[pct-l] Real Bear Trouble in '04 -- Attacks and Raids

[MWallace at Stutman.com (Wallace, Mark S.)]

What I have found over the years is that the best way to deal with bears is to intimidate them.  In 2001 my oldest son (age 17 at the time) and I were hiking in Alaska on the Kenai peninsula.  We ran into a black bear (not a grizzly, mind you) and it started following us on the trail. Well, I didn't like the idea of a bear being behind us.  After we rounded a bend, we turned around, planted our hiking poles and tried to stand up as tall as we could.  When the bear came around the bend,  I yelled at him "Where do you think you're going?" and we made menacing gestures with our hiking poles.  The bear ran off into the brush and we had no further problems from it.

The following year, my middle son (age 16 at the time) and I were backpacking from Yosemite Valley to Mammoth.  The first night out, we camped in an area big enough for one or two tents that obviously had been used before by other backpackers (no stealth camping, in other words).  A bear came out around dusk and began noseing around our bear canisters.  I came out of my tent and yelled at the bear, but that didn't work.  Most likely, other campers had tried that and the bear had "learned" that humans are all bark and no bite.  Then my son came out of the tent and, before I could stop him, charged the bear by running at him, screaming at the top of his lungs and waving his arms in the air.  The bear became frightened and ran off as fast as his furry little legs could carry him.  We had no further problems from that bear, either.

Admittedly, charging a bear is a very high risk maneuver.  However, it worked in this instance.

Mark
  



-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net]On Behalf Of Karen Borski
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 8:46 PM
To: PCT List
Subject: [pct-l] Real Bear Trouble in '04 -- Attacks and Raids


I have actually been holding my breath waiting for
this topic to pop back up again.  If you don't already
know, it is a much-discussed topic in the history of
the PCT-L.

Why have I been waiting for it?

Because this last year,on my thru-hike, I actually had
REAL experiences with bears ON THE PCT.  They ARE more
troublesome now as compared to only a few years ago --
rangers I spoke to say there has been a big increase
in problem bear activity in the national parks of the
High Sierra.  My experiences do not seem to be
isolated.

Bears raided two of my camps along the PCT in '04 --
one in Evolution Valley a few miles before the big
ford and the other in Glen Aulin.  I had a bear can by
the time the second assault occurred, so it was my
next door neighbor who had gear damaged.  During the
first raid, my hiking buddies' packs were taken out of
camp, torn to shreds even though they contained no
food and were only recovered when my friends literally
chased these bears down.  The bears came into camp
without making a noise, one weighing 300 lbs or more,
walked all around our heads, slobbered all over our
stuff, and walked off with what they could grab and
take (our food was under our feet).  My friends
actually woke up only when the sound of packs being
ripped apart startled them. 

My friends, two PCT thru-hikers, went on to get their
own bear canisters and follow all the rules only to
have more bear raids in two other camps at night (I
was not with them during their other raids)....one of
which resulted in one of my friends being swatted
while INSIDE her tent and consequently injured (in
Yosemite Ntl Pk).  The bear who "hit" her had to be
destroyed.  They killed it.  It was only a yearling
and had been hand-fed by ignorant tourists the year
before when it was a cub.  Its mom and sibling had
been destroyed earlier in '04.  There is a newspaper
article on the event out there somewhere--I saw it
posted at Drakesbad.

I want to stress to all those who are heading into the
High Sierra, PLEASE be careful.  The rules are for
your protection, as well as for that of the bears, but
even with bear canisters and no food in camp, I highly
recommend that you sleep INSIDE TENTS (they do provide
protection; see Bear Attacks: Their Causes and
Avoidance by Herrerro) and not out in the open, DO NOT
HANG your food by any method in the bear trouble areas
(from Evolution Valley all the way to Glen Aulin), and
NEVER LEAVE ANY of your gear, tent, pack or food
unattended.  

This isn't meant to scare anyone, but it is reality. 
The parks have a problem right now, which will
hopefully be short-lived.  But PCT thru-hikers are not
immune.  Don't sleep with your food when you are in
this section.  Any other sections....and I really
don't think it matters much....but not in this area. 
Follow the rules in or near the national parks.

Again, make a note:  near Evolution Valley all the way
past Glen Aulin.

Nocona


		
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