Stranded 20 miles from the nearest road, disoriented, and out of food, two men were flown out of Wyoming’s Teton Wilderness after a chaotic run-in with a bear.
he dramatic Grand Teton Mountain Range is viewed from the Snake River Overlook (Photo: George Rose/Getty Images)
Published August 26, 2026 03:27PM
Outside contributor Suzie Dundas spoke with Anthony Stevens, Teton County Search and Rescue chief advisor in Wyoming, to parse through the details of this backcountry rescue.
Search and rescue personnel saved two brothers on the morning of August 25 after they became lost in Wyoming’s Thorofare Valley, one of the most remote wilderness areas in the Lower 48.
The two men, both in their 30s, stumbled into a wilderness camp, disoriented and low on food, a Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR) spokesperson told Outside. Authorities have not released the name of the men, but did say neither was injured.
“They were kind of disheveled and dehydrated,” Anthony Stevens, TCSAR chief adviser, said. “They were obviously scared by this encounter. And I think they were really worried about the fact they didn’t have any food.”
The Thorofare Valley is considered the furthest point from any road in the contiguous United States. Given their remote location, the two men were lucky to find help.
“I think the closest road is 20 miles as the crow flies,” Stevens said. The valley sits about three miles from Yellowstone National Park‘s southern border, and roughly 20 miles east of Grand Teton National Park.
The two men walked into the remote Hawk’s Rest Wilderness Camp in Teton Wilderness, located in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest. Personnel at the camp contacted TCSAR, the group wrote in a statement. The hikers said they came into contact with a bear, though Stevens says it’s unclear whether the bear attacked.
During their encounter, the men deployed one of their two cans of bear spray, and one tore his rain pants, though Stevens said it was unclear what caused the tears. Neither man showed signs of bear-related injuries, he added.
Camp staff gave the men food and water and directed them to a nearby ranger cabin to wait for rescuers. Rescuers initially feared “a full-blown bear mauling,” Stevens said. But once TCSAR determined the men were safe and not in immediate danger, it opted to wait until the following day to send a helicopter to avoid flying into remote terrain at night. Responders flew the men to the TCSAR headquarters in Wyoming. Neither required additional medical attention.
The encounter is one of a few in a series of bear-related incidents around the region this summer, including an August 10 black bear incident near Teton Pass and a May grizzly encounter near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park that left two men in serious condition.
