from reading this first-hand account on another thread here - about the bear attack and escape - it makes me wonder whether two people, as opposed to the solo hiker in this case, would have fared as well. obviously the spray made the difference here. but w/o the spray, and two people? makes you wonder..

then again, when it comes to hiking with a buddy, i don't have to run faster than the bear, i just have to run faster than my hiking buddy!