During my backpacking days, almost 3 decades, I had many close encounters. Also heard probably hundreds of stories from fellow backpackers about their encounters. These were all Black Bear encounters…. I have encountered a couple of Grizzlies but from a distance and no threat.
Two main reasons Black Bears will threaten you which I’m sure you know - food and a mom with her cubs. They can, and do, occasionally pose a threat for other reasons but that is extremely rare. I’m not sure I have ever heard of a threat, (from a fellow backpacker), that was not food or cub related.
By far the majority of encounters I had, and those I met who also had close encounters, were food related. You do NOT want have even a trace smell of anything fragrant on you while sleeping. Toothpaste can get ya mauled. I came across a Mom and cubs a few times… twice the mom threatened me with a ‘false’ charge. But my closest encounter, and it doesn’t get any closer than this… was:
(Love telling this story). My very first ever “long” backpacking trip. 80 miles. It was my second night out. I had counter-balanced my food from a tree limb about a 100’ away from where I was sleeping. While in my sleeping bag I always have a flashlight at hand. During the night I heard what I thought for sure was “something” going for my food hanging on that tree limb. I used my backpack as a pillow so I slowly turned to my stomach and aimed my flashlight at where I calculated the food bag was hanging. It was pitch black, no moon. Then I clicked on my flashlight. A bear had smelled something in my backpack and was sniffing it, I’d guess 3” from my face. My instinctive reaction was to mimic a Daffy Duck tantrum. I did a great impersonation and scared the living hell out of the bear who is probably still headed for safer pastures.
One other tale of an encounter somewhat funny…. I had taken a shower along the trail at Red Meadows Hot Springs. I was headed back to my tent and was passing a garbage bin. As I got about 20’ from it a small bear, maybe 100lbs, came out of the bin and snarled at me… charging just a few feet then stopping. It was a stand-off. I HAD to pass that bin to get to my tent. So I’d try a couple of steps and every time I did the bear would ‘false’ charge and growl ferociously. This must have gone on for 20 minutes… long enough that it drew an audience watching the bear and me. Some of the audience were shouting “Go for it” while others suggested I “retreat and get the hell out of there”. Eventually the bear turned and began walking away, directly toward my tent. I followed, at a safe distance. He, or she, bypassed my tent and that was that.
I have met a couple of people who got physically attacked but no serious injuries. The worst was a guy who was munching M&M’s in his sleeping bag. The bear bit into his sleeping and started dragging him across the ground and on one re-bite to get a better grip he got the guys leg. Some bad lacerations, that definitely required stitches, and I met him at Edison lake and gave him a ride to a hospital… during the trip he told me this story.
Both the above stories took place before bear canisters were invented, (small storage bin that a bear can’t get into). Since bear canisters came along, now required in most places that have bears, bears have learned people are not the food source they once were and I hear encounters have dropped drastically.
