Bear Safety in Alaska’s Backcountry

Bear encounters are a reality in Alaska. Grizzlies, black bears. Polar bears. They’re here, and they’re active (brown and black bears) from April through November. Understanding how to travel safely in bear country isn’t about memorizing a set of rules. It’s about awareness, prevention, and reading the situation in front of you.

Before I start this:

The odds of you needing to know any of this are extremely low. Worry about river crossings and glaciers, dehydration and hypothermia. You’ll quite likely experience each of those. More than once.

Awareness: Your Primary Tool

Awareness is the single most important thing you bring into bear country. Everything else is secondary.

Scan constantly. Don’t just hike with your head down watching the trail. Look ahead. Look around. Look for movement, for shapes, for anything that doesn’t fit. Bears blend into the landscape better than you’d think.

Stop at terrain transitions. When you crest a ridge, enter a valley, move into or out of brush, stop. Scan before you commit. Give yourself a moment to assess what’s ahead before you’re in the middle of it.

Recognize bear habitat. Stream corridors, berry patches, salmon runs, avalanche chutes with fresh vegetation. These are places bears use. Adjust your alertness accordingly.

Read sign. Fresh scat, torn-up ground, claw marks on trees, diggings, fish carcasses, game trails. All of it tells you bears are active in the area. Pay attention.

If you’re constantly aware, you’re less likely to surprise a bear. Surprise is what creates most dangerous encounters.

Prevention: Clean Camp and Safe Travel

The best bear encounter is the one that doesn’t happen. Prevention is worth far more than reaction.

The Golden Triangle

Camp layout matters. Set up three zones, each at least 100 yards from the others:

1. Sleeping area. Tents. That’s it. No food, no snacks, no “just one granola bar.” Nothing.

Do NOT eat in, or near, your tent.

2. Cooking area. Where you prep and eat meals. After you’re done, everything gets cleaned and moved to storage. Don’t leave food scraps, wrappers, cookware, or trash here overnight.

3. Food storage. Where bear-resistant food canisters (BRFCs) live when you’re not actively cooking. Minimum 100 yards from both sleep and cook areas.

These zones form a triangle. If a bear comes into one area, it’s not in all three. You’re not sleeping next to your food. You’re not cooking where you sleep. This separation reduces risk.

Clean Camp Means CLEAN

No food in the sleeping area. Period. That includes before you even set up the tents.

“Smellies” aren’t just food. Toothpaste, deodorant, soap, shampoo, lip balm, gum, sunscreen. Anything with a scent goes into the food storage zone, not your tent. Bears are curious. Don’t give them a reason to investigate your sleeping area.

All food goes in BRFCs. Bear Vault BV500 or equivalent approved canisters. No hanging food bags. No “bear bags” hung from trees. Those don’t work in Alaska.

Cookware, fuel, and stoves also go to the storage area. Fuel smells. Stoves smell like whatever you cooked on them. Bears will investigate.

No food remnants. Don’t dump leftovers in the woods. Don’t bury scraps. Don’t “rinse” your pot 50 feet from camp and call it good. Pack out what you pack in. Thoroughly clean cookware with hot water.

Again, for those in the back: Pickup after yourselves and do NOT leave food scraps in the area.

Ever.

Fish. If you catch and cook fish, do it far from camp. Don’t bring fish guts or carcasses anywhere near your sleeping or cooking areas.

Important:

Realize that protocols are built oftentimes in different contexts. The idea of a separate kitchen and eating area from your sleeping area is absolutely golden in places like Glacier National Park, or Yellowstone, where you’re very likely sleeping in the same spot someone slept last night. They very likely ate and kept their food in the exact same space you’ll be doing the same.

In the Alaskan backcountry, with no designated campsites, this isn’t the case. It’s very possible you’re sleeping on the same space that somebody else ate or spilled their breakfast recently. This is particularly the case at bottleneck type locations like air taxi landing strips or dropoff/pickup locations.

More than once I’ve arrived at a spot like Skolai Pass or Iceberg Lake, common basecamp destinations, and discovered people eating dinner right where I’d planned to set up our camp. Had I been a little while later, and they were done, we’d probably have camped there. Knowing they’d just eaten there, we instead moved on and camped some place distant.

It’s incumbent on all of us to keep these places from becoming places where bears find food. 100%.

Most bears in the Alaska wilderness are NOT habituated to human food, and don’t see us or our camp as any kind of food source. Do you very very best to keep it that way, folks.

Travel in Groups

Groups are safer than solo travelers. Bears are less likely to approach multiple people, and if an encounter does happen, you have more options.

Make noise when appropriate. In dense cover (thick brush, blind corners, loud streams where a bear might not hear you coming) make some noise. Talk, clap, call out. Let bears know you’re there so they can move away.

In open tundra with good visibility, you don’t need to be loud. You can see. Bears can see you. Constant noise isn’t necessary and it makes it harder to hear what’s around you.

Understanding Bear Behavior

Not all bears are the same. The species matters. The situation matters. Reading context is critical.

Grizzly Bears (Brown Bears)

Most grizzly-human conflicts in Alaska are defensive, not predatory. Someone surprised a bear, or showed up near its food source, or it has cubs. The bear feels threatened and reacts.

Our encounters with grizzly bears in the Alaska backcountry have almost always resulted in the bear leaving the area as soon as they became aware of our presence. They’re usually more fearFUL and then fearLESS.

Black Bears

Black bears in Alaska are generally less aggressive than grizzlies, but when they do attack, it might likely be predatory. A black bear that approaches you calmly and deliberately, without huffing or agitation, may see you as prey.

It’s also been common for us to encounter black bears that simply ignore us; neither frightened nor aggressive. Nonchalant better fits many of those bear responses.

Predatory behavior by bears (even polar bears) towards humans is rare. It requires a different response.

Defensive encounters are typically recognizable.

  • Huffing, jaw-popping, clacking teeth
  • Bluff charges (bear charges partway, often just a step or 2, more of a stomping of the ground, then the bear stops or veers off)
  • Agitation, pacing, head-swinging
  • Bear seems as surprised as you are

The bear is scared. It doesn’t want to eat you. It wants you gone.

You still need to be wary and keep your distance.

Recognizing Predatory Behavior (Any Species)

Predatory behavior looks different.

  • Calm, stalking approach
  • Direct stare, focused attention on you
  • No huffing, no agitation. Just intention
  • Silence

This is the bear you want to avoid, or defend yourself from.

If You Encounter a Bear

There’s no one-size-fits-all protocol. Every encounter is different. Read the situation and respond accordingly.

Initial Response

Don’t run. Running triggers a chase response. You can’t outrun a bear. Don’t try.

Group up. If you’re with others, move together. Slowly. Don’t scatter. A tight group looks bigger and more intimidating than individuals.

Stand your ground. Stop moving. Stay calm. Assess what’s happening.

Speak calmly. Use a low, calm voice. “Hey bear. We’re just passing through. We’re leaving.” The point is to identify yourself as human. Your voice will help do that. You’re not trying to shout or challenge.

Read the Context

Is the bear aware of you? If it hasn’t seen or smelled you yet, and you’re far enough away, you might be able to move quietly out of the area without ever getting its attention. Sometimes the best option is to enjoy the moment, and leave unnoticed.

Does the bear seem surprised? Surprised bears are defensive. They’re reacting to a perceived threat (you). Give them space and an escape route. Don’t corner them.

Is there a cub nearby? Mother bears with cubs are extremely defensive. If you see a cub, the mother is close. Back away slowly and carefully. Do not get between a mother and her cub.

Is there food nearby? A bear on a carcass or a salmon stream is defending resources. It doesn’t want to share. Give it a wide berth.

Is the bear approaching calmly? This is the one that’s concerning. If a bear is coming toward you without agitation, without huffing, just focused and intent. That’s predatory behavior.

If/Then

If the Bear Charges

Many grizzly charges are bluffs. The bear runs at you, then stops or veers off. It’s trying to scare you away.

Stand your ground during a bluff charge. Don’t run. Don’t scream. Hold your position. The bear will likely stop.

If the bear keeps coming and makes contact:

For a defensive attack (grizzly, surprised bear, mother with cubs)

  • Pepper spray

    • Go to the ground

  • Protect your neck and head with your hands
  • Lie flat on your stomach or curl into a ball
  • Play dead
  • Stay still even after the bear leaves. It may come back to check.

For a predatory attack (stalking behavior, calm approach, prolonged contact)

  • Pepper spray
  • Fight back
  • Use anything you have: rocks, sticks, trekking poles
  • Go for the eyes and nose
  • Be aggressive
  • Do not play dead

If it’s a black bear attack:

  • Fight back
  • Black bears are more likely to be predatory
  • Do not play dead for a black bear

If the Bear Doesn’t Charge

The bear is just standing there, watching you

  • Speak calmly
  • Back away slowly
  • Keep your eyes on the bear, but don’t stare it down
  • Give it space and an escape route
  • Don’t turn your back until you’re well clear

The bear moves off

  • Let it go
  • Wait until it’s out of sight
  • Leave the area
  • Take a different route if possible.

Bear Spray

A Tool, Not a Solution

Bear spray is effective, but it’s a last resort, not a primary defense. It’s also a tool that requires good judgment to use safely.

Range: 20-30 feet. That’s it. If a bear is farther than 30 feet, you’re wasting spray and creating a cloud you might walk through. If it’s closer than 20 feet and charging, you should already be (s)praying.

Deployment:

  • Remove the safety clip (thumb in front of curved tip, pull back toward you)
  • When bear is 20-30 feet away, aim slightly downward in front of the bear’s head
  • One to two second blast
  • Cone-shaped fog fills the space in front of you
  • If the bear keeps coming, spray again

You have 7-9 seconds of spray total. That’s it. You can’t hold the trigger down and hope. Short, controlled bursts. Make them count.

Wind matters. Try to spray downwind if you can. The force of the spray can overcome light wind, but even a small amount of blowback will affect you. Getting sprayed yourself makes it hard to function, see, or breathe.

Watch the bear after spraying. If it retreats, great. Leave the area immediately. If it stops advancing but doesn’t retreat, back away slowly, keeping the spray ready.

Bear Spray Reality

Bear spray is often viewed as a “necessary liability.” It works. But it also carries significant risk to your group if mishandled.

Extreme care required at all times. An accidental discharge in a tent, in a plane, or in your pack can incapacitate everyone nearby. If someone accidentally triggers a canister, everyone in the area suffers.

Storage limits:

  • Don’t store above 120°F. Pressure builds and the canister can explode
  • Don’t store below -7°F. Pressure decreases and it won’t spray properly
  • Keep accessible at night when camping
  • Carry in a holster on your body (not in your pack)

Practice before you need it. Buy an inert practice canister and rehearse deploying it. Know how to remove the safety quickly. Know what the trigger feels like.

Expired or partially used canisters are not reliable. Don’t bring them. Dispose of them or use them for training only.

Airlines and aircraft Commercial airlines will not transport bear spray. If you’re flying into the backcountry on a bush plane, inform the pilot before departure. They may allow it in a float or external compartment.

Backlit brown bear in Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Brown bear in Katmai National Park.

Should We Carry a Firearm?

Our View

In short, no.

Our company and our guides have operated safely in bear country for nearly 30 years. Knock on wood.

We have never carried a gun on any of our trips. We have had a few close encounters, but they have been very very rare. We’ve dealt all of those situations with bear spray, our best judgement, and as is always required in the natural world, some good fortune.

Here are our reasons why guns introduce bigger problems.

  • I don’t know of a single peer-reviewed study that suggests a firearms provides a greater likelihood of protection than bear spray might.
  • Bear spray can be used effectively without nearly the same degree of expertise required of a firearm. A charging bear, at close quarters is probably not a target you’re going to nail with a firearm.
  • Even a simple, short training session with bear spray is adequate for most people. For firearms, unless you’re an experienced, excellent marksman/woman, a firearm is a bigger liability than bear spray is. A guide can give a guest a quick 5 minute lesson on the operation of safely carrying and using a can of bear spray. Firearms not so well.
  • We’ve seen accidents in the field. I (Carl) have been sprayed directly in the face by a trigger-happy guest with a can of bear spray while a bear wandered the tundra a hundred yards away. I’ve seen guests on another photographer’s tour accidentally discharge an entire can of bear spray and multiple people needed medical attention. We’ve all seen numerous near misses and incidents because someone didn’t quite put the safety cap back on a can of a Counter Assault properly. I’d much rather deal with those consequences (water and some dawn detergent) than had someone been mishandling a firearm in any of those situations.
  • Nobody ever accidentally killed another person with bear spray.
  • I’ve listened to many conversations amongst experienced firearms experts on what is the best firearm for a backpacking trip in bear country. Even the wisest disagree vehemently. I’ve never heard backpackers argue and disagree on exactly which can of bear spray they should use in which situation.
  • The speed and the stress of these situations is not something you can train for easily. Just because you can aim a gun, doesn’t mean you can do so in an event that contains the amount of stress and adrenaline that a negative bear encounter does
  • Bear spray is more versatile in different contexts
  • Bear spray is more easily shared among a group of people
  • The odds you’ll need either are extremely low.

The other side of this many-sided coin

And there are always other sides of a coin. Any coin.

It’s quite possible an encounter involves more than one bear. A sow and 2 two ear old cubs is a handful for a person or small group with a can of bear spray.

For our trips we have to provide safety to ourselves, and to each of our guests. We ask people to not bring a firearm on their trip.

For personal trips, you do you. You may well be a superduper experienced firearms expert and by all means, your best choice will be different to ours. I wouldn’t surmise to tell you what’s best for you.

When the Guide Decides

In a bear encounter, the guide makes the decisions. Not the group. Not by consensus. The guide.

No questions. No debates. No arguments.

You do what the guide says. Immediately. The guide is reading the situation, assessing behavior, and making calls based on experience. There’s no time to discuss or explain. You follow instructions.

After the encounter is over, in a safe place, you can ask why a particular decision was made. Not during.

Pop Quiz

e.g.,
You’re set up for the evening, enjoying dinner, and a bear is spotted approaching camp. Your guide says “pack up all your food immediately.”

Your response is?

a) pack up all your food immediately?
b) put your food down and go get your camera?
c) enjoy the show while you continue to eat your pizza?
d) carry your pizza and your camera with you while you approach the bear for a better photo?

The correct answer is NOT b, c or d.

This information is based on standard bear safety protocols and the operating procedures used by Expeditions Alaska. For more detail on bear behavior and safety, consult Alaska Department of Fish and Game resources.

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