We encountered a large male adolescent grizzly while hiking into the Granite Park Chalet on the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park. This was from August 11th, 2019. He was very agitated and did not want to get off the trail. We just kept backing up on the trail. I tripped on a rock and accidentally triggered a small amount of bear spray to be released. You would typically not want to do this at this distance of about 30 yards. You would only want to do this if they are at a distance of 10 to 20 yards and charging you. We feel that it did work for us in this instance and the grizzly moved off the trail and up the hill after getting a whiff of the spray. We found out later from the ranger that other hikers had crowded this same bear to take photos a short while before our encounter. Please do not do this! See the Glacier National Parks Safety message [ Ссылка ] I used a telephoto lens for the other wildlife photos at the end of the video.
In the late summer and early fall, Grizzlies go into a state of Hyper-Fascia or Hyperphagia, which is a time of the year they try to eat as much as possible to get ready for the winter. They tend to be very focused on this task and may be more likely to not get out of your way. Make sure to talk or make noises (you can carry a bell) as you hike so as not to surprise a grizzly, they are more likely to charge if startled. And always make sure to carry bear spray while in Grizzly Territory. Yellowstone National Park has a video on how to use it: [ Ссылка ]
