sooooooo sick of bear threds

[mweinstone]

why the fear? wet trail is way more dangerous.

[Tractor]

First time encounters are a bit of a scare.

[Tractor]

Haven't searched but I'm surprised there aren't a bunch of lightning threads.......

[88BlueGT]

First time encounters are a bit of a scare.

+1 I have STILL never encountered a bear on the trail.... wonder if thats bad luck or good luck? :rolleyes:

[rsmout]

If you're sick, turn off the computer and go to bed.

[trailangelbronco]

If we scare half of the people thinking about hiking, we can save the trail and future rules and regulations that would screw us.

We shoud all be posting about Alien abductions, Bears carrying uzi's and A-1 sauce and serial redneck hiker killers.

[Jersey Tim]

Same reason people are so much more afraid of airplanes than cars. Sensationalism and vivid imagination.

[Dogwood]

I've long ago grown weary(no relation to Weary of Maine) of the unnecessary WAY WAY WAY over-hyped fear of bears and saying the same things over and over. This might offend some(perhaps, offending some might finally jar them free of the fear!) but rid yourself of IGNORANT, UNNECESSARY, and LARGELY UNWARRANTED fear of bears by getting informed from a reliable bear knowledgeable source. PLEASE! Learn how to interact and co exist with bears by first understanding how our human behavior can effect the behavior of bears! This will eliminate 98 % of negative bear/human interactions/situations. For the other 2 % carry a bazooka while hiking in bear territory.

Some of the National Park websites provide excellent rational info about bears, bear behavior, and what can and often does lead to negative bear/human encounters.

Next, you might want to turn off the TV or change the channel or put the book down or turn the page or... go over to the Blue Blaze surfing website and talk about shark attacks on surfers...

STOP! Focusing on all the fear!

Haven't searched but I'm surprised there aren't a bunch of lightning threads....... - Tractor

I think I'll start a "slip, trip, and fall while hiking" thread or perhaps a "beware of scorpions on the PCT" thread that might be more of an interest to those who like to dwell on such things or who have exhausted all the negative things to relate about
negative bear/human encounters.

Seriously, while bears can be an issue while hiking get informed and you will realize you have more to be concerned about with negative human/human encounters than with negative bear/human encounters even when hiking.

Uh Oh! I shouldn't have said that. Now the fear of humans in the woods or while hiking might be on some minds.

[mweinstone]

great post yo. and this thred may help us. yea, its now clear to me that there is an offshoot gain of sorts by looking at this issue. do you guys realize that who is and who is not askardycat about bears, determins and shows allmost everything important about us.in a fear driven sociaty where a pimple gets its own industry and beautiful people show on commercials how a single zit destroys life on earth, when we fear bear we announce the end of the universe and suppose the need for bazooka.(an eggsulent source of vitimans and iron) soon we will have no bears , sharks, scorpians, or mice. with no tail to fear and no scary animals left that arent fuzzy cute amebas, we will need stuff to fear and will turn on each other. wait, that allready happened. okay, when we are scared of everything, thats when we will run out of new stuff to get scared of and i guess we will slowly become unscared and loose interest in fear as it searves no purpose.

[88BlueGT]

If you don't read the bear threads, they will attack, and you will die.

[hikerboy57]

three little words---brown recluse spider. let the paranoia begin!!!

[ChinMusic]

Same reason people are so much more afraid of airplanes than cars. Sensationalism and vivid imagination.
Airplanes are more dangerous per minute.
Cars are more dangerous per mile.

[Procras108r]

I am more afraid that one day I may understand Mattewski's posts

[ChinMusic]

I am more afraid that one day I may understand Mattewski's posts
I'm gettin worried. He is mayking more and moore cents to me as time goes on...........:eek:

[88BlueGT]

I am more afraid that one day I may understand Mattewski's posts

LMFAO :p .... . . .. . . ..

[scudder]

bear and rabbit are taking a dump in the woods. bear says "rabbit- do you ever have a problem with crap stickin to your fur?" rabbit says "nope". bear says "GREAT!I'm outta toilet paper!" :D

[Hojicha]

Haven't searched but I'm surprised there aren't a bunch of lightning threads.......

One day last May in the Smokies, I was hiking from Double Spring Gap shelter in the direction of Clingman's Dome. I started my hike in a light rain, but that rain grew into a pretty nasty thunderstorm by the time I reached New Found Gap. I decided to press on the short distance to Icewater Spring despite the growing severity of the storm. Climbing the ridge felt like walking upstream in a shallow river (which the trail more or less was). I spotted 3 trees trying their best to land hard on the ground next to and including the trail, their intentions hindered only by neighboring trees; one small black bear, which bolted away from the trail, down into the shadows; and too many lightning bolts to count. The gap between the lightning and the thunderclap grew dangerously short as night set in and I finally reached the already packed shelter, cold and thoroughly soaked. I made 2 trips out to hang my food, the second time being necessary because I forgot a poptart in my fleece's pocket.

And yet, despite doing that, I still forgot to mention the bear to my hiking partner until the following night! It just didn't seem very relevant given all of the potentially life-threatening conditions we hiked through. If anything, I only regret that it wasn't lighter out so that I could have gotten a better look at the bear, though also realizing that without the storm, I probably would've never gotten that close to the bear before it noticed me and ran (ie. there would have been no bear to see.)

[Bonjour]

CNN scares the bajeezes out of me; its a good reason to go live with the lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!

[Tinker]

I hear that bear is way better than chicken :D.
I hadn't seen one until 2009 (NY/ NJ). I started hiking in the 1980s. I probably heard them padding around my tent (before hammocking) many times, but tried to tell myself that it was deer (and most likely it was). The ones I saw were 1) one trying to get into an abandoned refridgerator in someone's backyard along the blue blazed access trail on the NY/NJ border, and 2) one staring at me while I relieved myself in the middle of the night closer to the bear box than I should have been (I saw the eyes with my headlamp, and it was definitely a bear). I was more amazed than startled, finished what I was doing, and quietly walked back to my hammock, and, even more amazingly, went back to sleep after no more than 10 minutes.

[bflorac]

The reason for so many bear questions is because there are so many different answers to the same questions. While most bears I have see simply just run away when they see you, I have first hand experience with a bear that just would say "no" even when hit with a 6" rock. I have also had a bear wonder by me at 10' away and didn't even care that I was there. That said, I do not fear them, they come to where there is food (shelters). This is why I don't sleep with my food, don't keep any food in my pack at night and keep all food well sealed. Sure they can out do the best bear cable but I still think that is better than waking me up with a paw slap. Sure, there will be those so say that they have never been bothered by keeping their food in their tent. That's OK. It is their own choice. Bear attacks of any kind are rare one should not be afraid, one just needs to be aware of his surroundings at all times and decide what is best for you.

[Blue Jay]

If we scare half of the people thinking about hiking, we can save the trail and future rules and regulations that would screw us.

We shoud all be posting about Alien abductions, Bears carrying uzi's and A-1 sauce and serial redneck hiker killers.

I usually do not agree with you but this is a wonderful idea.

[DrRichardCranium]

"This camping ban has been implemented by the U.S. Forest Service due to safety concerns as a result of increased alien abductionin the area. The increase in activity is attributed to a lack of aluminum headgear by backpackers which is causing the aliensto become habituated to unhindered mind-control and/or probing of backpackers."

See, the warnings are actually about aliens.

[Old Hiker]

If we scare half of the people thinking about hiking, we can save the trail and future rules and regulations that would screw us.

We shoud all be posting about Alien abductions, Bears carrying uzi's and A-1 sauce and serial redneck hiker killers.


But how many redneck hikers are being serial killed?

[Buzz_Lightfoot]

I personally dislike, dispise and HATE bare threads. Darn things always getting caught in the underbrush!

[Buzz_Lightfoot]

Oh. Nevermind.

[44terryberry]

Whats to fear more than bears is the "killer dogs" I continually meet when I`m hiking.Rottweilers, Dobermans, Shepherds,you name it. A bear will run from you,but not these bad boys.