Stalked by bears

You know that story about the woman who stabbed a bear while hiking in the Adirondacks recently? The Times Union's Leigh Hornbeck talked with the woman about the encounter. A clip:

They were three grown bears about 25 yards away. [Amy] Stafford wasn't scared. An experienced hiker and outdoors woman, she was glad for a chance to see a wild animal. She also knew what to do. She waved her hands, made noise, jumped around and yelled at the bears. The guidebooks say not to run from a bear, and she didn't. They ran off. Stafford started down the trail again, pleased with herself that she handled the situation well, and even managed to snap a few photographs. But then the bears came back. Stafford turned around again, yelling and smashing rocks. She played music on her phone as loud as it would go. Each time she yelled, the bears dropped back, only to creep up again. One seemed more curious than the other two. When they lost sight of her because she went down a hill or around a bend, Stafford could hear the bears running to catch up, sometimes behind her on the trail, sometimes alongside her in the woods.

Stafford told Hornbeck this went on for a mile on the trail, before it all came to a pointed conclusion. Yikes.

Earlier: Report: Woman stabbed bear in the Adirondacks

Comments

A mile on the trail is roughly 20 - 30 minutes. I can't imagine being stalked by three wild animals, alone, in the woods for half an hour. Nerve-wracking.

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