Running, Biking… and Bears?

“Be cautious of bears at all times, even when being mauled by a tiger.” ― Craig Benzine, American video producer

I have, what I consider to be, a healthy fear of bears. The only types of wildlife I want to encounter are of the cute and cuddly Disney variety – deer, rabbits, and maybe the odd squirrel or chipmunk.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that my husband Alan and I embarked on a run/bike trip to Canmore with a group of friends. I was in a heightened state of anxiety, thanks to what seemed like far more bear sightings than normal at this time of year in the mountain national parks. Also, closer to home, news about a black bear spotted near one of our favourite jogging trails in Edmonton’s river valley just seemed like a bad omen.

“I’m a bit nervous,” I confided to Alan, after reading a Calgary Herald article about how an early ripening of buffaloberries – an important food source for both grizzly and black bears – could bring more bears to the valley bottom.

“I interpreted that as good news,” said Alan, reassuringly. He proceeded to read a line from the article:

Pollack said it could be good news for the grizzly bears in the mountain parks. “The sugar content of the berries is actually higher than the average in July last year,” she said, noting they’ll be well fed so won’t be looking for food elsewhere. “It may be a good year for both bears and people.”

“Are you nuts?” I asked. “How many times have you been full, but then someone puts something tasty in front of you… You eat it — because it’s there!”

***

Our group of 13 met early Saturday morning at the trail head of the Goat Creek Trail – a scenic 19.3 km forest trail from Canmore to Banff (21 km if you run right into town and stop for coffee at Evelyn’s). The trail is more downhill that up (according to our GPS watches, there is a net elevation loss of 272 m), although we did have to remind ourselves of that from time to time on some of the steeper inclines that punctuate the route. The footing can be tricky at times – we spent the first hour or so continuously scanning the ground in front of us. Almost everyone had a wobble or two, but fortunately no one fell.

“What’s the code word if we see a bear?” asked my free-spirited friend Phil, who ran in the slower pack with me and five of our female friends.

“How about BEAR!” I chortled. I was suddenly glad that I was carrying the can of bear spray, even if it was expired and therefore less potent. Hubby had the new can. We had reasoned that since he was in the faster run pack, they’d likely encounter any bears first.

The run was scenic, and thankfully, uneventful. Having nervously navigated around unidentified piles of wildlife scat along the trail, we let out a collective sigh of relief when reached the last kilometre and saw a mother pushing a baby carriage – a sure sign that civilization was near.

Lisa: 1. Bears: 0.

P.S.   The next day, we rode our bikes on the Rocky Mountain Legacy Trail, a paved, 26.8 km multi-use            trail that connects Canmore and Banff. Highly recommended… and no bear spray needed!