October 27, 1998 Missoulian article by Michael Jamison: Victims of bear attack released from hospital.
Tracy Pelland, 23, and her husband Matt, 26, were about one mile from Cracker Lake near the Many Glacier Valley when the grizzly - believed to be a sow with two young cubs - charged, park officials said. The East Glacier couple first spotted the bear when it was about 50 feet away and -running toward them.
According to Chief Ranger Steve Frye, the bear hit Tracy Pelland first, knocking her down and biting her thigh. Her husband, hoping to draw the animal away from his wife, ran about 20 feet off the trail before stumbling in the thick sub alpine fir.
The bear attacked as Matt Pelland fell, biting him in the calf and clawing a leg as he [Matt] unloaded an entire can of pepper spray into the grizzly's face.
The bear wheeled away, running back to Tracy Pelland, who was retreating down a hill. She rolled into a fetal position, as the bear raked [its] teeth and claws across her left side and shoulder, trying to roll her over before rumbling off into the woods. Tracy Pelland remained on the ground, however, for another 30 minutes or so, making sure the bear was gone.
Meanwhile, her husband went for help, bushwhacking down a creek until he again found the trail. Uncertain where his wife was and not knowing if she was alive or dead, he hiked four or five miles to Many Glacier to report the attack. Just as helicopter and ground search crews were about to leave Many Glacier, Tracy Pelland walked out of the woods, injured but under her own power.
The Pellands - experienced hack-country travelers in Glacier - were taken to the Indian Health Service hospital in Browning, where they were treated and released.
Frye believes the bear, protecting her cubs, attacked when surprised by the hikers. Although the Cracker Lake trail remains closed, rangers do not plan on killing or hazing the bears, Frye said.
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