On October 22, 2016, my husband John and I were charged by a grizzly in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley. All turned out fine for us and the bear, but the memory is still vivid ten years on.

We had parked at a pullout east of Tower Junction, then walked cross-country to the river. While scouting for fishing spots, we surprised an adult grizzly bear who was feeding on a pronghorn carcass at the river’s edge, so the bear didn’t hear us, and we didn’t see it through the brush. As soon as the bear realized we were there, it charged up the bank. Fly rod in hand, John recalled only having time to think that he’d be a statistic, and that he ought to fall on his stomach so his pack could protect him. He didn’t have time to do that, but a defense mechanism raised his arms to protect his face from the impending strike. In doing so, the fly rod was raised. 

The grizzly stopped short at exactly nine feet away—the length of the fly rod. “I touched his nose,” John recalls. “I put it on his snout and yelled very loudly, ‘bear!’ and then I flicked it in his face.”

Seconds were bought as the bear didn’t quite know what to do with the tip of a Thomas & Thomas five-weight, nine-foot rod.

Immediately behind John along the narrow trail, I had just the time to pull my bear spray off my belt and blast an orange stream past John’s cheek and at the bruin. I remember thinking “Well, John, too bad if I get some on your right ear.”

The bear was alarmed by the noise of the spray (and perhaps smelled the spray) but didn’t seem to be significantly affected. It turned back toward the river, but then changed its mind and headed in for another charge. John, in the meantime, dropped the fly rod and fired a second blast of bear spray. This time, an expanded orange cloud lingered in the air as the grizzly finished its 360. This time, the bear inhaled and felt the sting of the capsaicin.

The grizzly, which was a big brown blur of 550 pounds with two beady eyes, took off at a gallop, passed its water-logged lunch, crossed the river, ran up the hillside and disappeared as we continued shouting. The whole encounter, we estimate, was 15 seconds.

Rattled from having survived a life-threatening encounter, we gave up on the pursuit of trout and hiked out double time. We started to drive off and, lo and behold, there was a Yellowstone ranger passing by right when we wanted to see one. He called his supervisor, who came and asked us to separately write our reports without conferring with each other. Our stories corroborated and because the grizzly was exhibiting natural food-guarding behavior and caused no harm, no retributive action was taken. The area was closed however, because the carcass remained.

The next day, the Yellowstone press service asked if they could write up the story and use our names. Neighbors and reporters called after that. The reason our attack made the news despite not having any blood and guts was that it was just on the heels of a double attack in the Madison Valley that didn’t turn out so well, as the sow had just ignored the bear spray. Todd Orr’s attack went viral online because of the gory footage. Todd, happily, has recovered and still makes custom knives and hikes in the Madison Valley. Following his terrifying story, Yellowstone Park wanted to tell a positive bear spray story to go along with their campaign (at the time titled “A bear doesn’t care”).

Sorry, I don’t have any pictures. I was a little busy that day. But here are a few of the newspaper, TV and online headlines:

Fisherman Halts, Sprays Griz — And It Works

Bear Spray Saves Montana Couple From Charging Grizzly

Bozeman Couple Deflect Grizzly Charge Using Bear Spray

Bozeman Couple Has Close Encounter With Bear

Angry Grizzly Bear Charges Couple Twice; What They Did Possibly Saved Their Lives

When Animals Attack, Some Respond With Compassion



PS: There’s been a sighting of a grizzly on a trail cam in the Bangtails, along with hearsay of others around Bozeman. Hike, fish, hunt, and bike all you want, but don’t rely on your fishing rod for protection… it’s a good idea to have your bear spray with you. I was glad I had had a bit of practice. When your bear spray is expired you can use it for practice by shooting it on a calm day. Do watch where the wind is coming from—that capsaicin hurts humans too! Then buy a fresh can. It helps to see the cloud it produces and know how it comes out of the can.

“Bear spray has been shown to be very effective. It’s not foolproof, just like wearing seat belts or life vests doesn’t guarantee you won’t be injured, but it increases your odds and your safety margin by a lot,” says Mike Bader, a grizzly ecologist and former Yellowstone National Park ranger. In July 2026 nineteen organizations and 50 individuals submitted a petition for what they call a new public safety rule for hunters and trappers making carrying bear spray a requirement. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is reviewing the petition.