|
 On
July 4th, 2005, five employees of the Delaware North General
Store at Canyon including myself went on a hike to the top of
Pelican Cone in Yellowstone's Pelican Valley. The area has
heavy restrictions for bear management reasons and is only
open for day hiking. Coming down from the summit, fellow
employee Michelle and I became separated from the other three
members of our party on the trail. The reason for the
separation was that they stopped to speak with two Bear
Management Area Rangers who were climbing up Pelican Cone with
a spotting scope to look for bear activity. This is ironic
considering what happened next. Michelle and I were talking
and making noise on the trail when we heard a loud huffing
sound from the wooded area to our right. Michelle said to me,
"Matt, get out your bear spray." I was carrying the
UDAP Bear Deterrent Spray in its holster on my hip and had
previously test fired it, as per the recommendation in the
instructions. The bear was a sow grizzly bear weighing
approximately 500 pounds with a cub approximately 100 pounds.
Both came charging out of the woods directly at us, with the
female emitting deep guttural huffing sounds and appearing
highly agitated. Both bears were less than 8 feet away when I
sprayed them, hitting the female with an arc of the spray.
There was an immediate, adverse reaction. Both bears veered
off and up on the trail above our position, then into the
trees on the opposite side of the trail away from us. The
adult bear stopped on the trail and seemed to cough. It seemed
to have difficulty breathing on contact with the spray. I
could not see a reaction from the cub, and I do not know if I
hit it or not. The adult bear looked back at us once, then
left the area. The entire incident took place in less than 15
seconds. The remainder of our party rejoined us at this point
and we finished the hike without further incident. The next
day I filed a report about the incident at the Canyon Visitor
Center and a Bear Advisory was issued for the area. Your
product very likely saved my friend and I from serious injury
or possible death.
My
heartfelt thanks in developing such an exceptional and
well-designed product. - Matt
Magliaro |
