HikeArizona.COM

Check this out
http://www.hcn.org/blogs/range/rethinki ... ly-country

I take back what I said in mnlumberjack's triplog about who God protects ...

Interesting article, but it doesn't tell the whole story. I was in Yellowstone in January and did a one day photo tour with Alpen Guides. My guide, who has been working in Yellowstone for years, said that the bear that killed the man by the lake was put down after she and the two cubs were found in the area of the other hiker who was killed. The cubs were placed with the Grizzly Encounter at West Yellowstone for lives as zoo animals. What the article did not say is that the DNA of 7 grizzlies was found on the remains of the lone hiker. My guide is now very concerned that there are 4 grizzlies out there who have fed on a human and may possibly see humans as food sources now. It is something to think about if you are hiking in Yellowstone this year.

I can only imagine hiking in an area that has these magnificent, yet dangerous, animals. Grizzly iconography is prevalent here in California, but they're no longer here. The grizzlies that used to roam many parts of California were reputed to not hibernate much if at all, and grew to a size rivaling Kodiak brown (grizzly) bears. They were also reputed to be quite ill-tempered, as are grizzlies in general, but I'm sure a lot of that mystique is due to overstatement and the mists of time. The story of a mellow grizzly eating grass before running from a vaquero is not as likely to stand the test of time as much as a story about a grizzly that rips someone a new one.

I can only imagine having to make choices on where to hike based upon the presence of animals that are quite ready to dispatch any human that crosses their gaze. "We can't go there, that's where the bear lives." "Do we have a rifle, and is it big enough?" The interesting article that Sredfield thankfully posted indicates that human foolishness is the cause of many recent fatalities at the paws of grizzlies, and it's hard to not believe that people so unfortunate either lived out their lives as "tenderfeet" or sometimes never came back from a trip to the mountains.

It's a different world nowadays. Buy a bunch of gear at REI, Summit Hut, or wherever....a plane ticket...a few nights at a lodge...and one is hiking in grizzly country. It must be a thrill, but most people fail to realize that Mama Nature is most adept at killing human beings in a wide variety of ways. Although the grizzly is gone from most of its former range in the Lower 48, it is still only one factor in the equation of one's action + conditions + luck = chances of mortality. I always wonder what the landscape was like, what animals were prevalent, how dangerous it was, etc. only a few centuries earlier when I hike. Grizzlies are no longer part of the equation for the vast majority of us, and neither are mountain lions for that matter. However, the great bears inspire awe, reverence, and fear even after they've been gone for almost a century.

I purchased a book relatively recently about what California was like long ago: 'A State of Change: Forgotten California Landscapes' by Laura Cunningham (I'd buy a version about Arizona or anywhere else in the West in a heartbeat), and it really captures what life was like before the train whistle and repeating rifle tamed the West.

How long could you survive after kicking a bear in the balls?

http://theoatmeal.com/quiz/bear_balls

Just a coincidence I happened to run across this ...

@kingsnake
That's frigging funny! I can last 37 seconds.

Wow, and I was proud of my 27 seconds!

Oh, snap! 12 Seconds

34 seconds - enough time to outrun my friend!

@kingsnake I was 27 too. One of us needs to be a second faster! Is it cheating if I trip you? Or do I just wait for you to run into something with your head???

Wow. And here I thought 37 seconds was a bad thing.

Outdoor Lover wrote:@kingsnake I was 27 too. One of us needs to be a second faster! Is it cheating if I trip you? Or do I just wait for you to run into something with your head???

I head butt grizzlies.

@kevinweitzel75
It is. That's what I put for holding my breath during a "bear hug".....

Wendi is not feeling very secure anymore. I told her it was a joke... Right? I am at least a bigger meal than 12 seconds.

The bears were there first. It's called the wilderness for a reason.