Michelle said on Saturday, Jul 30 at 8:39 PM

@AKChuliRes ~ You humor me. lol I have a graduate degree in literacy. I think I am more than capable of reading this story. In response to my comments, I was only stating a fact about the laws in Alaska. It is also a fact that rude people lack basic etiquette skills and basic manners. :D Sure anyone who goes into the wilderness in AK should be caring a gun or at least have a responsible person caring one for protection. Still praying for these teens.

Anonymous said on Tuesday, Jul 26 at 9:15 AM

akchulres yes guns can be used for hunting and trapping that is a wonderful way to live. these kids were not hunting they were traveling as a group in bear country taking the appropriate steps to avoid encounter, the tools they had were education, free will and what appearantly was more than sufficient first aid training, they chose at the begining of there trip to use those tools and only those tools, call them fools if you will we all dont choose the same things you do. You ever drive with your seatbelt off? come on i know you have! stats say we are way more likely to die driving to work everyday than we would if we spent all of our time hiking through the alaska wilderness. we dont have to choose firearms to be safe they dont guarantee anything to anyone ever! are soldiers safe because they have guns, cops, nope aint no guarantee! people can choose things that others wouldnt, we all have a sliding scale of acceptable risk, that doesnt mean we dont asses it properly. ps moose kill to

jimbo said on Monday, Jul 25 at 1:21 PM

I did this course in 1991 and I don't remember us having any bear spray although its possible the instructors did. We also didn't have transponders, just some kind of radio to try and get in touch with passing airplanes in an emergency. Anyhow, after reading these comments, I feel so lucky to have survived and I'm sure all the hundreds of other "cityfolk" who have taken this course or the one in the brooks range feel the same. I didn't see any bears, only prints and scat. I also ride my motorcycle without a helmet sometimes, and I also rode the subway in New York without a gun either. Oh by the way I haven't been back to alaska since - it was kind of depressing.

AKChulRes said on Monday, Jul 25 at 11:49 AM

Congrats, eggshen. You mushed through without incident. I'm pretty sure most people mush without incident due to the fact that while they are mushing, bears are HIBERNATING. "Leave No Trace" ethics don't preach anywhere in the handbook that discharging a firearm against wildlife is a violation. Leave No Trace is commonly practiced by many hunters and trappers quite successfully. The fact of the matter is that the young men did indeed have a very realistic training exercise in which to practice what they had learned. A firearm however could have aided in the safety of the young men in this situation. When traveling in the backcountry, one should be prepared to answer two questions. The first being, "Am I traveling in active bear country?", and the second being, "What am I going to do in the event there is an aggressive encounter with a bear?" To assume nothing is going to happen is just plain foolish.

akrock said on Monday, Jul 25 at 7:29 AM

I see a lot of comments bashing the organization for sending young people into the woods without proper protection. But I see none that commend them for their survival and leadership training. It definitely worked. The group acted as a team, did what was necessary to take care of the seriously injured and managed to come back alive, where most that live here don't. This was nothing more than a training exercise that they will never forget. Kudos to the team and their rescuers.

Bob W said on Monday, Jul 25 at 6:45 AM

The 7 ft bear that charged me 6 times is now hanging on my wall. No I did not want to kill this bear. I tried to run it off but it kept returning even after I fired 5 warning shots.

alaskanme said on Monday, Jul 25 at 4:58 AM

The whole point is:it's tragic and all of my wishes and hopes for recovery for the boys. Of course there should have been a guide with a weapon that would stop a charging bear! I'm sure those who say don't kill the bear mean that it's after the fact,the bear has gone back to its cubs or food.Leave it alone now. We must remember that we are the intruders. Should we protect ourselves? Definitely! I have shot bears that came too close for comfort and were menacing. I didn't feel happy about it,but by gosh I wasn't going to be mauled,either! So read carefully,do not judge. Being safe is a given here in Alaska.Being bloodthirsty should not enter the picture. Heal quickly and completely,boys....the Lord be with you! What is done is done...the animal in us should not destroy the animal that was merely protecting its territory and young. The proper precautions (guide,gun,watchfulness and common sense) could have averted this tragedy!

Herschel K said on Monday, Jul 25 at 2:18 AM

People need to stay out of the bear's habitat, and that goes double for Meshugoim from New York, and triple for housing developers and "into the wild" freaks.

grandma said on Monday, Jul 25 at 1:36 AM

Lived in Alaska since 1948. Lived on a homestead very near the Chulitna. Also lived in the Talkeetna mountains while we built a hunting lodge. Grizzlies and black bears everywhere. I learned to shoot and properly care for an M1 carbine at age 10. I do NOT think these boys "bothered the bear". I do believe they shouted to those behind them. I do KNOW for a fact that if water such as a river or stream is being crossed,it makes noise! Also if the wind is not right,the bear knows not what it sees,only perceives anything it does see as a threat to its cubs. How can we blame the bears OR the boys? For the love of God....there should have been an Alaskan guide with proper firearm with them. I pray the boys will be ok and that the bear will be left alone, as she was only doing what nature tells her to do, in her own home.

grikdog said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 11:54 PM

It seems perfectly reasonable that a mother bear with a cub would attack intruding people.

AKChuliRes said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 9:44 PM

laska, I can see we found Michelle's reader. Thanks for pointing yourself out. Thank goodness for your sake you are just armed with a keyboard and not a firearm tonight, you'd be a goner.

LifeLongAlaskan said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 8:32 PM

I am a life long Alaskan. I give Kudos to the rescuers for all of their work. Our rescue teams are some of the best in the world and would feel very safe in their hands regardless of the situation. As for the Wilderness Group and the parents and kids. Alot of times these kids in these programs come from troubled backgrounds, not saying these kids are, I really do not know. But coming up here for a once in a lifetime chance to experience something like that is great! I am thinking that the Group did some amazing stuff since the kids did what they had learned and needed to do for their groupmates to survive. It is a tragedy no matter what. I keep everyone involved in my prayers, kids, families, group adults and rescuers. Excellent job, everyone. As for the bear, Fish and Game have to track it to make sure it is not an injured/dangerous bear. Find out why it attacked the group like that and take care of the problem if there is one to take care of.

Allen said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 8:01 PM

They had a group like this going on a hike near where I live off the Seward Highway. Somebody gives training lessons in Seward. They don't carry guns and look like some kind of boyscout/girlscout brigade, even down to identical backpacks. They have been having problems with an aggressive mother grizzly at bear creek, mile 6.5, and I watched a 800-1,000 pound big boar cross the stream by the house one night and go down the trail they were hiking on. Problem is: it's illegal to shoot brown bears, at least here in liberal Seward. The moment you shoot one, you have to report it and then go through hours of interrogation to make sure you were actually being charged and about to die and blah. If you can’t prove you were going to be attacked, your guns would be taken away by the police, you’d be a felon, and you would be fined, and if really unlucky, end up at Spring Creek surround by rapists for a while. So, here are the options: A. Get mauled, B. Jail. What’s the State becoming?

patrick said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 7:57 PM

wow i was born and raised in alaska and i have three children and i would never let them go out into the wild with out a way to prtect them self's i gueas these poor children were almost lead to there death by anther government grant

billpcce said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 7:18 PM

I'm a NOLS graduate from '81.NOLS has been doing this in this area for many years ( 30 ) It's a fantastic school that has educated and changed the lives of thousands. MY only reaction is crossing the streams at 8:30PM is too late. They should have made camp by then . The kids probably got a late start. This is a one in a million situation.

tamenator said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 6:50 PM

The young people in this story should have had a gun.... I would never let my son or daughter go in the wilderness unproteced... the adults should have known better afterall this is Alaska

Linda Grant said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 6:10 PM

I've spent many years around brown bears and the key word in the article for me was "screaming,"it sounds too much like a wounded animal and the bear reacted to protect its cub. Hope their recovery is swift.

Kathy said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 5:45 PM

In Alaska we don't antagonize bears because they will kill us, and you can bet that was the first thing those boys were taught. After concentrating on crossing a slippery river while wearing carrying all their gear, the boys up front probably didn't even see the bear until she was full into her charge. And Mama bears will attack any perceived threat to their cubs. Every once in a while hikers/runners/bikers surprise a grizzly, and this is the unfortunate result.

potter said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 5:40 PM

yeah..and got to love the "Go visit Denali" ad on this same page with the 4 bear cubs...

jjj said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 5:15 PM

should have had an experienced adult up front with a weapon! leadership program? where was the leadership?

tony b said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 3:44 PM

like the old saying go's sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you

Anonymous said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 3:38 PM

Brown bears with cubs isn't something you really want to be around. They aren't all cute a cuddly after all.

tleeb said on Sunday, Jul 24 at 3:01 PM

The picture of the growling bear included with this story isn't appropriate given that many of these teens are suffering from serious injuries. It seems insensitive.