I post about 5 month ago about my Aug trip on Amtrak 7&8 to Essex,Mt. Should i bring Bear Spray on my trip or do they sell that at inn gift shop? Can I shot a Bear in the State of MT? I really don’t want to see a bear?
The Amtrak (original GN) route forms the south boundary of Glacier Nat’l Park. I would guess they would frown on you shooting a bear in the park. When I was there about 30 years ago, some people wore small bells or otherwise made noise which the bears tend to avoid. I saw lots of fresh bear sign but no bears. (Although I heard one outside my tent one night.) The safest thing is to go on ranger lead hikes.
Be careful where you see small bells in bear droppings.
You don’t want to be the slowest person on the ranger hike.
It depends on what you are planning to do. If you plan to go hiking in the park by yourself, bear spray might give you some peace of mind. If you are in a group of 3 or 4 people, it should be unnecessary. The railroad tracks are mostly close to the highway, so if photographing trains is your main activity you should have no problems. Parks staff, and probably the hotel too, should be able to advise if there are any trails to avoid (or are closed) because of significant local bear activity.
The only times I have seen bears by the tracks in the Marias Pass was when there was still a pile of spilled fermenting grain from a derailment some months earlier. The railroad now tries to clean up such attractants more quickly. The bears are around, but generally avoid humans. If you do see one, just give it space! More space if there are cubs, of course.
John
I am stay around the Inn watch trains for 3 days here and maybe walking some of they trails at the inn.
I hope i don’t see no bears on my trip in few weeks.
Should I call the Inn if the Amtrak 7 is running very late when i am onborad the train? or will Amtrak contact the inn?[?]
The inn knows when the train will arrive- they have to send a van over to the platform to pick up/drop off passengers. I stayed there back in August of '09, and it was obvious to me that they stayed informed about Amtrak’s schedule and whether or not they needed to be at the platform.
Amtrak 7&8 been running very late for the past few months.
There is no doubt you will enjoy your visit.As far as shooting bears in a national park, the only legal way I know to do it is with a camera.
Best protection is to make plenty of noise when walking in the wild. A surprised bear is not an ideal situation. When hiking in the Glacier area I have passed other hikers who sing, if I did this the bears would not be the only ones running from me.
Jay