By Stephanie Schaerr
When Troy Larsgard set out for a camping trip last weekend, he never imagined his dedication to dental hygiene would cause him so much trouble.
A bear attracted by the smell of Larsgard''s toothpaste ripped thorugh his tent Friday morning and clawed him, leaving a 4-inch cut and a hand-sized bruise on his thigh. Larsgard had taken his 16-year-old brother, Brent, hiking and camping in Rock Canyon for the weekend.
'Hygiene does have an opportunity cost,' said Larsgard, a senior psychology major from Bloomington, Minn.
Mark Hadley, spokesman for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said most people don''t realize Utah''s forested mountains are the ideal habitat for black bears. The state has a black bear population between 2,000 and 3,000, but the animals normally tend to avoid humans.
'It''s very rare that black bears attack anyone,' Hadley said.
Larsgard said he has camped in bear country enough times before to know to tie up all his food in a tree away from the campsite, but he forgot about his toothpaste and left it in a plastic bag inside the tent.
The two brothers parked at about 7 p.m. last Thursday and hiked approximately 2.5 miles up the trail before setting up camp for the night. Around 3 a.m., they were awakened by what they thought was a cougar pressing on the side of the tent.
Larsgard yelled 'Hey!' as loud as he could, and the creature ran off. At that point, Larsgard said, he felt an impression that he should throw everything out of the tent, but didn''t. Instead, the brothers moved their sleeping bags closer together and went back to sleep.
The bear returned at about 9 a.m., this time determined to get at the minty treat. From outside the tent, it prodded Larsgard. The brothers woke up as the bear circled the tent and stopped outside the door. They realized then it was not a cougar, but a bear, and yelled at it to scare it off.
But the bear was stubborn. The brothers watched in horror as the bear used one claw to make a long slice in the front of the tent. Encouraged by its success, the bear then clawed at the material with its entire paw, making a hole large enough for him to enter through.
The bear entered the tent, and while Brent pulled his sleeping bag over his head, Larsgard watched as the bear got closer.
'It turned to my brother and sniffed him in the ear and that''s when I really started getting pretty nervous ? It closed in and was by him, and I said the most intense prayer of desperation,' he said.
Larsgard shifted in his sleeping bag, which caught the bear''s attention. The bear took one swipe at Larsgard''s leg, ripping his sleeping bag and tearing through his skin. Petrified, Larsgard remained still, hoping the bear would go away.
A few moments later, Larsgard looked up to see the bear backing out of the tent. He shifted again in his sleeping bag, which again attracted the bear''s attention. It clawed his sleeping bag and started pulling him out of the tent.
'It''s taking me!' Larsgard yelled at his brother, who was still hiding beneath his sleeping bag.
Larsgard jumped out of the tent, grabbed a huge rock and hurled it at the bear as it climbed up a tree nearby. He grabbed another rock and threw it. His brother then emerged from the tent and threw a third rock and the bear scampered off.
On their way down to a nearby health center, the brothers stopped a woman walking her dog and told her what had happened. Larsgard said at first the people at the health center that treated him for infection did not believe his story, and neither did some of his friends when he first told them.
Larsgard said the encounter was not only terrifying, but expensive. Outdoors Unlimited, who rented the tent to him, is charging him $140 to replace the tent. That cost, plus medical bills, made a huge dent in his wallet.
'I don''t know what we could have done differently. I think we did our best under the circumstances,' Larsgard said.