Backpackermatt's Guestbook

re: Bear sightings along the road
Sorry, it just occurred to me that you may not have read my follow-up blog from my return trip along the Icefields Parkway, which deals with the more intimate bear encounters that I referred to in my previous comment. It's called 'From Jasper to Lake Louise on Two Wheels and Two Feet'. Also has a couple of nice bear pictures I took from the saddle of my bicycle.

re: Bear sightings along the road
Hi Merissa! Firstly it is awesome that you are going to be cycling the Icefields Parkway this summer - it was definitely one of the best travel experiences of my life! You will love it!!! As for the bears, I really wouldn't worry about them. For starters, any bears that you do see along the Icefields Parkway itself will almost certainly have attracted a large crowd of spectators by the side of the road. They call it a 'bear-jam', and as soon as you come around a bend and see ten or more cars all parked on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere you will know that there is a bear there somewhere. The only time I had a more 'intimate' encounter with a bear was when I took Highway 94A back from Jasper heading south (it runs parallel to the Icefields Parkway for about 30kms between Jasper and Athabasca Falls, but on the other side of the valley) which is a MUCH quiter road. I first saw a grizzly bear along this road and in the 15 - 20 minutes that I spent watching it from the side of the road only three cars came past and stopped. A short time later I encountered a black bear right beside the road and in the 10 - 15 minutes that I spent observing it I don't recall a single car coming past. This was the only time I was a little worried because at times the bear was literally no more than five metres away from me (I really shouldn't have come so close, but it wasn't a particularly large bear) and could have attacked if it wanted to, but to be honest in this case as in all other bear encounters I had the bear seemed to be way more interested in the berries and leaves that it was snacking on than any humans who might have been around. Unless you plan on going for hikes off the road (which I would definitely recommend as well - but for which you need to be a little more careful and keep your wits about you) I really wouldn't worry about bears at all... there will most likely be at least twenty or thirty other people vying for the bear's attention whenever you see one! Just sit back (at a safe distance), observe, and enjoy!