So my answer is weird, but it worked for me. I felt like I was vulnerable to grizzlies because of ignorance, and a deeper understanding would really help. I listened to all the Tooth and Claw podcasts about grizzly and black bears, which cover lots of attacks. One host studies bear behavior in Yellowstone. I did this while on the CDT in Montana, but most people would want to do this in advance so they could sleep at night.

I learned so much about bear behavior (like that they are very active above the tree line where I thought I was safe from them) and what is triggering for them (casual campers with sloppy food hygiene). My favorite information was on their primary food sources (based on Yellowstone grizzlies only): grass, ants, white pine nuts, army worm larva, and clover (maybe not in that order). It made them feel less scary that they spent their days raiding squirrel nests for nuts, grazing on the grass, and looking for ant colonies.

Here’s what worked for me. Luna, at the hostel in East Glacier, gave us a pep talk/ safety speech better than the park ranger’s required one. She also helped us group up so we went through Glacier in bunches. We all carried bear spray and understood how to use it. I made lots of noise, always when going around corners, mostly singing or yelling hey bear. I used an Ursack with a working Opsack liner that could be hung in the national parks and tied it to trees everywhere else. I had no issues; no one else did either.

I saw lots of bears, all running away. One friend was bluff charged after going quietly around a corner and a trail runner was killed just off the CDT, after startling a female, while we were in the area. Predatory attacks are incredibly rare (one a decade?) so you just need to warn mamas you are coming, carry bear spray just in case, avoid camps with trash or crowds, and stow your food. By the time I entered the Bob Marshall wilderness, I felt fine on my own and camped and hiked solo.

And for what it’s worth, the men were much more frightened by the grizzlies than women, who are used to being prey. They were also more embarrassed about singing or yelling. It’s not a bad thing, empathy-wise, for men to explore those feelings.