The Limits of Bear Spray (Literally)
This photo was taken on a wildlife tour in Ketchikan, Alaska. You know, the kind where you go out on a boat and float around hoping to catch a glimpse of a bear or a seal or a moose. We saw a few bears and seals during the rainy ride, but I liked this shot best of all. As I peered across the water, I wondered whether the place was abandoned. It didn't really look like a house.
Being back in Alaska reminded me of the first time I was there. A little less glamorous than this trip with its wildlife tours and indoor plumbing, the first time had been for an Outward Bound mountaineering course the summer before my freshman year of college. I was required to attend an OB course as part of my scholarship curriculum and thought I should choose the most extreme course I could find in the catalog since I'd probably never have a chance to do something like that again. And while I had gone camping with my family when I was younger, I wouldn't exactly say I was an outdoors-woman. But I hadn't really put a lot of effort into it, had I? So it was my opportunity to discover more about myself and I intended to make the most of it.
It was truly an amazing trip and I have a lot of fond memories. One in particular stands out. We had all arrived at base camp and received our gear. Most of the first few days were spent learning how to pack our backpacks and put them on so that we could carry our 60lb load of food, tents, sleeping bags and clothes on day-long hikes up and down the mountains. We also learned how to tie into a rope team, rig a rope for climbing (out of a crevasse), pitch and tear down our tents, and what to do if we ever encountered a bear. Now, that was quite a lesson.
Our guide, Tim, took us out into a clearing away from base camp and told us to form a circle. There were twelve of us plus Tim, so it wasn't a small circle but he told us to take several steps back to make it even larger.
"We're going to talk about what to do if you encounter a bear. Now, you were all given bear spray which you should wear any time you are outside your tent." The spray he referenced was in a black aerosol can about three inches long that came with a holster strap to secure it at the hip.
"In a typical mauling..."
Whoa, whoa, whoa. A typical mauling?? I looked over at Laura, a sporty blonde who was a few years older than I was at the time and probably one of the coolest people I had ever met in my life. We had made a fast connection and enjoyed bantering with each other in those first few days. She returned my quizzical look and raised an eyebrow. A bear mauling didn't sound like the sort of thing anyone should refer to as "typical" but it seemed as though the rest of the group was going to let that one slide so we kept our mouths shut and listened. It occurred to me that I was not in Kansas anymore (as the saying goes) and not only were people at risk of being mauled by a bear in this exotic land but the mauling would then be categorized as well. I was certain I didn't want to know about an atypical mauling.
Tim went on to explain how we should try to make ourselves appear big and make a lot of noise in an attempt to scare a bear away if we came upon one at a distance. There are two potential reactions to this approach: the bear runs away, or the bear charges.
"Sometimes a bear will make a false charge, so don't be too hasty in deploying the spray," said Tim in a matter-of-fact tone.
Are you kidding me, Tim? If a grizzly bear is charging me, I'm going to be hasty in deploying the spray. I guarantee it. And I'll also probably wet myself.
"The spray shoots out about 30 feet and if you don't wait until the bear gets within that range then you'll probably just make it mad," he continued.
Great. You're facing a startled, charging grizzly bear and to make matters worse you just made his eyes sting. You've just been upgraded from typical mauling to afternoon snack.
"Do you understand? You want to make sure the bear is charging and is not going to stop before you consider using the spray," Tim said reasonably. As if I'm going to be in any fit state to consider anything while a grizzly is bearing down on me.
"Now, I'm going to point this away from the circle and give the spray can a pump so you can see how it works and what to expect."
Oh good, a practical exercise. What a great idea! That made me feel better, especially because I'm a visual person and all this theoretical chit chat about typical bear maulings was causing my imagination to run wild. He assessed the direction of the wind and then walked to the edge of the circle and held the can of pepper spray out, his arm parallel to the ground with the cylinder cupped in his palm and his thumb resting lightly over the button on top.
"Okay, here we go," he declared as we braced ourselves and he squeezed the button.
The spray went out about seven feet before falling pitifully to the ground. What happened to thirty feet? I'd have to let that thing get pretty darn close to me before I could even think about letting loose the spray and by then the bear would have probably already taken me out.
"Well, I guess we'd better hope we don't run into a bear," said Laura out of the corner of her mouth.
In the end, I turned out to be the only member of our group that did not see a bear during the 21-day course and I've always been a bit disappointed about it.
Being back in Alaska reminded me of the first time I was there. A little less glamorous than this trip with its wildlife tours and indoor plumbing, the first time had been for an Outward Bound mountaineering course the summer before my freshman year of college. I was required to attend an OB course as part of my scholarship curriculum and thought I should choose the most extreme course I could find in the catalog since I'd probably never have a chance to do something like that again. And while I had gone camping with my family when I was younger, I wouldn't exactly say I was an outdoors-woman. But I hadn't really put a lot of effort into it, had I? So it was my opportunity to discover more about myself and I intended to make the most of it.
It was truly an amazing trip and I have a lot of fond memories. One in particular stands out. We had all arrived at base camp and received our gear. Most of the first few days were spent learning how to pack our backpacks and put them on so that we could carry our 60lb load of food, tents, sleeping bags and clothes on day-long hikes up and down the mountains. We also learned how to tie into a rope team, rig a rope for climbing (out of a crevasse), pitch and tear down our tents, and what to do if we ever encountered a bear. Now, that was quite a lesson.
Our guide, Tim, took us out into a clearing away from base camp and told us to form a circle. There were twelve of us plus Tim, so it wasn't a small circle but he told us to take several steps back to make it even larger.
"We're going to talk about what to do if you encounter a bear. Now, you were all given bear spray which you should wear any time you are outside your tent." The spray he referenced was in a black aerosol can about three inches long that came with a holster strap to secure it at the hip.
"In a typical mauling..."
Whoa, whoa, whoa. A typical mauling?? I looked over at Laura, a sporty blonde who was a few years older than I was at the time and probably one of the coolest people I had ever met in my life. We had made a fast connection and enjoyed bantering with each other in those first few days. She returned my quizzical look and raised an eyebrow. A bear mauling didn't sound like the sort of thing anyone should refer to as "typical" but it seemed as though the rest of the group was going to let that one slide so we kept our mouths shut and listened. It occurred to me that I was not in Kansas anymore (as the saying goes) and not only were people at risk of being mauled by a bear in this exotic land but the mauling would then be categorized as well. I was certain I didn't want to know about an atypical mauling.
Tim went on to explain how we should try to make ourselves appear big and make a lot of noise in an attempt to scare a bear away if we came upon one at a distance. There are two potential reactions to this approach: the bear runs away, or the bear charges.
"Sometimes a bear will make a false charge, so don't be too hasty in deploying the spray," said Tim in a matter-of-fact tone.
Are you kidding me, Tim? If a grizzly bear is charging me, I'm going to be hasty in deploying the spray. I guarantee it. And I'll also probably wet myself.
"The spray shoots out about 30 feet and if you don't wait until the bear gets within that range then you'll probably just make it mad," he continued.
Great. You're facing a startled, charging grizzly bear and to make matters worse you just made his eyes sting. You've just been upgraded from typical mauling to afternoon snack.
"Do you understand? You want to make sure the bear is charging and is not going to stop before you consider using the spray," Tim said reasonably. As if I'm going to be in any fit state to consider anything while a grizzly is bearing down on me.
"Now, I'm going to point this away from the circle and give the spray can a pump so you can see how it works and what to expect."
Oh good, a practical exercise. What a great idea! That made me feel better, especially because I'm a visual person and all this theoretical chit chat about typical bear maulings was causing my imagination to run wild. He assessed the direction of the wind and then walked to the edge of the circle and held the can of pepper spray out, his arm parallel to the ground with the cylinder cupped in his palm and his thumb resting lightly over the button on top.
"Okay, here we go," he declared as we braced ourselves and he squeezed the button.
The spray went out about seven feet before falling pitifully to the ground. What happened to thirty feet? I'd have to let that thing get pretty darn close to me before I could even think about letting loose the spray and by then the bear would have probably already taken me out.
"Well, I guess we'd better hope we don't run into a bear," said Laura out of the corner of her mouth.
In the end, I turned out to be the only member of our group that did not see a bear during the 21-day course and I've always been a bit disappointed about it.
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