When it comes to hunting in Wyoming’s grizzly country, being in the right mental space is just as important as having the right equipment, seasoned hunters say.
It’s good to have a healthy sense of respect and awe toward the immense power of grizzly bears, they said, but there’s no sense in staying home because of an irrational fear.
Griz Attack Causes PTSD
Even so, when an attack happens, the terror of that moment can have lingering effects.
Celia Easton of Thermopolis had a long career in law enforcement and said she was able to handle most of the “sketchy” things she went through in the line of duty.
But being attacked by a grizzly on Oct. 15 while she was elk hunting alone in the Beartooth Mountains has left her with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), she told Cowboy State Daily.
Easton was charged by a female grizzly and her cub. The adult bear bit into her boot and pulled it off her foot.
Since then, when she’s outside alone and sees sudden movement or hears strange noises, it sets off her fear response, Easton said.
She recalled hunting antelope in the lowlands by Worland a while after the grizzly attack in the Beartooths.
“I kicked up this big old jackrabbit right next to me,” Easton said. "That scared me so bad, I thought I was going to throw up."
She’s not sure if she’ll ever go hunting alone again, and particularly not in grizzly country.
“Until you go through something like that, you don’t understand what it does to you,” she said about the impact fear such an apex predator inspires.
Preparing Ahead Of Time
Getting into the proper mindset can take the edge off fear in grizzly country, said another Park County hunter who had a run-in with a bear.
Alertness is essential, Garrett Kalkowski of Cody told Cowboy State Daily.
“Some butterflies and nervousness is good, but don’t be so nervous that you won’t know what to do if something happens,” he said.
Something did happen to Kalkowski and his father Vince while they were elk hunting near Meeteetse in October 2024.
The younger Kalkowski shot and killed a female grizzly with his Glock 10 mm pistol after it burst from the timber about only 4 yards away from them.
What prepared the hunter for that moment remains true for him as he continues to hunt in grizzly country.
“Expect the unexpected,” he said. “You know you’re in grizzly country. If something comes up, you have to be prepared to deal with it."
Watch For Sign
Guy Eastman has hunted all over North America, including in the heart of grizzly country in northwest Wyoming.
He told Cowboy State Daily that there were grizzlies galore when he was bighorn sheep hunting in some of Wyoming’s most remote backcountry this fall.
On one particular day, he and his hunting partner saw 10 grizzlies, said Eastman, who represents the third generation of the Eastmans family’s outdoor multimedia company.
He’s also hunted solo in grizzly country, which can be daunting.
“Most of the guys I know who hunt alone, if there’s lots of bear activity, they’ll just go somewhere else,” he said.
One way to keep a keen edge without letting fear run wild is to stay observant, look for bear sign and know what’s going on in the area, Eastman said.
The good news is, bears generally make their presence known through “crap, scratch marks on trees and tracks,” he said.
‘It’s Another Level’
Just moving about the woods in grizzly country isn’t too dangerous, Eastman said.
It’s when the hunter kills a big game animal that the dynamics change.
“It is another level when you get something down,” he said. "Then, essentially, you become the target” once grizzlies smell blood.
Basic backcountry protocol when hunting with a partner is for one person to stand guard while the other skins and quarters the game.
When solo hunting, it’s another matter, Eastman said.
“When you’re alone and you have your head down and your eyes down working on a carcass, you’re in peril,” he said.
Grizzlies are stealthy and can show up before a lone hunter realizes it, he said.
“Those suckers are really clever and quiet. People are always surprised by how quiet they can be coming in close,” Eastman said.
Eastman draws the line at trying to pack a game animal out by himself. That’s more risk than he’s willing to take.
“Come back the next day with a friend,” he said.
Early in the hunting season, in August or September, grizzlies tend to be up high in the mountains above timberline “flipping rocks” to feast on moths hiding underneath, he said.
But in October, the bears start coming down low, and hunting then can be nerve-racking, Eastman said.
“I’ve been nervous, especially coming out to the trailhead late. You see that there’s been lots of bear activity in the area, and you have to walk through it, in the dark,” he said.
‘A Really Weird Feeling’
Teton County resident Lacelynn Seibel frequently hunts alone in grizzly country. She told Cowboy State Daily that she’s learned to trust her instincts.
“I’ve been out hunting, gotten a really weird feeling and decided to leave,” she said. “I checked my trail camera later and saw that there had been two grizzlies close to me."
She’s continued to trust her gut.
“If I get a creepy feeling or I feel unsafe, I just leave,” she said. "It’s not worth just staying there."
And she stays prepared.
“I’m prepared for it. I have bear spray, and I have a pistol," Seibel said, adding that she’s learned how to look for bear sign and know bear behavior.
“For me, it’s having the knowledge that makes me feel safer,” she said.
A healthy sense of wariness is a good thing, Seibel said, but she doesn’t want fear to keep her out of the wilderness either.
I’m not a big fear person. Something bad can always happen,” she said. "But I’m not going to not do something I love doing just because there’s a small chance something bad might happen.”
‘It’s Not For Everyone’
Joe Kondelis of Cody is an avid black bear hunter. He frequently hunts black bears in areas where grizzlies are also present.
It’s important to be fully aware of the risk and keep things in perspective, said Kondelis, president of the American Bear Foundation.
“It’s not for everyone,” he said.
Not many guys deer or elk hunt in grizzly country solo, and black bear hunting there is no different, he said.
Knowledge is the key, starting with being able to clearly distinguish black bears, which are legal to hunt, from grizzlies, which aren’t legal to hunt, he said.
“Often (black) bears are killed in the evening, right at dark, so you will be skinning, quartering and packing well into dark,” he said.
Unmitigated fear won’t help, but keen alertness will, he said.
“I would just say to be extremely vigilant. Pay close attention to signs of griz in the area, know your gear and how to use it, Kondelis said.
Also, be prepared to call for help if the worst does happen, he added.
“Carry an inReach or satellite communication device,” he said.
Get In The Right Headspace Beforehand
Taking stock of one’s skills and being prepared beforehand can prevent grizzly paranoia in the field, Kalkowski said.
“Be confident in your equipment,” he said. “Whatever pistol you have, whatever that might be, make sure you’re confident in drawing it and being prepared to defend yourself."
While every hunter should be prepared for the worst, grizzlies generally just want to be left alone, so attacks are rare, he said.
“We know they’re out there. And I’m one of the 1% of people who is going to get charged by a grizzly in their life,” he said.
Doing Things A Different Way
While acknowledging the emotional toll the grizzly attack in the Beartooths took on her, Easton said she won’t let her fear drive her to give up hunting.
Instead, she said she’ll “do things differently.”
She wants to go elk hunting in the Bearthooths again, but next fall plans on going with relatives instead of hunting there alone.
“I think I would be too flinchy and too jumpy if I tried to go in alone,” Easton said.
She’s also an avid backcountry horseback rider, and said she feels safer on a horse.
“If I’m on my horse, moving around, I’m comfortable,” she said.
She also plans on getting a chest pack with a bear spray holster on it “so it’s right there if I need it.”
Easton said she knows that grizzly attacks are rare, but her bear encounter forever changed the way she sees the wilderness.
“I think my days of trekking through the woods alone are over,” she said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
