Quote Originally Posted by Heroique View Post
Any "close-encounter" stories from people who carry (or ridicule) bear spray?

Only once have I surprised a bear at very close range – a mature black bear in the North Cascades of Wash. state (which is also grizzly country the closer you get to Canada). Exploring a creek bank, I rounded a granite boulder and surprised the bear, 10 feet away, on the other side. The bear immediately stood up, and in the same motion, twisted around and darted away in a panic. If I had cornered it, or if the bear had been a sow w/ cubs, I might have used my spray for the first time. And who knows, maybe the last.

There's nothing like a real experience to make statistics sink into oblivion, no matter what they suggest. Which is to say, I carry bear spray to insure myself against the nearly 0% likelihood of ever needing it (again). The psychological benefit is deeply felt, even if not quite real.
When I started to Scuba dive years ago, the standard thing everyone seemed to carry was a big heavy knife in a scabbard. I kept mine attached to the inside of my left calf always at the ready. Of course the main purpose of the knife was to cut fishing line you may get tangled in and to pry off things on wrecks. But the image of having to fight off a shark did cross my mind, especially after I saw the movie Jaws. Although it seems silly now, the knife did provide a psychological benefit. It's also sexy to wear a weapon, let's be honest about it.


Getting back to bears, I use to Geocache and had to hike and take pictures in northern NJ woods and in NY State areas where there were black bears. I really didn;t know they were there and never thought about them. I was concerned about ticks carrying Lyme and other dangerous diseases however, They usually attacked every time and I went through considerable protection and checking to make sure I was safe. I was bit by infected ticks and did have to take antibiotics on occasion. I wonder of bear spray would have worked?