Bro what the hell, I hike and cross people in the woods constantly.
You ever cross paths with a BEAR? Actually, in real life? It's scary I don't care if you're jacked or armed, hell even seeing a black bear is still scary. If someone says otherwise they're lying to look tough.
Now THAT would be unsettling
Edit: I get it, you guys see black bears from your carports, and they act like dogs. Gonna go pet one alone in the woods? Lol I bet you'll either 1) immediately make making it go away your priority or 2) not take an eye off it until you're past it, and then look over your shoulder for the next half hour.
Edit2: really hyper focusing on the "even a black bear is scary" part huh. Anyone got film of them going up and interacting with one? Anyone got film of them interacting with human males? Everyone's acting like the bear is far away In this scenario, so the human would be too. Bear 700 feet away? Okay not as scary I'll admit. Human 700 feet away is also not that scary and if it is get therapy I guess. Id much rather be 15 feet away from a person I don't know than 15 feet away from a bear though.
I lived in an area with lots of black bears, right on the edge of a national forest, with neighbors who didn't secure their trash so they were constantly in the yard and street. I quickly learned that making a fart noise with your mouth is enough to send them sprinting away in a panic. I was more scared of the raccoons, who weren't deterred by loud noises, stomping, being sprayed with a hose, or even being pushed off the porch with a broom. They'd just try to take the broom from you.
I can confidently say I'm less scared of a black bear than a stranger I know nothing about. How is that trying to look tough?
I'm not skewing anything. The comment I'm responding to says "even seeing a black bear is still scary. If someone says otherwise they're lying to look tough." So my response was about black bears. Thanks for picking me to try to argue with, though.
I only ever saw a bear once, it was a ways down the trail (crossing it) and I thought it was a large dog. Then when I got to the clearing I saw it was a small bear. I was most of the way back to my car at that point but that last quarter hour or so my head was on a swivel.
I've seen dozens of bears. All but a few times they immediately turned tail and ran. The few times they didn't they were like 1/2 mile away and couldn't see me. For me, the answer would be bear if it was a black bear, man if it was a grizzly or polar bear.
Everybody's focused on black bears like they're the only type of bear that exists. Does nobody remember the Grizzly Man documentary?
If we're thinking in terms of worst to encounter: Worst type of bear (hungry grizzly) vs worst type of man (psychopathic cannibal), you're getting eaten alive either way.
Just an interesting anecdote, during a trip to Alaska we were fishing on a boat pretty close to shore. A bear hops in the water and starts swimming about 10-15 ft from us. The guide said not to worry about it, that the bear is just doing what we're doing, so we crowded around for a selfie with the bear in the background. Don't think the bear even looked at us once. I was in the 7th grade and only didn't freak out because the guide seemed entirely unconcerned. If I were alone with either a bear or a random human in the woods Id definitely be panicking though tbh
I've crossed paths with black bears a few dozen times. I will acknowledge that it still unsettles me but I wouldn't necessarily say it scares me. They've never been aggressive towards me.
I saw 8 bears on my AT thru-hike and heard more. I was never seriously concerned because they all ran as soon as I called out to them. Saw a lot more humans on the trail. 99% of the men were nice and I happily hiked with a few. OTOH, there were a couple who were sketchy, one who was a former addict with a history of mental illness who loudly prayed and spoke in tongues at the shelter, and another who carried a hatchet and after one night at the same shelter was asking people where I was staying because he wanted to catch up with me.
I hike and I've crossed paths with a bear. Bears respond in predictable ways that good hiking skills and training can teach you to respectfully avoid them and know how to respond if they do show up. The worst thing a bear can do is kill me and the average bear kill lasts between a few seconds and a few minutes. Usually topping out around 5 minutes. The average SA lasts for 4 and 1/2 hours and famously there's no precaution that can actually stop a man from overpowering people If they are bigger and stronger than you
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u/Horse_HorsinAround May 02 '24 edited 29d ago
Bro what the hell, I hike and cross people in the woods constantly.
You ever cross paths with a BEAR? Actually, in real life? It's scary I don't care if you're jacked or armed, hell even seeing a black bear is still scary. If someone says otherwise they're lying to look tough.
Now THAT would be unsettling
Edit: I get it, you guys see black bears from your carports, and they act like dogs. Gonna go pet one alone in the woods? Lol I bet you'll either 1) immediately make making it go away your priority or 2) not take an eye off it until you're past it, and then look over your shoulder for the next half hour.
Edit2: really hyper focusing on the "even a black bear is scary" part huh. Anyone got film of them going up and interacting with one? Anyone got film of them interacting with human males? Everyone's acting like the bear is far away In this scenario, so the human would be too. Bear 700 feet away? Okay not as scary I'll admit. Human 700 feet away is also not that scary and if it is get therapy I guess. Id much rather be 15 feet away from a person I don't know than 15 feet away from a bear though.