If you ask Tim Rubbert to tell you a good bear story, he's got a lot to choose from. He's hiked more than 10,000 miles in bear country and has racked up at least 1,700 bear sightings in the last 20 years. Not that he's seen 1,700 different bears, he makes sure to clarify; some of those could have been the same bear over and over.

But the bear story he likes to tell is the one he calls the non-encounter encounter.

"I was hiking in the Whitefish range and I saw a fresh glacier lily root digging -- I mean smoking fresh," he says. "So I immediately left the area. Then I hiked back to where I could look down into the area -- probably just 100 yards from where I had been. That's when I saw the grizzly. What I like about this non-encounter is that I didn't affect the bear's behavior at all. I acted in what I thought was a correct manner. That's how everything should be."

In his recent book, "Hiking with Grizzlies: Lessons Learned," Whitefish resident Rubbert tells more stories. Each story is from his own experience and is used to illustrate how to act in bear country and how to react when that rare encounter does happen.

"When a bad thing happens between a person and a bear, it's usually the person's fault," Rubbert says. "That comes from their lack of knowledge and wrong teaching."

Rubbert encountered his first grizzly in 1985 in Yellowstone National Park. It was a moment that would change his life forever.

"It blew me away," he says. "I started hiking my butt off."

He also quit his job as an attorney in Helena for USF&G.

"I became disillusioned with big companies," he says. "I learned, especially when I started hiking and watching grizzlies, that there was something more, at least for me, than having a 9-to-5 job."

He went back to school, got a degree in secondary education and pursued his passion for grizzlies.

"Grizzlies are the epitome of true wilderness," he says. "If we have no wilderness, we have no grizzlies. That's what makes Montana special. Montanans recognized early that grizzlies are special, and they still do."

Here's what else Rubbert had to say about his book and his experiences with grizzlies:

IR: Why did you write this book?

TR: I consider it part of my education for the public. Educating bears is not the answer, obviously. I'm trying to get people to respect the bear. Bears are incredibly tolerant. You can do a lot of stupid things in bear country and nothing's going to happen.

I do a lot of grizzly education on how to hike safely and recreate safely in grizzly country. I do presentations and hikes for Big Mountain at Big Mountain and teach at Flathead Community College every once in a while. The book is for educational purposes.

IR: What makes your book different than other books about grizzlies?

TR: Most other bear books are based not on the author's experience but on others' experience and anecdotal experience. All of this book is based on my own experience.

For example, one of the things you hear about is don't make direct eye contact with the bear. Where did that come from? When you come into contact with a bear, it's instinctive to look a bear in the eyes. You shouldn't stare it down. But the corollary of that is always keeps your eye on the bear.

Also, other bear books are based on worst-case scenarios. Most of the encounters in my book are based on doing what I feel are the right things and are based on positive outcomes.

IR: What are some important things to know about bears at this particular time of year?

TR: Bear are in hyperphasia -- a state where they are bulking up for hibernation. They are basically active all day long. If you're one of the people who thinks you can hike safely during the day, that's false. You have a better chance of running into a bear this time of year. You need to be alert all day long.

This year the huckleberry crop started real good. But because of heat and lack of moisture that huckleberry crop went to toast real quick. Most of huckleberries they would be consuming -- there are none. We're already starting to see bears moving around in the lower valleys. It's a bad food year.

IR: Any advice for hunters?

TR: Carry bear spray. Hunting is a little different than hiking. When you're hiking, you want to make noise. When you're hunting, you don't want to make noise. I would listen really well. And I would always be looking -- be aware of bear signs like scat, tree rubs, anything.

IR: What are some things you should never do in bear country?

TR: Never run if you encounter a bear.

Never climb a tree.

Never panic -- it's hard to tell a person not to panic. The time for screaming is before you run into the bear.

Never feed a bear; never leave food out.

Never approach a bear, ever.

IR: What should you always do if you encounter a bear:

TR: The first thing is freeze, remain calm and watch how the bear reacts to you before you do anything.

While your hiking or recreating, make noise to avoid surprising a bear. And use your common sense -- yell when you're approaching a curve in the trail, a creek or waterfall and when you're near heavy cover.