Movie “Backcountry” – lessons to be learned

[Steven Hanlon]

I returned from a weekend of wildness camping in black bear country and decided to unwind after the drive by watching the movie "Backcountry" if you haven't seen it, spoiler alert… a couple goes for a long weekend trip of paddling and backpacking in a Canadian park. The guy "knows" the park and is brazen enough to say he doesn't need a map. RED FLAG #1. the girl pulls out of her pack a large can of bear spray and the guy tries to talk her out of bringing it RED FLAG #2. long story short, they get lost, there is a hungry bear, only she makes it out. as an avid backcountry backpacker, the lessons in this movie are obvious, always bring a map, and if you are in known bear country, bring and know how to use bear spray. anyone else see this movie?

[Tipi Walter]

Thanks for the post as I went to youtube for the trailer and read some of the comments. It looks like another The Hills Have Eyes horror movie, this time with the king kong of forest creatures, the Bear. Let's hope Bart the bear hugged Brad Pitt at the end and they all had a good death. Hopefully this movie will destroy the popularity of other hiking movies like Wild and the Redford/Nolte thing and keep more people out of my woods. Fear is the best motivator to keep people indoors and off trails. And then after such a bear attack the forest service goes in and mistakenly kills several random bears before finding and killing the culprit. Meanwhile 117 Americans die in car wrecks per day and yet no one bulldozes up the roads or shoots an SUV driver who accidentally went over the center line. But we always pick on the bears when there's an accident. Suppose someone goes out backpacking and a tree falls on their tent or a lightning bolt kills them? Do we cut down all the trees and shoot out the sky? Where is the big movie and the horror and the suspense? A bear attack is the same thing—it's just part of wilderness travel. If you remove the threat then you remove the wilderness. I think Ed Abbey said something similar.

[Justin Baker]

In California, carrying bear spray for black bears is considered silly. You just yell at bears and they run away. I've seen a mammoth county sheriff charge a mother bear and her cubs with a flashlight. Are east coast black bears different?

[Steven Hanlon]

"Are east coast black bears different?" i've only ever seen one while backpacking, it was busy getting as far away from me as possible. i made no noise, but i'm sure it could smell my funk for miles. :)

[David Thomas]

>"Are east coast black bears different?" The only black bears I've heard of any different behavior are in the North Cascades / Glacier NP area. In that area, they act a bit more like grizzlies, from anecdotal things I heard (from a NP Ranger who was not prone to bear-phobia). Black bears in California, Alaska, the East Coast – I yell and run at them. Grizzlies – I don't do that. Then if you want to use something other than noise, bear spray statistically provides better outcomes for the humans (and far better for the bears) than guns.

[Jerry Adams]

you said Canadian trip if you look at lists of bear attacks, in Canada, both black bears and grizzlies attack people must be some sort of conservation law – people in Canada are friendlier which must use up the friendliness budget leaving the bears more aggressive? : ) (actually, bear attacks are so few you probably don't need to worry anywhere)

[Tipi Walter]

Yellow jackets got me on occasion. Several rattlesnakes showed a nasty interest in my butt. Several trees and limbs have fallen close to my tent over the years. I pulled a tick off my forehead once. Tripped and fell a hundred times. A white face hornet moved in my goatee while I was sleeping and stung me on the chin. There's always a chance a bear could hike into my camp at 3am and claw my tent apart and eat my head. Just like there's always a chance I could have a car wreck or god forbid have a house fire. (Already had one of those in 1979—don't want another). Point is—Movies like this feed the hysteria. Don't feed the hysteria.

[Steven Hanlon]

i was looking at the movie from a standpoint of "all these bad choices led to the bear attack, as improbable as it is, it does happen, bt if they had used some sense in the first place, they would have been in a cozy bed, not the stomach of a bear" angle. :)

[Ian]

From my casual observations, seems like there are regional, season, and individual reasons as to why a bear attacks. There are a number of times where people have said that firearms, and even bear spray in bear country is "silly." This was touched on in a recent Trail Show episode and bear spray was more or less mocked. No disrespect to TTS as I very much like the show. I guess it's easy to make blanket statements after encountering x number of bears who have been habituated to people, and not having been attacked, that bear spray isn't necessary. Likewise, at 44 years of age, I've never been in a serious auto accident so therefore seat belts are unnecessary for all people in all locations, context irrelevant. FWIW I rarely carry bear spray but this is something I think about often and wonder if I shouldn't start carrying it more on the trail.

[Monte Masterson]

After 21 years, bear hunting will resume in the Sunshine State. On Oct 24 the killing begins with 320 tags to be filled. Just in the last year there have been at least 4 serious bear attacks in Florida, and in the last ten years more than 15. Only a couple of blocks down the road from my sister's house in Lake Mary a bear grabbed a woman by the head and then let go when her cell phone began to ring. There's just too many bears in a state with almost 20 million people. They are very habituated and they roam through people's back yards with no fear at all. I'm getting ready to do another 78 mile fast pack of the FT through the Ocala NF. Juniper Springs Wilderness is where the FWC turns loose most of the trouble making bears they catch from Central Florida. I practice extreme scent control when I camp there. I also carry a 4 oz container of Fox pepper spray. Probably just gives me a false sense of security, but my heavier REI Traverse trekking pole also makes a pretty good club when it's retracted.

[BlackHatGuy]

"FWIW I rarely carry bear spray but this is something I think about often and wonder if I shouldn't start carrying it more on the trail." Yup. I stopped caring quite some time ago whatever someone else thinks about how I go about life. If it's packing my fears, I'm happy to pack them. Of course, I don't carry bear spray for the bears. I carry it for the Killer Klowns. Scared shite-less of them.

[Owen McMurrey]

"Point is—Movies like this feed the hysteria. Don't feed the hysteria." No need for movies with 3 black bear attacks in the news in the last week and a half!

[Tipi Walter]

So we should fear the bears, fear lightning, fear falling trees, fear ticks, fear giardia, fear hornets, fear the pit vipers, on and on. The best thing logically would be to stay indoors on the one hand and on the other develop the North American continent into one big asphalt parking lot with no trees and no chance for black bear longevity. There are 321,216,397 humans in the United States. There are 330,000 black bears. Guess who's winning the habitat war?? And I can hear the response: "Won't be happy until there's 0 bears!!"

[Ian]

Well I won't be happy until there are zero bears. That's why I encourage hiking with an AK47, decapitating a bear, and posting its head on a stake as a warning to other bears.

[Dave @ Oware]

The Truth comes out at last, Ian. Last weekend my buddy was hiking on the edge of the forest fire on the kettle crest and heard wolf howls at midday. He thinks they got pushed out of their former home and have moved south near the Highway.

[Kattt]

"So we should fear the bears, fear lightning, fear falling trees, fear ticks, fear giardia, fear hornets, fear the pit vipers, on and on. " We do have a certain amount of fear, and we should. Not the kind of fear that makes you not go out, or wish that none of the above existed. Just a healthy amount of fear that makes you be aware and prepared. Nothing wrong with that. Also, statistics mean nothing to the ones this stuff happens too. I had someone here tell me not to worry at all about mountain lions, that my chances to be hit by lightning are much, much bigger; that is nonsense . Where I live my chances of encountering a mountain lion are much much bigger that being hit by lightning. I don't let that stop me from heading out several times a week, but I do let it change my behavior when I am out. Why is it always that to acknowledge a certain amount of danger gets slammed with " chances are almost nil and you should just stay inside if you disagree". I don't understand that.

[Kattt]

If people watch the movie and decide not to go out, that is fine by me too.

[Bob Moulder]

Steve, were you hiking in Harriman? Up in the bluberry and huckleberry terraces there was a lot more bear poop on the trails this year compared to last, although I did not see a bear this summer. Not a bad idea to carry bear spray there. Very small chance, of course, but that isn't very far from where the brazen garbage-eaters in Passaic County, NJ have been known to get very bold around people. (And where the guy was killed by a predatory blackie last year.)

[Owen McMurrey]

"So we should fear the bears, fear lightning, fear falling trees, fear ticks, fear giardia, fear hornets, fear the pit vipers, on and on." And gators…we should all fear alligators, for they are fearsome. Much meaner looking than those cuddly black bears. There's some really big ones up north at that Placid Lake place. I know it's true, because I saw it in a movie.

[Jesse Hutchinson]

Well, see. Up here if you feared bears youd never leave your house. I have stayed in tents quite a bit, on city outskirts, etc for long peroids of time. Stealth camping while attending University and College both. Bears would always check me out, and many time would wake me up sniffing around, and I would scare the pants off of them by hitting the zipper to attempt a meet and greet.. They only caused me harm once, and that was when I wasnt in the tent. One I knew quite well decided to explore a bit. Two nigths ago, I stayed with a friend downtown in a city called Sudbury. The city has almost 200 000 people. I left this place at 5 am, and there was a 375 lb bear, and a 250 lb bear right outside investigating some garbage cans…I told them to move, and they did. If bears that were somewhat used to peopele were really dangerous, I should have been bear scat several times over. Unless they wake me, all I ever see is tracks a few yards from the tent, and off they go. I do nuisance bear removal also, and no one I can remember has ever been attacked by a bear acclimated to people. I did kill one this year who was marauding around a high end tennis club, and hadnt left in a week. He was breaking into buildings, and with the numberof people there, there was lots of opportunity for him to be a threat. He had to go because he was destroying stuff, but still…no threat to people really. He was viewed as a threat, but really…he wasnt a threat to human life.. Not to say it cant happen, but I would rather face a black bear in a semi urban environment than a sketchy acting german sheperd. I am a trapper, and I LOVE when people tell me they dont like going outside because of wolves…Wolves are everywhere here also, and talk about an elusive animal. They can coexist with us and we never even know they are there. They know we are here…but are generally too smart to let us even catch a glimpse. But hey…maybe the fear will preserve a bit of wilderness for the rest of us, eh?

[Jesse Hutchinson]

However, to add to that, A friend of mine was duck hunting last year, and had a small bear that didnt seem to want to go away. He shot it at two yards, but it is unclear whether it knew where he was int he thick brush. Quite often bears that are agressive or beligerent can have a type of parasitic worm in their meat. Trichnosis maybe? I imagine it causes them severe discomfort. Seen several with it, all were not acting right. This bear my friend was forced to kill, I butchered myself to see, and it was healthy, so into the freezer it went. I would have liked to see its behavior before it was shot, but judging from the inch and a half wound from the shotgun, it was far too close. The reason? Who knows.

[jimmy b]

I do enjoy a good bear thread. I would not describe my feelings toward bears as a fear but a serious respect for their power and will to survive. A fear to me would mean that I was preoccupied with uneasiness and that has never been the case. Of all the places we have hiked I have felt more "alive" in Grizzley country. I will say that in these wild places I have a heightened situational awareness but as Kat said I don't think that's a bad thing. We do practice all the sensible precautions and carry bear spray but after that we carry on as usual. I am a pretty calculating person and if there is a reasonable means to keep me from becoming a victim I will most likely employ it. Bear spray in big bear country works for me. I wouldn't have thought of carrying bear spray years ago here in New England and parts surrounding but things are changing fast in these populated areas. Bear populations seem to be exploding along with ever increasingly poor human behaviors. Not a lot of hunting these days and habitats are shrinking fast. I am reading of more and more concerning encounters with bears here on the E coast. Again it is not a fear of bears but in light of new information I feel compelled to rethink things every so often. Regardless of what others will say I more than often will haul the extra ounces now. Also being a chivalrous old dinosaur if it gives my wife a better nights rest I have no problem with it. A much more REAL fear for me is of home invaders. A much more likely theat. I have a more terminal bit of kit for that situation if ever needed :)

[Allen C]

I was briefly charged by a very large bear on the JMT about 2-3 miles south of Reds Meadow a month ago. I was hiking down towards Reds at about 8pm (in the dark with headlamp). The Bear was on the trail, tearing into a log or something – I must have startled it with my light when I was about 30-40 yards away – we saw each other at the same time. It charged up the trail right at me for 10 yards or so then took off into the bushes. Scared the crap out of me, I had no time to react and it was both FAST and HUGE. If it wanted to it would have destroyed me. Thankfully it decided not to.

[Steven Hanlon]

Bob, the bear i saw was along the AT in Maryland (Ensign Cowell Shelter) in October 2005. haven't seen one since. Harriman has some places that i think would be perfect places to stumble into a bear. i make plenty of noise cursing the trail, no bell needed :)

[Joshua L]

I was around the Bald Rocks shelter area last weekend. Whoever was staying in the shelter had stowed their food bag on the roof of the shelter. I thought that was an interesting way to avoid hanging your food. I wonder how much weight that shelter roof could hold.

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