I would have loved to get this on film!Originally Posted by rainmaker
GA←↕→ME: 1973 to 2014
I was solo section hiking in the area of Rausch Gap, PA. I woke up early that morning and packed up and skipped breakfast. About a mile down the trail I was noticing the how great the trail was and was getting into a rhythm with the world around me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a handfull of candy corn (my favorite trail snack) while I rounded this corner with a large shrub/bush that blocked my view. I took a step around the bush and there in front of me no further than 20 feet was a LARGE black bear sitting on the trail, looking like he was waiting for me... three thoughts ran through my head in this order 1) OMG, I finally got to see a bear on the AT! 2) He is surely the most beautiful animal I have seen and is coat is black as night and gleaming in the morning sun 3) Oh, *****, I have a hand full of candy corn!!!
I stood there with this magnicant animal just 20 feet away what felt like hours looking at me and acting a bit bored, (looking back I would say 15 seconds total time) he stood up and grunted and turned off the trail and walked off into the underbrush.... as for me, I stood there for a while longer thinking of what an experience and it is exactly why I love solo hiking and backpacking in PA....
Master Chief
I was on a trail crew working on the Long Trail (right above Maine Junction so not actually on the AT) that had quite the run in with a black bear. It started with a missing bucket of gorp- we come back to our spike camp to find that a five-gallon plastic bucket full of gorp has been dragged a couple hundred meters up a hill and ripped open by something with claws...something with a taste for dried fruit (except for fake papaya, but I mean really, who would eat that?). Later that evening we suddenly see the bear looking in at camp from up on the hillside and give chase, complete with pots and pans, and it runs away. The story gets better- a few days later we come back from work to discover the bear in our "kitchen", digging through the garbage and eating our bread and tortillas! Our spike was pretty bombproofed- all food was in plastic buckets that I can barely open and garbage was not only double bagged but bungeed down in another bucket. Needless to say, we didn't continute to sleep at that site for very long...
New Jersey bear
I have seen/heard six bears on the AT. Four of them bolted into the woods instantly upon hearing me. They heard me first.
The fifth one (at Mohician Outdoor Center) was about 50 yards away on a hillside minding his own business.
The last one was more interesting. June 2003 arrived at the Culver Fire Tower in New Jersey. First tower in a long while that was climbable - hadn't been torn down or fenced off. First half way decent day in a long while, so I thought I might see some views.
There was a picnic table about 10 - 15 yards to one side, so I drop my pack on it and start climbing the tower. The stairs zigzag up. I am two flights up about to make the turn for the next set of stairs, when I look straight ahead and see a bear looking around the corner of the old dirt service road. And he/she is looking at the picnic table! I let out a holler, scrambled back down the stairs, ran over to the picnic table and grabbed my pack, with the bear just looking on. If it is possible for a bear to have a disgusted look on its face, then this one did. Then it just turned and faded into the brush.
Ever since then, when climbing a tower, I take my pack at least one flight up the stairs. I don't ever leave it at the bottom.
Pete Hoffman
"Old Corpus"
Back in 1981 I was at Spence field shelter. Two cute couples hiked up to spend the night there. They had brought steaks and were cooking them in front of the shelter. I decided that I would cook my freeze dried in the shelter. The shelter had the chain link fence. The steaks were really smelling good and about time they were ready a very large bear ambled in. They beat feet into the shelter and the bear had 4 steaks for supper. The bear then stood on his hind legs and pressed against the chain link. It was amazing to see the claws wrap around the fence. It pushed a couple of times and then walked off. Probably wanted to know why there were no potatoes with the steak.
When I was a kid, in around '63/64 the family spent some time car camping in GSMNP. In those days, garbage from each campsite went in regular old tin garbage cans. One per site. As you can imagine this was bear heaven.
There were bears everywhere. I remember in one day I saw 22.
Mostly at night, but even during the day, they would be raiding the cans and hauling their booty into the woods to feast.
When a bear appeared, the tourists (such as myself) would grab thier cameras and follow the bear down the road.
(I can't believe my mother let me do this!) I have an old b+w photo, a close up that I took myself, of the end of the bear that went over the mountain last, sticking out of a garbage can.
We had bears in the campsite lounging and munching on "snacks" once or twice.
And one night, while sleeping in the back of the station wagon, I was nose to nose with one peaking in the window.
During my 1999 thru-hike I was hiking with another hiker in NJ when we saw this big black bear walking on the trail ahead of us. HE saw us and took off running up the trail ahead of us. For some reason the bear decided that he was hiking in the wrong direction so he reversed his direction and started walking toward us. We kept on walking toward him trying not to show any fear and trying not to look directly into his eyes. I love to sing praises to the Lord when I am hiking, but this time there were no praises in my lips, the only thing coming from my lips was "GOD SAVE US". We did not have a clue what we were going to do if the bear decided to attack us. He was about 15 feet from us when he decided that our guardian Angel was more powerful than him so he took off down the mountain. That night I wrote in my journal that I was glad I was wearing dark shorts that day because.......
;)
Several years ago I had went to Spence Field Shelter for a night and then back to Cades Cove. The next morning I was heading down Bout Mtn Trail and as I came around a turn there was a black bear. I remember him being huge and when he stood up he had three folds of fat that moved with him.
When he stood up in front of me I said "Oh, S$#@", the bear made a noise and I have no doubt that it was bear talk for "Oh, S&^%". Both of us backed up and he then went down the mtn and I never saw him again.
I have to say that I was very scared because I had my garbage hanging off my backpack and I smelled pretty bad. I had a bell on my walking stick to so it came off when I got home. Did not scare the bear just told him that a snack was coming "Round the bend"
One time I was hiking along and got a sort of hair-raising feeling and looked to the side a bit and a bear was clinging to a tree a couple of feet away... I think trying to hide from me. When he realized I saw him he ran off, I didn't yell or anything, very quiet encounter...
I had never seen a bear in the wild until last month in the Smokies. My buddy and I were doing a loop from Fontana up the AT to Silers Bald, then side trails back to the dam.
Within an hour of leaving Fontana we had run into three bears! (I thought... geez, we're out here for 4 days. If we see 3 bears an hour then we should see 60+ bears this trip!)
The first one was early on the climb up to Shuckstack Mtn. My friend and I stopped dead in our tracks when we spotted a HUGE male about 75-100 feet in front of us. He casually glanced around at us, stared for a minute or two and then walked into woods. I was so stunned I forgot to take a picture while we was posing for us. DOH!
About 20 minutes later we were hiking when we heard a racket, turned around in time to see a cub sliding down a tree we had just hiked past and run off into the woods. Never saw mama.
20 minutes after that we ran into a dayhiker coming south on the trail. He said there was a bear up a tree about 2 minutes behind him. He then told us he wasn't sure what you are supposed to do when you see a bear, so he climbed a tree himself and stayed there for about 10 mins!! It was all I could do not to laugh... I wonder what the bear thought: He climbed a tree to get away from someone and the crazy human climbed another tree nearby!
We hiked up the trail and sure enough he was still in the tree, sitting on a branch waiting for us hikers to go on by.
http://boslaughter.net/Hiking/AT_Smokies/PB020003.jpg
Last edited by Goon; 12-20-2005 at 16:06.
bear safety rule #1: Take someone with you that you can outrun.
Just putting in my two cents. I have been tracking bears for many years. I enjoy watching them do their thing. In general Black bears are the more docile of the breed. Along the AT you may encounter black bears. What I do upon sight is I think first and react second.
1. How far away is the bear
2. Does it appear distressed with my presence. If distressed it may paw at the ground, swing its head and perhaps grunt. Sometimes they will stand up so they can get a better scent of what is in their territory. If the bear appears distressed, do not close the distance even to get past the bear. Back away until you know you are not being followed and wait until others have caught up to you and pass that area in a group. In general Black bears don't mess with people in numbers.
3. Is it a mama with cubs. If so where are the cubs try to spot them so that you won't pass between the mama and cubs.
Believe me the bear knows you are there. If it looks up at you then continues on with what it may have been doing such as digging for grubs then by all means pull out your camera and shoot away at the distance you are standing. Do so quickly and Don't close the distance for a better shot. If you are alone talk outloud to yourself to remind the bear that you are a human, not wildlife. Stay on the trail and quietly pass as long as you are not closing the space between you and the bear. Do not run, repeat, do not run walk a steady pace. It will more than likely raise its head and watch you walk away. When you are no longer able to see the bear in front of you check your footing and back away from the bear until you are safely away from the bear and positive that you are not being followed. If you feel less than safe make noise. Lots of noise, the louder the better. Remember you are carrying food, the bear knows you are carrying food and in the spring they are very hungry. If by chance it wants your food, your pack or anything else let the bear have it and get out.
Keep each bear incident separate. Just because one bear let you pass through its territory without incident doesn't mean the next one will.
Photofanatic: I will try anything once and twice if I like it.
Fun with bears
Back in the mid '70s a buddy and I had just finished a day hiking in N.H's White Mountains. As was the custom we headed straight into town for a case of beer.
Some of you may be familiar with Clark's Trading Post and Trained Bears in Lincoln.
Well on the way by we noticed that the place was closed up tight but the bears were still out.
At Clark's the bears would sit out on platforms high atop phone poles. There was a pulley system were you could buy some bear chow, place it in the can on the pulley rope, and the bear could haul it up and chow down.
Well we decided that the bear needed some thing to wash down his bear chow, and seeing that we had more than enough beer......
Bears are pigs when it comes to beer. That bear would drain that pint bottle in one pull, smash the bottle to the ground and want another.
With all that noise of smashing bottles and wanting to save some beer for ourselves, we soon headed back up the road.
Last edited by dudley; 12-21-2005 at 14:30.
Hey,
This is my first post of many I hope to do. I now have a little bit o time to be able to participate in these forums. Anyhow
I will share one experience of many I have had on the AT. In Shenendoah NP in Aug 1985 I had convinced a couple of friends of mine to do the AT in SNP. With us, much to my disagreement was one of my friends wives (not that I am anti wife or GF but read on). This woman was a scent hound, worked in a dept store fragrance counter and on the side sold fragrances for companies she linked up to like Avon . My feelings towards that (perfume) on the trail is that they are a bad mix.
Well, here we are after chow hanging the bear bags and I am insisting the perfume she brought (and shouldnt have) should all go up the pole. She apparently did this but didnt think anything about her "night wash" or whatever she called it.
About 3am my hicker senses came aliveas I hear the lumbering movements of what I am thinking is a big bear in camp. It turned out to be two of lesser size. They were both within I would say 10 feet of my friend with the tourist wife tent. I watched through the mesh of my tent what they were doing. I unzipped and one of the bears, instead of running away did a mock charge in front of my tent (or maybe he ran the wrong way ) . I just let out my best blood curdling scream and reached my hiking stick and raised it like an insane caveman.
They ran away and the people come out of their tents only to see me in a t shirt and trunks with stink in hand. Of course some had awakened to hear my screamming but apparently no one else heard the bears.
After the trip is when I find out about all the stuff she brought that NEVER went up the pole. She didnt like the trip that much and was going to go on a trip out west where it would be better. If I remember right (after her not listening to anything about the trail or the wilds I wopuld inpart on them), I told her "oh well you can take all the smelly stuff you want out there, nothing will bother you "
Lost touch through the years with those folks, hopefully, if she ever did get out there to hike, they read up on grizzlies.
I hiked that ridge Pop told me not to that morning.
Each time out, I see that same ridge- only different.
Each one is an adventure in itself. Leading to what is beyond the next- HIKER7s
Don't feel bad. That's exactly what many people would have on their hands after a bear charged them...
You never turned around to see the frowns
On the jugglers and the clowns
When they all did tricks for you.
Hey,
This is my first post ........
to WhiteBlaze, Hiker7s!!
.
Hey, Cris
Good story. Are you headed to the big REI sale tomorrow in Tacoma? If so, I may see you there.
I noticed that you live in Lakewood. I live in Gig Harbor, Wa.
Shutterbug
These stories are great. I tell you, that bear suit was worth every penny.
A few weeks ago while hiking from Hog Pen Gap to Neels Gap I passed a bear drinking out of the spring that is judt off the trail (I think it is Rock Spring at mile 33.3). Anyway, I was headed South and the spring was just off the trail to the right about 30-40 feet. I was hiking slowly and thinking about watering up at the next spot before Neels Gap (it was like 200* out that day...) and as I moved along, there was yogi - drinking from the spring. I stopped and just looked at him. He (and I assume it was a he - I can not tell them apart) just drank for want seemed like forever. I have no idea how long I stood there - maybe 30 seconds, maybe a couple of minutes - but then he looked up, blinked, and then dropped his head and drank some more. I slowly moved along the left side of the trail being a quiet as I could and then continued south.
Looking back, I figure the bear was bigger than a cub, but no where near full grown. He seemed pretty skinny and I am glad he did not decide to use me to fatten himself up. I thought about all the threads on what to do with a bear encounter - but not until I was about 200 yards up the trail. I suppose every encounter is different - I am glad mine was peaceful. I assume it will be the closest I get to a bear without bars between us!
So be it.
--John
My friend Thomas and I were hiking on Wednesday, Sept 6, on the Roan Mt bald in Tennessee where we had a run in with a bear. Thomas is a quite guy and he don't say too much but I'm always talking. I laughingly said "I wonder if thats a dog or a bear up there." He turned to me looked and said "dog I hope." So we proceeded forward till the animal turned and began walking our way. His next words were "Oh god its a bear!" My next thought and action was that this would be the best picture shots ever so I started digging for my camera. Its ears stood straight up as it looked at us and I could see the glare in its eyes. It also appeared to be shaped more like a male according to my research and it was also quite skinny for this time of year. By this time we were about 50yrds from the animal. To my dismay before I could get out my camera and the darn thing ran off into the woods. We still had to walk past where the bear stood which didn't set well with Thomas. This was my first bear sighting and I'll never forget it, I really enjoyed it and I'm more interested in bears than I ever was. My aunt with the U.S. Park Service sent me this e-mail the day after our sighting...
Begin forwarded message:
Subject: Bear Activity Advisory News Release
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
News Release
Immediate Release Contact: Bob
Date: September 7, 2006 865/436-1207
Smokies Officials Expect Higher than Usual Black Bear Activity
Managers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park are bracing for a
higher-than-normal level of bear activity this fall and are warning Park
visitors and neighbors to be especially careful about how they protect
their food and garbage from attracting bears.
Park Wildlife Biologist Kim DeLozier expects bears to be
especially active and persistent in seeking food this fall because of a
combination of limited natural food sources and higher bear numbers than
in previous years.
According to DeLozier, “There are several general indications that
our bears are currently very hungry and unable to locate much natural
food: First it appears that many bears are already in poor body
condition, especially those females with cubs. Secondly, the
preliminary results of our annual survey of acorns and other “hard mast”
indicate that this year does not appear very positive for acorn
production. Several areas surveyed showed no acorns at all and others
were very sparse. Mid-summer soft mast (berries) production appeared
to be off this year as well.”
Combined with a scarcity of natural food, two Park bear population
survey methods indicate that bear numbers are up. “Our bear bait-station
survey, conducted in July, was the highest visitation rate ever recorded
for the survey and the first time visitation rates reached the 80
percentile.” DeLozier explained, “The overall percent visitation
increased from 72.8% in 2005 to 80.1% in 2006. Lastly, the University
of Tennessee bear researchers captured a significantly higher number of
bears this summer in comparison to the past few years.”
(over)
Bear Activity Advisory – page 2
Park managers say that avoiding bear problems always starts with
keeping food and garbage away from bears. Inside the Park visitors are
provided with bear-proof dumpsters in developed areas and with
bear-proof cable systems to suspend food in backcountry areas.
Neighbors outside the Park are advised to keep garbage secured until
trash collection day, to keep pet food indoors and to stop putting bird
feed out until winter when bears go into hibernation.
DeLozier continued, “We are advising visitors that certain bears
may be extremely bold in attempting to get food and are providing advice
on how to respond to bear encounters while hiking. We always tell
visitors to keep their distance from bears in any situation and, that if
the animal changes its behavior, e.g. stops feeding or changes
directions, you are too close. Being too close may also prompt
threatening behavior from the bear such as making short runs toward you,
making loud noises or slapping the ground. In this instance the bear
usually just wants space so back away slowly while watching the bear,
but don’t turn and run as this can trigger the bear to chase you.”
“But if a bear persists in following you closely or approaches you
without vocalizing or paw swatting,” DeLozier said, “try changing
direction. If it continues, stand your ground, yell loudly and act
aggressively by waving your arms or throwing rocks or sticks at it. Pick
up a stout stick as a deterrent. If you are with others clump together
to appear more formidable. But don’t leave food as this often will make
the bear more persistent and encourages it to approach other hikers
hoping for handouts. If a bear indicates that it is after your food and
you’re physically attacked, separate yourself from your food and back
away slowly.
In the extremely rare case where the bear shows no interest in
your food and you are attacked fight back, do not play dead.”
In order to protect future visitors from problem bears, Park
managers ask that visitors report any bear activity observed in a
campground or picnic area and any aggressive bears in the backcountry to
a Park Ranger. Bears observed feeding normally on natural food sources
should be given a wide berth but need not be reported.
Problem bear activity in surrounding communities is managed by
state wildlife agencies that can be contacted through local municipal
law enforcement authorities.
* * * NPS * * *
Nate
Last year, on the AT in NJ, I came up fast around a corner upon the BIGGEST BEAR I HAD EVER SEEN ! I have seen bigger stuffed bears... Anyway I about ran into it .. I ran off about 10 to 20 yards and looked at me the way my dog does in the kitchen, with that slightly mournful hungry look.. We stared at each other for a while, I began clacking my poles together over my head and there was no response from the bear.. I moved on at a quick pace down the trail.. Jelly Bean later told me she saw the same bear.. the biggest bear she had ever seen... maybe 500-600 lbs ...
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