Last fall, my father and I went camping in the magnificent Gallatin National Forest of Montana. When we arrived at our campsite, we were greeted with these troubling signs:

I’d never seen two “watch out for bear” signs before. So what did we do? Well, after taking in the scenery and the absolute silence, we set up our tents.

Campers camp. Writers write. And bears scare campers, no matter if the bears are more afraid of you than you are of them. This is how it has always been.