In the Heart of Bear Country

Lessons on Survival, Self-Reliance, and Family From Life in Bear Country

De: Scott Lochlan

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

I grew up a long way from bear country. Back then the wildest thing I had to worry about was a neighbor’s German shepherd that would chase us on our bikes. Then life led me here, to Montana, where the wild is not a backdrop but a daily presence. If you live out here long enough, you start to measure time differently. You mark the year by when the ice leaves the river, when the first mountain bluebird shows up, and when you see the first bear tracks of spring.

Those tracks are a reminder that everything out here has to be ready. Ready to find food, ready to endure winter, ready to move fast when something bigger and hungrier comes along. Bears do not spend a lot of time worrying about politics or news cycles. They survive because they are prepared every single day. I think there is a lesson in that for us.

When Regina and I settled here and started raising Logan, Smith, and Harper, I realized how fragile comfort can be. A big storm, a wildfire, or a power outage changes everything in a heartbeat. The first time I saw a grizzly on the ridge behind our house I felt awe and a deep responsibility. Not fear exactly, but a heavy kind of respect. Out here you prepare or you get humbled fast. I decided I wanted my family to be ready for those moments, not just for bears but for all of it.

This book is not a doomsday guide. I am not writing from a bunker. I am writing from a kitchen table with muddy boots by the door and a view of the Bridger Range out the window. You will find some stories in here that are funny, some that are a little embarrassing, and a few that still make me shake my head. My goal is simple. I want to help you think through what it means to be prepared, not paranoid. To build skills and systems that let you live your life with confidence no matter where you live. And yes, there will be bears.

You do not have to live in Montana to benefit from thinking like someone who does. Whether your version of a bear is an ice storm, an earthquake, a wildfire, or just an unexpected layoff, the approach is the same. Pay attention, get ready before you need to be ready, and learn to work with the world around you instead of ignoring it. If I can do this as a husband and dad who still occasionally forgets to take the trash out, so can you.

So let’s begin, right here in bear country, where being ready is not an option. It is a way of life.