 
I've never carried any kind of bear spray or other anti-bear device in the wilderness - but I've mostly backpacked in the central cascades and mt rainier. The other day at Sunrise lodge on our aborted WT thru hike, we were approached by a hiker/tourist if we wanted their bear spray cannister. We declined. A while later they had to close the women's restroom because someone had emptied a bear spray in the restroom (not sure if same hiker). Just a couple of weeks ago my company issued a warning that a cougar and bear had been sighted near our campus. About 10 years ago a man was mauled by a black bear in Kitsap county lowlands. The threat from black bears is real, but I have to admit that I don't really hike or backpack in fear like I might if I was doing so in grizzly country. https://www.seattletimes.com/subscribe/signup-offers/?pw=redirect&subsource=paywall&return=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/port-orchard-man-attacked-by-bear-is-in-satisfactory-shape/

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Cyclopath
Faster than light



Joined: 20 Mar 2012
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Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostWed Sep 11, 2019 9:23 pm 
Bootpathguy wrote:
I have surprised 4 black in my adventures. 3 recently checking trail cameras. Even "surprised", they've choosen flight, instead of fight
A black bear and I surprised each other while I was riding a bike and it was ambling across the gravel road I was on. It saw me, jumped in obvious startlement, and ran away. I waited a few minutes and rode back the way I came.
Brucester wrote:
Respect all bears equally!
Except my cat named Bear, he has no dignity, he gets love but not respect.

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Foist
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Foist
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PostThu Sep 12, 2019 8:46 am 
21 years of hiking in Washington State and I have still never even *seen* a bear on a hike. I think I once might have heard one crashing away in the bushes after I rounded a corner.

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DadFly
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PostThu Sep 12, 2019 9:04 am 
Everything is fine until it isn't. 90% of the bears I have run into have scattered in terror. Even a couple with cubs just sent their cub up a tree and rocketted a safe distance away. But there have been a few times where bear spray would have been good to have. One time in particular I thought I was going to die fighting a young bear in the northern Yaak valley. He had probably never seen a human before. Anyway, I carry bear spray in spring or any time I think bears in general are going to be particularly hungry. When the berries are out, no worries.

"May you live in interesting times"
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thunderhead
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PostThu Sep 12, 2019 9:08 am 
Short answer: no. Long answer: also no.

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DigitalJanitor
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DigitalJanitor
Dirt hippie
PostThu Sep 12, 2019 11:15 am 
Bootpathguy wrote:
It's the beginning of rutting season here. I was charged by a bull elk today. I'm way more cautious around them then I am a black bear ( mother's with cubs excluded )
Good plan. I remember talking to a local trail builder, and he said the ONLY reason he'd ever want to pack heat was due to encounters with bull elk in rut... he and his dog had got to play run-around-the-tree with a few over the years.

~Mom jeans on wheels
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Backpacker Joe
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Backpacker Joe
Blind Hiker
PostThu Sep 12, 2019 11:42 am 
Any and all things are possible! One cannot predict the future. All we can do is prepare for what is possible! Preparation is all. I carry a gun because my life is important to me, and I want to be prepared should something happen. if nothing ever does all Ive done ia carry around a little extra weight. Not to much to burden.

"If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide." — Abraham Lincoln
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Schenk
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Location: Traveling, with the bear, to the other side of the Mountain
Schenk
Off Leash Man
PostThu Sep 12, 2019 12:29 pm 
Unless you practice at the range regularly, can draw like J.W. Hardin, and are a crack shot like him to boot...bring bear spray instead of that which cannot be named or spoken of. It is unlikely anyone is going to make a kill shot on the first try. A wounded bear (black or grizzly) is far more dangerous and then will probably not stop attacking until you, or the bear, is dead. That said...the black bears I have encountered in Washington Cascades have been scared-y cats and wanted nothing to do with me. That made me sad...I just need a (bear) hug...

Nature exists with a stark indifference to humans' situation.
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Cyclopath
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Cyclopath
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PostThu Sep 12, 2019 12:47 pm 
Foist wrote:
21 years of hiking in Washington State and I have still never even *seen* a bear on a hike. I think I once might have heard one crashing away in the bushes after I rounded a corner.
I've seen more bears while riding a bike on closed and decommissioned gravel roads than hiking on trails. Convinced they want to avoid us.

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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?



Joined: 25 Jul 2008
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Bedivere
Why Do Witches Burn?
PostThu Sep 12, 2019 3:35 pm 
This:
thunderhead wrote:
Short answer: no. Long answer: also no.
And also this:
Cyclopath wrote:
Foist wrote:
21 years of hiking in Washington State and I have still never even *seen* a bear on a hike. I think I once might have heard one crashing away in the bushes after I rounded a corner.
I've seen more bears while riding a bike on closed and decommissioned gravel roads than hiking on trails. Convinced they want to avoid us.

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