[pct-l] BEARS

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good morning, Dwane,

You may be somewhat missing the point of food storage practice within, and
outside of, the SIBBG control area:

Inside the control area a bear ‘can is required and necessary, but it isn’t
required to have an “odor proof” (OP) sack inside the ‘can.  My ‘can came
with a box of OP sacks, which I sometimes use, but only because I want to
keep water out of my food when I ford, and those sacks just happen to be
the correct size.

If one uses a bear ‘can as required it doesn’t really matter what else you
do – or don’t do:  If the can is left out in the open the bears will
probably just ignore it, or maybe tumble it around for a bit until they
learn they can’t open it.  If one ignores the regulations and common sense,
and tries anything else instead of a ‘can – hanging, hiding, mothballs,
magic chants, or potions – the odds are very good that bears will eat that
food and subsequently have to be killed.

Outside of the SIBBG control area I, and many/most other hikers, just keep
the food in common stuff sacks handy with all the other gear.  I sleep
under the stars so the food bag is with my pack at the head of my bed.  The
food has been safe so far – I’ve been doing that in the mountain west for
55 years now – because wild bears are afraid of humans, regardless of
someone who says that YogiBear licked them in the face.  Whatever else a
hiker does to feel better in those areas is fine for them -- hanging,
hiding, mothballs, magic chants, or potions – but none of that trumps the
fact bears evolved by learning that to survive during the last 2,500
bear-generations they had to avoid humans.

Maybe OP sacks are helpful against rodents, but for me that’s a solution in
search of a problem.  I’ve only been annoyed by mice twice along the PCT
and they didn’t get any food.  That’s mostly because I avoid the big,
established, well-worn campsites where the mice may have learned to
congregate.

Carrying a firearm is a bad idea for several reasons:  They are heavy.  It
is extremely difficult for anyone to legally carry a sidearm in California,
even in supposed remote areas -- particularly non-residents. And finally,
probably not one person in a million can use a large-bore handgun to hit
anything smaller than a circus tent, beyond 5 feet, at night, and under
duress.

Enjoy your planning,

Steel-Eye

-Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/

On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 6:13 AM, <dm at quixnet.net> wrote:

> "Out of 133 encounters involving bear spray, only 3 people suffered
> injuries, which were all minor. But I found 269 incidences of gun
> defenses-with 17 dead people and hundreds of dead bears."
>
>
>
> Regarding the above statistics, I bet the guns used were too weak to damage
> a bear.  In a case some years ago, an armed hiker was killed by a bear.
> When rangers tracked the bear and killed it, they found 6 .38 caliber
> rounds
> in a nice, close pattern in his chest.  Unfortunately, the bear's fat layer
> caught the slugs; they never penetrated to an area they could cause real
> damage.  For bears I would prefer a heavy rifle, but if a pistol were used
> I
> would want a .45 or a .44 magnum.  Anything smaller would just make the
> bear
> mad.
>
>
>
> Although I own a .45 pistol and am a good shot, NO WAY am I going to carry
> that heavy sucker plus a spare magazine on ANY long hike!  Bear spray will
> be just fine, thank you.
>
>
>
> Regarding food containers, am I wrong to assume that those experienced
> hikers who sleep with their food use Aloksaks, URsaks, or some other
> odor-restricting container?  What size is appropriate for the PCT.  I am a
> newbie thru-hiker so all this stuff is new to me.
>
>
>
> 71 days to the PCT!
>
>
>
> Dwane
>
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