What Does it Feel Like to Be Bear-Sprayed? These Hikers Found Out.

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It might not seem like a lot, however one little can has the flexibility to cease a charging grizzly. Since its invention within the Eighties. Bear spray has turn into an important software for individuals recreating or working in bear nation. It’s simple to make use of. It has a greater success charge than some other deterrent, and it has saved numerous lives, each human and bear.

But it surely received me questioning: if these things is so sturdy that it may possibly persuade a number of the greatest terrestrial predators on Earth to pack up and go residence, what does it really feel wish to take a shot of it to the face? I haven’t discovered the way to speak to bears but, regardless of my finest efforts, so I did the subsequent smartest thing and referred to as up just a few hikers who’ve firsthand expertise being bear sprayed.

The next conversations have been edited for readability.

Lee Trebotich

Lee “Natty” Trebotich is a chef and backpacker from North Carolina who runs Meals For Adventures.

The yr was 2013. It was September, and we have been out in Yellowstone Nationwide Park.

We attended a bear security program, sarcastically, on the Outdated Trustworthy customer middle, and it was held proper outdoors the primary customer middle lodge and hosted by, one Ranger who seemed actually younger, you recognize, perhaps form of new to the scene.

She had bear spray on her, nevertheless it was totally on her hip, and she or he was going over it and briefly speaking about it. It was the final phase the place she truly pulled the can out and began speaking about the way in which to make use of it.

Effectively, lo and behold, there was this one gentleman asking to carry the bear spray. “I’ve by no means, needed to pull the protection of mine. Are you able to present me how?” And she or he responded, that’s an excellent factor that you simply’ve by no means needed to put security off, and no, I’m not going to allow you to maintain it.

This one male retains on bugging her simply to carry the spray. And through one dialog with one other customer, she simply, I suppose, had sufficient. She form of nonchalantly arms this bear spray to this pedestrian. He’s to my proper, my girlfriend [now wife,] is to the left. And as she arms this bear spray to him, I look over at my spouse and I say, I actually don’t assume that’s a good suggestion.

And as I rolled my head again over, he’s standing shoulder to shoulder with me. I look over and he’s battling the protection clip. And by the point I look and make contact, the protection clip pops and level clean, the bear spray goes off in my face. All I keep in mind is everyone scattering, everyone working. It received to the purpose the place I’m screaming, I find yourself working into the customer middle.

I can’t see, I’m simply making a loud noise. I had a few rangers attempting to assist me flush my eyes and the toilet, and, you recognize, I’m going via this excessive ache.

Plenty of the group received hit with second diploma [spray], however I used to be the one which received direct contact. I come out, I seem like hell, swollen, and persons are nonetheless form of round. As I’m popping out, this man seems to be over to my girlfriend and he’s like, man, you’re boyfriend simply took a shot within the face.

I had dreads on the time, too. And so for the subsequent couple months, virtually a yr, that bear spray was caught in my dreads. So any time, even after washing them, anytime my dreads would get close to my eyes, my eyes would begin lighting up with. I’d virtually really feel like [I was] pepper sprayed once more.

The way in which I can describe it’s as someone that’s standing over your open eyelid with a cayenne pepper and a lemon and simply squeezing it in there. You possibly can’t blink.

I’m nonetheless an advocate. I’ve personally seen what it may possibly do. It positively works.

Chelsea Murphy

Whereas Tretbotich’s expertise was a worst-case situation, even getting bear sprayed not directly may be agonizing. Chelsea Murphy is the hiker and content material creator behind the account @shecolorsnature. She had simply gotten again to her residence from an tour along with her toddler in north-central Washington when she by accident triggered a can of bear spray in her pack’s exterior pocket.

I used to be truly out taking pictures content material for a model and getting outdoors with my toddler. We had simply gone on a protracted bike trip, we had gotten out and accomplished some wildflower identification. My mantra is simply getting outdoors half-hour day-after-day.

I had truly lower my finger on this hike-bike extravaganza with my son. And so I used to be form of speeding. I had simply pulled into my driveway and I had had my finger wrapped, as a result of I used to be going to bandage it and get all of it stitched up and able to proceed doing my mothering factor. I used to be reaching and in search of my cellular phone, as a result of I used to be going to attempt to get ahold of my husband, see if he might assist me out.

Within the strategy of reaching for my cellular phone at the back of my Bronco, I yanked on my mountaineering pack, and it should’ve launched the protection or pull pin that there’s on the bear spray canister. And this bear spray canister, I may also say, has lived in the identical place and the facet of my mountaineering pack for the final, like 7 to eight years. So it’s superb that this was the primary time that this has occurred to me.

My first intuition once I heard the crash, the spray of the can, was to form of stumble again and assess what simply occurred. In order that’s what I did. I stumbled out, and I used to be similar to, that was my bear spray. After which all the horrible, horrible issues begin monitoring via your mind I didn’t know at that time the place it had gone and the place it had landed on my physique. So I referred to as my husband, he was unavailable, and I despatched a bunch of SOS messages out to him. I had already taken my toddler out of his automotive seat and put him in our little play space within the entrance yard, fortunately. So he was not in any hazard.

I referred to as my neighbor, she answered. I used to be like, are you residence? Apparently I used to be actually calm. I didn’t truly inform her I had simply gotten sprayed within the face with bear spray. I simply stated, are you residence? Are you able to please come over? And when she truly arrived, which is across the nook. I used to be simply leaning over the backyard hose, spraying my eyes and spitting on the gravel. And she or he was like, what’s going on right here? Are you okay? My son is off taking part in fortunately, not realizing in any respect what had gone on. After which I let her know I simply received sprayed within the face with bear spray.

She began googling, and Google says keep calm, proper? A very powerful factor, keep calm within the scenario. You would possibly really feel the urge to panic as soon as the sting begins to set in. By that point, a pair minutes had handed and my lips have been on hearth. I might inform that nothing had gotten in my mouth. I had form of felt like [I was] inhaling actually intense sizzling jalapeños or peppers or one thing. But it surely hadn’t actually affected my mouth an excessive amount of. It was all topical.

She’s like, when you have contacts and you need to take these out. And that was a pivotal second within the expertise for me, as a result of as quickly as I took out my contacts, which have been form of appearing as a barrier to my eyes at that time, I don’t know if it was on my arms, nevertheless it simply lit every little thing up, like my complete my eyebrows, my brow, my eyes have been simply hurting a lot.

Behind my head, I simply saved pondering, the poor bears, or, you recognize, the individuals who by accident get sprayed within the face with bear spray. It’s not a enjoyable expertise in any respect.

Matthew Keenan

Murphy and Trebotich received fortunate in a single key manner: their bear spray incidents occurred close to a toilet the place they might wash themselves off. However what about while you’re out within the backcountry? I requested my coworker Matthew Keenan, who had his personal run-in with bear spray whereas looking in Wyoming.

I used to be in Wyoming, elk looking, with bear spray. We had simply pushed to some distant again spot the place we have been going to unload from the truck and hike into the woods a bit. And that is just like the second or third cease that we’ve had.

I received my pack, received bear spray on the hip holster, every little thing was able to go. So I simply grabbed my pack out of the truck, walked round, checked my water bottle, after which threw my pack on. And as I used to be tightening my shoulder straps, I heard a hissing sound and was like, that’s bizarre. After which: splatter on my face, and this second of panic, like, what’s that? [There was] that kind of delay earlier than ache units in. What had occurred was that in taking my pack out of the truck, the protection clip from the bear spray had popped off. It was nonetheless hanging on the string on the canister, nevertheless it had popped off. Once I pulled my straps right down to tighten these up, I simply pressed proper down onto it.

I’m undecided how the angle fairly labored out, nevertheless it principally sprayed my complete arm, and that splattered up onto my face, so it wasn’t like I received sprayed immediately within the face. However from how a lot that damage, I’m extremely glad that I didn’t do this.

I shortly realized what had occurred and threw my pack off. My buddy who’d been driving the truck had been determining his personal gear. He shortly jumped within the truck to discover a totally different water bottle as a result of he didn’t wish to go subsequent to my pack.

He’s coughing and feeling it simply from it being within the air—it had stopped spraying. He’s working over to me with water, attempting to assist me get it out of my eyes. I’m grabbing snow and scrubbing my face as a lot as I can. It was an extremely painful expertise.

In any case of that, I had one bar of service and referred to as my buddy who’s an optometrist to see [if I needed] to go to a hospital? Fortunately, he answered and was like, no, for those who can see, you’re most likely high quality. In an ideal world, you’d have, like, a saline answer and flush your eyes like. However I perceive you’re in the course of the woods.

We spent one other 20 minutes or so scrubbing down our garments and every little thing with snow. It’s superb, it received in all places. We discovered little droplets that have been seen on our garments on the facet of his truck.Any plastic round, just like the wheel properly, or his mirror, had little drops that we tried to clean off in order that he wouldn’t have everlasting bear spray harm.

Once I received residence [to] my spouse, we advised the story. She laughed at me as a result of I used to be high quality, as a result of that’s what you do when persons are okay, is you snicker on the tales. Then she kissed me on my head, on my hair, and she or he received tingling lips from the bear spray that was nonetheless in my hair.

It’s not like I received it full-on within the face, however, it was lots to make me by no means wish to do this once more.

The three individuals we talked to every had vastly totally different experiences, however all of them agreed on one factor: bear spray hurts, loads. All three of our interviewees got here away with an appreciation for the ability that bear spray packs, and a brand new understanding of why it’s essential to retailer it safely. So subsequent time you’re out on the path, convey your bear spray—however perhaps examine the protection first.

Discover extra bear tales in Bear Month 2025, working via June 15.