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| Had to show off my cool new kicks |
As I was gearing up and planning my route, it suddenly occurred to me that this wasn't going to be my typical city park run. I was about to head out alone into the Alaskan wilderness – aka bear country.
Bears are a major topic of discussion ‘round these parts. I
don’t think we have met a single local who doesn’t have a bear story. They are
literally everywhere. We've heard of sightings on hiking trails, along the
highway, around the city of Anchorage, and even in the grocery store:
Since neither Brandon nor I desire to become bear poop
anytime soon, we have been doing our homework about bear safety. We have the basics down on what NOT to do: don’t
surprise a bear. Don’t come between a mama and her cubs. Don’t carry food. Don’t get too close. Don’t
run from a bear.
It’s the “what to do” scenarios that are quite confusing and
honestly a little ridiculous. If attacked, there are some instances where you
are supposed to fight back and others where you are supposed to play dead. For example- fight back only if it’s a black
bear OR a grizzly that’s hungry but NOT if it’s a grizzly who just feels threatened.
Ha! “Excuse me, Mr. Grizzly. I see you are finding my leg quite tasty. Is that
because you are hungry or are you feeling threatened? Just wondering.”
Or this gem of advice, my personal favorite, from the Alaska
Department of Fish and Game:
“Talk to the bear in a normal voice. Wave your arms. You may try
to back away slowly diagonally, but Don't
Run. You can't outrun
a bear. They have been clocked at speeds up to 35 mph, and like dogs, they will
chase fleeing animals. Bears often make bluff charges, sometimes to within 10
feet of their adversary, without making contact. Continue waving your arms and
talking to the bear. If the bear gets too close, raise your voice and be more
aggressive.”
Is it just me, or would any sane human wanting to live
another day NOT stand around waving their arms when a 1,000 pound beast is
charging at you? Hopefully we never have to make that kind of decision, but we
did prepare nevertheless.
Happy first week of fall!
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| My bear spray |
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| Brandon's bear spray |
There are sources out there that say shooting a bear will
only make it more angry, and that some bears actually like the smell of bear spray. But we figure we’ll take that chance
over the arm waving and stern voice.
I felt a little silly lugging around a
Pam-sized spray bottle as I jogged around this afternoon, but luckily I didn't have to unleash
my mist of fury today. No bears in sight. The run was quite pretty, though:
