By Buck Tilton

Encounters between humans and bears are rising in number. Why? The weather partially explains it. Warmer temps keep bears active longer. But the main reason, all things considered, is more likely to be the increase in the number of bears. Wyoming, for instance, estimates triple the population of grizzlies (about 200 to more than 600) in the Yellowstone ecosystem since the mid-1970s. As Brian DeBolt, the bear management officer for Wyoming Game & Fish, told the Casper Star-Tribune: “. . . if you’ve got more bears, you are going to have more conflicts.” And hunters top the list of possible victims because they walk around quietly, stalking game in bear country, and smelling like dinner.

Statistically, your chances of being killed by a bear, thankfully, are slim, but, to reduce the chances to an absolute minimum, here are three basic rules concerning bears:

1. Hike and camp in a manner designed to avoid bears. In known bear country, avoid areas that are used often by bears–trails with bear tracks and bear scat, trails through berry patches, and trails through dense brush and thick forest. Avoid areas that smell of decaying meat. Bears like to cover their uneaten food and camp nearby to finish it off later. If possible, camp in the open. Cook food at least 100 yards from sleeping sites. If camping near a river, sleep upriver from the cook-site. Night breezes tend to blow down river, pushing the food smells away from the sleeping bags. Camp cleanly: Avoid wiping food-stained hands and utensils on clothing. Avoid spilling food on the ground. Avoid fish and greasy food. Pack food and other odorous stuff (such as toothpaste and gum) in a separate bag so the smells don’t get into pack and clothing. Hang the food at night, if possible, out of bear-reach from the ground and from the trunk of the tree.
2. Hunt in a group large enough to ensure a measure of safety. Bears like a measure of safety, too, and have not attacked a group of four or more in recent history.
3. Strive to never surprise a bear. Bears, particularly grizzlies, do not accommodate people up close and personal. Mother bears need even more room. Push their comfort zone, and they tend to either attack or run away. Once smelling or hearing humans, almost all bears will run away.

Surviving a Bear Encounter

A surprised bear that has seen the surpriser cannot be predicted to act in a certain way. Hopefully, he or she will turn and run. If the bear doesn’t run, speak in a calm, quiet voice. Back away slowly, but do not run. Running encourages the bear to play chase, a game the bear will win. If the group of people is four or more, it usually works best to maximize the threat to the bear. The people should stand close together, raise their arms, speak in a reasonably loud and assured voice, identifying themselves as humans, the age-old nemesis to the bear. Statistics say the bear will retreat. Bears who feel threatened turn to the side, displaying their size.  They will often woof aggressively. They may charge toward the threat, and suddenly stop. These are invitations for the human to retreat. It is advisable to do so, but, remember, no running. It is best to back off slowly and keep speaking in a calm voice (which may be difficult by now). Humans without backpacks may benefit from turning to the side while backing off, an act that makes you look smaller and less intimidating. Climbing a tree is seldom worth the effort. Black bears climb like squirrels, and grizzlies will climb into the lower branches at a very fast rate. Avoid eye contact with the bear, an act of aggression.

Surviving a Bear Attack

If the bear actually attacks, different tactics are called for depending on the species of bear. Black bears seldom attack seriously unless they are hungry. They are not used to having food fight back, and it is statistically best to counter-attack, doing all possible to convince the black bear to dine elsewhere. If the bear is a grizzly, assuming a least-threatening posture–playing dead–is the best tactic. Curl up to guard vital parts, clasping hands protectively behind neck. The brown bear may take a few bites, but then leave you alone. If, however, a grizz does not soon lose interest, fight back as aggressively as possible. Remember, the best offense is a good offense!

Recommended Gear List:

First Aid Kit – AMK’s Outfitter. Includes a wound irrigation system and enough wound care supplies and pain medications to treat to 1 – 14 hunters on trips of up to two weeks.
Hemostatic Bandage – AMK’s Trauma Pak with QuikClot®. The US Military-approved QuikClot® stops serious, even arterial,  bleeding in as little as five minutes.

Buck Tilton has authored 36 books on outdoor safety, including Wilderness First Responder, which won an award for excellence in medical writing from the American Medical Writers Association. For the last 20 years, Buck has contributed hundreds of articles on wilderness safety to Backpacker. In addition to his writing and journalism, Tilton also co-founded the Wilderness Medicine Institute (now WMI of NOLS), which remains the largest school of wilderness medicine in the world.

By Buck Tilton

With the season of the orange-clad huntsman comes an opportunity for a wound — more than 35,000 of these incidents occur in the U.S. each year — usually relegated to the wilds of major metropolitan areas. What you don’t know or what you think you know, but are mistaken, can make someone with a gunshot wound worse. So, let’s take aim at some of the enduring myths and misconceptions surrounding this potentially life-threatening injury:

MYTH: Modern, high-powered bullets always leave exit wounds larger than entrance wounds.
THE REALITY: It ain’t necessarily so. A tumbling, twisting, mushrooming bullet may surely create a wound much larger when it leaves a body, but often the bullet breaks apart or shatters a bone, and small fragments blow out of the body through a hole or holes smaller than the entrance wound. Remember, don’t focus solely on the entrance wound and forget to look for the exit wound.

MYTH: Big bullets leave big holes and vice versa for little bullets.
THE REALITY: Think again. Sharp edges (such as arrowheads) slice the skin, but bullets stretch skin, crushing it momentarily before blasting through, and the elasticity of skin causes it to bounce back, leaving a hole typically smaller than the bullet’s size.

MYTH: You can judge the path of a bullet through a body by the orientation of the entrance and exit wounds.
THE REALITY: BZZZ! Wrong answer. The hunk of lead can make mysterious turns and ricochets once inside a body, entering, for instance, the shoulder and ending up passing through the abdomen or entering the thigh and ripping up into the chest.

THE CORRECT RESPONSE

Check for both entrance and exit wounds, yes, and apply direct pressure with bulky material such as the trauma pad from your first aid kit or shirts and bandannas. When external bleeding has stopped, cover the wounds with sterile dressings. The petrolatum dressing with AMK’s Hunter kit works very well at protecting the wound and speeding up the healing process. In arm and leg wounds, bones may have been broken. Check for broken bones and splint the extremity if necessary. Treat for shock and go for help ASAP.

Make sure your kit includes trauma pads and QuikClot for stopping serious bleeding

SOME POINTS ABOUT ARROW WOUNDS…

If you base your management of impaled arrows on John Wayne movies (think of the “Duke” in one his many popular Westerns, heroically ripping out Indian arrow after Indian arrow as if they were bothersome splinters), number yourself among the first-aid impaired. Today’s broadheads are not only razor sharp but also designed to tear apart large chunks of an animal’s anatomy. Pushing one through or, even worse, trying to pull one out usually enlarges the problem substantially.

THE CORRECT RESPONSE

You can cut off, if you’re able, the visible shaft down to, say, three or four inches. Pad around the shaft well with gauze or clean clothing and tape or tie the object securely to prevent movement. If the object is stuck in an arm or leg, be sure the tape or ties does not cut off blood flow past the tape or ties. Treat for shock. Go for help.

RECOMMENDED GEAR LIST

AMK’s Hunter Kit – Includes 5″ x 9″ and 8″ x 10″ trauma pads for stopping bleeding, among other hospital quality wound care materials; Nitrile Gloves for safely handling blood-soaked bandages; and MD-penned Easy Care™ Card with instructions on how to stop bleeding.

Trauma Pak With QuikClot® – Comes with essential wound care materials, including a 25 g pack of QuikClot Sport, the US Military’s Hemostatic bandage of choice; stops serious – even arterial bleeding – in as little as five minutes.

Buck Tilton has authored 36 books on outdoor safety, including Wilderness First Responder, which won an award for excellence in medical writing from the American Medical Writers Association. For the last 20 years, Buck has contributed hundreds of articles on wilderness safety to Backpacker. In addition to his writing and journalism, Tilton also co-founded the Wilderness Medicine Institute (now WMI of NOLS), which remains the largest school of wilderness medicine in the world.

A:  Condensation inside the bivvy is par for the course with this product – since the material itself is not breathable, moisture accumulates fairly rapidly.  This is why we classify the Heatsheets Bivvy as an emergency product – since, in an emergency, it is necessary to preserve heat and get warm at all costs, even if condensation results.

Q: I have to prepare a medical kit for 40 people in a wilderness setting and being “waterproof” is a must so we don’t lose supplies.  What Adventure Medical Kit do I need?  My wife is a retired R.N., so we would also like something that has a stapler as well as sutures in it.

A: A kit for 40 people is going to need to be pretty large – I would recommend either our Guide I or Expedition kits from our Professional Series.  These kits have enough supplies to treat a wide range of ailments and injuries over a large group of people, and they are designed for professionals or individuals with advanced wilderness first aid training.  (For a more user friendly option, I highly recommend our Comprehensive kit, which features Easy Care organization so even someone without any first aid training can administer medical care.)  All of our kits in the Professional series use water-resistant fabrics, although they aren’t 100% waterproof – for a kit as large as what you’re looking for, I would recommend keeping it in a waterproof container such as a Pelican case, Otter box, or even a very large size Aloksak; alternatively, you can pack the inner components into zip-lock bags to keep them dry in the event that the kit is submerged.

As for sutures/surgical supplies, I recommend picking up a Deluxe Wound Cleaning and Closure module from our refills page – this module is for professionals only, and it contains sutures as well as a skin stapler and staple remover.

Q: Would it be safe to put the Quikclot sport silver after I’ve use neosporin on a gauze?

A: QuikClot (and QuikClot Silver) are designed to be used in an emergency situation when bleeding is heavy or life-threatening.  If the amount of bleeding has slowed enough for you to dress the wound properly (with gauze and antibiotic ointment), it probably isn’t necessary to use QuikClot.  In answer to your question, it is safe to use QuikClot or QuikClot Silver in this situation, but my advice would be to use QuikClot directly on the wound immediately, hold it in place using direct pressure for as long as is necessary to stop the bleeding, and then to use antibiotic ointment, non-adherent dressings, and gauze to dress the wound once bleeding has stopped.

Q: What is the best kit for horseback riding? We ride in the mountains often, and sometimes get far from camp.

A: I suggest either our Comprehensive or Outfitter, since these kits both have detachable inner bags that you can take with you on excursions from your base camp.  Both of the kits have enough supplies for large groups or extended trips, so if you’re venturing out with smaller groups on shorter trips, you may want to consider the Weekender or Sportsman kits instead.  The Comprehensive and Weekender kits are from our Mountain series, which will suit your needs if you just ride horses to get out into the wilderness, while the Outfitter and Sportsman kits are specifically designed for hunting/fishing trips.

Q: I will be directing an archaeological project in the lower Andean mountains of Peru (ca. 1000m).  We will have a crew of four people and will be working for about a month.  It is five hours by horse to the nearest road and then four hours by truck to the nearest town. We will have supplies brought in once a week and each crew member is expected to bring in their own basic supplies.  We can get most basic supplies in Peru (boxes of gauze, bandages, eye flush, antiseptic wipes, etc,) but I am concerned with a major machete cut.  Snake bites and burns are second and third on my list.  Any suggestions for kits.

A: I would recommend the Comprehensive kit from our Mountain Series for your needs (four people in a remote location for 30 days).  Although you can obtain basic supplies, it really is preferable to have everything contained in one kit, especially one like the Comprehensive in which the contents are organized by injury.  If you are particularly worried about major cuts/bleeding, pick up a Wound Closure Medic, which as everything you need to clean and close a wound, as well as some QuikClot Sport, which will stop bleeding within minutes.

-Jordan Hurder, AMK Product Specialist

I have a question about QuikClot – does it work and is it contraindicated for any type of injury?

Thanks,  Michael Z.

Answer:

Hi Michael-

Thanks for your question about QuikClot.  In short: yes, QuikClot is very effective at speeding the clotting process.  It has been tested in numerous clinical trials and in real world situations involving military, law enforcement, and emergency first response personnel.  The formula that we use does not generate heat (like the “old” QuikClot) and thus will not leave burns on the wound site.

Also, because the mineral that constitutes QuikClot is chemically inert, contraindications are very rare.  The only injury in which I would recommend not using QuikClot is one immediately around the eye (in which there is a possibility that QuikClot will come into contact with the eyeball), since it is an eye irritant.

Please let me know if you have any further questions, and thanks again for your interest.
Best,

Jordan Hurder
Product Specialist

Answer:
Kevin, I would use the Fundamentals kit in our Mountain Series and add a QuikClot Dressing to stop severe bleeding. This kit will have everything you need from splinting fractures to wrapping sprains and dealing with puncture wounds. The Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicine included in the kit will describe how to use the supplies. Once you buy the kit and register it you can enjoy 25% off your refill supplies if you need to refurbish.

Thanks for the question.

Frank Meyer

Marketing Director/Co-Founder

ASK YOUR QUESTION >>> CLICK HERE

Do you recommend adding Celox powder to first aid kits? My situation is carrying the master FAK for a crew of 8-10 scouts and adults for 10+ days backpacking at Philmont.

Thanks, Dan

Answer:

Dear Dan,

I do recommend carrying a “Hemostatic dressing” for adventures like yours where the activities are higher risk and the remoteness of your adventure means professional medical care will not arrive quickly.

AMK prefers using QuikClot® instead of Celox because of its ease of use. QuikClot® contains the mineral zeolite which has a tremendous capacity to absorb fluids. The zeolite is contained in a sterile mesh pouch which you simply place over the wound and apply direct pressure. The zeolite beads quickly absorb the smaller water molecules out of the blood and leaves the platelets and other clotting factors in the wound to form a strong clot.

The advantage to a mesh pouch is that in higher wind conditions the beads won’t blow away and you can apply the QuikClot® dressing no matter what position the patient is in i.e. hanging from a harness or rope. When QuikClot® first came out it was a pretty “hot” clotting agent. Temperatures of the dressing would reach 135F. causing burns to the skin. QuikClot® is now pre-loaded with water so that the dressing reaches only 105F, about the temperature of a hot tub. What is interesting to note is why the QuikClot® dressing gets hot. The heat in the dressing is generated by the speed of the water molecules moving from the blood to the zeolite mineral beads.

You can buy QuikClot® here. or click here to learn more.

Have a great trip.

Frank Meyer
Adventure Medical Kits
Marketing Director and Co-Founder

ASK YOUR QUESTION>>> CLICK HERE

1) I am a field member on our county Search & Rescue team. 2) I will be finishing with my Wilderness First responder certification in a few weeks. 3) I spend tons of time in the back country of colorado year round. From ice climbing to mountain biking. I have always carried a small field first aid kit, have have added more and more items over the years.

Can you recommend a kit (for personal use) that I could use while hiking, biking, climbing, etc… in very reomte areas that can deal with everything from allergies to major trauma.

Thanks,

Nathan T., Secretary Garfield County Search & Rescue

Answer:

Nathan, I would carry the Ultralight & Watertight .9 kit and add QuikClot, an Epi-pen and a small CPR shield. You can find the Quicklot and CPR mask in our refill your kit section. The Epi-Pen you will need a prescription and go to your local pharmacy. Thanks