My wife and two daughters and I were hiking near Morro Rock and had this close encounter in Sequoia National Park last week. 15 ft away :-)

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eep! Hope no one was wearing honey scented perfume.

that's too close in my book.
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Too close!
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I bet he wouldn't have eaten you, he's smiling.
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hey bo bo, wheres the picnic basket
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We were just walking and he came out of nowhere. We were not trying to get close to him. We had bear bells on and we had some bear spray, my wife was holding the spray cause it made her feel better. He stared us down for about 10 to 15 seconds and then moved on. I had positioned the girls behind me and had them put their hands up in the air and make noises. We had practiced so they knew just what to do.

Yes TOO close! I only snapped the pic when I felt he was going to leave. He had been on the other side of the tree.
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Could have lit an Acid and he would have left faster......

Nice you had the presence of mind to snap a pic.

Close one dude!
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Holy crap! Nice pic, glad you educated yourself and family about bears. Have the people I have seen in the forest would have run, and then shortly thereafter been mauled.
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Yup you run then the predatory instinct and 'the hunt' kicks in. And your lunch!
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All I had were Cuban churchills :-)
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That bear looks hungry. Glad everything went your way Kirk.
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Been there and seen the bears but found the frik'n rattle snakes and poison ivey far more scary! I livedt in Three Rivers right outside the entrance while working on rebuilding the first few miles of the entrance road. Beautiful Place!!!:-)

Great Picture!:-)
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My wife said he needed a mani-pedi, his nails are far too long! :-)
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That close? I'd have been lucky to not be wearing poo scented underwear! :-)



That's a really nice pic and definitely a good story to tell in the years to come. :-)
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Then you're even luckier! They loves a good churchill :-)
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:-):-):-) You get a point from me for that one!
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Way to close for comfort!!
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I think if a bear was 15ft infront of me, the last thing I would be worrying about doing is gettin a pic of it...
Not knocking ya but, I think I'd be looking for a tree limb or rock or something besides my camera. Then after he left I'd go change my pants.
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Great pic.....great story....

Just looking at the pic gives me a bit of anxiety. I have seen bears from afar in the wild, always with a river/lake between me and them....and even then I was a bit uncomfortable.... I could not even imagine how I would feel with one 15' away....
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Awesome! Glad everyone's ok!:-)
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