[pct-l] Bear Spray

[Melanie Clarke]

FORGET THE BEAR SPRAY, GUNS and all the other crap silly people insist you
need.
I hiked Glacier NP last summer and they recommend bear spray but I think it
is a ridiculous precaution and extra weight to carry.  My hiking partner
and I did not carry bear spray.  We only had one bear siting, a mom and 2
cubs.  They were about 2000 feet below us hiking between 50 Glacier Camp
Site and the Canadian Border.  We saw a lot of Mountain Goats and their
kids, Deer, Elk and small critters.

Julia, I had a wonderful time last year.  Let me know if you want some
logistical information.  I started at Mariah's Pass (on the CDT), then 2
Medicine, Pitamakan Pass, Triple Divide, Eagle Lake, Peagon Pass, Highland
Trail, 50 Glacier, Goat's Landing and went into Canada.  Then returned via
the Chief Mountain entry point down to Many Glacier.

Diet Plan

On Sat, Feb 20, 2016 at 10:31 AM, Julia Haskin <julia at haskinphoto.com>
wrote:

> Interesting. I’ve been doing research on a backcountry trip in Glacier NP
> this summer, and I could have sworn that I saw their website recommend
> carrying bear spray. So I went back and looked, and sure enough: "Carry
> Bear Spray. Bear spray is an inexpensive way to deter bear attacks and has
> been shown to be the most effective deterrent. Be sure you know how to use
> it and that you are carrying it in an accessible place. Check the
> Ranger-led Activity Guide <
> http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/inforequest/inforequest3.cfm> for
> summer demonstrations.” (http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/bears.htm <
> http://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/bears.htm>)
>
> So I did a further search on the National Park Service website as a whole,
> and both Yellowstone and Grand Teton also have pages recommending carrying
> bear spray. And I didn’t see any page (in the first page of search results)
> that said anything about bear spray being prohibited.
>
> ::shrug:: Bottom line is, I don’t think it’s actually prohibited in
> national parks. (Let’s hear it for conflicting information!) Whether or not
> you need it in the parks you head through on the PCT, or whether you need
> it at all, is another matter. :-)
>
>
> From: David Austin <davidaustin777 at gmail.com <mailto:
> davidaustin777 at gmail.com>>
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Bear Spray
> Date: February 19, 2016 at 10:15:40 PM PST
> To: "pct-l at backcountry.net <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net>" <
> pct-l at backcountry.net <mailto:pct-l at backcountry.net>>
>
> I went to a REI Mt. Whitney class last night. Someone asked about bringing
> bear spray. The instructor said that bear spray was illegal in national
> parks. I searched to confirm.
>
> > From this site: http://sierrawild.gov/bears/faq <
> http://sierrawild.gov/bears/faq>
>
> *Should I carry bear spray?*
> Bear spray is commonly recommended in grizzly country, but most visitors
> don’t carry it in the Sierra - *its possession in national parks is
> prohibited*.
>
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