[pct-l] OT Bear Incident

[jdrows at comcast.net (JDRows)]

Kurt
The ursine retinue came by around 11 PM when my son and I were asleep in the
tent.  We had put everything in the bear canister but my son had a PB&J late
snack before dozing off and although I made him put the sandwhich bag in the
bear canister 20' from the tent, he didn't brush his teeth again.  We had no
food stuffs nor toothpaste etc. in the tent.  Our packs had been totally
emptied and left outside with all flaps open.  It was a bright full moon
(visuals were similar to seeing by use of car headlights) and we hadn't put
on the fly.  Mama bear swatted the mesh at the feet end (see photo of
aftermath if allowed by moderator) and the sense of a seismic explosion woke
us up.

I made every intimidating animal noise I could and was running out of
repertoire quickly, none of which had ever worked with the family dog.  Mama
stood 9-10 feet away behind a log with BooBoo 1 & 2 perched on the log
taking notes on her technique.  Finally I came up with a wretched imitation
of a mountain lion which seemed to resonate with some primal sense of theirs
(or else they were so embarassed for me) and they took off for easier
pickin' elsewhere.

We were told the next day she was a tagged bear "Orange 19" and her MO was
charging people with food and stopping short because she had found that
humans tended to take the path of least resistance in such circumstances and
immediately throw their bagels and Top Ramen at her.  I ran into three
rangers checking backcountry permits by the junction of the JMT and Mist
Trail and recounted the story.  They then asked if she had shown any
aggressive behavior.  I wasn't sure if they were messin' with me but offered
to show them the attached digital photo of the claw marks ripping the tent
mesh.  They declined.

JD Schaefer
'04 PCT GonnaBe


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kurt Johnson" <piedra2901@yahoo.com>
To: <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 15, 2003 10:24 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Thru-Hikers Status


> Hey, I know it's a bit off topic, but I'm curious about your bear
encounter. Did you have any food or fragrant items in the tent? Were you in
the tent at the time? Was it during the day or at night?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Padre
>
> JDRows <jdrows@comcast.net> wrote:
> Whilst returning to Tuolemne Meadows on the 5 PM backpacker shuttle last
> Saturday, saw 3 people had been running into all day:
> Shutterbug from Nova Scotia (river guide and book keeper),
> Steady from Tulsa (commercial real estate), and
> Sunburn from England (theatre lighting and photography).
>
> Had walked down with my son from TM by way of Cloud's Rest the day before
> and camped near the Half Dome Trail off the JMT. Had a Mama Bear (whilst
> BooBoo 1 & 2 took notes) try to claw into our tent (mesh repairs needed),
> but that's another story. Noticed the 3 PCTers going down the Mist Trail
> and then over at Curry Village where it was still in the 90s (they had
that
> "This is a great life!" thru-hiker stare).
>
> After seeing them on the bus, started talking to them. True hikers. They
> took a few days off to go hiking and visit Half Dome (which was glorious)!
> They were going to resupply yesterday and meet up with Steady's husband
> Steve at Sonora Pass for their next resupply. It was interesting to get
> their mid-hike gear reviews. Sunburn needed to take a few days off after
> the desert following heatstroke. He spoke glowingly of help from the
> Saufleys. He had run into Shutterbug on the AT in '98 and they remembered
> each other. Shutterbug loves her Squall but had to get rid of her Breeze
> early on despite being within weight limits. Sunburn is very fond of his
> Osprey Aether 60 and Pepsi can stove.
>
> JD
> '04 GonnaBe
>
>
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