Hiking in the Bailey area. Bear Spray needed? (Colorado Springs: camping, living)

[vacation bound]

I am visiting Colorado and want to know one thing. Do hikers carry bear spray with them? My son and his friends never have any safety measurements when they hike. Am I being over cautious or are they not to smart with doing nothing?

[jim9251]

I always do. I also carry a Glock .40. But bear spray is recommended. I'm more concerned with mountain lions here than bears.

[Good Red Road]

All I carry is a Leki pole.

A huge brown bear was sleeping under my deck last month when I came up on him and startled us both. He was so scared he ran up a tree and stayed there for the better part of 8 hours. It's very unlikely you will see any grizzly in Colorado and the larger concern is running into a Bull moose, and/or beer drinking target shooters.

The parks department has some good information on their website.

Colorado Parks & Wildlife - Living with Bears

[6.7traveler]

Originally Posted by Good Red Road

All I carry is a Leki pole.

A huge brown bear was sleeping under my deck last month when I came up on him and startled us both. He was so scared he ran up a tree and stayed there for the better part of 8 hours. It's very unlikely you will see any grizzly in Colorado and the larger concern is running into a Bull moose, and/or beer drinking target shooters.

The parks department has some good information on their website.

Colorado Parks & Wildlife - Living with Bears

I was under the impression that there were no more brown bears in Colorado anymore ? Has this changed ?

I always carry bear spray or a gun, although I live in Alaska.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by 6.7traveler

I was under the impression that there were no more brown bears in Colorado anymore ? Has this changed ?

I always carry bear spray or a gun, although I live in Alaska.

Correct. No grizzlies in Colorado. Black bear only.

[TechMike]

I've never carried bear spray or a gun while hiking. Never once encountered a bear and I have done quite a lot of hiking.

[Good Red Road]

Originally Posted by 6.7traveler

I was under the impression that there were no more brown bears in Colorado anymore ? Has this changed ?

I always carry bear spray or a gun, although I live in Alaska.

I didn't mean Brown as in species. Technically it was a Black Bear, but black bears aren't always black in color. This one had a beautiful cinnamon brown coat. This page on the Parks Department website has a good picture of a "brown" black bear.

Colorado Parks & Wildlife - Camping & Hiking in Bear Country

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Good Red Road

All I carry is a Leki pole.

A huge brown bear was sleeping under my deck last month when I came up on him and startled us both. He was so scared he ran up a tree and stayed there for the better part of 8 hours. It's very unlikely you will see any grizzly in Colorado and the larger concern is running into a Bull moose, and/or beer drinking target shooters.

The parks department has some good information on their website.

Colorado Parks & Wildlife - Living with Bears

This. Black bears are not typically aggressive. I hike all over. Wildlife injuries are rare.

[TCHP]

In the high country I've encountered more scary people than I have scary bears. But a can of bear spray may not be a bad idea at this time of the year when they are gorging for winter and may not bee too attentive to a human's approach.

[allprolab]

Location doesn't really matter, for if you are hiking in or near the mountains there is some chance you could run into a bear.

Do I carry spray? Sometimes but not always. I do when starting before sunrise because it gives me a sense of security. And I do if I'm hiking in a more remote area, again for just that sense of security.

That being said, only bear spotting's we've had were within the city limits of Colorado Springs.