[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[pct-l] Re: Grizzlies in North Cascades

On Fri, 27 Mar 1998, it was written:
> 
> I was thumbing through an old issue of Backpacker magazine the other day,
> and came upon an article on North Cascades NP which mentioned there being
> a grizzly bear presence therein.  According to the author, the actual bear
> population in unknown, but believed small.  This is the first I've heard of
> grizzlies existing anywhere along the route traversed by the PCT.  No
> mention in the Handbook, nor the guidebooks, from what I've seen.  Can
> anyone confirm?  Is there any reason to take precautions out of the ordinary
> when traversing this final section on a thru-hike?

Having hiked that section a few years ago (trip report at
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~griffin/pct.html), I can tell you that
there was no sign of grizzlies or any other bears (salt-loving deer are
another matter). You do not have to take out-of-the-ordinary precautions. 

There is some controversy about the number of grizzlies (if any) in the
Norht Cascades and upcoming "grizzly management plans" that may close off
parts of the N. Cascades to hiking. I don't know how this might impact the
PCT. The trip from Harts Pass to the border is one of the most beautiful
sections of trail I have ever seen in my life. It is a fitting conclusion
for those thru-hikers who have trudged five months and 3,000 miles.

Tom Griffin, University of Washington
E-mail: griffin@u.washington.edu
HOME PAGE http://weber.u.washington.edu/~griffin
>>>>>20 years of school and then they put ya on the day shift<<<<<

* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List | For info http://www.hack.net/lists *

==============================================================================