Of all the photos that I have of bears from across the nation, the one above is my favorite. It's blurred, the exposure sucks, and I had to use Photoshop to turn it enough to be level. The photo was taken as an afterthought just before the Griz vanished from sight following an encounter on the north shore of Shoshone Lake, right at the turnoff to campsite 8S3. I've recounted the incident in detail on the Carnivora side of our website, so I won't repeat all of it here.

In short, I had a run-in with a really pissed-off Griz that lasted, probably, for less than a minute, one of the most intense minutes of my life. Check out the link above for the full story.

The next photo, below this text, is one that shows the bear scat that gave me my first hint that there was a bear nearby. There was so little that I just didn't think, "Griz!", thinking that it was probably a small black bear. Never-the-less, I started making a lot more noise, just in case. I was checking out the campsite, and probably walked right by the bear several times, possibly within a few feet. It finally tired of my presence and charged. For a few moments, we had a fine standoff, but then I sprayed it with some good ol' UDAP pepper spray (fine stuff, it is indeed!), and the bear moved on.

That's the short version. It was one hell of an experience and it's hard to find the words to put it into focus. I'm glad that both the bear and I came through the experience OK, though we both got our fill of the pepper spray. That's where the 3'rd photo comes in - after spraying the bear, I failed to notice that I had the stuff all over my fingers and managed to rub it into my eyes. Bad move! I suppose that I had it coming though - it's what I get for interfering with the otherwise peaceful existence of the Griz.

I found out after I got back to the Grant Village backcountry ranger station that a couple of fellows had been attacked by what was probably the same bear one day previous to my encounter. Bear management closed the region down to give the Griz time to cool down, a necessary move that avoids further conflict and possible injury to either the bear or passing hikers. (Link to a newspaper account in the Bozeman paper about the other two hikers that encountered the bear.)

It was an exciting end to one of the better trips that I've had into the Yellowstone backcountry over the past few years. I've learned to stop in at the Grant Village ranger station when I'm planning a backcountry hike in southern Yellowstone. The rangers there know the backcountry like the back of their hands and never fail to recommend some place memorable for me to visit. While I was there filing the bear report, I picked up a permit for the western shore of Heart Lake, again relying on their advice as to which site to stay at. The suggestions were excellent, and I'll follow this series of pages with some that cover the Heart Lake trip.