Do you know how to escape from a bear attack?

This is a little late in the season, but after some conversations I've had recently, I figure any time is a good time to know what to do in case of a bear encounter.

It doesn't matter if you hike once a year or once a week, every hiker needs to be aware of what to do in case of a bear confrontation.

The odds of seeing a bear vary throughout the year are actually quite small. I've spoken to forestry students who spent weeks in the wild over a period of years and had only 1 or 2 chance encounters.

Knowing what to do if you encounter a bear is always your best defense. There are a few simple things to remember when hiking:

1. The first step is prevention. You can greatly reduce your chances of a bear attack by your actions on the trail:
   
   
   • Travel in groups and stick together.
   
   
   • Talk loudly. Bear bells do not carry far and usually do nothing but annoy the people you're traveling with.
   
   
   • Keep your dog leashed and small children close by.
   
   
   • Pay attention to your surroundings -- if there are fresh bear diggings, dropping or fresh tracks, don't risk the encounter. It's better to be unsure and cut a hike short than run into a bear.
   
   
   
2. If you do encounter a bear, remain calm. Most encounters end peacefully. Remember:
   
   
   • Stay calm and don't make any panicked or sudden movements. The bear is deciding if you are a threat and will sometimes try to "scare" you off by growling and snapping.
   
   
   • Speak softly. Your voice alone may tell the bear you are human and not prey.
   
   
   • Back away slowly. Do not run, the bear may consider you prey and you cannot outrun a bear.
   
   
   • Stay in your group to appear larger and less vulnerable.
   
   
   • Make sure the bear has an escape route.
   
   
   
3. If the bear does attack, there are two types of attacks a bear will use. They are handled much differently and it's important to know the difference.
   
   In a Defensive Attack, the bear is likely startled, defending its food or defending its cubs. This is the most likely scenario of any bear attack. If you find yourself in this situation:
   
   
   • Use bear spray.
   
   
   • If the bear makes contact PLAY DEAD.
   
   
   • Fall on your stomach and lie with legs apart and hands crossed behind your neck. This protects your neck and keeps the bear from flipping you. Leave your pack on, as it will provide extra protection.
   
   
   • Remain still. Once the bear sees you are not a threat it will leave the area. Bears usually stop a defensive attack within 2 minutes.
   
   
   In a Predatory Attack, the bear sees you as prey. If a defensive attack goes on for more than a few minutes, the bear has switched to a predatory attack:
   
   
   • FIGHT BACK, do not play dead any longer, the bear now sees you as prey.
   
   
   • Try to escape into a building, car, or even up a tree. Use bear spray, your pack, hiking poles, anything you can find as a weapon. Show the bear you are not easy prey.

Predatory attacks are quite rare, but do happen, particularly during feeding season or when there is a berry shortage. Attacks rarely get to this point.

It's important to know what the level of bear activity is in your region. Before hiking, check with local and state/provincial websites for information about the trails and any warnings posted. Bear warnings are also often posted at the trail head, but don't rely on this as your sole method of information.

The thought of running into a bear should not dissuade you from hiking altogether. Like almost anything else, knowledge is power. Be aware of your surroundings, know what to do if you see a bear, and keep up to date on bear sightings and trails closures in the area. No one can guarantee you'll never see a bear, but you can guarantee how to safely survive if you do.

Ford Knoll - midsummer view (July 29, 2007)

Jumpingpound Creek - July 15, 2007

Icefields Parkway - July 14, 2007

What do you do when the area is setting record-breaking temperatures for the third week running and it's too hot to hike? (Yes there is such a thing).

The Icefields of course!

Despite living in Alberta for my entire life and frequenting Banff as often as possible throughout, I have never been to Jasper. I had never even ventured north of Lake Louise.

D and I always talked about going to the Columbia Icefield, but snow and ice are just not such a novelty around here. We always said it would have to be a blazingly hot day, and a day when we wanted to take a day trip.

Done and done.

(For those not in the know, the Columbia Icefield is an attraction about 2.5 hours north of Banff featuring a large glacier. There are tours right out onto the glacier).

I had one of those guides from the Banff park gates that outlined attractions within the Park, including stops along the Icefield Parkway (Highway 93). This wasn't going to be a hike per se, but hopefully a chance to cool off. It surely wasn't going to be as hot by *glaciers*, was it?

Wrong.

Our first stop along Highway 93 a turnout to view the Crowfoot Glacier. One thing you just can't see here is the thickness of the ice. It's not simply snow sitting on the mountain, it looks to be metres and metres thick, like buildings would get lost in it. The glacier used to have three "toes" (hence the name "Crowfoot"), but over time the bottom toe got "lost" to warming temperatures, and the second toe will eventually suffer the same fate.

Here's a closer look at the glacier itself, and the thickness:



We pulled back onto the Highway and headed to the next "tourist" stop, Bow Pass and Peyto Lake viewpoint. The highway was a little busier than I expected, but not crazy busy. By the time you hit Bow Pass, you are truly in the middle of nowhere: there are no services, no roadside stores, no cell service. Just the beautiful, isolating scenery and the occasional other car.

The giant parking lot for Peyto Lake should have been a clue, so should have the separate road for tour buses. But it just didn't set off any alarm bells.

There's a short hike to the viewpoint. It's about 10 minutes and steady uphill the whole way, so most should be able to manage. There's a sign at the bottom advising travelers to wear sweaters or coats as the top can be quite cool. Considering it was, even here, in the highest road pass in the Park area, still sweltering, D and I laughed the sign off and headed for the viewing platform.

This is not downtown Banff, this was a viewing platform off the highway, 40 km from the nearest town (Lake Louise):



If being in the Parks teaches you one thing, it's multi-culturalism. Just on that platform I heard German, French, Russian and two different Asian languages I couldn't pin down. Even when hiking the most popular trails in and around Banff, you're very likely to hear German or Japanese. I think it's great -- if not a little surreal in the middle of nowhere.

(Clearly, if you're going to drive here, don't do it on a weekend!)

In the end I stuck my camera out and got two shots of Peyto Lake:




On the hike back down I read some of the interpretive signs posted along the way. Being at such a high altitude (2088 m/6849 ft), I expected to see a few different variations of the flowers and plants along the trail. There were a few, but others, like this Indian Paintbrush looked pretty familiar:



One interesting flower was the Western Anemone or Chalice Flower. I only remembered it because it only blooms for a short time in early spring and then goes right to seed. In climates like this one, the growing season is very brief (signs of that were evident along the trail, and many of the interpretive signs explained the challenges). Our odds of actually seeing the bloom were very slim since this area is quite cold right into the summer (so they say... I was still sweltering).

Anyway, the "pods" on these flowers post-bloom actually look quite cool, and they are everywhere:




There was also plenty of Heather. Near the foot of the trail, the growth was very green and low to the ground:




From, our next stop was Mistaya Canyon, another brief turnout off Highway 93, about 72 km from Lake Louise. Since it wasn't listed anywhere else and the turnout had barely a sign, we didn't expect much.

Wrong again. This was the highlight of the drive. From the turnout, the trail leads downhill (for a change). It's a pleasant walk through the forest and you can hear the water long before you see it, but nothing prepares you for how out of the ordinary it's going to be:



That photo is from the bridge spanning the river. The river has carved a narrow, twisting trail through the rock over centuries, resulting in this deep canyon with lots of cliffs and curves.

Here's a closer view of the canyon wall:





It's possible to hike down to where the river enters into the canyon and step out onto the rocks at the river's edge. Only then do you get an idea of how this water could have carved out the canyon... and still is:




Here's a great perspective looking back from the river entering the canyon back to the bridge:



As we sat by the river, watching the water rush into the canyon, it was almost like we could see the water wearing away at the stone. There are potholes and divots that look ready to give way at any time:



Once we hiked back to the car, I was struck by how stinking hot it still was. We were only five minutes or so from Saskatchewan Crossing, which is simply a motel with a convenience store and gas station, but it's the only such creature for hours. I'm itching to spend a few days at the motel and take in all the hikes in the area. I'd need weeks to do them all.

From here were were still a good 40 minutes from the Columbia Icefield, and it was past 4:30, so we opted to call it a day (funny, it never got cooler). We headed back to Lake Louise, only to find it absolutely overrun with people, so we opted for Banff instead. We picked a restaurant with air-conditioning, naturally.

Another Fullerton evening hike - July 13, 2007

During the heat wave, sometimes the evening hikes were the only way to go....

Nihahi Ridge, take two - July 8, 2007

I'd gone on so much about Nihani Ridge that N wanted to give it a try. I'm glad we did -- there's plenty to see a second time round and it's such a great hike.

Trail details are here.

The view from the hike is still beyond words:



Even at the top, covered in shale and with a strong wind blowing a majority of the season, the hardiest of flowers come through:



I can't get enough of this view. As the trail inches toward the top, toward the actual peak that none of us were brave enough to attempt that day (my scrambling skills leave a lot to be desired), more of the range waaaay off in the distance comes into view. There is also a trail that leads along the creek seen along the bottom. One day....:



The ridge itself is very cool, mostly covered in shale and thin sheets of rock pushing up from the mountain:



And finally, the flower shots... all taken on the way down, plus the last one right at the trailhead:

Jumpingpound Creek - July 1, 2007

My second trip around the Jumpingpound Creek was much different than the first. Then, back in early May, only a few signs of summer were poking through the dry brown that was still left over from winter. This time -- I think we managed to hit the trail at its peak.





It wasn't just the wildflowers that made the trail seem completely new -- it was the complete change in the environment of the trail. What had been a snowy view was now sunny and rocky. What had been dry and brown was lush and green:



Shot from a slightly different viewpoint back in May, but the same range:




Same part of the trail back in May:



Along the creek these sort of differences were less notable as the trail had been fairly damp and shaded for the majority of winter and spring, and the only real change was the repair of the broken bridge across one part of the creek. However, that humidity brought something different to the creek as well. This section of the hike was amazing, and this might be one of my favorite photos from July: