However, Treadwell wasn’t trying to trick Huguenard. He seemed to really believe he had a relationship with the bears, many of whom they had names for, some he’d “known” since they were cubs. While many times he said he was willing to, and maybe even expected to, die from a bear attack, he told the LA Times in 1994 it was unlikely because “They love me too much.” Still, per Vanity Fair, he had a strategy in the event of a bear confrontation. Treadwell said you had to quickly decide whether to “pull up, back away, or do nothing. Just feel as if there’s ice in your veins and be fearless. He’ll hate that.”
Huguenard defaulted to Treadwell’s experience, much like she let him do most of the talking when they were out in public together. By 2003, Treadwell was excited for Huguenard to join him for a late-season camping trip to be among the bears, writing in his journal on September 14, “Amie’s coming in today. She’s my girlfriend. She’s wonderful” (via Vanity Fair). According to Anchorage Daily News, by then, the couple had planned for Huguenard to move to California to live with Treadwell.
They spent a week or so camping and studying grizzlies, safely leaving on September 26, but they hadn’t seen a bear they’d been hoping to see. The rain forecast was lending itself to filling the creeks which would create a fish run that would be sure to attract the bears who needed to fatten up before winter. At the airport, Treadwell proposed staying. Huguenard said, “I wanna do whatever you wanna do” (via Vanity Fair).
