Really sad. Still not many details as to what happened. Apparently the cyclist was attacked around 4 am so not sure if maybe they had left their tent to use the bathroom maybe?
I was about 30 miles from there this last weekend doing some trail running and have ridden gravel in the area a bunch over the years. I’ve come across a bear before and according to cars or other riders that I’ve passed by there were a couple times I must have been nearby without noticing. Not sure the best strategy to avoid encounters is. Making lots of noise so you don’t surprise them (Chris King hubs?) and carry spray if you do get in a bad situation?
Was just north of there (Condon) the 27th to the 1st and it seems the bear presence is increased right now. I saw 2 grizzlies on 2 road rides there. The locals were also mentioning that they were seeing more. I ran into two groups of bikepackers heading that way one was from Minnesota … So sad.
I’ve encountered many black bears in the Appalachians over the years. Always exciting especially when its a momma with cubs. None have ever been aggressive, but out west those browns and grizzlies scare me pretty well. Running trails around Rainier I came across bear scat that was fresh and promptly changed course. I would definitely want a nice fat can of spray west of the Mississippi.
The attack happened between 4 and 5 a.m. in Ovando, a town of fewer than 100 people adjacent to Montana’s Blackfoot River
When I ran my trail marathon in Montana across the divide it was the first time I had been in Montana.
As a big Norman Maclean reader I made a pilgrimage to the river and waded in the waters. I do not fish - flies or otherwise.
As for the run I was alone on the trails crossing the divide and the most I encountered was hearing snorting off trail with multiple occurrences. I was told the moose are more dangerous than the bears so that was quite concerning.
That sucks. But I hope they don’t track the bear and kill it.
Agree with ya but I bet they will. A teenager was attacked recently, in the Great Smoky Mountains NP, while sleeping during a camping trip. The authorities hunted down the bear.
As a side note, I think there was an incident where a mountain biker was killed right outside of Glacier NP a few years back. Apparently it was on a trail system just outside the park. he came around a corner, at high speed, and ran into the grizzly.
yikes. Was in Ovando last week… planned to come back to the Stray Bullet Cafe, looked very Montana, but ran out of time…
went up Monture Creek nearby to fish, very beary feel to the woods and willow thickets up there. Carried bear spray in my fishing bag waterbottle compartment, talked loudly to myself, succumbed to bearanoia after an hour and beat feet back to the Blackfoot river instead…
What road(s) were you riding on when you saw two grizzlies??!
Seeing black bears on the road around there is very common.
But I haven’t heard of any Grizzly sightings around there.
Same thing has happened in the Rattlesnake wilderness. (North of Missoula) Went from no grizzly sightings in decades, to a grizzly sighting/tracks every few weeks.
Just on 83…1 about a mile south of the Mission Mountain Store at 2 in the afternoon just off the edge of the road in the tree line, and then another about 630am 6 miles north of seeley lake crossed the road bout a 100 yards in front of me.
Updated reports say they were not bikepacking/cycling. But sad none the less.
I’m in a Great Divide FB group.
She was bikepacking.
The owner of Blackfoot Angler has posted some updates to the group.
The woman had decided to tent camp that night to get the full experience rather than staying in the Jail (historic place for overnight ingredients in Ovando).
Pretty much all SB Tour Divide competitors have passed through. This cyclist wasn’t a part of the race.
That sucks. But I hope they don’t track the bear and kill it.
Agree with ya but I bet they will. A teenager was attacked recently, in the Great Smoky Mountains NP, while sleeping during a camping trip. The authorities hunted down the bear.
As a side note, I think there was an incident where a mountain biker was killed right outside of Glacier NP a few years back. Apparently it was on a trail system just outside the park. he came around a corner, at high speed, and ran into the grizzly.
Yeah, that was Brad Treat who was killed in 2016. He was a fantastic runner from Kalispell back in the mid-90’s. He ended up going to WSU where he was a teammate of Bernard Lagat.
As for the bear, they are trying to track it now. I think sop is that if the attack was unprovoked or didn’t involve a bear protecting their cub then they do kill the bear.
Yep, that’s how it works. In the unprovoked scenario the bear starts seeing humans as a food source…not good…that’s why they euthanize them.
According to accounts, they had open food in their tents in the middle of the night when the bear came by the first time.
After chasing it off (and finally securing their food), they just went back to sleep. Then the bear came back again…
So it wasn’t entirely ‘unprovoked’.
Other than for meals, you don’t have open food in or around your tent in bear country. Ideally, You don’t eat in your tent at all (crumbs, spills, etc.).
If bears show up, you break camp and move (to a safe location), regardless of time.
I know, easy armchair quarterbacking…but in the Wild, you better follow Nature’s rules.
According to accounts, they had open food in their tents in the middle of the night when the bear came by the first time.
After chasing it off (and finally securing their food), they just went back to sleep. Then the bear came back again…
I read that. Not sure how they were able to go back to sleep after the first encounter. No way would I be able to (unless I was able to move indoors or in a car). It sounds like the woman was dragged out of her tent and it wasn’t her tent that had the food in the first place?
Either way really sad but also does demonstrate the importance and securing food while in bear country. Most of the campgrounds I’ve been to in Montana do have signs recommending this.
It is very complicated. There are probably more griz in Montana then there have been in the last 50 years. So the population is up. There are huge amounts of tourists flocking to the National Parks this year after the Covid opened up a bit. The weather has been really hot so I am guessing the huckleberry and food sources are stressed or are going to be very soon. The stream and river flow is very low this year. Between all of those factors there is a lot of pressure on all the wildlife in Montana this summer. The Swan Range has always been bear alley, so the chance of an encounter is probably as high as it has been in a long long time.
If I would have seen or heard a griz while I was tent camped. I would have packed up (in a hurry) and left. I am getting too old to tent camp, but I never ever had any food close to where I tent camped in Griz country, let alone in my tent. Some of my favorite hiking areas (Bitteroot and Rattlesnake) have just recently been occupied or at least reported to have some of the big guys wondering thru. Quick draw bear spray is now a standard feature in my outings. It was like when I surfed in Hawaii for years and there were the men in the grey suits…We are the guests in their home and they just do what they do.
