Whats my problem

Sean, it's good that you have concern because it keeps you very safe. It is the workings of your primitive brain that will allow you to wake up from the slightest noise in the back country. Same concept as how a mother wakes up to the slightest sound that her child makes but could sleep through storm and thunder.

Ear plugs and tylenol PM.

Sean, your post made me laugh. :) Only because I know how you feel.

Where I typically go camping, It's pretty common to see a bear per trip, sometimes more. I've even seen 5 in a day and 8 over a weekend trip. Usually, if I am with another person, I don't even think twice about it and sleep like a baby. But sometimes it's a different story when I'm solo. Lying in my bivy, staring into the woods, my mind starts to play tricks on me. I begin hearing things. I force myself to sleep by closing my eyes and thinking about UL gear :)…until I wake up in the middle of the night convinced a bear is in the area. I take some deep breaths and block out the noises until I fall back asleep. The funny thing is, when I wake up and the sun is rising, all my bear problems have disappeared and I laugh at how worried I was. Why this happens? I don't know. But it does.
If a bear ever did come under my tarp, I envision putting him in a headlock, giving him a good noogie before patting him on the bum and sending him back off into the woods. Silly bear.

With John on this one,
2 tablets of Tylenol PM after a long hike will usually put you down fairly quickly, earplugs help. Usually tend to have the same feeling of impending beastie attacks on solo trips at stealth sites far away from other hikers.

Funny, I'm the same way about other people.

I do not want to restart the whole "should dogs be in the wilderness issue", but here goes.

My border collies senses are far greater then mine. With her sleeping at my side if shes relaxed and calm so am I. If she is upset or alert there is a reason. If she senses only deer or elk she will raise her head and just attentivly listen, if she senses a true threat her coat will bristle, she will growl deep in her chest and eventualy move between me and whatever has caught her attention. This is truely amazing and rewarding to observe.

Early on in my backpacking days I always had problems sleeping in the wilderness. Any small noise would send me into a paranoid state of mind. "What's that-What's that???"
Then I finally got smarter and went UL meaning I got out of the tent and its "thick' security walls. I sleep much better these days because I usually always sleep in a tarp. I feel better sleeping in a tarp since I am out in the open an can face things that might be approaching me. The tarp and its open sides put me in a different state of mind. I am facing my fears instead of hiding with fears behind tent walls. For me the tarp has allowed me to get a lot more rest. I think innately-instictivly I turn on my sensuous and that helps me sleep much better. "Face your Fears" Try a tarp it has worked for me.

Good Luck

The concept of earplugs and Tylenol PM freaks me out more than the thought of the boogeyman (or a bear) in the dark.
In the event that something is sniffing around my camp I want to know; I'd feel far more insecure being zipped up in a bivy, totally oblivious to the world.

Maybe we're on to something here…If you wear earplugs and eat enough drugs, you might be able to get away with not even carrying a shelter, food, pad, or bag!!!
PUL: Pharmaceutical UltraLight

I think a better option might be to focus on breathing and relaxation techniques to deal with one's nighttime fears.

If you take some Tylenol PM and have an "incident" (bear, raccoon, or other critter) during the night, how reactive can you be to take the necessary action? Will you be in too much of a fog to do what needs to be done?

I tend to wake up every hour, and toss all night long. By the time sunrise hits, I'm so tired from fighting all night long that I want to sleep in.

Your problem is a slight phobia.

Yeah, folks who have no phobia are lucky — and I wish they'd quit trying to "explain away" the fear for the rest of us — however well intentioned they may be. We know our fear (height, confined space, bears, the dark of the night, whatever) is mostly if not entirely irrational — but that doesn't make the fear any less real to us.

I too have a phobia (not bears but something else). I wish I didn't, but in a way, I am also thankful that at least my phobia is mild enough to be manageable.

I think eradicating a phobia can be a whole psychological process that's beyond the scope of this forum. Since yours is manageable (meaning you still manage to go camping and all) — I would say just recognize it for what it is (a problem, yes, but luckily a manageable one) and live with it. Use earplugs and Tylenol PM's as suggested above if you think they'll help.

>Then I finally got smarter and went UL meaning I got out of the tent and its "thick' security walls. I sleep much better these days because I usually always sleep in a tarp

Ever since waking up with a snake in the foot of my sleeping bag, I have had a phobia of sleeping under just a tarp…

I was once oblivious to the bear danger as well and figured every breaking branch outside the tent was just a mouse or something else innocuous. However, one night in Glacier National Park, a Grizzly came up to the tent, growled, paced around it outside, then sniffed the side of the tent–and scared the BeJesus out of me.

Ever since then, I have a problem sleeping in bear country, and the problem is exacerbated because in a tent, you cannot see outside. So when you hear the bear (or raccoon), your imagination runs wild…..Try tarp camping, with a fully zipped bivy, and you should eliminate at least the dread of being stuck in a tent without knowing what is making the noise outside.

When you do see eyes peering back at you, you can simply shine your flashlight and see what it is–and for the ultimate peace of mind, bring mace and a sizeable knife. If anything does bother you, you'll have a better chance of surviving the encounter with those, and will be able to sleep with some peace of mind.

Good thread Sean; I can totally relate. I have camped/hiked my entire life in Alaska and still fear bears. When I was little (like 4) a bear broke the window above my parents bed and came in the house. My parents grapped me from my bed and we ran outside into the jeep. I always thought my strange phobia might be because of this experience but then I realized that the only place it came from was inside myself. So I'm going to do an experiment this summer. I am heading to Kodiak Island to fish for salmon and do lots of backpacking. Kodiak is home to some of the largest grizzlies in the world (13 feet tall!). Fortunately, there is so much salmon there that the bears will hopefully be occupied with them but without a doubt I'm sure I'll have some moments where I get to face my fear.

I think its about control. With another human being, I can use my wits and always run away (I'm fast!) But against a predator that has evolved to be an absolute killing machine, I just feel helpless. Thats the hard part; knowing there is just nothing I could do physically to stop an attack. I think that Craig, who suggested breathing and relaxing techniques, is right on. I practice meditation in the mornings and in bear country I do it at night too! It calms me down enough to go to sleep but I still suffer from waking up all throughout the night.

Peace

…

"In my younger years I spent quite a lot of time around Black Bears and actually became quite complacent about them being around."

I don't think I would have the same fear if the only bears around were black bears. They don't intimidate me like grizzlies do. Some things must be about size I suppose. Grizzlies are huge! And yes I respect them. In my dreaming reality I am attacked and eaten and other times the bears are my friends and we get along without killing each other. But no matter what there is respect and that is important. By no means do I let this fear ruin my outdoor experience but it is still annoying.

When I was 7 or 8 me and my family were camping in little yosemite high camp and a black bear in the area tripped over one of our tents guylines and put its foot through the tent, narrowly missing my aunts head. The claw easily sheared the tent pole, sleeping bag, sleeping pad and floor of the tent. Also during a canoe trip when I was young there were a couple runins with bears that left me fearful. That compiled with my dad's delight in scareing me in the woods with stories of slue-foot sal the man eating browbear and the like have all fused togeather to make me warry. The funny thing is when I was 3 or so I was actually the one that unabashadly charged some bears in our camp to scare them away.

I agree that there is something about going solo that makes a difference. For me, being able to yell to another person makes things nice, even though they would likely have the same problems taking down the bear.

For me its snakes. I still want to get out of my tarptent, but the stories of waking up with a rattlesnake cozied up to you make me think twice. Even if its a one in a thousand chance, I'm not sure. Maybe I just need a serious bivy.

I'm terrified of marmots. You know, the ones which disguise themselves as enormous grizzlies during the night or early morning and come rustling around your campsite. When you know there's real bears around a marmot can really make you wet your pants. There's a lot to be said for being able to see out of your tent without shifting a muscle (does anyone else stop breathing and play dead in their sleeping bag when they think there's a bear in camp?).

You think THAT's bad?………….. The PCT is overrun with these guys in many places. And their numbers seem to increase each year.

No wonder I'm so scared to go out anymore.

It's okay, there are ways to deal with their kind…

I'm not really worried about bears, but I did get attacked by a wild dog once while I was sleeping out in the open. Rough night :-(

Tylenol makes sleeping pills (simply sleep) – http://www.tylenol.com/product_detail.jhtml?id=tylenol/pain/prod_ss.inc&prod=subpss — Google Tylenol or read the side effects. I do not recommend taking Tylenol. If you want some muscle pain relief, take Ecotrin – http://www.ecotrin.com/ and separately take Simply Sleep pills, you'll get the same benefit as Tylenol PM without the health risks.

Ha ha. Great pics guys. Very funny. (I hope the poor critter died a natural death… although the fact that he is on the side of the road makes it seem unlikely!).

Tylenol makes sleeping pills (simply sleep)

also known as benadryl, I believe.

The only time we've had bears in camp, in the 40 years I've been backpacking, our food was secure and our packs had been turned inside out and lay on the ground away from our tent. My friend, Carol, kept waking me up and saying "The bear is out there, I can hear him walking around.". I could hear him too and told Carol "I hear him. He's out there and we're in here. Go to sleep and let the poor bear alone. I need to sleep."

In the morning we found where the bear had left our packs, got our food down and ate breakfast, before continuing our hike. Every thing was just fine. The bear didn't get our food. And I finally got the night's sleep I so desperately needed.

If you're in an area where bears equate people with "food", secure your food away from your sleeping place and don't worry. Better yet, don't hike in areas where bears are a problem.

When people want me to lead hikes in "bear areas", I tell them "no". I want to sleep at night, not sit up worrying. If I want to worry I just read my IRA statement before bed. Don't need to carry a pack at high altituded for that.