Mysterious trail closure at Mount Rainier due to ‘unusual bear activity’
On Thursday, Mount Rainier National Park released the following alert on social media:
“Due to unusual bear activity, the Wonderland Trail is temporarily closed between Narada Falls Trail and Stevens Canyon Road.”
The statement then went on to list reminders on what to do when encountering a bear in Mount Rainier National Park.
Mount Rainier National Park has never had a bear attack inside its boundaries since its inception in 1899.
The bears found today in the park are American black bears, which have a largely plant-based diet and traditionally do not hassle humans. Black bears inside Mount Rainier National Park are food motivated, however, and quite often break into cars, campsites and garbage cans to dig out anything with strong smells that they can find.
A trail closure for bear activity is rare in Mount Rainier National Park, with the last known closure in 2013 in the Glacier Basin Backcountry Area.
Area closures, however, are quite common in parks like Yellowstone and Glacier that are home to grizzly bears, with both parks having closures due to grizzly activity this year.
The News Tribune has reached out to the National Park Service, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
.jpg)