Whether you're visiting a national or provincial park, hiking through deep woods or fishing a well-travelled stream, you may find yourself face-to-face with North America's largest predator. This book can make the difference between a close encounter and a deadly one.

Backcountry Bear Basics provides tested strategies to help you avoid conflicts with black bears and grizzlies. All aspects of backcountry travel are covered, including how to cook and store your food and set up your campsite to avoid attracting bears. Outdoorsman Dave Smith explores commonly held beliefs and fallacies about people and bears, including the belief that human sexual activity may attract bears.

From fishing to mountain biking, Backcountry Bear Basics looks at the likelihood of encountering a bear and suggests tactics for coping in different situations. When should you "play dead" and when should you fight for your life?

Thoroughly researched and packed with tips, Backcountry Bear Basics will make anyone's next visit to the "backcountry" a safer one.

This is a new release of the book published in May 1997.