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

[Randy Godfrey]

Once, in the 70s, I was sleeping cowboy style in Yosemite's Camp 4. It was very late, but the people camped near by had taken acid and were all talking and laughing loudly, their Coleman lantern blazing away. 


I heard talk about going off for a walk. My neighbors disappeared into the night, leaving their lantern going and all of their food on the table. 


It only took a few moments before a bear arrived. I laid in my bag, watching as the bear began knocking all of their stuff off the table and scarfing up their goodies. When it was finished, the bear noticed me and began to walk over. I thought "Uh-Oh!" and flipped my sleeping bag over my face. 


A few seconds later I felt the bear's muzzle poking around my face through my bag, sniffing and snorting, and then, thankfully, it left me in peace.

My neighbors returned a while later. The scene was strait from a Cheech and Chong movie. " Hey man, somebody's been into our stuff!". 



________________________________
 From: Erin O <batsandbears at gmail.com>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net 
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2013 11:23 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] a fool proof way of not having bear encounters
 
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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