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Reginald, “The Elders say bears can be dangerous, but don’t be too afraid most won’t bother people. Bears are an important part of Inuit culture, treat them with respect.”
Just for the record, in all seriousness, that's where I'm at. There is danger everywhere in the back-country and the city, and the burbs…I'm the same observant, cautious guy in bear country as i am on the streets of DC. I don't live in fear but I do pay attention, prepare and I don't live "on faith."
Russell and others, I agree with you. Many who have never ventured into the bush or have little experience become easily fearful and uncomfortable when the bear subject comes up. It is a natural response to the unknown. Depending upon the severity of the fear, one's response can be more emotional or rational.
I suspect my approach is much like yours. I do nothing that would encourage the bruin to come visit camp or want to stay. I watch my surroundings and position myself accordingly. Prior to each trip I assess the bear situation and try to determine what the level of risk is. Rarely, do I bring bear spray. Never brought a gun. However, I did bring bear spray, bear bangers and the biggest air horn can I could find when we last traveled through polar bear country. Next time I may travel differently or maybe not. It depends.
The more educated you are on the subject, the easier it is to make an informed decision. I am not going to fault someone who carries spray or more when it is not really needed if it makes it easier for them to sleep at night. With time and experience, they will learn. In doubt, it is better to be over prepared than under prepared.
Getting back to the original question, black bears are a risk that can usually be mitigated with a little bit of knowledge and caution. You do not need to fear them. Cougars, I am not knowledgeable enough to talk about them.
Its sometimes difficult to reply on an internet forum without sounding inflammatory, which wasn't my intent. No argument intended. I'm simply trying to encourage others to use facts and logic rather than some vague feeling of threat engendered by new stories citing rare occurrences, or worse, those atrocious animal attack shows.
Replying one last time to David about the cougar attack article…I certainly understand some locations carry more risk. But your original statement seemed to be aimed towards whether or not I would take a child hiking, now that a child was attacked by a mountain lion, to which my answer was and is I would. I may wait to see if that situation is resolved if I lived in the locale where the attack occurred and choose to hike a trail or park in a different area.
Today’s society is so litigatious that most authorities will have you go over prepared. Those with no prior knowledge will have you go extremely over or under prepared. Others will have you exterminate the threat with extreme prejudice. The truth usually lies somewhere in between and finding that truth can be difficult. One needs to scrutinize the source of the information, their experience and expertise. Fortunately, this is rarely an issue here at BPL.
Very true Reginald. There are certainly parallels between the bear/mountain lion discussion in this thread and BPL as a whole. Most backpackers carry far more than what they need in more ways than one to for conditions both real and imagined.
I know before I found this site years ago I lugged overbuilt, under-thought gear and redundant items all over the place because I thought I needed it all to be prepared for my next great adventure. The realization that I didn't need a seven pound, 5,000 cubic inch monster of a pack to haul my gear was liberating. Now, I leave at home as much baggage as I can, both materially and mentally.
F – False
E – Evidence
A – Appearing
R – Real
big stick!
Or get yourself two of these dogs. I know I know, dogs are supposed to just be a hazard. But talking with owners, these puppies are the real deal.
That's awesome… After beating the bear he should have skinned it and at least eaten the heart and liver before he rushed to the hospital for massive head trauma.
I don't worry about them. I don't even waste a minute of my time thinking about them. I don't carry anything to protect myself from them, except a bear canister where required. My bear canister even has teeth marks and I still don't lose a second of sleep over bears or lions. I feel at home, safe and comfortable in nature.
What worries me is drinking polluted water, stinging/biting insects and cold rain. And yet I drink much of my water without treating, spent a month among the worst mosquitoes I have ever seen and still refused to go home and walked through Washington state without a rain coat. I'm crazy, I guess.
"I don't worry about them. I don't even waste a minute of my time thinking about them. I don't carry anything to protect myself from them, except a bear canister where required. My bear canister even has teeth marks and I still don't lose a second of sleep over bears or lions. I feel at home, safe and comfortable in nature.
What worries me is drinking polluted water, stinging/biting insects and cold rain. And yet I drink much of my water without treating, spent a month among the worst mosquitoes I have ever seen and still refused to go home and walked through Washington state without a rain coat. I'm crazy, I guess."
I don't suppose you have a sister who thinks like you who lives on the east coast…. :-)
Douglas – LOL
Diane – You are crazy, but it's a good kind of crazy. :)
Miguel,
If you are worried, strap on the bear spray and go about your business. Of course always be mindful and the chances of having an encounter is very, very slim. Do what makes you feel comfortable.
After 20 plus years of backpacking I just had my first close encounter with a mountain lion in the Cascades. She was beautiful and vanished into thin air. I was quite suprised as I was deep in a lush rainforest and the thought of seeing a lion never crossed my mind. I was definatly freaked out that there might be a hungry Saquatch in the area but I made it out safe. This might qualify for the stupidest post on BPL but I am more afraid of running into a Sasquatch than I am of being attacked by a bear or lion. :) Ali
Ali, that's awesome.
A while back I watched an episode of Man v Wild where Bear Grylls was in a bear intense area. He was concerned enough about them that he set up a trip line around his camp by stringing a lightweight line around the perimeter trees and brush about a foot or two off the ground. To this line he attached his metal drinking cup with some rocks in it that would rattle. This of course is overkill 99.9% of the time, but I could see where in certain situations it might allow someone to relax and get some sleep.
We have plenty of black bear here in the Pacific NW but luckily problem bears are rare. I've never carried spray or felt any need to. In 25 years of hiking in this area I've only actually seen a bear once despite seeing their scat quite frequently. I always take the standard precautions though, like hanging food, never having food in the tent, etc, etc. Occasionally if I'm going into a truly remote area, especially one with lots of berries, I'll put a small bell on my dog. Cougar encounters are so rare they don't even cross my mind. I'm too old for most of them anyway.
G
Sasquatch aint so tough! One time i was hiking and sasquatch ran up to me and growled. I punched him in the face and he ran away crying. My camera was out of film, but I SWEAR this to be true…. ;-)
lol Justin. That reminds me of how we used to have fun with Gorilla suits at summer camp. I came into a cabin in one once. All the little (7-8 yr. old) guys ran and hid under the beds. Than they saw my tennis shoes and dog piled me. Bad idea what if Sasquatch DID wear shoes?
I've encountered bears in Alaska and my wife was stalked by a cougar on Vancouver island as she walked alone. I never enter bear country without pepper spray, especially Alaska. When I am in Alaska if I am in thick brush I have the spray in hand ready to go. Will the pepper spray work on cougars?
Yes, it works on cougars, though they tend to attack from behind.
The only time I went trekking in Alaksa was in a VERY heavy-bear area, and I carried a .45-70. Screw pepper spray. I'm taking him with me. At one point I came upon a first-nation local who walked with me and said he was glad I had a gun, too, because he was afraid of the bears. (That particular part of the trek was in Canada, and on the Alaska side of the border I never saw an unarmed local.)
That was a very special area, though. I've never carried either gun or spray anywhere else, in keeping with my earlier post on this thread. I MAY start carrying spray situationally, though, since I'm now in Colorado and thus arguably now in more of a "bear territory" than I have been in the past- though granted not grizzly. Especially if I'm somewhere with habituated bears. I'm debating the issue internally. I'd hate to leave my daughter without a father if I can help it.
So I guess I'm still unlikely to need bear spray, but if I do I'll need it VERY BADLY.
Dean – Welcome to Colorado Springs. Actually I'd be more nervous about cougars than bears, especially if you are in the foothills (I noticed the Orion Spur local, are you in the Skyway area?). But a local outdoor newspaper article put it into decent perspective http://www.gazette.com/articles/afraid-58603-camping-let.html
Ron
No, not in the foothills. We found a house sort of out by the airport. We can't close until the end of October, though, so I'm living in a hotel until then.
And I'm not talking about local hikes when I reference "bear territory." I plan to get into some remote places, if I have any say in the matter… :o)
I liked the link, by the way.
"Sasquatch aint so tough! One time i was hiking and sasquatch ran up to me and growled. I punched him in the face and he ran away crying. My camera was out of film, but I SWEAR this to be true…. ;-)"
Hey, that was me…I got a little hairy after several weeks and just wanted to borrow your razor…jerk.
Ali, cougars love deep forest and especially rain forests here in the Northwest. Why? Good camouflage but more so, lots and lots to eat :-) A cougar in the Olympics or Cascades has room to move and plenty of elk, deer, rabbits, foxes, etc to choose from. Good water and shelter as well.
Can't blame them, it is a good life ;-)
Good to know Sarah, I've only been here in the PNW for 2 years and seem to learn something everyday. Just pray you never run into this in the B/C
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