On an unusually warm morning in March 2022, I got up after a kind of restless night of sleep. Whenever I know, I am going to be shed hunting in thick grizzly, bear territory, I always get bad sleep. Nonetheless, I hit the road. I pulled into the parking lot of the trailhead that I was going to use to access the bone zone. I was putting on my backpack and strapping my snowshoes to it when a truck with a horse trailer pulled into the parking lot. I figured they were other shed hunters. With conflicting feelings about seen other shed hunting brothern in my chosen spot for the day, I went over and said hi. they informed me that there was a man missing on the mountain who had failed to report in the previous day.
I thought long and hard about whether I should proceed with my adventure that day. Worst case scenario a bear got him, and that bear could still be up there, best case scenario the person had some sort of health issue or some other predicament that hindered his return to his vehicle. Running the chances in my mind, I thought the worst case scenario was pretty improbable. So I decided to proceed with my day.
After 10 miles hiked I got a call from the search and rescue informing me that the person of interest had deceased and warning me to use caution because it was a grizzly bear fatality.
The next 5 miles out were the longest of my life. I was contemplating the person who had just died on the very mountain, and what I would do if a grizzly bear did charge me.
I remember being exhausted, when you put on so many miles and deep snow with snowshoes, your reflexes and head are not as clear or quick. Also, my hands were cold, and I was unsure if I could undo the Velcro keeping my bear spray in its holster. I could put on mittens to warm up my hands, but then I definitely wouldn't be able to deploy my bear spray.
I made it home safe that night but the experience left my raw.
As I reflected on that experience over the next few months, I knew that I needed a new bear spray holster. A bear spray holster that I could easily and quickly deploy. A bear spray holster that I could clip to the hip belt of my backpack, my belt, or my bino harness to ensure my bear spray would never leave my side.
There was nothing out there that sufficiently satisfied these requirements and when it comes to life and death situations, I knew that these requirements were of the upmost importance.
So, Bear Blitz was born. It took over five iterations and one and a half years to land on the perfect design. one that makes sure your bear spray is locked in its holster as you move about the mountain, but comes free the second you pull on it. A bear spray holster that securely clips to all mounting points possible, and a bear spray holster that could even accommodate different sizes of bear spray canister.
I hope the bear blitz bear spray holster will serve people well in grizzly bear country and beyond.
