Bears & Losing weight (Was Re: [pct-l] yet another intro)

[edmond at mydogmeg.net (Edmond Meinfelder)]

At 11:46 AM 11/6/2003 -0700, Steve Setzer wrote:
>Biggest fears ... losing to much weight (I'm already skinny and have a
>crazy metabolism) and - don't laugh - bears.

If weight loss is a concern, consider treating your water, especially in 
the Sierra. I've no clear idea why, but more people got the runs there than 
anywhere else on the trail. The gestation time of giardia is 1-2 weeks and 
for cryptosporidium it's 2-10 days (according to the CDC). So, it may be 
hikers contracted their bugs early in the Sierra (the Kern river?) or before.

I'm also skinny, have a crazy metabolism (bodyfat - 11%), but I gained 20 
pounds on my hike. It took a few months after my hike before I could fit 
into all my pants again. Town food may have been a bit too good to me. I 
ate a full kilogram a day, more when I got cold.

To be honest, I'm scared of any animal willing and able to demolish a car 
just to get a candy bar. However, black bears and grizzly bears killed 133 
people in North America in the past century (Herreo, Where Bears Attack). 
However there's an average of 73 deaths attributable to lightning every 
year (NOAA).

Tangent