Bear Proof? - Page 3

Grandpa · 01-31-2012, 08:19 PM

Yes, surprising a bear can be painful. Also because idiots try to get too close to get a better picture. Also because, as we have pointed out here, people do not take care of their food.

A story here that happened to us. SIL and I took his two boys, 5 & 7 on a two nighter. We hiked in about six miles and set up camp. Just before bedtime, I took the bear bag and went to both boys and told them to empty their pockets of their goodies. They all ready had the lessons and been told.

That night, SIL woke to a bear snuffing the side of the tent. He could see the side of the tent being pushed in by the bears nose. He had his 9mm in hand but also knew that it was only a last resort. The boys had not held anything back, the bear found nothing of interest and ambled off up the creek to check out the next campsite. Shortly after all sorts of yelling and screaming started up. They had not hung their food. No injuries but a ruined trip with all their food and gear mangled.

Grandpa · 01-31-2012, 08:27 PM

I have some great pictures of wild animals of most everything except bears. Every time I have met a bear up close and personal, I have had other priorities than taking pictures. I have come nose to nose (well, within 20 ft) had bears wander through camp, and had bears cross the trail in front of me but the only bear pictures I have are little black or brown spots way off in the distance. Good bear ettiquette is essential and usually successful in keep them away.

ChadTower · 02-01-2012, 09:42 AM

If you're talking about actual campgrounds really there is only so much you can do. Keep your food away from your site, or locked in your car with the windows up, and nothing out or in your tent. And then hope the site next to you does the same. I have had a few instances where a bear will wander by our site, snuffle a bit, and then go 30 yards to the next site that left their cooler under the picnic table. Screaming and disruption of the whole campground ensues because they didn't take the Ranger warnings seriously.

I have also seen guys learn the hard way that keeping your food in the truck bed under a tonneau cover means nothing. Out of sight does not mean out of scent and a bear can peel a tonneau easily. At campgrounds the bears, learn, too. Even if you have your food properly locked up in the car the bear might just decide to jump up on the roof anyway. All you can do is hang back and let it do whatever it wants until it moves on.

As a kid on our land we had a small side farm for blueberries and raspberries. It was somewhat common to be on one side of the field and have a bear on the other side 50 yards away. They didn't want us near them any more than we wanted them near us. Never had an incident but my grandfather did carry his deer rifle just in case. We were aware that we had planted a field of bear food in bear territory and had no choice but to share.

Really the best advice I can come up with for someone afraid of bears is that the black bear doesn't care about you. It doesn't want you. It wants your potato chips. Keep your food away from your site when possible, always keep it outside of your tent, and don't smell like food. The black bear is a massive raccoon by nature. The absolute best way to avoid a bear problem is to not appear to be food.

I've never been in grizzly country so I have no reason to fear a bear. Now, if you want to talk about moose, they scare the crap out of me.

ppine · 02-01-2012, 11:04 AM

Fellow campers,

I have had the bear at 6 feet experience several times while cooking in the dark and learned not to do that anymore. I like having the dogs around. They are growling and on alert way before bears get that close. I have had a bear within 12 inches of my face while sleeping and didn't care for that either.

The scariest occurrences have been around habituated campground bears because they are tough to get rid of. At Crater Lake, OR in the fall of 1972 we had 4 different bears show up with a large fire and a party going on. The NPS wasn't too good at bear management in those days. All of the campgrounds but one had just closed, and all of the park's campground bears showed up at the same place.

Yosemite was really bad in the 1970s. There were bears at the bus stop, bears in the dumpsters every morning and bears around our backcountry camps. Closing the NPS dumps, an idea pioneered by the Craighead brothers really helped the National Parks.

In wild places like Alaska there are more bear encounters but the animals usually behave in more predictable ways because they are not used to humans.

Gunny Webb · 02-05-2012, 11:33 AM

We were in the backcountry last year in thick brush. I was not too crazy about it as you could not see a bear until they were right next to you. Took my bear spray and put a little here and there about 50 feet from camp sights. A large snorting noise in the middle of the night will get your attention. We sprang up and yelled and gave mr bear a rock barrage, once a night for two nights.
We had a guide years ago who would spray under where the bear bag was hung. He said the bear would announce his intent to get our food. It worked!
The best defense against bears is keeping food put up and downwind. As mentioned they want easy food. Don't run if you see one, raise your arms and just move sideways away from the bear, slowly. Don't get around momma and cubs. Make noise when hiking so they here you coming. Don't camp next to stupid people who leave stuff out in their camp site. If you are in a camp ground and see someone leaving food or dirty dishes out, tell the host. They usually look around for this sort of thing anyway.
I've only seen two weird occurance of bear behavior that could not be easily handled, in 30 years. You need not worry about them if you use common sense..

Theosus · 02-06-2012, 06:54 AM

Not sure if it's an urban legend or not. I read a story where people evidently were told "if a bear charges you, drop your pack and back away, it wants the food in your pack". So bears started charging people just for their packs, because they got used to the idea of "charge = free easy meal".
Like I said, could be BS, but I thought it funny at the time.

dinosaur · 02-06-2012, 08:43 AM

Theosus, I don't think so. However, bears, like all animals are subject to learned behaviour. If you drop enough backpacks with food for them in a particular area, what you have described is exactly what will happen.

Pathfinder1 · 02-06-2012, 10:15 AM

I usually don't trek very far,
when all around me black bears are.

Hi...

It is with tongue-in-cheek that I mention the only bear-proof sleeping bag I've ever heard of. It was used centuries ago. I believe the company that made it was called Iron Maiden!

Hikenhunter · 02-06-2012, 11:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by racoon

OK, this may be a stupid question, but I am a woman, and I'm terrified of bear attacks. Are there any sleeping bags on the market that are bear proof? Would a bear even bother one at night in a camp. I don't trust wild animals.

The thing to remember is Wild animals don't trust you either. Follow the advice of the campers here and use bear bags and you will likly never be bothered by the creatures of the night.