How to Run From a Bear
It’s all in the footwear
The National Park Service recently released some updated tips on social media about bear safety (yours, not the bear’s).
But the release made headlines because it began by saying, “If you come across a bear, never push a slower friend down … even if you feel the friendship has run its course.”
Now, I’m sure this was meant tongue in cheek, and it’s nice to see some humor coming from a federal agency. But, after having a chuckle, I realized it hits a little too close to home for me.
Time was that I wore heavy leather boots on my hiking excursions, as did my brother, Doubleback John, who usually joined me. One day we were hiking in the Cranberry Backcountry and saw several bears. None acted threatening, although some looked at us curiously (“Seriously, these guys again?”), and a few looked hungrier than usual.
It occurred to me that, in the unlikely event a bear decided to come after us, it was imperative that I outrun my brother.
So, for our next hike in bear country, I switched to trail runners. When Doubleback asked me why I changed footwear, I just shrugged and mumbled something about the boots giving me blisters.
This worked great for a few trips, but then my brother started complaining about his boots hurting…
