Originally Posted by
Heroique
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.
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