Watch a Hiker Meet a Bear on a Trail in Grand Teton National Park
This was a close call that fortunately has a happy ending. A lady hiking one of the many trails in Grand Teton National Park came face to snout with a bear.
I have to credit this lady. This is almost a textbook way of how to handle yourself if you encounter a bear in the wild. There's only one other thing I would have done different, but her calm is amazing. This happened on the String Lake Trail in the Tetons. (NOTE: a tiny bit of NSFW language)
To my eyes, this appears to be a black bear. Wyoming Game and Fish has some great bear smart tips if this happens to you someday. This lady starts talking to the bear in a very calm voice constantly reminding the bear where she is. The bear isn't showing any type of interest in her or aggressive behavior.
It's easy for me to say since I'm not having to make a decision in the spur of the moment like her, but I would have slowly backed off the trail to give the bear room. I would also have had bear spray ready to deploy if the bear's disposition changed. She doesn't mention in her video or the description if she has that with her.
The good news is she and another hiker coming from the other direction were not hurt and neither was the bear. Big time kudos to this lady for her nerves of steel in what could have become a very dangerous situation.