[pct-l] Weapons on the trail?

[barbasper@xxxxxxxxxxx (Barb Asper)]

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Dennis B --

We live in bear country here in Montana. The best way to avoid encounters is
to make some kind of noise as you're hiking (conversation works). If you walk
alone, sing as you hike. Bears will go out of their way to avoid humans, and
most encounters happen when somebody surprises a bear. The second best
defensive weapon is bear spray, contrary to your comment. We always carry it
when we go into bear country. If you carry it, you should know how to use it,
and it's best if all members of your party carry. I am absolutely petrified of
grizzly bears (as Pappy would attest), but I have camped out in grizzly
country many times.

On the AT we saw bears, and heard lots of stories about aggressive black bears
(in New Jersey especially). All they wanted was hikers' backpacks. When bears
get a taste for human food they become quite bold, and they are smart. If they
can scare you into dropping your pack, it's history! Most of the time,
whenever a bear was sighted, it ran off into the woods. Everybody we ran into
considered it a wonderful opportunity to see a bear. I suspect we'll feel the
same way on the PCT.

There are exceptions, such as the black bear encounter in the Great Smokies in
2000 when a woman was attacked an partly eaten by a black bear -- there was
never an explanation given, except that perhaps the bear was starving. This is
truly rare, and I believe I read that it was the first recorded death by bear
mauling in the Smokies.
I hope this helps alleviate your fears.

Granny

"If God be your partner, make your plans large." DL Moody
>From: "Dennis B"
>To:
>Subject: [pct-l] Weapons on the trail?
>Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 00:22:54 -0800
>
>This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
>--
>[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
>I know this will raise eyebrows but try to understand: I wouldn't expect a
hiker who knows he's allergic to bees to decide NOT to bring his adrenalin
needle and instead leave it up to 'fate' whether or not bees would attack him.
Man and woman must take control of their fate. Although rare, bear attacks do
happen, especially on solo thru hikers. I don't want to leave my fate out of
my hands and would like to know from others what types of defenses they've
thought about. My latest thought is to carry a 20" curved machete sticking out
of my bag. I've heard people saying they were thinking about bringing a 45
magnum. I've been a vegetarian all my life, have never killed an animal and
the idea of hunting enrages me. I just don't want to be stupid. Every animal
in the woods has their particular defenses, why shouldn't we? Of course, let's
use our best weapon, our brains, and not get into dicey situations in the
first place. but sometimes it's simply beyond our control. If we really are
using our brains we would recognize this and do something about it
>
>Anyone have some idea for weapons? Machetes might work when attacked by a
bear if you keep your panic down, (dont turn your back and certainly dont run)
and strike carefully, forcefully at the head and neck.
>
>Any other thoughts? Bear spray doesn't seem to work.
>
>any advice is welcome. I'm not looking for an argument, just some good ideas
and ways to ACTIVELY protect myself.
>
>Thanks
>--
>
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