This Grizzly Picked the Wrong Camp: An Epic Yellowstone Backcountry Story

Tall Tales & Reel Adventures | The Destination Angler Podcast

Imagine you're deep in the Yellowstone backcountry, miles from the nearest road, enjoying the kind of wilderness experience most people only dream about. You've got your fishing gear, a comfortable camp, horses and pack mules grazing nearby, and some of the finest trout water in the country waiting for you the next morning. Life is pretty darn good.

Then somebody spots a grizzly bear walking across the meadow toward camp.

Now, I've heard plenty of bear stories over the years, but this one, shared by Yellowstone outfitter Shane McClaflin on The Destination Angler Podcast, takes an unexpected turn. Because when things started looking a little dicey, the heroes weren't the guides, the guests, or even the bear spray. They were the mules.

And apparently, nobody had told the mules they were supposed to be afraid of grizzly bears.

A Grizzly Bear Comes Calling

Shane McClaflin has spent decades guiding visitors into the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park through his business, Sunrise Pack Station. His trips take guests far beyond the park's famous roadside attractions, into a wilderness of mountain streams, sweeping meadows, and wildlife encounters that don't always go according to plan.

When I interviewed Shane, we naturally got around to talking about bears. After all, Yellowstone is grizzly country, and when you're camping in remote areas with a group of guests and a whole string of pack animals, you'd better know what you're doing.

Shane explained that keeping a clean camp, separating cooking areas from sleeping areas, and properly securing food are essential parts of his backcountry routine. But he also told me about an extraordinary encounter that happened to another outfitter he knew.

The two men met at a trailhead in Yellowstone's northwest corner. Shane was getting ready to head into the backcountry, while his friend was just coming out.

Naturally, Shane asked how the trip had gone.  Well, you wouldn't believe what happened.

The Bear Wasn't Getting the Message

According to Shane, his friend's group had been in camp when a grizzly appeared on the far side of a meadow. At first, the situation seemed manageable. The outfitter gathered his guests together, intending to make the group look larger and discourage the bear from approaching.  The bear kept coming.

The group began shouting and making noise, hoping the grizzly would decide that these strange creatures weren't worth investigating.  Still coming.

Next came the pots and pans. If yelling wasn't enough, perhaps a little impromptu percussion concert would convince the bear to find somewhere else to spend the evening.  No such luck.

The grizzly continued walking toward the group, apparently unimpressed by their performance. At that point, the outfitter began preparing for the possibility that he'd need to use bear spray.

He positioned himself in front of his guests and told them to get their spray ready. Things were getting serious, and the bear was closing the distance.  And that's when the cavalry arrived.  Except this cavalry had long ears.

Here Come the Mules!

Shane described what happened next with the kind of enthusiasm that makes you wish you'd been sitting around the campfire listening to the story firsthand.

As the bear approached, the outfitter suddenly noticed movement off to his left. A group of pack mules had broken away from the herd and was heading straight toward the confrontation.

They weren't running away from the grizzly.  They were running toward it.

The mules moved together, positioning themselves between the guests and the approaching bear. Their ears went flat against their necks, their mouths opened, and they charged across the meadow.  As Shane put it:  "They all come together as a group and just chase the bear off."

Picture that scene for a moment. You've got a grizzly bear approaching a group of people who are desperately trying to convince it to turn around. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, several enormous mules come charging across the meadow, shoulder to shoulder, looking for a fight.  The grizzly apparently decided it had somewhere else to be.  It turned tail, ran across the meadow, and disappeared.  And just like that, the crisis was over.

Nobody Trained Them to Do That

What really caught my attention was Shane's explanation of the mules' behavior. He told me that mules can be extremely protective of their herd and territory, particularly when an unfamiliar animal approaches.

He has seen his own mules respond to intruding wildlife by moving together and confronting the animal. They may be gentle and affectionate around familiar people, but their behavior can change dramatically when they perceive a threat.

Shane summed it up this way:  "Nobody trained them to do this. They just do this naturally."

Of course, that's not to suggest anyone should rely on mules as a grizzly-bear defense system. Yellowstone's wildlife deserves plenty of space and respect, and proper food storage, bear awareness, and carrying bear spray remain essential precautions.

But it's a fascinating reminder that the animals accompanying us into the wilderness have instincts and behaviors we don't always fully appreciate.  And Shane knows that better than most.

The Other Side of the Mule

One of the things I appreciate about Shane is that he doesn't romanticize life in the backcountry. He loves his animals, but he also understands how powerful and unpredictable they can be.

In our interview, he shared another mule story, and this one has a much more sobering ending. A mule attacked a young horse, and when Shane intervened, he suffered a broken leg. The young horse ultimately had to be euthanized.

It's a difficult story, and one that illustrates the complicated nature of working with large animals in wilderness settings. Shane describes how an animal he trusted could suddenly become dangerous when its protective instincts took over.

There's a lesson in that, too. The wilderness isn't a theme park, and the animals we encounter, whether wild or domesticated, don't always behave the way we expect.  But those unpredictable moments are also part of what makes backcountry adventures so memorable.

There's More to Yellowstone Than the Fishing

When I invited Shane onto The Destination Angler Podcast, I wanted to learn about fly fishing in Yellowstone's backcountry. We certainly covered plenty of that, from the famous meadows of Slough Creek to the Lamar River, the Bechler region, and remote trout streams far beyond the roads.

But what stayed with me were the stories.

Shane also told me about a bison that reportedly tore the bed off a pickup truck, his experiences with wolves, and the remarkable history of mountain man John Colter. He has a way of bringing Yellowstone to life that goes well beyond where to cast a fly or which pattern to tie on.

And maybe that's the real magic of a great fishing trip. We head into the mountains hoping to catch trout, but years later, the things we remember most vividly are often the people, the wildlife, and those moments when something happens that nobody could possibly have planned.

I suspect the guests in that Yellowstone camp have forgotten exactly how many trout they caught on their trip.  But I'll bet they haven't forgotten the day the mules charged a grizzly bear.

Hear the Full Story on The Destination Angler Podcast

My guest Shane McClaflin of Sunrise Pack Station shares this remarkable encounter in Episode 65: Horses, Mules, and Fly-Fishing the Yellowstone National Park Backcountry.

Jump to approximately 36:52 to hear Shane tell the grizzly-and-mules story in his own words. And stick around for his fascinating account of the dangers of working with pack animals, followed by some terrific insights into Yellowstone's remote trout fisheries.

Want another teaser? Around the 31-minute mark, Shane tells the story of a bison that reportedly ripped the bed right off a pickup truck. You don't hear that one on your average fishing podcast!

Watch The Destination Angler on YouTube and explore more conversations with guides and adventurers who know these extraordinary places.

It's a big world out there. Now go and fish it!