OK I think I'm sold!
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I carried it for one section in Washington on the PCT. I don't know that I'd bother on the AT. If you do decide to carry it, make sure it's somewhere accessible and not in the bottom of your pack. I had mine on the side of my pack with the holster upside down and practiced opening the holster and having the spray fall into my hand.
Yeah, that or be murdered by hillbillies. These are the most common responses from people who have no idea what they are talking about, and have never spent a night in the woods.Originally Posted by Bryce
You will see bears, if you are lucky. Mostly the back end as they go running off into the woods. The chances of ending up bear food are minuscule -- you are FAR more likely to die of hypothermia, or have a heart attack, or get hit crossing a road, than to be attacked by a bear. Or hillbillies, for that matter.
In any case, none of these things is likely. If the person telling you this is someone whose opinion you value, you can explain the reality of the trail. If not, you can have some fun with them. ("Yep, a lot of hikers get eaten by bears, or sometimes wolverines. The really unlucky ones are ravaged by bull moose. I hope I make it back alive.")
I carry just enough to spray myself with it so I won't taste as good.
I carry it after getting a can to appease my wife when she went with me. It does offer some comfort to have something "in case you need it". I tried it at home one day to see how effective it was. I sprayed it in my back yard on a very still day. A huge cloud of reddish mist came out and quickly faded to nothing. I waited a few seconds and then walked in the direction of the spray. It hit me after about 5 steps and I could not go any further. Very powerful. If a bear (or human) wants me enough to come through that stuff, more power to them.
thats funny, i don't care who you are!
I think I should have asked how to fend off a Hillbilly.
Does Deliverence come to mind?
I agree with Jester, Most Def keep it somewhere easy to get to. I just cant understand why some people want to carry a gun or pepper spray but they choose to keep it somewhere inside their pack that isnt easy at all to get to. Just doesnt make much sense to me...
And I have had several bears come right up to me in the Smokies and one F*&king HUGE pig!
I carried it once when I went on a solo two week hike, the girlfriend made me take it but I think I ditched it several days in when I was organizing pack. This summer I am headin to Alaska for some wilderness camping.......gun is goin with me.
"I drank what?" Socrates
I don't carry bear spray. I do carry a firearm, especially when hiking alone. With the proper precautions, you shouldn't need either, but it's good to have one or the other if the need arises. Bear spray won't kill the bear. However, if it doesn't discourage it either, then the gun becomes necessary.
I don't carry bear spray in the Apps. I used to carry a whistle when I ran to scare off the bears. The one time I thought about using it, I just could not bring myself to blow it. I thought it might just piss that bear off. So, I retreated out of its line of sight and it continued on its way down the mountain. Maybe there was a cub down there. Anyway, they usually run off. I try not to annoy them.
Julie
I carry the stuff in Glacier NP, but not needed on the AT. Its expensive and you can not take it with you on a plane. also, the thought that a little red can of bear spray is gonna stop a Grizz from coming after me in the woods of Montana is not something to take lightly, but heck, I bring it with me anyways, maybe the grizz will have it for desert after having me for dinner.
"I told my Ma's and Pa's I was coming to them mountains and they acted as if they was gutshot. Ma, I sez's, them mountains is the marrow of the world and by God, I was right". Del Gue
What a person carries reflects his or her fears. Hikers who are afraid of cold/thirst/hunger carry a lot of clothing/water/food. If you're afraid of an animal or another person hurting you, you carry some form of defense. If you're afraid of everything, your pack is too big and you don't go anywhere, so problem solved.
I am still afraid of grizzlies for some reason (phobias are irrational by definition), so I still carry bear spray in grizzly country. I almost didn't my last trip on the PNT, but I did, and never even saw a grizz. Black bears don't enter into my phobia at all. But I believe all recent bear fatalities (last ten years?) in the lower 48 have been by black bears, many in the East. I'm sure that's statistically insignificant given the relative populations, but I can understand a phobia and why a person carries bear spray.
"Throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence." John Muir on expedition planning
I've always thought of phobias as irrational fears. I'm not so much afraid of bears as I am afraid of getting killed by a bear. Perhaps the thing that makes my fear irrational is that I've bumped into quite a few bears and have never had a truly unpleasant encounter. But it only takes one.
I carried bear mace on part of the PCT mainly because someone I was hiking around had an extra can shipped to him by his father, and he offered it to me. As I was in Oregon and heading towards Washington, which has both bears and remote areas, I took it.
I only took it out of the holster once. I was a couple of days into WA and was hiking just as it was starting to get dark when I heard this odd scrabbling noise. It was two baby bears going up trees about 15 feet away from me. I had no idea where the mom was and could see little in the dark and the underbrush. I took out the mace, backed up about 50 feet, and commenced freaking out. The bears were making a loud chirping noise which I took as a distress call. They eventually quieted down.
I waited 15 minutes or so and then crept forward. The bears were gone. I didn't even remove the safety clip from the mace, but it was nice to have. In hindsight it was nice to have seen the bears (and to not have seen the mom).
Bear Spray
The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.
They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.
Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.
It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.
I have run into a bear at night while hiking on Grandfather Mt in NC. I don't know who was more scare, the bear or me but we both took off running. Luckly the bear went one way and I wnet the other.
Hammock Hanger by choice
Warbonnet BlackBird 1.7 dbl
www.neusioktrail.org
Bears love people, they say we taste just like chicken.
You don't need the actual spray. To save weight if you see a bear, just make the psssst sound and the bear will run away every time.
Only for Griz country
The trail was here before we arrived, and it will still be here when we are gone...enjoy it now, and preserve it for others that come after us
A friend sent me this article a while back. Best article I've seen concerning the use of spray. Read the stats on gun versus spray.
http://www.alaskamagazine.com/index....tent&task=view
Good article! Thanks!
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