bears???

[drewski]

i will be going the high sierra soon..with all the bear talk lately should i be nervous..what about food...what about spray...any beta might help

 

[Ed'n Lauky]

Go to www.backpacker.com and type in "bears". They have many articles on the subject that will tell you probably everything you want to know.

 

[roadtripper]

Was there last July. They are so ridiculously intelligent over there. Make sure you get a good bearproof container (I prefer the bright yellow ones so that I can find the canister if they were to roll it down a hill or otherwise move it a fair distance).

Also make sure you put your food in bear lockers AS SOON AS YOU CAN. We had a bear come into our camp while we were right there and snag a backpack right out of the locker which wasn't locked yet. We were six feet away and it just did not care.

There are many campsites where the same bears do rounds each night (i.e. Whitney Portal). Just be prepared for that and never leave a cooler/food/etc out in the open. Literally take the cooler out of the car and immediately put it into the bear locker and lock it. Some of those bears can actually distinguish between the sound of a locked locker and an unlocked one just by banging on the side of it (incredible but true).

In 9 days there we saw 5 bears, so they are definitely all over the place. They are just black bears though, and so they don't really scare me. They're just opportunists.

 

[DougPaul]

In 9 days there we saw 5 bears, so they are definitely all over the place. They are just black bears though, and so they don't really scare me. They're just opportunists.

Black bears, in general, are just interested in your food. (Human food is much more calorie dense than most of their natural foods.)

Many of the bears have become habituated to humans because we bring food... Habituated bears have lost their fear of humans, may not scare away, and may even seek us out. (Wild bears are much easier to scare away. In general, habituated bears are more dangerous than wild bears.) Some places even feature mugger bears (eg the lunch spot at the top of Nevada Falls in Yosemite)--they threaten hikers into dropping their packs and running.

Bears have very good noses (better than any dog) and can smell out your food. They are inquisitive, intelligent, and tend to go back to places where they have obtained food in the past.

Sierra (black) bears have carried out the above to a high art--they break into cars, packs, know coolers contain food, have learned to defeat many if not most hanging systems, etc.

So follow the rules about protecting your food (ie do what roadtripper said) and you should be ok. (Defensive and predatory attacks from blacks are pretty rare--the vast majority of altercations are over food. For a complete treatment, I suggest that you read Herrero http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1312318144&sr=8-1 )

Doug

 

[Snowflea]

John Muir Trail

Watch out for the marmots, too! Near Evolution Lake a couple of years ago, one stole our stuffsack of lighter & matches, never to be recovered. Kinda put a damper on fixing the morning coffee.

The bears do seem to be smarter out here, but I've done the JMT twice and saw a grand total of one at Yosemite Village.

Have fun you guys!!!

 

[ColdRiverRun]

I hear bears out West run at the first signs of the snowshoe police?

 

[Trail Bandit]

I hiked the PCT from Whitney to Lake Taho some years ago and the only place I had bear visits was coming down into Tuolumne Meadows. There are a LOT of bears there. I brought a 50 foot length of 1/8 inch steel cable with a loop swaged on both ends. Using a cord with a rock I was able to haul the cable over a high branch in 2 trees about 20 feet apart and wrap the end around the trunk of each tree, securing each with a carabiner. My backpack, food, etc was hung above the ground in the middle between the trees. A BIG bear climbed the trees on 2 occasions and worked hard to snag my pack, with no luck. A rope will not substitute for the steel cable because the bear will just break it to get the prize. They are very smart and definately not afraid. Have a great trip. It is probably the most beautiful hike I ever went on. I wish I could spend a lifetime in the Desolation Wilderness. Missed my chance.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Lots of bears at some of the trailheads, especially active at Whitney Portal this year.

Not quite so bold in the backcountry. They (USPS & USFS) will require you carry a bear-proof container.

I wouldn't bother with bear spray. These are black bears, not grizz. Chuck a rock at one if it is really bothering your campsite, but they won't kill you for your food or because they feel threatened.

Grizz are a different matter.

 

[Peakbagr]

"After the second visitor I had plenty of time while hiking along to dream up nasty surprises for the bears. The nicest was to leave bars of ExLax on the rocks as I went alongThe others are all much worse and I will share them by way of a personal message if anyone is interested."

Speaking as just another VFTT member, I certainly hope you're kidding. The bears are not to blame, the mountains are their home and we are the invaders. If you weren't kidding, does anyone expect a bear to connect a blast of laxative with human food or a chocolate bar and somehow make them stop? They're hungry and the food we bring into their backyard is an easy meal.
I'd encourage you to please remove your comments before someone takes you up on your offer.

 

[rup]

Come to NJ. The bears managed to nibble on some campers' feet yesterday.

 

[chinooktrail]

Never mind the high sierras... What do we do about the bears in the Philly airport?!?! Seems like we may be camping here tonight. Should we hang a bear bag?

 

[arm]

What do we do about bears in the Philly airport?!?! Seems like we may be camping here tonight. Should we hang a bear bag?

pretty sure they have beers in the airport ... they help pass the time when your flight gets delayed ...

if you hang a bear bag properly, there's no way bears will ever get it ... unless they try ...

black bears are cool ... especially when they hoist silver cups in the air

 

[sierra]

"After the second visitor I had plenty of time while hiking along to dream up nasty surprises for the bears. The nicest was to leave bars of ExLax on the rocks as I went alongThe others are all much worse and I will share them by way of a personal message if anyone is interested."

Speaking as just another VFTT member, I certainly hope you're kidding. The bears are not to blame, the mountains are their home and we are the invaders. If you weren't kidding, does anyone expect a bear to connect a blast of laxative with human food or a chocolate bar and somehow make them stop? They're hungry and the food we bring into their backyard is an easy meal.
I'd encourage you to please remove your comments before someone takes you up on your offer.

Excellent point, they belong there, we are just visiting. We must all do everything we can to not allow bears access to our food, once a bear gets a free meal, he quickly endangers himself to being put down as they then look harder and harder for a free meal. The rangers do a great job, but some problem bears suffer an unfortunate fate because of the ignorance of people in THIER home.