My NEAR DEATH experience on the Appalachian Trail (learn from it)

[@KyleHatesHiking]

If you watch my videos on the regular and your name is not Dan Becker, please consider supporting my content on Patreon. Shoutout to the amazing gals and guys who have already joined! www.patreon.com/kylehateshiking

[@ricecowboy]

Just rename your channel to “Kyle Hates Dan Becker” 😆

[@wasidanatsali6374]

Here’s some food for thought, the population of black bears in the GSMNP alone has tripled over the last two decades. That same explosive growth in black bear populations has been duplicated in pretty much every good black bear habitat up and down the East Coast as forests are recovering from the logging that took place in the early 20th century. Name any state in the lower 48 that has black bears and the story is the same, black bears are making an impressive comeback.

[@LisaNix2]

I jus subbed to Dan Becker just to see why you don’t like him😀

[@denakelley4363]

LOL. Would love to know the story on that. I follow him but the man cannot take a lick of criticism.

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

@@LisaNix2 me too lol

[@lauratyler4863]

Flossie, I was there at the hostel and we saw you coming down the mountain! I helped you get a towel to clean up the bloody scratches! My trail name was Lucky Too.

[@GingerKC]

That is soooo cool!!! Amazing you were right there to help. Beautiful how hikers help one another. I'd love to hike, but bad knees has stopped that. Osteoarthritis SUCKS BALLS!!! Knees collapse with no warning.

[@ceridwenattwood5784]

@@GingerKC I have (had) a similar problem. Finally got both knees replaced last year (not at the same time), and my pain levels are down close to zero. Haven't been able to get back strength and stamina as fast as I was hoping for, but if your doctor says "you're there" by all means get the surgery! Absolutely as life changing as developing OA in both knees was to begin with.

[@TheRambler11]

So last spring I was doing the Devil's Path (Catskills NY) with a friend. We were taking it kind of easy and did it in 2 nights 3 days. Last night of the trip we went off trail on the west side of West-kill mtn below 3500 to setup our hammocks. We had a good evening relaxing by a small fire. So we finally turn in and i am laying in my hammock watching a movie i downloaded when at about 11pm i hear a noise outside my tarp. Thinking it was some critter coming to investigate the campsite(like raccoon etc) i leaned out of my hammock while turning on my headlamp. Well as soon as i leaned over and the light came on a black bear stuck it's head under my tarp, my headlamp hitting it square in the face. I screamed in surprise, bear jumped back in a flash and it sounded like a freight train going through the woods. It was just barreling through all of the underbrush. I then proceeded to sleep like a baby the rest of the night, but man was that wild. We scared each other half to death i think.

[@misscandy84]

Ah cool I love black bears beautiful

[@NYpaddler]

A long, long time ago I did a 1 night solo backpack in the Gunks, spending the night in the Palmaghatt Ravine. The weather was good, so I just slept outside with my sleeping bag on a pad, next to my pack which was leaning against a log. Sometime during the night I woke up with a slight pressure on my chest, and realized an animal was straddling me and checking out my pack. It was definitely too big to be a raccoon, bobcat, or other smallish animal, and since I was probably a mile or so from the nearest house I've always thought a dog wasn't all that likely. I'm figuring that makes either a coyote or bear a good possibility. Whatever it was, as I woke up and moved a bit it ran off about as soon as I realized it was there.

[@misscandy84]

True or fake this ?

[@misscandy84]

@@NYpaddler what was it?

[@wandasetzer1469]

@@NYpaddler Bears smell a lot. Really bad.

[@katb650]

I was 7 months pregnant hiking in New Hampshire with my husband on an intermediate trail, and a little more than half a mile in we spooked a bear. We turned around, tried to save face, and said we’re getting the heck out just in case. A couple minutes later I looked back, because I’m like that, and the bear was coming for us. We put it to a walk jog and were praying, tried to make noise, and the bear was gaining. I literally thought that we might be one of those bear mauling stories on the news, which is a thought/feeling I can never fully describe. It followed us closely the 10 minutes out of the trail, and when we hit the steep decline on the way out, I was having trouble keeping my balance being pregnant. So my husband turned around and faced off with the bear as I made my way down and off the trail. I tried to keep my husband in sight as I did and was yelling at him to f*cking come to me. I was incredibly panicked as I couldnt see what the bear would do. He told me the bear initially turned around away from him but then decided to continue to pursue. My husband was a freaking fast D1 runner and I know that doesn’t mean much against a bear, but he blazed down the trail at that point and we blasted out past the road and into our car. The bear didn’t follow us into the road, thank God. This was last year in June, and I still have nightmares. It’s definitely impacted our enjoyment of nature, which is so hard for both of us. But praise God we are alive!

[@Nargamorodo]

Did you make noise, did you have bear spray with you?

[@katb650]

@@Nargamorodo made plenty of noise but no bear spray, which we definitely learned from. We had no idea it was a bear area, so we’ll be doing our research in advance from now on

[@tpkyterooluebeck9224]

Running means Chase to a bear. You run, they run. Sometimes, you can distract a bear by tossing a rock in a direction away from the bear and in the opposite direction you are going. You toss underhand in order to not look like a threat. However, having a permit to carry is useful because you can just shoot up into the air (not directly over your head) but shoot it, and that sometimes will scare a bear off. And by loud noise, you have to get really loud. Shout and keep Shouting! In my case, I'd shout praises to Y'Shua-Jesus and also shoutingly ask for a shield between you and the bear. I did ask for a shield, but quietly, to be put up between a would-be raper and I. He gave me that shield. The would-be raper ran into it, backed off, scratched his head, and looked confused. He looked like he ran into a glass wall. I believe he is saved today. I know he didn't forget that experience! Best Wishes!

[@anthonyfoutch3152]

This is why I would carry pepper spray. Most hikers say not to but I would.

[@katb650]

@@tpkyterooluebeck9224 This is beautiful and helpful! I just happened to read Psalm 3:3 today: “You, O Lord, are a shield that surrounds me; you are my glory, the One who lifts my head high.”

[@hoplophobic]

I've had a few bear encounters on the AT. In one case I was being actively stalked by a black bear exhibiting predatory behavior. I managed to scare it off, but this is why I always implore people to bring bear spray with them if they're going to hike in bear country. It can save your life. When I was hiking alone I'd also talk to myself so the bears could hear me coming. I probably sounded like a crazy person (because I'd have full blown arguments with myself just to keep it lively), but a surprised bear is a dangerous bear, so you want to make sure they hear you coming from a distance.

[@bulbigood6558]

Bears are evasive if they know humans are coming

[@lilolmecj]

Steve Isdall says Black Bears are more likely than others to stalk humans.

[@lilolmecj]

@@bulbigood6558that is not always true, especially in areas where they encounter lots of humans. They start to see humans as sources of food, and not particularly scary. You always need to be fully aware and pay attention to the particular wildlife you encounter, their actual behavior. I can’t tell you the exact video, but Steve Isdall, How to Hunt/Roundtable of Knowledge put one up in the last three months where a bear stalked him over several hours. He was very aware, and avoiding it until it finally lost interest.

[@davidthompson1573]

I stumbled upon a bear when I was younger and out camping with some friends. I was feeling a you man’s courage and stood my ground. I raised my hands, stood tall, and shouted a loud roar as loud as I could. Surprisingly it really startled the bear! He sort of grunted a couple times, turned around, and ran up a hill. It’s a cool story I still like to tell.

[@lealovesthesea]

That’s exactly what you’re supposed to do.

[@eddiethehitchhikingmaltipo6754]

Flossie is so genuine. Got to love it when the chips are down you call mom ❤️ More storytelling like this one please Kyle 👍🏼

[@KyleHatesHiking]

Glad you enjoyed it!!

[@sillylilly4794]

A mom here. I'd be like thanks son for calling and telling me you are going to be eaten by a bear. You told me you would be fine!!! You told me it was SAFE!!! lol

[@johnlombardo7816]

yeah got a little teary thinking about if I was in that situation and how i would likely do the same

[@melissaray6226]

My son is 21, and I keep a running list of the top 20 (used to be top 10) panicked phone calls I've gotten from him. I've talked him off the ledge so many times and we crack up about it later. After watching this, I sent him the link and told him, please don't give me this heart attack in the future, LOL. But I know if it happened, I would be getting that call.

[@valeskavictoria1278]

@@sillylilly4794 Then he hangs up with her! Like what did he say? "Okay mom, I gotta go get eaten now and I'm going to lose signal. Bye bye now!"

[@spnemec]

I had a cub wake me one morning by rubbing against my back while I was in my hammock. By the time I got up enough to look out, I saw a sow and her two Cubs wandering up the mountain. The spirits were with me on that day.

[@ShinobiDrip999]

Actually a very dangerous situation lol glad you got out okay.

[@SirManfly]

that's quite a story ! and this guy's story is scary too !!

[@steveconsultant4523]

First rule in dealing with bears: Their lives are about surviving hibernation, so they are always hungry. Second rule: Never become a source of food to a bear. This one is tricky because if someone else has fed them, it can be a problem for you.

[@spnemec]

@@steveconsultant4523 After camping around here for around 30 years, I've noticed a sharp increase in black bear sightings over the last several years due to increased tail traffic. During bear season, I've started carrying a bear canister regardless of local requirements. Pack weight is not nearly as important to me as my responsibility to the habitat I'm invading on my outings.

[@steveconsultant4523]

@@spnemec I can understand that. Personally, when I was growing up we camped in bear country quite a bit. As an adult, we lived in a house where we had black bears around us (usually not where you could see them). When you live in the woods like that, camping looses something. Another important point to keep in mind about bears is that there are four different bear species in Noth America and all four are very different in their behavior. I would not willingly get within a half mile of any but a black bear. Even they should be treated with respect. I have seen full grown black bears casually pick up a 500lb log just to see if there was anything good to eat under it. They can climb 40 feet up a tree in less than 5 seconds. They can charge about 35mph, a quarter of a mile up hill in heavily wooded terrain. So you will not outrun or out fight a black bear. But the non-urbanized bears don't see it that way. The typical black bear won't hunt anything much larger than a good sized cat. They look at an adult human, and they see you as too big to hunt and too slow to be a threat. Mostly. If you do something that makes them nervous, they will warn you just like they would warn another bear. Then they start escalating until you go away. Is it really their fault if you did not get the message until they charged you?

[@chriswhittington294]

I've had several bear encounters over the years. In the Allegheny Mountains (PA), they usually either looked at you and walked off or ran the other direction. Backpacking out of Cades Cove in the Smokies, we ran into a huge black bear. We dropped our packs, got our cookwear, started banging on them and making noise. He wasn't impressed. Kept hiking as he stayed beside us in the trees. Nerve wracking, especially since we were approaching our campsite. Never saw him again. Those campground bears are the scariest though! Not afraid of humans...associate them with food. Safer travels Flossie.

[@darlenemcgarrity9150]

We had a bear encounter in PA near Palmerton... bear looked at us as it crossed the path and just kept going. We were stunned. I got one good picture...

[@wasidanatsali6374]

When I was a kid we were picnicking at a campground near Cades Cove when this sow bear and her two second year cubs aggressively charged into the campground like thugs. Momma bear was bluff charging whoever was unfortunate enough to be closest to her as her big cubs had their way with whatever they could find on and around the picnic tables. It was a busy summer day at the campground and there were people running in every direction to get away from those bears. It was like the parting of the Red Sea. LOL I’m laughing about it now but seriously, that kind of bear behavior today would probably be a death sentence for the bears.

[@chriswhittington294]

@@wasidanatsali6374 😲🐻

[@coasterbrookie]

Pots and pans just raise their curiosity. They’re Like Dr. Juice to the fishing industry.

[@ae1586]

I was about 4-5 years old and out turkey hunting with my dad we were walking thru the woods to the blind we had just crossed a over a creek and I see at what I consider a close distance 30-50 yards away a large black bear who was standing dead still on all 4s looking in our direction. I pulled on my dads hand and pointed at the bear and whispered “bear” we stood completely still and the bear looked down and started digging around on the ground . I don’t think it saw us but we slowly slipped to right and behind visible cover of an oak tree . My dad loader his shotgun with a couple 3 1/2 magnum slugs he had in his pocket and we waited . It seemed like an eternity but finally the near went on his way and thankfully that was away from us. I felt certain he smelled us or sensed us. My dad had told me if it came any closer to us that he was going to step aside from the tree and fire on it and for me to run back across the creek and to not stop running and not to look back . I was very scared in one way but my dads calm in the situation gave me a sense that we would be ok . Felt like an eternity. 25 years later I remember it in vivid high definition like it happened yesterday

[@tonyvelasquez6776]

Hi deer this is vry beautiful

[@easylivinglife6284]

Black bear are the smallest bears in NA, and they tend to stay away from humans because they are still hunted by humans to this day. Generally, bear meets man, bear dies; they know that. Black bears have short and rounded claws. If you did see a black bear, you probably weren’t in any danger. He probably DID smell you, but just didn’t care eitger way. It’s not like bears have a 100% chance of attacking you… most bears, again, will go away. Brown bears are big and have sharp claws. Grizzly bear, you’ll know if when you see it, you thought it was a moose at first. Fucking huge. And also most aggressive/curious (besides polar). They will sometimes actively seek the smell of campfires or loud noises.

[@bellamymalleb]

@@easylivinglife6284 Thanks for this. My understanding is also that black bears are low threat, so killing one while they're looking for bugs to eat is not necessary. Glad everyone is okay.✌

[@_nick_d]

Your dad made the right assessment. Black bears are generally curious not aggressive.

[@knifelore1647]

Glad it worked out so well for you guys first, an even the bear. Its funny how we as humans are. I have been deer hunting an helped deer escape a mud bog, an have taken deer for the table. I for one will not kill something that knows I am there, an thats just a personal choice, on a cool note due to this was in a deer stand on a powerline in Walton County Florida, an a doe pops out right below me an looks me straight in the eye, a second later her fawn comes out an it too looks straight at me. I was never so happy to go home empty handed that day. Sorry for the rant, just brought back some fond memories! God bless!

[@arboral]

I have had multiple bear encounters, and I have learned that yelling like a madman may not be the best move. My last encounter was in the Adirondacks on the ATIS lake road. I stopped for a break when another couple started yelling Bear! I looked over and it was momma plus one cub. Oy-ve! The couple wanted to run but I said don’t move and don’t yell as I had only seen one cub not two. I slowly moved farther away from the bear. Sure enough cub 2 showed up. Then momma got real interested in us. She reared to size us up. Other hikers were starting to show up and I waved them to stay back. The couple behind me turned their back to leave. I had to tell them calmly that no one turns their back on a bear until everything is de-escalated. Calming chatter to the bear, while slowly backing up worked out fine. Moral of the story but counter intuitive de-escalation and respect for the bear might work better until you can gauge your situation. If the bear remains aggressive then escalate to noises or bear spray at the ready. I have other tales but this one is relatable to Flossy’s encounter.

[@misscandy84]

Where abouta in adirdacks was it lake george ?

[@stonemarten1400]

You did the right thing, keep calm and slowly back-off facing the bear, but avoiding direct eye contact. Be ready for the dramatics in the unlikely event of an actual scrap, then fight for your life, or play dead if it’s a grizzly. All easier said than done.

[@erick2800]

It seems like running into a bear with cubs and being discovered by a curious bear are two totally different scenarios that not enough people distinguish between. Thank you!

[@anonymouscrank]

If I understand you, this encounter happened on the road into the AMR. I've walked it many times (shoulder season) and apparently I've been kidding myself. I'll have more situational awareness in the future. Thanks for sharing.

[@arboral]

@@misscandy84 no the high peaks region

[@kristymoore7052]

When I was a kid, car camping in pup tents in the woods, my Dad woke to something crashing through the woods, he sat up, and then smack, the bear’s head collided with my Dad’s head. Bear gained composure, ran off. My Dad’s head was still ringing when my Mom and Dad were yelling at us to wake up and get into the car. This was a freak accident. My Dad had a nasty black eye, and bump.

[@meredithgrubb7027]

Damn. Thank goodness the bear ran off. Thats crazy, a bear headbutted the crap out of ur dad.

[@raymondowens8848]

This is why I’m searching videos on camping in my car.

[@barbryll8596]

Holy crap!

[@MightyJabroni]

LMAO "Did you get into a bar fight?" "No. It was a bear."

[@stevesheartone2998]

WOW, that`s an incredible experience! This is the first story I have ever heard of a person accidentally banging heads with a bear and then lived to tell about it.

[@brookedettmering1709]

I found your channel today, watched a couple videos and kept thinking how familiar your voice is but couldn't think from where... Once you said 'flossy' it clicked that you host trailtales, which I've listened to so so many of!! It's crazy listening to you guys for the last year or so and just now now putting a face to the voices!!

[@jaygriffin7124]

Good story! Good reminder that solo backpacking isn’t always solo. Here bear! I started a 4 day trip and within 20 minutes ran into a mom and Cubs. The Cubs climbed trees on either side of the trail, and the mom looked back at me, but seemed chill. I backed of slowly. I spoke to her as calmly as I could. After a while they wandered away. I thought long and hard about moving forward and eventually I pushed through. Too much adrenaline for me. I’ve seen several bears over the years, but that was the classic mama bear scenario. Glad you survived.

[@ericsidolmind]

Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Deep in the woods on a trout stream. Daylight was fading. I was on this high bank of the stream fishing this hole below. I caught a fish! I pulled it up, turned to unhook it and stepped on a stick that snapped. Across the stream from me a black bear started snorting and raking the ground. I grabbed my air horn in my fishing vest, and blasted it a few times. It ran off, but it followed me about a half mile along that stream back to my car. I think it could smell the fish in my creel. I could hear it the whole way back, snapping branches across the stream from me. Kept my fish and made it out with a story.

[@HillPhantom]

I lived near the AT and ran it for over 15 years, I took a can of bear spray with me at all times. Folks used to be like, owe, you only have black bears, they are no danger, of course I knew better and so should you! I know live in Montana with greater threats and its spray and a 10mm. Still, the greatest danger on trail, is other two legged animals.

[@csn583]

Birds? (;

[@HillPhantom]

@@csn583 Birds Aren't Real

[@eizzle78]

@@apples8872 Sasquatch just wants a friend!

[@matthewclinton3338]

Decided to spontaneously go on a one night solo hike, on a Friday evening last June. Didn’t see any bears during my hike in to the campsite, but could definitely hear them shortly after sunset when I got settled in my tent. Barely slept a wink all night and ended up packing up and getting out of there as soon as the sun came up the next morning

[@WayOffTheTrail]

Great story! I was walking along the Cranberry River once and heard a screeching sound coming from a little island in the river. When I went to investigate (bad move) I saw that it was a cub up in a tree calling for its mother. I was wearing just shorts and an extra large black T-shirt. When the cub saw me it thought I was its mommy and came right down the tree and swam over to the shore and right up to me in a flash. When it realized I wasn't its mommy it did a fast U-turn, and so did I!

[@johnlombardo7816]

aww i may have tried to pet it! lol

[@ExplorationRandomDestination]

You would have been eaten alive by momma if you tried to pet her cub Hopefully cub wasn’t lost

[@valeskavictoria1278]

@@johnlombardo7816 That would be cute but I feel like if the mamma bear saw you do that, you wouldn't be able to leave any more KZbin comments again.

[@aaronfalzerano9432]

That story actually explains why mama bears are so protective of their young. The cubs are dumb as hell and possess no self preservation skills.

[@JohnFisk-OHS-78]

First, really glad to see that your buddy made it out of the encounter all in one piece. Not all of these end well, as you know. My bear story is actually a tent camping adventure in Cades Code in the Smokies. My wife and I had just arrived in camp and we had been warned that a bear had wandered through the campground an hour or so earlier - right around dinnertime when everyone was cooking. We dutifully cleaned up carefully and stowed our food and anything that smelled in the trunk of the car. We were told to dispose of trash in the bear-proof dumpster, which was about 40' from our campsite. Around 2 AM we heard a god-awful crash and both of us chandelier'd. We were shaking. Totally terrified. After about 10 minutes, we finally calmed down enough to try to get back to sleep. The next morning, I got up early to investigate - the bear had come back, managed to tip the dumpster over, which caused the huge door to bang open. About 15-20' from our tent was an enormous pile of fresh bear scat. My wife took a souvenir photo of Me and the Scat. Many thanks for sharing this. Your suggestion about handling yourself - especially with mother and cubs - is truly helpful. Cheers!

[@goldibee]

What’s recommended is the exact opposite of what instinct would tell you to do. It’s easy to say “don’t run” until you’re in the situation yourself. Crazy story. I’m glad you made it out of there safe.

[@KyleHatesHiking]

🙌🙌

[@kevintolbert4934]

Don't ever run. NO HUMAN ever is even close to as fast as a bear. Them jokers can run up the steepest hill faster, much faster, then you can run down. When you you look like prey. It is better to fight than run. I doubt you will ever feel the need to run anyway. Bear wants easy food, it doesn't want to fight. Make him think messing with you ain't worth. Slowly back away if cubs, keep eye on them. Feel lucky if you see one.

[@istvanpraha]

I don’t know....I walked into a “situation” in the woods with a large animal that people say isn’t in my area....and I froze. It took a couple of minutes to get my body to move. My legs felt shaky. Of course that was mostly from the shock of seeing an animal that “doesn’t exist” here. On a side note, this is yet another reason why the mainstream media and narrative is garbage - it lies

[@kyllo8497]

@@istvanpraha what animal?

[@BC-ik1uk]

@@kyllo8497 Sasquatch

[@kdavis4910]

We like Flossy. In my mind he's part of the channel dudes. Much love to both of you. I picked my ULA pack because of a review you did Kyle. I love this channel. It's knowledge, fun, entertainment, and bullshit all in one place. Flossy got lucky twice with these bears. They let him go not once, but twice. His guardian angels must be pretty overworked beings. I am glad your still with us Flossy.

[@MsGhostofficial]

💛it!

[@davedavis662]

Many years back my family was camping in a state run campground. I was a teenager and had met a girl and we wondered off and stayed out way to late. After dropping her off at her family’s campsite I returned to ours. Pitch black with very little to make my way I finally arrived and was settling into my cot. Just then I heard a huge black bear smacking a garbage can like twenty feet from our site. Fifty five gallon drum with a post and massive lid mounted into the ground, impossible to destroy. I had to have walked within feet of that bear returning back and never saw it, it obviously saw me cause it waited till I went into the tent before it attempted to break into that can. To this day I still think my guardian angle was working overtime that night. Thank you Lord for protecting a young crazy kid.

[@Don.Challenger]

Good luck that you dodged that bear and also good luck you dodged a marriage a few months later.

[@krisgee9553]

Amen!

[@sandilou2U]

If you have any future camping plans, never set up near a garbage can. It attracts all wildlife

[@SylvainSybaris]

I have been a hiker & van-camper on & off for roughly 40 years... I learned to always carry a handgun & bear spray, but never did in the past, so I just got lucky.... In 2013 at about maybe 50 miles west of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Northern Labrador, Canada in literally in the middle of nowhere on those remote dirt roads, I pulled over around 8pm to get ready for another night.... At around 1am, I woke up to a huge bear violently rocking my van trying to break in.... I had no weapons or bear spray, and the front seats were loaded with cases, boxes & bags because I always needed to make room for me to sleep in the back, so I had to cram stuff up front.... Therefore, I could just move all the stuff to the back while I was still in the back (a regular Dodge Grand Caravan), so I had no way to drive off... All I could do was try to scare it, so I reached over the front seat and honked my horn over & over & over & over for about a couple minutes, and then it finally ran away... I didn't want to risk getting out of the van to move all the stuff in the back to drive off, so I decided to stay put for the night hoping the bear would not return, and thankfully, it did not come back.

[@kelliesharpe1067]

I'm from Townsend Tennessee...I have a lot of bear stories. A lot. I'm a wildlife and landscape photographer but, I'm also just a Mom who happens to have been born in East Tennessee and bears have been part of life ever since I married my husband who's whole family is from Townsend. I hurt my back in 2013... hiking in the snow, in the dark, up in Chilhowee Mountain here in the Smokies. I've lost a lot of use of my right leg because of the fall I took but I can still get a couple of miles away from humans and I know where the bears here eat and drink. Food, water, shelter....find the basics, sit in the area, stay still, and you'll probably see a bear. At least that's how I do it. One day I was sitting next to some water and I had been for hours. I started hearing something in the woods coming towards me that at first sounded like a human. Then in the distance I could see that it was moving small trees much more than a human would...this was not a trail so there's stuff you have to go around and over to get to where I was sitting. Then I heard breath and I'm already getting up at this point. Well, my damn leg had fallen asleep. It was just numb...and it made it impossible to stand on it. I was balancing on one leg. The bear came through some rhododendron about 10 yards from the water and me. She had 2 cubs with her which were about 6 months old at the time. She huffed at me and swatted the ground and slung some dirt at me. And I just looked her in the eye as I was putting my pack on and grabbing my trekking poles and I said... "Dude...my leg is completely asleep...I'm trying to get out of your damn way...you're gonna have to give me a second and just chill" I know she didn't understand my words because she's a bear but, she understood I was trying to get out of her way. She calmed down... stood there patiently...and I hobbled to the other side of the water and took pictures of the cubs getting in the mud and playing and of Momma drinking about a gallon of water. I have known this bear her entire life. She was about 6 1/2 years old when this happened...and I don't know if her knowing me when she sees me had anything to do with her calming down for me. It probably did. But, I've also been in a couple of situations where I might not have let the bear actually see me run away, but I've back off and then run, for sure. It doesn't matter if you've known them their whole lives...they'll still bluff charge you and it's scary every time.

[@MsGhostofficial]

Jeeezzzuuuusssss!! You are brave!!! In all of my camping/hiking adventures, all around the world, I have LUCKLY only encountered one cub. Do you want to know how fast I hightailed it out of that cubs radius?!!! LOL. Lake Tahoe. 💛🤍 your story!

[@kelliesharpe1067]

@@MsGhostofficial lol… I don’t think it was brave as much as I was just out of options. I’ve lived with bears my whole life and I’m still respectfully scared of them. Have a great rest of the weekend.

[@charamia9402]

I'd say 100% she knew you well enough to know you've never been a threat, maybe even recognising that putting on the backpack means leaving, and saw no need to make a fuss. She also 100% knew if you tried something you'd be worse off though.

[@karlkramer7780]

Had a similar story when day hiking on Kodiak Island, AK. By myself and came upon a Kodiak grizzly and one cub. She was not pleased to see me and stood straight up at about 40 yards away. The trail left me no other option but turn turn around and very quickly retreat. I've never been more afraid than I was that moment. Fight or flight really does kick in. Foolishly, I was hiking without bear spray or a gun. Learned my lesson that day. Thanks for your great recounting of your story!

[@vereddar6420]

My bear story: Section hiking in SNP, I went off the trail to pee. Momma bear 40 yards away saw me the exact moment I saw her. She immediately turned to her two babies and ordered them up a tree. They raced up that tree like there were stairs attached to it. Momma stood there watching me as I got back to the trail to pee elsewhere. The End.

[@dougd.8925]

Dang. .cool story.

[@stevepseudonym445]

So far, none of my bear sightings have been when I had my dick in my hand or my pants around my ankles. I'm perfectly happy to keep it that way, even though I'm not worried about bears.

[@steveconsultant4523]

Typical of both the Mom and the Cubs. I spent a really fascinating afternoon once watching a Mom protecting her three cubs from an aggressive male bear. The most interesting part of it for me was how long she took to escalate to direct physical violence in the defense of her cubs (she tried four different things before she attacked! Took about 45 minutes.) The fight itself was very quick. Maybe 30 seconds. She took a chunk out of the male's shoulder and he bugged out.)

[@vereddar6420]

@@stevepseudonym445 no dicks involved in this story. I'm a pantyhose sort of hiker.

[@MightyJabroni]

Hiker: "I need to piss" Mama bear: "Well, piss off then"

[@sledneck7398]

I hike around Yellowstone solo a good bit. Bear spray is on the left side of my hip belt, 44 Mag on the right, and an extra can of spray in my pack in case I use one and still have to walk out. I have had encounters but no charges thank god! More than anything being overly prepared gives me confidence.

[@redlilwitchy6088]

I love this story, it's a gem of a lesson and I'm glad you made it through. Its crazy how The Universe works, mainly about the hostel and your gut instinct about that camp. I'm glad you called your mom. 😭 Thanks for sharing!👣🙏💜

[@OliviaDaughter]

The call to mom was everything. ❤❤❤

[@RG-rl6hj]

They say not to run, but there are always circumstances that say to do otherwise. Glad you are alive to tell the tale Flossie!

[@apples8872]

I would say the odds of running are better against a black bear compared to like a Grizzly

[@alankee1065]

Great story! I’ve had several bear encounters in the Cranberry area of WV. The closest I came was when biking down hill and a smaller 150 pounder stepped onto the trail in front of me. I slid to a stop about 2 feet from him and put the bike between us. I’m not sure whose eyes were bigger his or mine. He took off so fast I could not even get his picture.

[@MsGhostofficial]

😵💛it!!!

[@tarheelhiker7463]

I had a very unpleasant encounter with an unfriendly bear last year. My cousin and I were headed north, several miles short of Max Patch. Originally we were going to camp at Groundhog Creek Shelter but comments showed there was a lot of bear activity there, soooo we stopped and ate our food several miles ahead of there. We decided to tent at a tent site where the shelter path turned off the trail and hung our bear bags, then set up our tent. Just as we settled down into our bags a large bear comes walking into camp. I jumped out of my tent and started yelling at the bear and clacking trekking poles. My cousin stayed in the tent in an effort not to seem too aggressive toward the bear. The bear circled around my tent a mere 15 yards away and stopped. We had a face off for about 10 minutes...seemed like 3 hours. The bear snorted, growled, stompled his feet and did everything except charge me. I kept thinking I must stand my ground and plus our packs were completely unpacked and my tent was set up so what could I do? Eventually, he did slowly start to mosey off (after standing on his hind legs and sniffing around for a long time). We quickly packed all our stuff, the tent, grabbed our bear bags, and did our very first night hiking up the trail about 3 more miles in the dark before stopping to camp again. I KNEW that bear was going to come back. You could tell that he thought he owned the place. I might add that we sang very loudly all the way up trail on my night hike. So scarey.

[@kathy888]

I think you're right in leaving. I think it is best to go by your instincts in those situations as every bear acts differently.

[@jonnyboom5993]

@@kathy888 No doubt

[@Georgeanne17]

So scary...

[@jmanbrizzle]

@@apples8872 yeah some lady just got killed by a grizzly in Montana in the middle of the night while she had food in her tent. She sprayed the bear and it ran off. An hour later it came back and killed her.

[@hayorge27]

@@jmanbrizzle yup I was going to say the same thing. Always move camp if a bear makes itself known

[@bearanoia673]

My kids gave me 'Bearanoia' as my trailname during a camping/day hiking trip around Red's Meadow several years ago. Hiked around for days, seeing bear sh*t everywhere, being totally terrified that we would get charged at, not being able to sleep at night AND didn't see one bear 😄 🐻🐻🐻 rent space in my mind 😄

[@KyleHatesHiking]

Lmao

[@amandashollenberger9191]

My first ever bear encounter was in the Delaware Water gap with a mama bear and two Cubs maybe 10-15 yards away (eating blueberries). At the time it was just my sister and I and we had no bear spray. We were scared shitless and walked backwards until more people came down the trail. We walked as one big group talking (not shouting) loudly. The bears just walked further away.

[@NicolePoliskey]

It is awesome that you still did it, knowing your "Bearanoia". Me, on the other hand, I know I have no business hiking because I have an irrational fear of bears 😃. I love nature, animals and solitude but I'll stick to the ocean. Love the story and love the name!

[@johnmcnulty4425]

I accidentally happened upon a mother bear and two cubs at a close distance while bushwacking in New Mexico. We were all totally surprised. The cubs went straight up a tree and the momma ran away into the woods - at first. I started backing up slowly anticipating what she would do next. Sure enough, in a moment, I saw the bushes moving as she ran full speed in a semi circular motion towards me. When she broke through the brush, no more than 20 feet away, I held up my hands and said, 'I'm sorry Mama. It was an accident. I mean no harm to you or your babies.' With that, she immediately went calm, walked over to the tree with the cubs who scrambled down the tree and then the three of them went away at a modest pace. What surprised me is that she didn't rear up, fake charge or even snort once she had an open view of me and knew that I wasn't a threat. Good times!

[@based9930]

lol, whatever

[@DavidAzua]

Nice move, they might not understand your words but can sense your nature better than any human.

[@based9930]

@@DavidAzua Boy, are you gullible.

[@johnmcnulty4425]

@B So, what does 'whatever' and 'gullible' imply? You think I'm making this up. I've had half a dozen or more close bear interactions as a backcountry camp staffer. This was just one of the top Two or three..

[@based9930]

@@johnmcnulty4425 it means you are FOS and this didn't go down like this.

[@DesertBloomBettas]

I have a bear story, though not on-trail. I grew up at a cabin in the woods with no road access - and when I was probably 12 or 13, I ended up getting trapped in an outhouse by a mama bear and her cubs - she didn't know I wasin there, I was trying desperately to stay quiet, but she did attempt to open the door. Luckily she gave up, and they moved on after about 20 minutes, but I'll never forget the visceral fear of those 20 minutes, just listening to the bears outside, and understanding the danger I was in (because this was not my first bear encounter, and I understood that a mama bear and her cubs was far more dangerous than your average bear). The worst moment was when I stopped hearing the bears and I had to make the decision of whether or not I was going to open the door to the outhouse and book it to the main cabin about 40 feet away. When I finally got to safety and got my mother's attention, I learned that my father and his gun were gone that morning... because he was bear-hunting up on the mountain nearby. I was the only one who saw a bear that day. lol

[@MAV3NX]

I was backpacking and sleeping under the stars in my mummy bag, when I awoke to the sound of something large crackling leaves as it walked down the hill above. As it got closer you could hear the heavy breathing of the bear and catch a good whiff of him. He walks right up to me and sticks his snout into my right leg and starts sniffing real heavy.....at this point I am trying to keep calm but my heart is racing so fast I think I am going to black out.....the bear then rolls me onto my belly, slightly ripping my sleeping bag, but then proceeds over to my first aid kit and shreds it to pieces....I had povidone iodine swab packets in my kit that I think drove him away when he bit into them......scary night on the AT🤓

[@stevesheartone2998]

WOW, that is a super scary experience you had! God was sure watching over you that day.

[@thedouglaspodcast]

Holy shit no way lol

[@thedouglaspodcast]

I hope this is real but also kinda hope you’re lying 😅 I would’ve absolutely passed out lmaoooo

[@MAV3NX]

@@thedouglaspodcast absolutely real. It was around 20 years ago near Ricketts Glen in PA.

[@j817madi]

Oh hell naw! I'd of straight up shit my pants.

[@alpyhaWQFwef]

Thanks for sharing your story & experience, bud. I'm a local of the region and could really picture the whole thing going doing.

[@RentFreeInYourHed]

You should always listen to your gut instinct. He kept saying "it didn't feel right". Also, right before that, he was offered a way out. Ultimately, that way out WAS his actual destiny. He was delivered. Some are not as fortunate when they ignore the gut instinct too long, eventually there is no escape. Fascinating story.

[@DMThomas61]

When I saw the title, I wondered if this was a sea story told by some hiker. However, the video convinced me from the beginning that this tale is legit and honestly told. The story-telling is not only authentic but well told.

[@chrishaley877]

It’s amazing how quickly your “training” on what you’re supposed to do when you see a bear goes to hell when you’re face to face with one. I found myself about 20 feet away from a mother (with a cub in a nearby tree) on my descent from Mt. Roberts in the Osipees. Mom was making some aggressive sounds (huffing and “clicking” 🤷🏻‍♂️). I was fortunate there was an alternate route I could take back to the car. I agree with the “back up slowly” strategy.

[@bootgrease]

We’re in ulster county ny, and have seen bear a few times in our yard. I went to party city and bought a couple of tiny air horns that fit in your hand. I feel more comfortable having them. I keep one on my workbench out in the shed, where I frequently am.

[@cfraimondo233]

I've had a number of bear encounters on the trail. They all end up with the bear darting off the second she notices me, or playing with bear canisters during the night until they figure out they can't open them. Nothing as scary as Flossy's encounter. Sitting at home rationally it's easy to say "don't run", but in the moment your flight or fight instincts kick in and rational decision making is out the window. Glad to hear nothing bad came of it, and leaves you with a cool story to tell.

[@Scott.Farkus]

Mountain Garden Hostel in Burke's Garden? That place is covered up with Bear. One of biggest bears I've ever seen was near there(I was hunting deer with a compound bow) around 500 lbs Black Bear.

[@jillmondt5398]

Good story, I am glad you were not seriously injured. Stay safe young man. ☮️

[@thekelpayton]

Great storytelling, put a smile on my face. Happy you survived.

[@war.on.buffets4170]

One time I was deep in Humboldt county, hiking the woods. I decided it was a good time to take a break and roll a joint, so I sat down and leaned against a pretty good-sized redwood tree and did just that. Halfway through smoking this joint, a 400-500 lb black bear dropped out of the tree I was leaning up against. It landed about 5 feet away from me and luckily hit the ground running; more afraid of me than I was of it somehow. Maybe it was stoned. Mama bear must have been close-by... I don't think I finished that joint that day....

[@KyleHatesHiking]

😂😂

[@em1355]

Thanks for the video! These types of videos should be required viewing for anyone taking up backpacking, as one can learn from them as to what one should or should not do.

[@martywilliard]

Great story! Glad it ended well. I was camping near Old Rag. Momma and (3) Cubs came into my camp at 6:15am . I didn’t breathe (in my tent) for the 45 minutes they hung around before they disappeared into the creek. (They were eating the acorns in my camp site ) Again, Great story

[@rickfromvirginia]

Your doing better! Awesome interview with lots of important info discussed. Hats off to both of you! Rick From Virginia

[@KyleHatesHiking]

Thanks Rick! Always appreciate your comments!

[@karinesq72]

In Yellowstone NP, I was hiking by myself and as I turned a corner, I saw a black bear about 5 feet from the trail. I stopped and we looked at each other. The bear wasn’t threatening me so I just kept walking. He watched me as I walked by but didn’t follow me.

[@littleangrynorwegiangranbe2777]

I live near The CT...CDT...and...thanx for sharing this....I love to go get coffee and chat with the trail....hopper's

[@NewsViewsAndTruth]

Quite a few bear stories from my time on the trail, bear put it's front paws on the hood of my Subaru at a trailhead, bear about 20 feet away (with cubs) at a trail town, and then a few sightings early morning on the trail (when they see me and shoot off into the brush). These all happened within a short period of 4 months or so.

[@Harry-Giles]

Great story to share with everyone guys. Glad you are ok Flossie!

[@MsGhostofficial]

[@jimini1976]

Great story. I've never been on the AT. I hike in and around the Catskill Mts and the woods around my house.I live about an hour away from where the AT passes through NY. I've had a few bears pass through my yard but have yet to see any while in the woods. When I'm out in the woods w/o a gun I always have a few packs of fire crackers in my pocket with the fuse sticking out of the package ready to light. I'm not sure if the noise would scare them off or not but it makes me feel a little more comfortable. Got home last night from a walk and found a deer tick under my pants crawling up my leg. I fear them more than bears ;)

[@mrtweedy705]

Good Bear Story! It's amazing how serendipity pops up in our life, especially in stressful times.

[@donnaslecz7600]

If anyone sees this message, it is said that bears are somewhat blind, it is there nose and ears that find you.....I am so happy you calmed down enough the second time and talked calmly to the bear....stay strong .

[@RaviStarr7]

Bears are not somewhat blind.

[@paulhendershott667]

My near-death on the AT was free climbing Bake Oven Knob in PA as a 15 year old boy scout. Started out repelling from the top, but our old weather worn climbing line snapped. I dropped down about 10' onto a ledge about half way down and then had to free climb back up. I was trying to overcome my fear of heights with the repelling, so the climb up was quite an adventure and not one I every wanted to try again. 😬😬😄😄

[@mikeroy6713]

One time while crouched down collecting some water in the Smokies I looked up to see you a mama bear as close as you two are now. I stood up slowly and she bluff charged. I backed up very slowly but stood my ground and she charged again. Another bluff. I started walking backwards slowly keeping my eye on her but when I thought I was close enough to the shelter I bolted! I’m running up the trail and I see a cub walking right towards me. The cub sees me, turns around and runs. Now I’m chasing the cub! I’m yelling to my buddy “Open the door! Open the door!” and I make it in there just in time. Now we are in a cage like zoo animals being viewed by mama bear and her 2 Cubs. And yeah, we were super paranoid leaving there the next morning.

[@MsGhostofficial]

[@duncan3144]

I will be over to the USA next year. I am going to backpack the black forest trail (PA). I will have to hitch a lift to my destination.

[@Hollylivengood]

These are all good to know. I've never lived in bear country until moving to Tennessee. Now I hear about sightings all over the place, so I'm a little worried. Bears show up in down town Chattanooga. They like the fountain at the park, and the restaurants close by, I guess. They show up on Brainard Rd, which is close to Brainard swamp which has a woods around it. Everybody there says they just talk calmly to a bear, like they're talking to a friend, and they leave. In our complex we get coyotes, foxes, racoons, and the occasional bobcat, and I'm told, bears. I will keep all this information in mind.

[@DGreen-d2k]

Just now watching this. I had a similar event in Glacier NP Going from Bowman Lake to the Goat Haunt in mid October in 1987. Beautiful time of year, but the bears are really out rummaging. Pulling bark off deadfalls looking for grubs, etc. More importantly sows teaching spring cubs how to live. We stopped to take some pics. About 50 yards below on the slope, there she was. Maybe 450lbs, only one cub in sight anyway. She stood up and started sniffing, found us, grunted, dropped down and started hauling ass up that slope like she was going downhill. By the time she stood up we were hauling ass up the trail as fast as I could go carrying a 50lb pack. We ran about a football field before we stopped. She had stopped about 15 yards from where we were. Darn near peed myself. But great lesson. Next time we went and bought two sets of ankle bells.

[@Everydaybackpacker]

I moved to Montana from Ohio in 2014. This is the story of my first ever encounter on trail with a grizzly. We were on the stillwater river trail in between the Beartooth and Absaroka ranges. This trail is super remote and very sparsely travelled. The trail is often over grown and we didn’t see another person for the three days we were on it. This trail ends very near the geographical corner of Yellowstone. We came around a bend and noticed the bear approximately 50 feet ahead of us on the trail moving towards us. It didn’t even register at first that it was a grizzly, your mind can take a minute to figure this out. It was smaller as a grizzly goes but bigger then your average black bear. I was behind my hiking partner at the time and in an average volume I simply said “bear”. When I said it the bear looked up at us and made a quick retreat up the hill along the trail into very dense brush. We waited a bit with our bear spray out and safety off before very carefully walking past the area. It was long gone however as it clearly wanted nothing to do with us. We chose to do the same.

[@edmundcowan9131]

Not hungry

[@kevinwoodson8909]

And I carry a 10mm myself I won't use it unless I have to then aim for the ground because that's how they come at you the majority of the time

[@duvessa2003]

Hey, Thanks for being so genuine about your “incorrect” reaction to the bear. I suspect because it was a sow with cubs, she was happy to see the back of the perceived threat and running was just fine with her. I’m sure the shortcut that hostel is only available by those running from a bear(!)

[@kuladeeluxe]

My friend Scot was working in the arctic and staying in a tent with some others. 4 polar bears approached them and were circling their encampment. One by one as the evening wore on (was still bright) they would get too close. They shot one. The others kept circling.They eventually shot the other 3 as they were not stopping . Scot said it was a very traumatic event.

[@easydoesit9584]

Great story and really well told. Glad Flossie didn’t finish his How I Survived a Bear story with How I Fell Off A Cliff.

[@KyleHatesHiking]

Lmao

[@markcollins2883]

I didn't think I could sit through a 17 minute trail story, but Flossie is a great story teller. Had me laughing out loud. Good job guys...

[@TheForester71]

I stayed at Davis Farm campsite on my thru hike in 1994. All night I was noticing a strong unpleasant odor and thought it was my boots or socks. Turns out I had pitched my tent (in the dark) on a cow pie. The stain never came off the floor of my tent. Still better than a bluff charge from a momma bear 👍

[@KyleHatesHiking]

Thats hilarious haha

[@misscandy84]

Yeah bc bears don't smell it was deff shit

[@plainsimple442]

Myself and my 12-year-old son had camped at Russell Pond in Baxter State Park, Maine and were hiking the 12 miles over the mountains towards Katahdin mtn to get out. We stopped above the tree line to have lunch. Halfway thru lunch a Black Bear came out onto the trail in the direction that we were headed. We packed up everything and started hollering, waving our arms, and throwing rocks to get the bear's attention. The bear finally saw us and wandered back into the bushes. We continued on our way with no problems until later in the day, when we were descending, we saw another bear headed up thru the wood in our direction. So, we hollered, and the bear took off fast, like a horse, to get away from us. That was a great 12-hour hike for my son.

[@jonadams5547]

Had 4 bear encounters on the AT - two momma bears and two loners. The momma bears are serious and the thing is I always saw the Cubs first. They scramble up the tree and then out pops the momma bear. The second momma bear encounter I had was in Virginia in late spring early summer and it was literally the green tunnel. I heard movement and had been seeing deer all day so I assumed a deer was going to pop out in front of me. Brush was so thick I couldn’t see Andy thing by the trail ahead. Next thing I knew I saw these little Cubs scramble up a tree super fast and I knew I was in trouble. The movement was the bear charging through the woods right towards me. She bluffed charged me and I stamped my walking sticks on the ground to let her know I was serious as I backed away. Didn’t turn my back just moved back slowly and gave her plenty of room. Once I saw her (from a considerable distance) move away I waited for about 15 minutes and then continued on my way. Had bear spray too but the bluff charge was all it was.

[@magnetpull7587]

Here's my bear story: Now I went on a hiking trip in the Romanian Carpathians with about 10 people from all over Europe from my student organisation. We had done some longer hikes previously and wanted to end our holiday with daytrip up a gorge, I think in Bucegi. It was all fair and games and a fairly easy trail, until a tempest hit us un the point furthest away from the entry. This was already a very sketchy situation by itself as a small river turned into a stream we had to cross and trees were creaking apprehensively while lightnig struck not so far away from us. Wet, cold and frightened we decided to make it for a cliff a short distance away. When we were there we realised two of the girls from our group were missing. We traversed a bit back and forth on the trail using our whistles and calling out for them and had to give up at some point, just huddeling under the cliff, most of us soaked to our skin. As the rain and thunder hadn't stopped and two of us were missing we called the mountain rescue service. We informed them about the missing girls and our situation, gave them their number and asked them what to do. They basically told us they could come and rescue us but we would have to pay for not being prepared. Also they would need to hike up as no helicopter could fly atm, so it would be faster for us to just hike to the end of the trail and stay warm while walking. The mountain rescue guy also mentioned the cliff we were standing under might become a death trap if it got struck by lighning thus we had to move away. As the guy having him on the phone summed that up, a head-sized rock fell from the top ripping 4m out of a fir leaving us with what seemed the choice between getting barbecued by lightning or hit by a rock. So we decided to keep going as it was getting dark and we had to keep war. We put our backpacks over our heads for protection and followed the trail. Now right as we stepped out of the area with debris, we ran into a Bear mom and her cub. She must not have heard or smelled us over the storm and also likely wanted to find shelter under the cliff. We were lucky that we were eight people still, so yelling and smacking tracking poles chased them away rather quickly, unfortunately in the direction we wanted to go. Since we had no other choice we went down the trail trying to keep the bears away with singing some filthy student songs. We saw then twice again but then it worked. Now after a while we made it to the entry of the of the park and low and behold who was waiting for us: Our friends whom we lost earlier. Apparently they had kept hiking instead of staying under the cliff. I am very happy it was not them who met the bears because that would have been a different story. Finally one of the girls complained about the guy who kept frenetically calling her and asking her about her location:D Now, brown bears are pretty abundant in Romania still and I am always unsure of what to make from them, as unlike American brown bears they are not kept away from trash, thus they might have associated humans with food.

[@jjsmama401]

I just watched a video, or maybe it was a podcast, about a woman who was killed by a bear there. She and her partner were hiking, and she hurt her ankle. It was getting dark and her boyfriend stupidly left her alone to go get help. By the time he returned it was too late.

[@wanderingaloudwithmark3057]

I've seen my fair share of black bears in the Pacific Northwest. Fortunately at greater distances and not momma and her cubs. We do hike in the Whistler mountain area from time to time. Whistler has literally closed down trails due to grizzly sightings.

[@AlaskanGeezer]

I live in Alaska and 10 months out of the year (not all bears hibernate) and I see bears every day. Bears are like cats. They will chuff first, but not always attack. Regardless, you should never leave home without bear spray unless you live in some sort of city (I have seen bears in downtown Anchorage near hotels however!),

[@RichRich1955]

Best safeguard is to hike with someone who can't run as fast as you

[@KyleHatesHiking]

True! Wanna go hiking?

[@planetashre7287]

Lol... thats me. Hike with me. 😂

[@RichRich1955]

@@KyleHatesHiking sure I'll bring my slow 'friend'

[@jacoblarahughes9566]

Lol damn right

[@dougd.8925]

Hell yeah brother

[@stevetrimborn3739]

Nice story thanks for sharing. My son and I were hiking the Raven Cliff Falls trail in North GA and saw a pretty good sized black bear. He/she was really nice and kept their distance. It was probably 30 yards away when we first saw it. It never came closer than that,

[@uncleandy8818]

While I like to think I would react calmly, I would most likely panic and run as well

[@KyleHatesHiking]

Same haha. Well maybe not after hearing this story

[@clifffurgison]

I have a super similar first bear experience. The first bear I ever saw was on the NPT near Silver Lake early in the morning. It was sprinting away from me fast. I yelled at it and felt tough for scaring it off. Later that day I was near Piseco and came around a corner and there was a bear in the trail. I yelled and hit my trekking poles together but it didn’t run away. I stood my ground, eventually it bluff charged me and then walked away. I cried. I quit the hike when I got to town. Called for a ride. It freaked me out bad at the time, but at this point I’m not afraid of bears anymore. Keep your food picked up and you’ll be fine.

[@sarahdell4042]

The best encounter with a bear, was one that acted like it was hiding from me. It would hide behind a tree, and peek out at me like I couldn’t see its whole body. Then make a ton of noise while moving around, and doing the same thing again, while I kept walking the trail. I just kept laughing, not much else you can do in that situation. Definitely panicked on the inside, but it seemed like it was purposely being goofy.

[@valedslinger6290]

Hey, I live in Front Royal Va. Black Bear Central. A mile from a trail entrance. The bears are cool with people around here but a buck in rut well stomp you quicker than a bear will attack you. Sometimes it's Bambi you have to worry about more than bears. Coyotes and bobcats aren't very friendly either. But hey they just built showers in town for the through hikers. Very cool.

[@GLING17]

Great story! I am happy to say that there are no bears where I live and I've never gone anywhere where there are bears and I don't plan on it so I've never seen a bear and I plan on keeping it that way!

[@justrusty]

Yogi and I ("Bad News") were hiking NY and NJ AT; heard about bear troubles at one of the shelters so decided to hike into town and take motel rooms in Tuxedo NY (Yogi snores REAL loud so no thoughts of saving money by sharing a room - I could still hear him through the wall from the next room, thought a grizzly was in there - but that's another story.) Anyways, the only bear we actually saw that whole 160 miles was in the parking lot to the motel.

[@eddiebradley6192]

I had a black bear sneak up on me last September in the Cade's Cove area of the Smokies. It smelled my breakfast and got within about 30 yards before I noticed it. I didn't hear it at all... they're like ninjas.

[@KyleHatesHiking]

🙄🙄

[@donk4631]

I had my first Moose encounter this year. Bears are not so bad, they mostly leave you alone. Just make noise and walk slowly backwards. Moose with young are scary! Lymes and snakes are really the only things you have to worry about.

[@kevintolbert4934]

When the Smokies shelters had fence on the front. A bear tried to dig under the fence to come in. 12 people. Women were screaming and crying. 3 of us men used our walking sticks (no poles then) to poke the bear. It seemed like forever, but it finally left. Man that was intense. Also in pisgah national forrest, woke up to a bear touching my mesh on tent looking at me at 5 am. It instantly ran when I turned on flash light. One more at laurel gap shelter in Smokies, but not on at. A bear showed up around an hour + before dark. Everyone had food up on the new cables That bear jumped for a good 10 minutes and was barely missing by a couple of inches the bags. We were all just close together stunned. The bear was still pacing around when it got dark. The people I was with had horses. They had feed outside the shelter. 1 am I went to pee. I bumped into that mug while it's head was under tarp eating sweet feed. Boy he took off like a bat out of Hades. He took a horse blanket and we didn't see him again. He ate half the blanket, found in a laurel thicket behind the shelter. Many other encounters, but not as close. The feats of athleticism I have seen from bears is absolutely awesome, just unbelievable. They are cool as hell love to see them, but never underestimate them. Damn sure don't let them get you food you probably don't have enough to satisfy them and that is really bad. Having said all that I have at least 25 to 30 encounters, cubs included, no one hurt. Really only scared 2 times. Never felt threatened. Oh had to throw rocks twice to get em off the trail. I gave nearly a hour to leave before the rocks they both got the hell out dodge.I literally scared the piss out one. You should not be scared. Use basic precautions and awareness. Wild pigs another story.

[@kcblues2sherwood652]

I have come across a few black bears and have seen one grizzly in Yellowstone but thank goodness a ranger was there and he was making everyone wanting to see her stay way back. U didn't have to tell me!

[@mikehoncho8121]

We used to own Davis farm think it was like 1900 acres the farm house is a good was from that tent platform they are used to hikers in that area you should have stuck to the white blaze and went on down trail to that one shelter was that huge barn collapsed then

[@annak3688]

Flossie! I think your mom’s prayers were answered. ❤️🙏❤️

[@sigmalife0570]

Exactly some "things" I wanna add in my lists ,before tackling AP next month.tysm for sharing

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

Flossy is the man. A great story to tell the grand kids!!!

[@MsGhostofficial]

[@frolege1]

Wow, Stella and team … that was scary entertaining to watch .. unbelievable

[@alyishiking]

So I stayed at Spence Field in the Smokies in 2016, the day after a hiker was pulled out of his tent by a massive black bear. The rangers staying there put up an electric fence around the perimeter and only let me and my tramily stay because we were thru hiking. They found the bear the following morning. Turned out it was a very old and grumpy bear with an abscess tooth, so it wasn't able to eat its normal diet and attacked the hiker out of desperation. The rangers left his torn up tent set up where it was for investigation, so that was kind of unsettling to see while hiking out the next day. Apparently the hiker did everything right, but he tented too far away from the shelter. I saw in the news later that he was able to heal his bitten leg, got back on trail a month or so later, and finished the trail. A couple days later, we were sitting down to eat at Peck's Corner Shelter. The second I turned on my stove to cook my food, a bear came out of the woods. It circled the shelter area for a good 10 minutes before we managed to scare it off with yelling and trekking poles. Smokies bears are no joke. When I got to Virginia, I saw a bear almost every day. Or rather, a bear butt, since they were always fleeing from me in terror.

[@wasidanatsali6374]

They never got the bear that bit Bradley Veeder in his tent near Spence Field in 2016. They killed a 400# boar on the site the following morning but it turned out not to be the right bear. In the 2015 incident where the kid was pulled out of his hammock at BC campsite #84 by a bear, they baited that site and shot a couple or three bears over that incident. In both the 2016 and the 2015 incidents, the park came under fire after DNA results showed that the bears euthanized in connection with both attacks were not in fact responsible for the attacks. So in both of those situations, the park was unable to capture the correct bear. Which means those bears are still out there unless they have died of natural causes or were one of the two bears killed after being found guarding and scavenging on human remains in the 2018 Cades Cove incident or the 2020 BC campsite 82 incident. I’ve always wondered if they attempted to DNA match either of those bears to the 2015 and 2016 attacks.

[@SandiKlein]

I live rural plus hike tons so have encountered many bears, lucky for me never any problem, I do carry bear spray, make noise and if you see cubs get the hell out of there, fast, glad you are here and whole to tell it Flossie!

[@terryhikes]

I've only encountered one bear, it was on the Foothills Trail. (By the way I learned about this trail from your podcast - I drove to it from Indiana in Dec '19.) I was heading down the giant staircase to Horsepasture River, I was gonna camp on other side of bridge. I think you and Flossie went swimming there in your video, if I remember correctly. Anyway, as I got to the bottom of the steps and took my first step on the bridge, I heard a giant rustle in the bushes to my right... Saw a giant bear about 20 yards away. Since it was my first ever bear encounter, I reacted sort of like Flossie, I started making noise and fast-walked across the bridge. I didn't quite run. However when I got halfway across the bridge, the bear was definitely running from me up the hill and brush haha. It was almost dark and I decided I couldn't cook food and camp with a bear right across the bridge. So I night hiked 2 more miles to (ironically) Bear Camp Creek campsite :D No bears there all night, or rest of my trip. But I indeed had bear spray at arm's reach all night and rest of trip haha. My trail angel that helped me with logistics, he's hiked over 500 miles on that trail, and never once had ever saw a bear. It was my lucky day I guess!

[@KyleHatesHiking]

Sounds sketchy, thanks for sharing! And the foothills trail rules doesn't it??

[@terryhikes]

@@KyleHatesHiking it’s amazing. I’m hoping to go back in the Spring and do it again during a more comfortable season this time. The caretakers of that trail keep it in phenomenal shape. And all the cool ass bridges for days.. love it.

[@revlioliver]

Was staying at my grandpas cabin in Wisconsin with my cousins (we were all kids under 12) in winter and we drove ATVs out into the woods a ways and then went out walking in the snow with my grandpa and uncle, my youngest cousin ran up onto a “hill” of snow It began to shift slightly and grunted, and the adults realized it was a bear hibernating covered in snow. They had my cousin slowly walk toward them and we all slowly walked back the way we came.

[@n8rlvr876]

Wow!!! But you know… his instincts were on point, in that instant he understood it WAS a BLUFF charge. Not a “you’re our next meal” charge. She was saying to him, LEAVE! So he did. So glad you were ok!!! I’ve had a few too-close encounters with bears, but NONE on the A.T. Yet. 😬

[@jenh7004]

For the record, Davis Farm campsite is near Wytheville (north of Damascus) in SWVA

[@chadbrooks9763]

No scary bear stories, tho I have encountered a few here in VA. I have come really close to a rattle snake in the middle of a sharp bend in the trail which was interesting to say the least

[@NickEDowning]

Great story, well told. Kyle this outdoor picnic table talk seems really honest and was really great. Maybe when all this covid stuff is over you should do some of your interviews like this. There is something really real about it. Or you could have gone another way, you could have had Flossy reenact the whole thing. That would have been fun (but time-consuming).

[@TheGreatBlumpkin]

Glad you're ok. Best way to scare bears away, from my experience, is an air pistol. Shoot it near their feet (not at their feet, but nearby) and they will run. I've tried everything else. Air horns, banging pots and pans together, making myself taller, etc. The only thing to consistently work for me has been a cheap air pistol I got for like $45 on Amazon. I also carry a .45 just in case the air pistol doesn't work, but I've never had to use it

[@justinw1765]

Bear spray is more effective than guns

[@TheGreatBlumpkin]

@@justinw1765 do you have experience using bear spray to make bears go away? Is it effective in a windy environment? Last time I tried to use pepper spray outside, the spray blew into my face from the wind and it was a bad experience. Air pistol worked way better from my experience

[@mctaguer]

Glad things went your way. Had my own mother bear & cub event a long time ago. Think the biggest thing I took from mine and yours reinforces what you're saying at the end--try not to startle a bear--if possible, let them know as far away and peacefully as possible that you are there. I think that is the underrated aspect to bear encounters--sometimes contradicted by people trying to do the "act big and make noise" thing--is to NOT startle/surprise them. Once they are startled (and this is ALL bears, not just moms) it's much harder to deal with them.

[@lifeinvictus]

My bear encounter happen at Silver Star BC in 2002. I was competing in the 24 hour MTB world championships, it was about 11am and I was on my last lap in 3rd place. Going up a switchback climb, there were two guys standing next to the trail above me shouting at me to stop. I did and they pointed, there was a bear standing at the edge of the trail in the switchback ahead of me, about 40 yards away. I waited for a few minutes but she didn’t budge. I was not in my right mind after 23 hours and 200ish miles on the bike and all I could think of was losing my 3rd place, so I decided to just go. The guys started yelling at me again but I ignored them and rode on, passing the bear about 10 feet from her. She watched me the whole time but didn’t move. I went on to finish the race (in third place) and only later that night found out from other athletes that the bear had two cubs with her, up in a tree. I think the reason I got away with my colossally stupid move is that it was a busy ski area and this bear was used to humans. But I count myself lucky for sure!