Roberts: No grizzlies here

A little known fact is that hibernating bears sometimes don’t sleep the whole winter through. If the weather turns mild, they may leave the den to forage for food and then return to the den when the weather turns colder.

If you’re out in bear country, it’s a good idea to make a lot of noise to let the bears know that you are in their territory. Some have advocated adorning yourself and your equipment with little bells to make noise to scare the bears away.

A good way to identify animals in the area is by examining their scat. Black-bear scat will contain undigested plant seeds — plum, apple, chokecherry, or serviceberry. Grizzly-bear scat will contain the same undigested seeds and little bells …

Hugh A. Roberts

Snowmass