[pct-l] a fool proof way of not having bear encounters

[Erin O]

My nephew ( a wildlife biologist) was taking a nap and dreamt that a dog
with really bad breath was trying to wake him up by licking him. When he
woke up he discovered a bear was licking his face. He was pretty freaked
out, but the bear was not aggressive. I don't know the moral of the story
except that it's pretty cool that there are bears and they are not always
aggressive.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/john-steitz-nap-bear-_n_1828856.html

On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 1:01 PM, Ross Williams <
rosswilliams at advocacytechnologies.org> wrote:

> Sometimes you despair for the fate of the human race.
>
> What we know from "experience" is that if food is available, bears will
> find it. The problem with using YOUR "experience" is that your recent
> experience is based on an environment created by people obsessively keeping
> food away from bears.  If the food is there, "experience" tells us the
> bears will eventually catch on and become "habituated bears" who are a
> nuisance to everyone.  The bottom of your sleeping bag or tent is only safe
> so long as the bears don't catch on. Even if you chase them off, they are
> likely to remember there was food there and check the next bag/tent they
> see.  You might as well set it on a rock.
>
> As for not carrying bear canisters, I hope the rangers follow this list.
> Putting someone on the trail early to check thru hikers would end the
> problem in a hurry. Then you would have stories on this list that say,
> "Don't risk it! You WILL get caught."
>
>
> My experience with bears is in the BWCA in northern Minnesota. They are a
> part of the landscape. The only way to prevent them from being constant
> nuisances is to keep them away from human food. Or, unfortunately, shoot
> them.
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