We brought bear bells, the kind that jingle and it is supposed to alert the bear you are there so they can move away with no surprised, though they do get mixed reviews on effectiveness. Still, I was a mom taking my three kids on a hike by myself and felt better knowing we had something. Ironically, while we did not see any bears on the hike at mendenhall, there was a black bear wandering around creek street in downtown ketchikan—where I least expected it!