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Van, BC
Canada
2784 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 4:16 PM
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I'll just skip to the interesting part.
The snow had started more or less at 800m, and was solid after the switchbacks. I was heading to Lindsay Lake (Buntzen Lake trailhead, Port Moody/Anmore) and was probably about 1-2km from the steep uphill part. There is a SAR flag - I thought about it, but couldn't recall reading about a recent rescue in these parts.
I was watching the trail quite closely. While there was a boot trail to follow, it was fairly indistinct at times. Flagging up there leaves a lot to be desired. There were 1, perhaps 2 bootprints that were fresh to within 2 days, but not the easiest to follow in the soft melting snow.
10 steps past the SAR flag, I noticed decently sized bear tracks on the trail. Of course, out comes the pepper spray (for scale) from the hip strap holster and the camera.
Immediately after that shot, I'm bending down to pick up the pepper spray when I hear snow crunching off to my right. Sure enough, I glance over and see a rather large black bear moving parallel to me, perhaps 30-40' away. Far too close for comfort.
I don't even remember doing it, but the safety was uncliped from my pepper spray and I had my thumb on the trigger (left hand). My right hand had been holding my camera at my hip - in one motion I pointed it roughly in the bear's direction (literally shooting from the hip - I didn't aim or bring the camera up to my eye), pressed the shutter, dropped it, and reached for my pen launcher (always clipped to my chest strap with bear banger loaded and the firing pin in the standby location).
Unfortunately, I still had the flash on from taking the print photo seconds earlier. The flash highlighted the nearby saplings, thereby darkening out the background. I ran the photo through Photoshop to see if I could fix it. The bear is pretty much dead centre, but don't bother looking - you can't make out anything.
Simultaneously I start talking to the bear so he knows I'm there and human. He stops and looks at me for a good 10 seconds. Not threatening in any way. He didn't rear up, he didn't sniff the air, he didn't make any sounds; he just looked at me. The look was more "what do you want?" than anything.
He was a big guy, black bear obviously. Hibernation had been very kind to him. Didn't seem skinny at all - quite large in fact.
I continue talking loudly to it but the damn thing isn't moving. And it's close. Decide to fire off a bear banger, and the noise at least gets him moving along again. In the same direction I had just come from.
Now, I had started the day off thinking I might be able to do the Dilly Dally Loop (and come down on the far side of Buntzen Lake). Due to the snow conditions (1-2m deep - pretty consolidated, but the first 1' or so being quite soft), I had long since concluded that was out. I was still hoping I could make it to Lindsay Lake and just return the way I had came.
Now I was faced with two options:
1) Try the Dilly Dally Loop anyways. This would have been probably a good 8 hours in good trail conditions - who knows how much extra time it would have taken. Not to mention the snow itself - I had serious doubts I'd be able to follow the trail due to the lack of winter flagging and indistinct former bootprints that I was sure would end at Lindsay Lake (or sooner).
2) Go back the way I came. Large bear ambling along the trail in the same direction notwithstanding.
Oh, and I hadn't seen anyone else for about 2 hours, and I highly doubted there was anyone this high on the trail.
I let off another bear banger to hopefully get the bear moving a little quicker. Unfortunately, that section of the trail is in a relatively young forest. Lots of confier branches right down to the ground. Visibility fairly restricted as a result.
Thankfully, it was dead quiet up there. No creeks, no wind blowing through the trees.
The answer to the age old question "if a bear postholes in the forest, does it make a sound?" is a resounding yes.
I could hear the bear cruntching and postholing along as it ambled away. The bugger wasn't ambling very quickly though. And he was going where I needed to go. I could still hear him close by, but at least I could tell he was moving away. (Albeit in the same direction, on the same trail I needed to go.)
One hand on my pepper spray and one eye on where the snow crunching noise was coming from, I quickly collapsed my hiking poles (which I had stuck in a snowbank before taking the print photo), strapped them to my pack, and got set - spray in left hand, pen launcher in the right hand - for a long intense walk back.
For the next half an hour I tried to herd the bear along. The time was spent as follows:
-Take two steps.
-Stop and listen. Make sure I can still hear him far enough ahead of me.
-Shout HEY BEAR!, and other choice comments to move it along and encourage it to get the hell off the trail.
-Stop and listen. Hope he had moved somewhat further along.
-Take two more steps.
-Repeat.
After about 10 minutes the bear prints headed off trail and angled to the left (east-ish). I could still hear him in the snow, and he was still close by.
I continued my very slow progress, and sure enough, after a few minutes the bear sounds were back infront of me and the prints rejoined the trail.
This wouldn't do, so I decided to swing right (west-ish) to put some distance between me and him. This had the advantage of indeed putting some distance between us, but had two main downsides.
1) I couldn't hear him anymore, so I had no idea where he was.
2) The last time I heard him and saw his prints, he was still heading in my direction of travel.
Offtrail wasn't bad since the snow covered most of the understory and it was solid enough that I wasn't postholing too bad.
Hyperattentive to the slightest noise, I continued along. All I can say is thank goodness for GPS. If it wasn't for my GPS track, I would have become lost and turned around up there. With my track up, I knew exactly where I had to go. I finally rejoined the path just above the snowline (~800m), just before the start of the main downhill section of the trail.
I relaxed a bit here, but still remained very attentive. Still calling out to the bear, I continued down the trail (west, towards Buntzen) with pepper spray and pen launcher in hand(s). Never did see the bear again, so I presume he stayed up in the snow and headed generally south-southeast from where I last saw him. The only otehr wildlife I saw was a slug.
Ran into a well equiped pair of hikers near the trailhead and warned them of the bear up top. Back in the parking lot, I paid a visit to the warden and let him know if the bear - he said he's put up signs on the trailhead. With my GPS, I was able to pinpoint very closely the location of the encounger - right about at the Longview lookout.
Back at my car, I reflected about the morning.
Reaction/Instinct
-Overall, I was very pleased with how I reacted. Wasn't scared at all. Didn't freeze up or otherwise panic (and that bugger was close).
-Also very pleased to learn that my 'preservation' instinct > my 'photographer' instinct. I could have had some amazing pictures of that bear. He was staring at me from not too far away for a good 10 seconds. My instinct though was to go for the pepper spray and pen launcher, for which I'm glad. Too bad I don't have a third hand for the camera.
-I remember wondering in some other thread what I would do with my hands in a situation like this - two hiking poles, pepper spray, pen launcher, camera, but only 2 hands to use. Good to know I go for the spray and pen launcher without thinking.
-Didn't feel any sort of adrenaline rush, but damn that brings all your senses into focus. No adrenaline crash either, be it on the trail off the snow or even at the car. Good - keeps the legs from getting wobbly.
Bear Bangers
-Very impressed with the bear bangers. There is almost a double effect. One loud bang/explosion right when they are launched and are leaving the pen launcher, and then a *really* loud bang/explosion after they fly up ~30'. They really were loud. The bang echoed a few times off the surrounding mountains, and it wasn't exactly an echo area. I am certain people down at Buntzen ~4-5km away would have heard them and wondered what yahoo had fired off a shotgun.
Spare Bear Bangers
-I always carry 4 bear banger cartridges on me. I had always thought that was overkill, and wondered why I always packed that many. Let me tell you, when you have shot off two, have one primed and ready, and the last one in your front pocket for quick access to use on a bear that is close by and ambling the same direction you want to go on your trail, 4 does not seem to be very many at all. From now on, I'm carrying at least 6.
-I need to rejig my pouches a bit. I usually carry my spare banger cartridges and the flares in my left hip pocket, along with a bottle of sunscreen (I always have the pen launcher with one banger cartridge primed (screwed in but launching pin not compressed) clipped to my chest strap). I'm moving the sunscreen elsewhere now. Way too bulky, and prevents you from fishing in there for a fresh cartridge by touch when you are keeping your eye on a nearby bear. From now on, easy access to the spares is the way to go.
IPod
-I usually carry an Ipod with me, but only bring it out on long dull boring high traffic switchbacks (ex. Rubble Creek) or logging roads (ex. Brunswick/Harvey/Lions). While great for energy and to make the km go by, I've never liked how it restricts your hearing. Today, I had made a conscious decision at the beginning of the hike to leave the Ipod in my pocket. Definitely the right choice, since I heard the bear before I saw it, and it was already damn close.
Solo
-The neverending debate. I do a lot of my hiking solo. Dangerous? Risky? Inviting encounters like this? I really don't know. Of course, two people would be more noisy and thus provide more warning to the bear. Judging on how the bear responded to my voice/shouts though, not to mention two loud bear bangers, I'm not convinced it would have made a difference in this case. That bear just didn't care. I get the sense he wouldn't have cared even if he had heard me a long ways out, and I doubt he would have made the effort to avoid me. That said, I'm going to make more of an effort to let off a good HEY BEAR! more often when I'm on the trail.
-I will not dispute that I would have been safer with someone else - safety in numbers, not to mention in multiple pepper sprays and bear bangers.
-While I am looking forward at trying this hike again (when the snow melts, and hopefully the full Dilly Dally Loop), I doubt I'll do it solo. I will, however, continue to solo hike elsewhere as always. (Company is always nice though :) )
Photos
-While it is unfortunate that I didn't get any good bear photos (actually, I didn't get *any* bear photos), I have no regrets whatsoever. I made the absolute right decision. Perhaps if the bear was father away I would have tried for a quick pic or two, but he was way too close this time to have my hands otherwise occupied. Worth it even though I didn't get any pics - or video (!).
-Perhaps if I was with someone else who was letting off bear bangers and had pepper spray cocked in hand I might have thought otherwise :P
Regrets
-None.
-Well, I did leave two spent bear banger cartridges on the trail and I don't like to litter... but I had other things on my mind.
On the upside, since my hike was cut short, my legs are still pretty fresh. Anyone want to go hiking Saturday, Sunday or Monday?
-Ryan
Photoset here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/realaworld/sets/72157618121671137/ |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7094 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 4:35 PM
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Nice report, wish I was there to join ya. Hopefully you had a bfk handy in case things didn't go as planned and as equipped.
These types of adventurous hikes I consider fun. |
Edited by - AcesHigh on 05/15/2009 4:35 PM |
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canine loving, machete-toting bushwhacking lake seeker, Indiana Jones hat-wearing off-road 4x4 guru
Surrey Hole, BC
Canada
6773 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 4:35 PM
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Abbotsford BC / Sydney, NSW
Australia
307 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 4:43 PM
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Looks like a sasquatch |
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Port Moody, BC
Canada
543 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 5:24 PM
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| What an exciting story. And you're so right about the awful flagging on this trail in snow. It reminds me of my last June's attempt to do the loop, which had no bears in sight, but had everything covered in fog and no tracks or flagging to follow. If not for GPS (the built-in magnetic compass was a must too) and a well drawn out trail track that I uploaded there in advance, I would have spent the night there. I never completed the loop, but I was so fortunate and glad, when on my bushwhacking descent at the northern side of the lake, I finally saw the trail just on the other side of the creek. The cliffs at that part of the mountain are not something you would wanna go over, so finding the trail was pretty much like finding water in a desert. I hope they put up real flagging there, because unless you know this trail really well, there is no way you gonna make it in snow (and fog), especially when you also have to fight off bears and the damn park gate. |
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Montreal, QC
Canada
716 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 6:38 PM
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You actually had another alternative, if you'd been familiar with the trails over to the old logging roads on the ridge. The first trail over (not sure how easy it is to see in the snow) is a short trail that comes out on roads pretty early on, so you could have gone down that way and taken the lower road along the power line to the Eagle Ridge trail back to Buntzen.
30 feet. Now, have I ever seen a bear that far away from me? Once. Once a lot further. And once between 5 and 10 feet away. But there were salmon berries between me and the closest one, so I was never in any danger.
Glad you enjoyed your little adventure. |
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Van, BC
Canada
2784 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 6:57 PM
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Elevation profile:
Google Earth birdseye:
And in 3d:
  
Of course, I was offtrail for the majority of the upper part there trying to get around the bear, so that track isn't actually the path to Lindsay Lake.
Arnold - let me know if you're up for the full loop once the snow melts.
Anemone - it was all I could to even stay on the trail, let alone go hunting around for another one in the snow! I knew the western slopes of Eagle had a lot of cliffs, so I didn't want to chance yet another adventure.
Looking at my GE track, I apparently crossed a fairly significant forestry road, very close to some sort of large turn around area - right during the bear encounter. Didn't realize it at all, and for the life of me I can't think of what part of the trail that was. Just goes to show how much deep snow obscures everything.
-Ryan
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Edited by - Ryan.in.yaletown on 05/15/2009 6:58 PM |
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Montreal, QC
Canada
716 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 7:02 PM
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| The forestry road was what I was talking about. Go out via the forestry road and you can cross back to Buntzen lower down. Of course it helps a lot if you have a map of the roads. |
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Coquitlam, BC
Canada
221 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 7:03 PM
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| Thank you, Ryan, for sharing your experience. I guess you right with your conclusions and I'm going to follow them. |
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Victoria, British Columbia
Canada
1762 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 8:25 PM
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Well done, Ryan, sounds like you nailed it pretty well. I do that trail fairly frequently and I've never seen a bear up there. I'll have to be more cautious next time.
I'd like to do something Sat or Sun, if you're still free. I'll shoot you an e-mail. |
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Too close to the city, BC
Canada
783 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 8:51 PM
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Mmmmm bear  Interesting TR, thank you! I saw four bears last weekend but only one encounter was really notable - I was following a river valley and the bear was 100ft above me and just stayed parallel, running and stopping and running and looking all curious but never coming closer. Silly teenager :P |
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Utah's canyon trekking,deck chair packing desert explorer who dreams of visiting Canada someday
3988 Posts |
Posted - 05/15/2009 : 11:11 PM
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I saw two squirrels and some lizards, today on my hike.
wow! I've never encountered a bear before. Although, my mother said she left me in the car when I was a little kid and there was a bear walking through the parking lot at some natl park in the US way back in the sixties. She supposedly screamed at me to stay in the car and my dad filmed the bear walking around the parked cars probably looking for handouts as it finally left. hehe
Interesting Trip report. I never experienced bear bangers before my trip up there. Way cool! |
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Van, BC
Canada
2784 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2009 : 08:21 AM
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quote:
The snow had started more or less at 800m, and was solid after the switchbacks. I was heading to Lindsay Lake (Buntzen Lake trailhead, Port Moody/Anmore) and was probably about 1-2km from the steep uphill part. There is a SAR flag - I thought about it, but couldn't recall reading about a recent rescue in these parts.
Having had time to search the SAR sites, it would seem to be this one:
http://www.coquitlam-sar.bc.ca/search-report/hiker-caught-by-darkness-on-eagle-ridge.html
-Ryan |
Edited by - Ryan.in.yaletown on 05/16/2009 08:25 AM |
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Intermediate Member
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coquitlam, B.C.
Canada
791 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2009 : 09:20 AM
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Sounds like a great adventure. When I am asked by city folk what to do if they meet a bear, I reply. "Very slowly and quietly, take out your camera and get a picture befor the bear runs off."
There's a couple of big bears up there but I havn't seen them for a couple of years. You got lucky. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
874 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2009 : 12:28 PM
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Like this one?
Met him on the Hat trail yesterday at about 850m. I had to bushwack around him. Luckily he ignored me. Good thing - I wasn't carrying bear spray or bangers so my options were somewhat limited if he took offense. |
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somewher in the never never., BC
Canada
134 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2009 : 6:35 PM
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nice shot. i always miss them.
Good report Ryan. enjoyed it. |
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Stanwood, Washington
USA
313 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2009 : 10:26 PM
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| I always feel bad for the bears this time of year. They come out of hibernation and there is not much forage around except for some grass to fill their bellies with. |
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East Vancouver, BC
Canada
269 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2009 : 10:29 PM
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Seems like the black bears are all out enjoying the long days and the nice sunny weather. For me, in two trips in a row I've seen healthy-looking black bears. Thanks Ryan for the interesting story, and glad it worked out well.
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Calgary, Alberta
Andorra
3787 Posts |
Posted - 05/16/2009 : 11:39 PM
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| Interesting story and analysis. Thanks for sharing that all. |
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prince george/robson valley, bc
Canada
117 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2009 : 12:15 AM
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Nicely done. I like how well you considered your options, and kept your head. The bruins are out (up here, too) and food is their primary focus for the next while. (All that napping brings on an appetite!) not too surprising that you found one where you did. though I'd be wondering how quiet I had been to get that close. do you remember what you were doing/where your attention was just before you saw it?
glad you made it back and reported it to the warden.
quote:
Silly teenager :P
good call, icevixen! that's the "first time out of the house by myself" behavior, alright.  |
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136 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2009 : 10:30 PM
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| Good TR, Ryan. Seeing a bear while hiking always brings a little extra excitement to the trip. When I did the Eagle Ridge Hike two weeks ago, there were bear tracks on one of the lower lakes. I wonder if it was the same one. |
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Failed Lindsay Lake due to Large Bear - 2009-05-15
