Bear spray in Montana/Wyoming

[Nodust]

About a year ago, there was a post here in White Blaze with a link to a Grizzly Bear instructional video. It was something like an hour long and showed in detail why you need bear spray in Grizzly country and shows the importance of keeping the spray handy to be used in an instance. I seem to recall he suggested (nearly required) a chest harness, and showed how you have to wait until the bear is close enough before you use it (because spraying at a bear 50' away isn't going to accomplish anything).

Anyone know how to find that video... perhaps recall the name of the instructor?


What a minute, I think I found it:
Dr. Tom Smith

Thanks for the video. I'm heading to Glacier in September for some hiking. Can't get too educated.

[Marta]

I'm joining this a bit late, but agree with most of what has been said. Yes, bear spray. Yes, holster. Not required, but recommended for backcountry hikers in Glacier. Costs about $40 to buy in local stores. CounterAssault and UDAP are basically the same. I'd go for the large can, the one that can spray for 10 seconds.

Here's a link to some videos on how to use the bear spray. You should practice taking the safety clip off--outside and away from kids and pets. It's wicked stuff. Every hotel and restaurant and store in the area has stories of customers playing with their bear spray and having to evacuate the building.
http://www.udap.com/video.htm


The Kalispell airport is the only one at which I've been specifically asked if I have bear spray in my luggage--it's a prohibited item.

Last night driving home from dinner in Polebridge (the Northern Lights Saloon is open for the season, yay!) we saw a sow and three cubs next to the Camas Road. I think I'm at 8 or 9 moose and four bears sighted so far this year. Still no wolf or mountain lion sightings, darn it.

Have I ever used bear spray? No, I have not. Do I usually carry it? Yes, I do.

[magic_game03]

The Kalispell airport is the only one at which I've been specifically asked if I have bear spray in my luggage--it's a prohibited item.

Last night driving home from dinner in Polebridge (the Northern Lights Saloon is open for the season, yay!) we saw a sow and three cubs next to the Camas Road. I think I'm at 8 or 9 moose and four bears sighted so far this year. Still no wolf or mountain lion sightings, darn it.

Have I ever used bear spray? No, I have not. Do I usually carry it? Yes, I do.

Kalispell airport is the only airport that has ever prevented me from flying with bear spray in my checked luggage. They have many signs that explicitly state that bear spray is not permitted. interestingly enough, TSA allows pepper spray at a capsaicin active ingredient level of bear spray, but leaves it up to the airline to determine if they will allow it. Still, the TSA at Kalispell completely prohibits it. 10-K is driving so it shouldn't matter.

On another note, I HAD THE VERY FIRST PASTRY SOLD AT POLEBRIDGE THIS YEAR! I was there on opening day! Man it was delicious (and so is their coffee.)

Funny story. I stayed at the Coal Creek campground on my way to Polebridge. In the morning my rental car had a dead battery. Of course it's in April so there was absolutely nobody, not a soul, there at the campground. After a couple of hours of trying to get a jump I finally get somebody passing through there (N. Fork Rd.) with cables. So I lead him over to my car, jump in to unlatch the hood, jump out to open the hood and on my exit I shut the door…with the keys inside. And of course the car does an auto lock. I've now got a dead battery and I just locked the keys in the car. So I'm in the middle of nowhere, with a dead batter, and I've now locked the keys in my car with my wallet and phone. Needless to say it's April and all I've got on is a tee-shirt, shorts and crocs. I'm going to shorten this story a bit (many thanks to the Polebridge merch who gave me a ride all the way to the Blue Moon) by saying I hitched all the way to Whitefish, got spare keys from the Hertz main office, and hitched back to Coal Creek by 1pm that day. The merch also gave me a set of jumper-cables so that when I finally got back to my car I'd have them. I'm sure that story got pass around a bit up in Polebridge. I also suspect that I was quite a site, standing there on the side of 40, in April, in nothing but a tee-shirt, shorts, crocs, and holding a pair of jumper cables.

Anyway, after banging on many doors between the closed permit office and GNP headquarters I finally got a permit for Bowman. The ranger who issued the permit told me that there were no other permits issued for that part of the park, so I would be the only hiker in the NW corner of the park. I can't tell you how awesome it was to have to have that corner of the park all to my self. Not one car, tourist, hiker or ranger for my entire hike in Glacier…and it was sunny the entire time.

[Marta]

That trip sounds…memorable.

Self-locking car doors are an abomination.