Bear problems

by Amy Chu

Dedicated to our Darrens.

When my friend Darren announced an open spot on his 40-mile backpacking trip in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, planned for June, I eagerly asked to join. I’m 25 years old and I tend to say yes to everything these days. Though I’m lazy and a homebody, I’m also young enough to believe that the best thing in my life has yet to happen.

While my adventurousness is driven by fear of missing out, Darren is motivated by a true love for the outdoors, hiking, and physical challenges. Three friends and I happily let him create the packing list and organize our planning document with topographic maps, elevation graphs, and trail names like the “Death Canyon Loop.” Darren, our ever-thoughtful guardian, asked if we knew what we were getting into. The general sentiment was that we didn’t need to, as long as he did.

At Darren’s urging, I did do some research on the Grand Teton National Park—just enough to tell me that it was teeming with bears. The summer, especially, was peak season for bear cubs. Take an apex predator that weighs 700 pounds, runs 35 mph, scales trees, and breaks into locked homes and vehicles. Then bestow upon that beast a protective parenting style. That’s a combination no one wants to mess with.

Bear attacks are rare because visitors know to stay out of their way. However, the park is shared. If you do find yourself opposite a bear? If it’s a black bear, you can punch it in the nose. What about grizzlies? Well, all the bear blogs seem to shrug and suggest you play dead. At least the baby bears get a show, while their mama juggles your limp little body in the air. 

When I presented the “bear problem” to our backpacking group, Darren said we’d be fine. 

The first sign of trouble came the week before we left, when Darren dropped out due to his father’s declining health. Our delusional confidence in backpacking Grand Teton with no experience was slowly replaced by healthy doubt, after we’d lost our leader. 

We decided to forge ahead anyway. We flew from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Denver, Colorado, then drove 500 miles to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to begin our hike.

The landscape was unlike anything I had seen in New England. The land around Grand Teton is flat, with the iconic family of mountains always in the distance. We became so accustomed to their presence that it felt strange when they disappeared from sight as we drove into and onto the mountains themselves.