Bear Spray for AT thru hike

[hraye34]

yay or nay? What about a small stun gun? I am a 5 foot, 100 pound woman hiking alone. Am I making myself paranoid? Pepper spray? I also have a load horn (small), a bear bell, PLB, and cell phone. I don't want to be neurotic but I don't want to be stupid either. Need advice...

[Sarcasm the elf]

The cell phone is by far the best item that you mentioned. The A.T. is a heavily traveled trail and most people don't carry a PLB, though if you're hiking alone then I wouldn't fault you for it, especially if it helps you or someone at home sleep better at night.

Bear spray is a personal choice. There really isn't much of a need to carry it for bears on the East coast and the vast majority of hikers don't, but it's your call.

Bear bells are useless, the manufacturers have never offered any evidence that they work and the expert advice i've seen os of the opinion that the bears don't seem to notice them either way.

Cross the stun gun right off the list, it will just get you into legal trouble.

The air horn certainly would be fun to use as an early morning wake up call those occasional hikers that hiked into camp at 1:00am and made a huge racket


no matter what you choose, have fun!

[puffturtle]

I only saw 2 bears on the entire AT. One in New Jersey that ran off so fast I could not get my camera out. The only up and close personal shot I got of a bear on the AT was caged in the zoo that the AT goes through at the Hudson River. If you are really worried, make noise hiking along, you won't see bear or any other wildlife as well. Worry more about crossing roads with fast traffic Puff Turtle

[rickb]

You have virtually no chance of getting hurt by a bear on the AT.

People do present some risk, but it is relatively small. If you decide to carry something for self defense and elect to go with pepper spray, make sure you buy the same quality as used by law enforcement.

This company is said to have good stuff

http://www.foxlabs.com/products/pepper-spray.html

A good gun shop (or your friendly police officer) would be a good place to ask and to get something that makes sense.

[Malto]

You are more likely to hurt yourself with a stun gun or bear spray than fending off a bear on the AT. Nay

[rickb]

You are more likely to hurt yourself with a stun gun or bear spray than fending off a bear on the AT. Nay

I can't speak to the stun gun, but the temptation to check out the claimed effects of bear/defensive spray can be hard to resist, that's for sure.

[ocourse]

Bears aren't a threat to be concerned about. There are very few encounters that are dangerous. Pepper spray for other problems might be a good idea, but make sure you understand the effective range and be aware of wind speed and direction. A cell phone is certainly good for keeping in touch, but of course it won't do any good at all if you are in immediate danger. Chances are that you might see a bear and it will happen so fast that you couldn't react anyway. I have seen several while hiking and was bluff charged by a bigun in SNP - I couldn't even get my camera ready fast enough to take a pic. Just enjoy the hike and don't worry about bears.

[2NewKnees]

I started carrying bear spray this year and spot basically to appease my family. I've never seen a bear on the trail and have hiked a lot of miles. But peace of mind for me and them is good when you're hiking alone. My best friend thru hiked in '96 and saw several bears in the Smokies and SNP. Mostly off the trail in a tree or running away he said.

[Sarcasm the elf]

I can't speak to the stun gun, but the temptation to check out the claimed effects of bear/defensive spray can be hard to resist, that's for sure.

I feel like there's more to that story than you're letting on.

[GoldenBear]

IMHO, bear spray on the A.T. would be close to the most useless piece of equipment you could have.
Fatal attacks by wild black bears in the Eastern U.S. are far less common than deaths by tasers -- the ratio is about 120 to 1.
http://electronicvillage.blogspot.co...ed-states.html

The reason is simple: black bears in the wild almost invariably run from people. All four of the ones I've seen on The Trail were gone before I could even get my camera out of its pouch.

The other stuff is personal taste.
But bear spray in the Eastern U.S. is simply wasting money.

[sparky2000]

One biker carried bear spray for dogs. She triggered it in her enclosed tent. She kept carring the spray.
The ole saying - if ur ready it won't happen.

[rock steady]

PM me if you want to.I agree with forget stun gun:accuracy is not there and no way to re-load quickly. The pepper spray is a good idea if you are aware of your surroundings and wind direction. IMHO 'bear' spray is not worth the expense,weight, or hassle. Your pepper spray should be oleoresin capsicum 5% or 10% but no mixture with tear gas, riot gas or CS gas. Gas goes all over the place while the pepper spray is more like a stream. Practice with it. prepare yourself by deciding when you will use it and how. Pepper spray is really,really good stuff. Good hiking and God bless.

[Starchild]

I do not think you will need either. If you want a 'security blanket' you might consider a personal defense pepper spray (much lighter and 'may' work on bears), but the chances of you needing it on a AT Thru, even as a threat, are about exactly zero. The AT forms a community on the thru and does look out for each other. You most likely are more at risk sitting at home typing this of attack then on the trail.

[shelb]

I am a 5'2' female who saw 14 bears while hiking the SNP. I did not have bear spray and would never carry it on the A.T. (I WOULD carry it if backpacking out west!). The A.T. bears run from you like deer in Michigan. (What is funny is the deer in SNP just sit there and look at you!).

I have thought of taking pepper spray; however, I am not sure I would be aware of the wind direction in an emergency, which could result in my spraying myself. For this reason, I have opted to not carry it.

Bear bells make many hikers giggle when someone walks by.... it is definitely entertaining, but not to the bears!

Good luck!

[Odd Man Out]

IMHO, bear spray on the A.T. would be close to the most useless piece of equipment you could have.
Fatal attacks by wild black bears in the Eastern U.S. are far less common than deaths by tasers -- the ratio is about 120 to 1.
http://electronicvillage.blogspot.co...ed-states.html

The reason is simple: black bears in the wild almost invariably run from people. All four of the ones I've seen on The Trail were gone before I could even get my camera out of its pouch.

The other stuff is personal taste.
But bear spray in the Eastern U.S. is simply wasting money.

Interesting link there GB. But I think you underestimated. If you count just the deaths in the AT states, I come up with 11 taser deaths per year and 0.0434 bear deaths per year for a 250/1 ratio!

[Toon]

Don't bring anything you listed. Be smart in camp. Cook away from your sleeping area. Clean up before bed. Hang your food. Most bears will run away. I have had to give a couple some encouragement by shouting and banging my poles together.

[takethisbread]

yay or nay? What about a small stun gun? I am a 5 foot, 100 pound woman hiking alone. Am I making myself paranoid? Pepper spray? I also have a load horn (small), a bear bell, PLB, and cell phone. I don't want to be neurotic but I don't want to be stupid either. Need advice...

1. No you don't want to take it.
2. If you leave April 1 or so you will not be alone
3. Cell phone yes! The other stuff is a waste
4. No chance to bring a stun gun.

I hiked the trail with 5' 100lb woman and she was always safe. There is a greater danger to you walking down main st of your hometown. Yes there are bears, I saw a dozen at least. They are afraid of you so long as you don't provoke it.

Good luck!!!


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[Chris10]

I carried bear spray on my first section hike, but there after left it at home. Weighed the risk versus the weight and just didn't seem worth it. We were however hiking the AT in late June, and there are far less people on the trail then. If you're hiking within the "bubble", I really wouldn't worry. Hikers seem to take care of each other.

[ocourse]

What is that old joke about identifying bear scat? Smells like pepper and has bells in it..

[Offshore]

Pepper spray is illegal to possess in NJ in an amount over 3/4 of a fluid ounce.