Whoa!! Bear!!

Whoa Bear No 02
Originally uploaded by adolfo_isassi (back from Alaska)

During this trip, we have hikes and camped in way too many places where Bears are a concern. Thus, we have read, seen, heard all sorts of bear stories, warning, descriptions on "what to do" and "what not to do" in case we encounter one.

We also became familiar with all sorts of bear related supplies: Bear sprays, bear bells, bear cans.

There are all sorts of suggestions and theories on how to avoid bears in the first place while hiking. All of these involve making some sort of noise.

Bear bells are popular with some people...mostly naive tourists visiting the area. Some locals think that the Bear Bells are for bears like a call saying "Diner is ready!! Come and get it!!"

But the suggestion that make the most indelible impression with us, was to shout:

"Whoa! Bear!"

We got this one while watching a mandatory video for anyone applying for a backcountry camping permit at Denali National Park.

After watching this video (we thought that it was funny) every time we hike we start the hike with a loud "Whoa!! Bear!!"

After doing this a lot....we have adopted the expression for all kind of moments....
like when we see something with a high sticker price: Whoa!! Bear!!

Or when we see a beautiful unexpected scene: Whoa!! Bear!!

On this photo...this is probably the closest we got to a Bear. It was a big Grizzly mama bear fishing on the shores of the Valdez Bay. There were so many people trying to get a shot of her...that she was scared and running away from humans.

Probably shouting "Whoa!! Humans!!