Glacier runner bit by griz

Thomas Nerison, Kalispell, gives first-hand account

By CHRIS PETERSON / Hungry Horse News

Thomas Nerison usually carries bear spray when he hikes or runs in Glacier. But last Sunday morning (June 7), he forgot it. Left it on the passenger seat of his car. He went for a run on the McDonald Valley Trail, a seldom visited route, that runs in the woods from Avalanche Creek to Lake McDonald Lodge. It doesn't see much in the way of human traffic.

Nerison, 60, said the idea was to rendezvous with some friends along the way. But when he got toward Johns Lake, he didn't meet up with them, so he turned around. These things happen in the woods. Miscommunications. Nerison said he heard a dog barking. It sounded like it was almost on the trail. It irritated him. Dogs aren't allowed on trails.

Then two grizzly bears were behind him. Running up the trail about 75 yards away. At full gallop. A bear can run as fast as horse. They were on him before he knew it. In seconds. And, oh how he wished he had that bear spray. Oh no. He left it in the car.

One of the two 250-pound grizzlies stood up when they got to him. Looked at him and then advanced. Nerison kicked it in the face and it backed off. The bear came after him again and he kicked at it again. The bear backed off again, but Nerison fell down. The bear went after his feet. It took both his shoes off with its mouth. Nerison banged it over the head with a hatchet-sized stick. The stick broke in two.

The bear bit him in the right calf. Nerison grabbed another bigger stick and hit the bear again. It bit him in the upper thigh, but didn't shake him. Didn't try to kill him. He jabbed at the bear with the stick in the face. The bear ran off.

"It think it sensed it neutralized me," he said.

Wounded, but not feeling horrible, Nerison grabbed his shoes and walked barefoot to the Sun Road, over sticks and downed trees and through some small bogs. The road runs parallel to the trail. Sometimes it's close. Sometimes it's several hundred yards away.

In this case, the road wasn't close, and it took awhile to get there.

"I would have run over hot coals to get out of there," he said.

Once on the road, he flagged down some folks who gave him a ride back to Avalanche parking lot where his car was parked.

He drove himself to the hospital. And yes, he thought about stopping, looking for a ranger, but he figured the sooner he got to the hospital, the better. At the time, there was little pain.

He was mad at himself. He should have had that bear spray.

"I'm totally a bear spray proponent … I feel bad that I set a bad example," he said in an interview with the Hungry Horse News.

He said the bears weren't charging him. They seemed to be fleeing whatever was behind them, and they ended up running into him. He has no idea what the second bear was doing when the other bear bit him. But he doesn't fault the bears in any way. As bear encounters go, it was a minimal amount of damage.

"Even in a minimal amount of damage by a grizzly is kind of painful … If I had bear spray, I could have repelled him," he said.

The pain now, in fact, is excruciating, he said. Doctors at Kalispell Regional Medical Center have left the puncture wounds in his thigh and calf open until they're sure there is no infection. Then they'll sew the wounds together and close them up.

It could take a month or two to fully recover and get back to work. Nerison is a cabinetmaker by trade. He says he'll go back to Glacier. This event won't stop him. But he'll be sure to have bear spray.

Sunday afternoon, rangers closed the trail between the junction with the Avalanche Trail and the Johns Lake Trail, per the Park's bear management policies. Park rangers are investigating the incident and based on their findings, in accordance with Glacier's Bear Management Guidelines, Park managers will determine what, if any, further actions will be taken.

The Park is seeking information from anyone who may have been on the McDonald Valley Trail on Sunday between 9 and 10 a.m. Please contact Park headquarters at (406) 888-7801 if you were on the trail or might have seen bears or dogs in the area between Johns Lake Trailhead and Avalanche Trailhead.

Running on trails in grizzly bear county is not recommended in Glacier because of the potential of startling bears. Hikers are encouraged to carry pepper spray while in bear country.

This is the first bear-related injury in Glacier since August 2005.

More information about safety in bear country is available on the Park's Web site at: http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/bears.htm.