[pct-l] Weapons on the trail?

[donasper@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Don Asper)]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Barb Asper" <barbasper@hotmail.com>
To: <kublakhanpics@mindspring.com>; <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2003 2:08 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Weapons on the trail?


> [ Converted text/html to text/plain ]
>
> 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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