I don't think critiquing his case is tantamount to 'bashing him' at all. There was a time when trainers considered it "bad form" to use cases of officers killed in the line of duty to teach, but that has changed. It seems to me that we should be dissecting this case, especially since he lived. That means he did some things right. Of course, it also looks like he was damned lucky!

The various articles I read claim he couldn't make a fire because "he ran out of matches." Bad, bad, BAD! Let's say for the sake of argument that the bear at his food and absconded with his matches. This is an excellent example of why you have certain stuff that you always carry on your body. How about a lighter in your pocket? How about a Ritter/AMK PSP? What kind of woodsman feels qualified to make a month-long trip alone yet doesn't know any other way to make a fire but matches? He had a firearm but apparently insufficient ammunition to rely on it for survival (again, without knowing for sure if the bear stole that, too).

Again, I don't think we're really dumping on the guy to point out the really epic mistakes he made. Hopefully it will help someone to avoid making those mistakes again. For me complacency is one of the silent dangers. This should be a wake up call for anyone planning a similar trip.

For my own part I am going to make an effort to make sure I have not only redundancy but on-body carry of some of that stuff. Fire gear in my pack but a lighter & firesteel in my pocket. A good sized knife and axe on/in my pack but a good folder or small fixed blade on my belt. Ammo for my sidearm (where I live I have a permit to CCW) but at least a spare mag on the weak side belt opposite the gun.