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Troy woman a tried and true believer in bear spray

by SCOTT SHINDLEDECKER
Hagadone News Network | April 9, 2020 1:00 AM

The bears are out and wildlife officials are sounding their refrain to “be bear aware.”

Experts recommend adventurers carry bear spray and it’s a phrase Montanans have been hearing for years. While it may fall on deaf ears for some, one Northwest Montana resident is living proof of the value of holstering a metal tube of the repellent.

Jessie Grossman, who now lives in Troy, used to live in the Yaak, a remote area with few roads and plenty of wild country.

The fabled Yaak region is also home to grizzly and black bears.

In June 2017, Grossman encountered two of the grizzlies that live there. One was a female and the other was a sub-adult bear that the sow had given birth to a year or two before.

“I had hiked this trail a thousand times before,” Grossman said. “It’s off Pipe Creek Road on the edge of the wild Yaak and it’s popular because you can ride your bike there, cross-country ski, pick huckleberries, many things,” she said.

Grossman said her mind was wrapped up in other matters when she began her hike, so when she saw the young bear up a tree just one-quarter mile from where she had parked her reaction was one of delight.

“Wow” and “cool” were the words Grossman recalled uttering when she first saw the animal.

“I work in conservation so I have an affinity for bears,” Grossman said.

She said the young bear was very dark and she wasn’t sure if it was a griz or a black bear.

But it was making a racket, whining and hissing while it worked to stay on a tree limb.

“I thought about its mother being nearby and when I turned to leave, I saw her coming over a rise,” Grossman said. “My first thought was ‘this is way too close.’”

Grossman said the griz stood up on its back legs to get a better look at her. That’s when she unholstered her spray and took the safety off.

“It wasn’t long before she dropped down on all fours and charged at me,” Grossman said. “I had backed up into the woods and was ready, and unleashed a cloud of pepper spray in the sow’s direction.

“She was about 10 or 15 feet from me when she got a whiff of the spray and stopped,” Grossman said. “I could see her claws and they looked very long.”

The bear headed back to where its offspring stood after it had come out of the tree.

PEOPLE WHO have heard her story have asked her if she thought it was a “real” charge or a bluff charge.

“The only thing that matters to me is that I didn’t have to find out the answer to that question,” Grossman said.

The bear then circled the hiker and came toward her again.

“This wasn’t a real charge, she didn’t get as close and I didn’t spray,” Grossman said.

The griz and the younger bear eventually left and Grossman made a very anxiety-ridden walk back to her vehicle.

But that wasn’t the only reaction she had to the encounter.

“I felt kind of electric,” she said. “It was intense and special, and I’m glad I had the experience, but I don’t care to have another one like it again,” Grossman added. “Just seeing the speed and power of the animal was incredible.

“Looking back, I still feel it was a cool experience, but in the moment it was just really, really scary,” she said.

Grossman said before that pleasant June day, she carried bear spray only when she thought to grab it before leaving on an adventure.

It’s no longer an optional part of her gear.

“It’s my responsibility to bring it for me and for the bear,” Grossman said.

The bear had a radio collar on it, and renowned federal grizzly bear biologist Wayne Kasworm later shared some of the bear’s history with Grossman.

According to a story in the July-August 2017 edition of Montana Outdoors, Kasworm told her the bear had a reputation for being bold and curious.

He also said the sow had produced several cubs over the years.

“Seeing those bears there was special because there are so few of them in the Yaak,” Grossman said. “I didn’t want to be a reason a bear ended up dead.”

Grossman said bear spray is always with her when she heads afield.

“Having it and carrying it are what matters,” she said.

For more information on living and recreating in bear country, see the information on Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks website at http://fwp.mt.gov/fishAndWildlife/livingWithWildlife/beBearAware/

Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.

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Jessie Grossman and her partner Nick Cravedi share a canoe trip in Northwest Montana during the fall of 2019. Nearly three years ago, Grossman used bear spray to repel a charging female grizzly bear in the Yaak and now carries bear spray with her on every outing. (Courtesy photo Jessie Grossman)

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Grossman

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A GRIZZLY BEAR at Yellowstone National Park. (Jeremy Weber/Daily Inter Lake)