[pct-l] Re: Bear Killed in Section D

[matt at mattmaxon.com (Matt Maxon)]

I spend 4-7 days in a month in the Angeles NF too.

I was working on the trail (PCT) in the Little Jimmy area just before this
happened and the trash cans at Little Jimmy Cpgd hadn't been emptied in
months, I'd estimate 6 or so, the trash was ankle deep in 1/3rd to 1/2 the
campground as it had been thoroughly explored by the bear. This bear also
bit the gas and oil I cached near little Jimmy.

I blame the Forest Service for the death of this animal, they need to put
down the doughnuts and coffee, get out of their trucks, off their asses, and
do their job. Once again a preventable tragedy, like the Curve fire last
year or the distruction of Rubio Canyon falls, came to be because the Forest
Service didn't do their job.

Matt Maxon
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 14:44:55 EDT
> From: Lonetrail@aol.com
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Bear Killed in Section D
> To: brick@fastpack.com, pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> Message-ID: <f7.3020850a.2c90cb27@aol.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> Brick
>
> I spend about 4 days out of a month in the Angeles. Brick your are right
> about the structure of the Angeles trash containers are the most flimsy. I
often
> see were bears have opened them and have trash all over the place. Last
weekend
> I seem picnickers large families of thirty or more all over the whole
picnic
> area. I got there around 5 PM it looked like a war zone. They have no
respect
> for our forest, trash everywhere. The remnants of barbecue bones, paper
cups,
> plates, cans on the ground.and left there. The trash containers all full
and
> trash piled around. Our parks are becoming dumps because of the large
number of
> family of thirty or more. A limit should be enforced and perhaps we and
the
> bear could again live together.
>
> The rangers seem to be a little trigger happy. Last year they shot a
mountain
> lion who was caught in a wooden fence. They could have tranquilized the
lion.
> Within the last several months they had several mocha young men on TV
saying
> they had a wrestling match with bears for there food. So they shot the
bear.
> If a bear wants my food let him take it. Then the TV man with his eyes
full of
> flurry and hate saying "track down and kill that bear for our children
> safety." Who was here first the bear or us. Yet we keep building and
building for the
> 10 million increase in population.
>
> lonetrail
>
>
>
> > I would venture to guess that the "trash can" used was one of the
"critter
> > resistant" type that are common in the Angeles Forest. It is not
> > unreasonable for a thru hiker to assume that a critter resistant Gov't
> > provided trash can in a campground would keep any local problem bears
out.
> >
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------