[pct-l] mailing fuel and bear spray

[Edward Anderson]

Of course, those of us who have hiked or who have ridden horses on the PCT and also in other places in California, Oregon, or Washington will have had different experiences regarding bears. Since I am someone who has both hiked and ridden many thousands of miles in those three states beginning in 1950, I have my own memories of bear experiences. 
 
The high elevations of the National Parks and Wilderness areas of California through which the PCT now passes used to be free of bears - you simply did not see them there during the 1950's and 1960's - at least I didn't. During the 1940's, after the war, I can remember watching the rangers feed garbage to the bears in Yosemite Valley. Bears had already become a problem in the campgrounds of there and anywhere humans were not careful with food smells. By the 1970's bears began to follow the hikers to higher elevations. In the 1980's, bold, brave and determined bears had become a real problem in the back country of the parks. I can recall having two bear encounters in 1983 along Bubbs Creek - in one case they got about a third of our food there. We saw no bears after crossing Forester Pass and into the upper Kern, the Bighorn Plateau area, including Milestone Basin. During the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's I took several backpacking/fishing/climbing
 trips in backcountry parts of Sequoia and Kings Canyon Parks and in adjacent Wilderness areas surrounding them - no bear sightings. In other mountains of California there were bears, wild bears, you might be lucky and see one as it quickly walked or ran away from you.
 
Last summer I rode SOBO starting in Sierra City and ending at Tuoloume Meadows. I did have two bear Canisters. The only bear encounter I had was at my last camp just two miles west of Tuoloume Meadows. I camped there because I wanted to avoid the bears that I knew could be a problem if I rode all the way into T. Meadows. In the middle of the night I was awakened by the sound of my horse in a panic. A bear had come in too close for his comfort. I found him laying on the ground all tangeled up in his highline rope and drop line - the drop line wedged between one of his rear hoves and the horseshoe. I had to cut him loose with my knife. He was not hurt. All food (his and mine) was in the bear canisters. Bear cans are NOT odor proof. The smells of food stored inside them can attract bears to your camp area. In this case I had placed the food in the bear cans over 100' from my tent. A better approach would have been to store the food in OPSaks as I had done
 during my PCT ride from the M. border to Canada (5.5 months in 2008 & 2009). But that is not legal in the Sierra National Parks in areas where bear cans are required by law. Outside the Sierra Parks in California, Oregon, and Washington I had used the OPSaks (would make a pile of my saddle, packs, and OPSaks and cover it with a tarp - staked) surrounded by what are known in parts of the Yukon as "bear charms" - moth balls inside cotton tobacco sacks. I would also surround my tent. Bears dislike the smell of the moth balls. I have used this approach for about 22 years now with no bear problems. It has worked for me. Having said that, I'm not certain that it would necessarily repel ALL of the most aggressive bears in the Sierra National Parks. 
 
I also brought along the bear spray - at my wife's insistence. Never needed to use it, but consider it to be good back-up defense.
 
I want to mention the only bear encounter that I had during my entire 2008 & 2009 PCT ride. It happened at Joshua Tree Spring' I had been cautioned that there were resident bears there and also where I planned  to camp above Golden Oak Spring. I had just arrived at J.Tree, had just dismounted Primo, when I looked up to see a bear running down hill towards us. My first thought was to go on the offensive. I quickly grabbed a couple of rocks and ran towards the fast-approaching bear, throwing the rocks, and yelling in the loudest, meanest, voice that I could - "GET OUT OF HERE BEAR".  That really worked. The bear did a quick about-face and ran back up the hill where it had come from. I had no problems that night. I did not see the expected bears at Golden Oak Spring. I used my "bear charms" and OPSaks.
 
I also want to mention that I used bear bells while riding in the trail. If wild bears can hear you coming they will leave the trail - you might not even get to see them. 
 
This summer I plan to start at Horseshoe Meadows and ride north to T. Meadows, where I left off last year. Yes, I will have two Garcia bear canisters along.
 
MendoRider-Hiker 
 
 

________________________________
 From: "gschenk1 at roadrunner.com" <gschenk1 at roadrunner.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net; Alexandra Robinson <xelamme at gmail.com> 
Sent: Monday, May 7, 2012 9:22 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] mailing fuel and bear spray
  

---- Alexandra Robinson <xelamme at gmail.com> wrote: 
> Is it possible to mail fuel canisters or is this a big no no? I was also
> curious if people feel they need any kind of defense if they encounter a
> bear i.e. bear spray? 

If you see a bear in California it will:
1) Ignore you

Or more likely:
2) Run away as fast as it can

Gary

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