Expert Wyoming Hiker Has A Fantastic Grizzly Bear Moment
Wyoming isn't just a beautiful state, it's a state that gives us a tremendous amount of opportunity to hike and explore.
In Yellowstone National Park alone, there are over 900 miles of trails. Over 900 miles of opportunity to adventure through the first national park. You could spend months just hiking around the park and never see it all.
Remember when heading out on an adventurous hike, to be prepared for bear encounters. Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Bear Wise Wyoming is a great resource.
One of my favorite hikers to follow on his adventures is Stan Mills. I've written about him and his journey's many times, because he's knowledgeable, safe, informative and his videos are exciting to watch. Stan's hikes aren't normally for hikers with a 'beginner hiker' status, but definitely ones to build up to.
In this particular video, Stan was on a 12.5 mile off-trail hike that took him 9.5 hours. Along the way he encountered pretty rough terrain, incredible sights, rain, snow, bison, deer, ducks/geese, elk, and one good sized grizzly.
The grizzly was fairly uninterested in Stan, but at one point looked like he could take off after him. It's crazy how stealthy these big bears can be. Stan mentions that he was just sitting down resting when the bear came out of nowhere. Since it was raining, he was under his poncho and hidden from the bear. The bear knew something was out of place and kept an eye on the unfamiliar object behind him.
After resting, Stan knew it was time to start slowly backing out of the situation, so it didn't escalate. That's one of the best part of Stan and his experience, he knows when it's time to go and how to remove himself from the situation.
Take a few minutes and check out Stan's video. Actually, subscribe to his YouTube channel and watch them all.