[pct-l] Light Bear Can

[Hiker97 at aol.com]

_montypct at gmail.com_ (mailto:montypct at gmail.com)   writes:

I have  had people scare the living  daylights out of me by yelling  "bear!" 
in the middle of the night, while I was  in a deep  sleep.  I think campers 
are sometimes more of a nuance than  bears.
Cheers, Switchback

"Hey Switchback.  Have you tried  pepper spray?" -- Warner Springs Monty 
----------------------------------------------
I always carry pepper spray on a  hike.  It is a smaller version than the big 
bear type containers sold at  REI.  I have never used it on the trail.  It is 
more like a security  blanket, so I can goof around with bears.  
 
The first thing I do after setting up  camp in the Sierras is to go looking 
for bears and explore around my  campsite.  That is if I am not going to take a 
nap.  :-)  I don't  mind having to camp around others, but only within 
"waving" distance.   Visiting and be visited by other campers is fun too, but I like 
everyone to have  their own homestead.  The trouble is the more campers, the 
more bears to  bug you at night.  I guess stealth camping is best.
 
I have seen some really funny things  between bears and hikers.  Especially, 
in Little Yosemite Valley.  I  have to admit publicly that I was on the bear's 
side and helped them attack the  hikers.  It was too funny and I almost died 
laughing at everyone running  around and screaming.  Then all the fun stopped 
when the ranger showed  up.
 
The bears and I took  off.
 
Switchback the Trail  Pirate