Ever encounter a Bear while Hiking?

Not hiking but in my own yard. There's a medium sized black bear that comes through my yard about once a week.

nope i sure hope that i never find a bear or see one when im hiking. because i dont even know what i would do that use to be one of my biggest fears when i was a child growing up. i use to have dreams that they were outside my window coming in to kill me..

I have never encountered a bear while hiking. But, I have found them sniffing around the trash cans! That was freaky. I just passed by the door on my way down the hall when out of the corner of my I spied a dark figure on the porch. Of course curiosity got the best of me and when I looked out the screen, there was a bear standing next to the trash can! I slammed the door shut and ran for the camera. When I got back I only saw the backside of the bear running across the yard with the bag of garbage in its mouth.

We've only recently have had black bears move back into our local mountains (and, though rarely, into the desert) after a long absence. I've never seen one, but I know of people who have had problems. There are said to be only a few out there at the moment. I'm much more concerned about Mountain Lions as they are extremely common not just in the mountains but near the urban areas and the desert.

I've seen bears while i've been in the woods, but I've never had a very close encounter with one. However, being a forestry worker in the summer, the danger is always there, although the only bears we have around here are black bears and in most cases they're far less agressive than grizzly bears and rarely attack humans. I have a friend however, who is also a forestry worker and last summer he was in a small camp with only two other guys and one night while he was sleeping in a tent he was attacked by a black bear. The other two guys he was with heard the noises and came out and frightened away the bear by starting up the truck and throwing rocks. My friend was injured but did survive and is absolutely fine now, although it was definitely a frightening situation for him. We now take more precautions against bears at our forestry camps such as electric fences and personal bear mace. It's definitely something to be cautious of.

I have been close to a few but have never actually seen a bear while hiking. I've seen evidence a few times that they had just passed by. Just knowing you are in the same proximity is enough to make you very awake! That definetely creates an adrenaline dump!

No I dont think there are bears around here. I would have to go alittle further south before I would come across one of those.

Thankfully I have so far not come across a bear while hiking.

nope, a few snakes, but never a bear!

Not yet but it is possible in the area I live. I have a friend who encountered a bobcat one day.

I've never ran into a bear. Ever. However, there was this one time I was up in the mountains camping with a bunch of girls and we were walking back to our tent when I saw a huge puffy thing walking behind me. I thought it was a bear and yes, I actually screamed. Turned out it was just one of the men that was up there with us and he was wearing a puffy jacket. Man, if only I had some cookies on me, I could've thrown one at him.

I haven't but I went camping with some friends in Yosemite about two summers ago. They went out one morning hiking but I decided to take a guided tour with some other friends. When we all met up again later that day our friends were freaking out cuz they'd encountered a bear. They said it was little but that freaked them out even more that maybe the mama bear was going to be somewhere near by & for anyone who knows mama bears freak out when they see humans near their cubs. So they said they just didn't move. They stood completely still which is exactly what you're supposed to do. If they approach you & attack you're supposed to roll up into a ball but thankfully it didn't come to that. They said the bear eventually walked away & they were free to go on their way. I'm still so glad to this day that I didn't go with them. I would've freaked out otherwise!

No I would be surprised if i did! I live in the UK and the biggest wild creature we have is deer, ant they are rare. We are more likely to be attacked by a farm animal! The only bears we have are in zoo's. I hoped to see one when I was at yosemite last year but no luck, just a small deer. I was only there a couple days though.

Yikes! Nope. I did see one while driving to the airport last month. :(

No, never. Just snakes, rabbits, coyottes, and wild donkey and steer.

I hike and camp in a tent as often as I can. I have not encountered any bears face to face. The closest was camping in West Virginia at Seneca State Park. We were eating wild blue berries while hiking when I heard a grunting noise near by. The first thing that went thru my mind was bear. When it heard us it moved off. Found out later we were camping in some of the best bear country in W. Virginia. Hiked on the Appalacian Trail and they have great advice on ways to watch out for wild animals while you camp. Cook away from your tent. If your food is not in sealed containers or can not be put in a car out of reach of bears then hang it in a tree away from your camp. Also try not to wear what ever you eat or cook in to bed. You smell like food after that. There is more and there are quite a few sites with info. about camping along the Appilachian Trail. Hope this helps.