B.C. Bears are awake !

“Okay so here is my outdoor tale for today .
I awoke to grey skies and thought today I should get moving and hit the trails , but where to go ... ? decided on Cypress Falls after a check of the Vancouver Sky Cam .... so far my holidays have not been too good weather wise .
The first thing I saw after parking was a sign
" Bears sighted in the park " . The second thing was BEAR POOP on the road ... er I mean scat ( hiker term ) , but that was okay . After all I had my bear banger and my industrial can of pepper spray, a knife as sharp as my wits and if all else failed a peanut/honey flavoured power bar . We all know bears love honey right ? So into the bush I went . It was a lovely day and the trail was devoid of people . The trip to the falls was uneventful . I reached the view point and snapped off a few pictures . Now being the adventurous photographer that I am . I spotted a trail on the far side of the canyon ( yes the dangerous side ) that would afford me with a better shot of the falls .
The trail was narrow , wet, and the rocks were covered in moss . A sheer drop to the rocks over 50m below ( certain death awaited ) ... needless to say I was very , very careful getting down . I found a little place to stand on and took what I hope will be a very good ... no great ... photo .
I started my climb back up when all of a sudden I had a quick sense of movement ahead of me . I froze , there ahead of me on the wide part of the trail was the most beautiful bear I have ever seen . It's coat was smooth and had a very high gloss to it . It was about 150lbs and looking at me with what I can only say was curiosity . Maybe it had just woken up from a long sleep , but it looked to be well fed ... not on hikers I hoped .
What to do ? I could not go back down . There was no where to go , the trail stopped in a shear drop a few feet from where I was . I reached for the pepper spray and to my surprise it turned and ducked into the bush . I took a few steps more and he / she popped it's head out . #&%!$ ! I stopped and lit a smoke to figure this one out . The bear was sniffing the air . I was hoping this wasn't a non smoking bear they are the worst kind . I slowly brought up my 35mm camera to take a picture , a quick check of the counter revealed I was out of film . Double #&%!$ !! .... Wait I had my point and shoot camera in my backpack . I reached for it and again the bear ducked back into the woods ahead of me .... hummm a few short minutes out it popped again . All the time just sitting there checking me out . Cocking it's head one way and then the other you know kinda like a dog does . It was not aggressive the hair was not standing up , the ears were up , it wasn't licking it's chops , it wasn't coming any closer . This was not predatory behaviour nor was it a territorial one . Maybe the dam thing wanted something to eat ! .... What to do . I stood up it ran in the bushes . I sat down it came out . I reached for a camera or my knife it ran for the bushes . I lit another smoke ( glad I decided to buy a pack today ) and the stupid bear sit's down and starts to lick itself . At this point it hit me . This bear was very comfortable with the fact I was on his trail and once he was sure I was not going to hurt him he decided to clean up from a days work of rooting in the forest .
I must admit I was very nervous but at the same time in wonder at this incredible sight before me . What would you do in a case like this ?
Reach into the back of your hiking shorts for a handful of natural bear repellent ? Run , scream , yell ??? Jump over the edge and take your chances on the rocks and water below ? Offer the bear the peanutbutter/honey power bar ? ( remember the sign " A fed Bear is a Dead Bear "... well it was getting cloudy and it started to look like rain so I slowly reached for my bear banger and let it off overhead . The sound was deafening as it echoed on the canyon walls . The bears eyes were as big as saucers and it took off into the bush at warp speed .
I headed out out the trees right after it .
Now that's not the end of my tale . The most dangerous part of the whole day and where I was really in fear of my life was on the drive home . The bear had delayed my trip and it was now Rush Hour on the upper levels Hwy . Dam Bears !

Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things !

http://vancouverhiking.tripod.com”

“It's obvious.He was jonesing for a cigarette.”

“this being the beginning of bear mating season I wonder if she wasn't trying to get a little "action" out of you (grin)”

“Really cool story! I've yet to see a bear while backpacking, I really hope to soon. Really neat animals.”

“If she was chubby I bet she was with child.”

“No doubt that's why she wanted a cig so bad MP. She had given them up for her pregnancy.”

“Hey the hiker - You're playin' in my neighbourhood !!”

“good story. thanks a lot.”

“Great story!
How far away was the bear?
Also, What's a bear banger?”

“I would give a lot to have an encounter like that with a bear. Hell, might even be okay with losing some food, if I didn't think the little bugger would get himself killed later on by becoming a pest. You're lucky that. I'm envious.”

“I've seen a few bears in the wild. I was glad to have seen them too. They can be unpredictable though so now if I had my choice, I'd rather not see any more.”

“Hummm mating season ? had not thought about that one ! what a hoot .
The bear in question was most likely a one year old and could not figure out if I was friend or foe .No in case you are wondering I was not smoking any of that funny green weed that British Columbia is known for ( Grin ) The bear was about 20 feet from me . as you are all aware avoidence is the best way to go and making lots of noise or bear bells let them know you are in the area . However in and around North Vancouver we have a huge number of hikers in the woods . I fear that some bears may be loosing their fear of man . At 150 lbs this must have been a young one .
For Walkindude : Bear bangers are a small explosive charge fitted to the end of a pen sized flare gun . You release the slide , it hits a 22cal blank which fires the projectile up about 30 feet , it then explodes with a very loud bang and a flash of white light . in case you are wondering NO they don't work on Grizzlies and neither does pepper spray . A friend of mine operates a fly-in fishing business . They landed at camp , set up tents , sprayed around the tents and on the pondtoon's of the plane . Much to their suprize when they came back . The bears were rolling around on the ground where they had sprayed and the floats on the plane had been chewed . Sooooo... I guess that old saying is true. You know the one " How do you tell the difference between black bear scat and Grizz scat" ? One has berries and leaves in it . The other one has bells and smells like pepper !!
To all the Hikers down south .. have a good long weekend .
Russ”

“Hiker - I've never bothered taking bear spray. From what I've heard, you have to be pretty lucky, for the proper conditions to have it be effective.... just the right distance and wind direction. I guess with luck, you don't end up macing yourself or fellow hikers.

I do carry a bear banger, but haven't actually used it, for a bear. They do make a hell of a noise.

It always amuses me to see people, on a trail like the Chief, hiking with bear bells. There's more human traffic than Robson St. on a Saturday afternoon. I doubt any bear around there is put off by a little jingling.

By the way, Burke and Eagle are in my backyard... Drop me an e-mail sometime
hodgeman@telus.net”

“Russ, did you get any photos of the bear? Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing.”

“Your friend made a common mistake - bear spray is only for spraying into the face of a bear or other agressive animal and has no other use - it is not a repellent - see Proper Use of Bear Spray for details.”

“How far does the spray shoot?”