Potential bear encounters

[Derek81pci]

Hi all. I'm currently researching and planning my 1st thru AT hike, going in 2012. I have checked several websites / documentaries / and guidebooks on the subject of bears. I'm pretty fearless but bears and wolves still (like most everyone else on Earth) make me really really nervous. I know there are certain areas on the trail where they are seen quite often, because of dirty day hikers or whatever the reason. I will have bear spray for sure, but any other tips or advice on actually dealing with them? The general rule appears to be that you play dead if Grizzly (not common on the trail...), and you fight like Rocky Balboa against a black bear which are common on the AT. Is this accurate? Also, are wolves seen or heard of on the trail? I have found almost no information on that. Thanks in advance for any advice or thoughts.

[Northern Lights]

I don't know what your black bears are like there, but I would rather see a grizzly than a black bear in Canada. The black bears are mean and they won't just hurt you, they'll eat you. Every year we hear about people killed and eaten by black bears.

Actually I prefer not to see any bears at all, up close anyway. Unfortunately where I live they regularly come into town.

[mweinstone]

mods. move this to the humor forum.

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[Derek81pci]

Everything I've seen and read on bears so far pretty much says the same thing. Grizzlies are not on the trail so that's a plus. But black bears seem to be in lots of places. Like yourself, I'd rather not see any, at all. "They" say if a black bear is near you should yell and make noise and if it still comes, just fight it the best you can, running = bad.

And humor section? Yeah, not knowing what to do if a bear is charging you is just hilarious, seriously! Dead funny... I'd prefer to be educated on the topic thx.

[DBRIGGS9]

Ok, there absolutely are no Grizzly's anywhere along the AT. Yes, there are Black bears. Some people hike the AT and don't see any. Some people see tons. I, myself, saw 7 in one day. But that was also the only day I've seen bears along the AT. Six of them were cubs, only one big one. Early in the day I watched a few cubs running around the woods. Later one I saw a ~300 pounder. She crossed the trail about 100 feet in front of me, we looked at each other for like five seconds, then she ran off into the woods. It was awesome.
Then right behind the outfitters at Neels Gap I saw two cubs climbing a tree. All really awesome things to see, in my opinion.


I would really leave the bear spray at home. Black bears are way more terrified of you then you are of them. If do see a bear and you're worried, go ahead and throw some rocks at it and make a bunch of noise.
But to be honest I love watching wildlife and I'd rather see some bears than a view from a lot of the peaks along the trail.

[Derek81pci]

Thanks very much for the info DB. Getting the perspective from someone who has already been there is great. I'm not as timid as I may seem on here, but I've just never been in an area with bears. Thanks again!

[blitz1]

I've seen bears while hiking the AT at least 5 times that I recall over the years (more times while at shelters) and in every instance while hiking, as soon as they became aware of me, they fled, including in the Smokies. My advice if you see a bear while hiking is to be quiet and get your camera out, because you are lucky if you can get a pic before they run. I have heard of bears bluff charging hikers in the Smokies but I believe it's rare, and usually right around shelters. If it does happen, stand your ground and face the bear, shouting at it. The bear will veer off at the last minute, but it may get as close as 10 ft or less before it does, but it is incredibly unlikely that it will actually attack you anywhere along the AT.
Shelters are different. In a very few areas (Blood mtn, parts of the Smokies) a few problem bears have learned to view these as food sources, and they actively go to them, may not be too scared of people there. Several hikers I've heard of have had bears come right up to them, steal a pack with food, and run off with it. Again, really unlikely and when this happens in the Smokies, the shelter is temporarily closed and the rangers evaluate the situation. A couple of yrs ago in December my son and I were backpacking the AT in the Smokies and this happened at one of the shelters we were going to stay the day before we were supposed to stay in it - change of plans, shelter was closed. I spoke to the Ridgerunner, Jim, who was the 1st person to interview the hikers who lost a pack to the bear. Jim told me the bear bluff charged him too, he stood his ground and it veered off after getting within 3 ft. We slept at another shelter a few miles away, and never did see the bear or hear what happened to it.
I never carry bear spray out east, but if it makes you feel better, no harm in doing it, and you may protect your food in a shelter! But bottom line is you really are quite unlikely to have any of this happen, just need to be mentally prepared in case it does, without being overly anxious and letting it take away your fun in the hike.

[Derek81pci]

Thanks for the reply Blitz. Good info and tips! I have also read a bunch of stuff about the bears around Blood Mtn. It should be a good trip and those areas will definitely keep me on my toes!

[10-K]

If it does happen, stand your ground and face the bear, shouting at it. The bear will veer off at the last minute, but it may get as close as 10 ft or less before it does, but it is incredibly unlikely that it will actually attack you anywhere along the AT.
.

That would be sooooo hard to do..

[blitz1]

I agree, hope I never am in that situation. The only time I ever had a bear deliberately approaching me (outside of a shelter) was one time backpacking in Alaska, in the Brooks Range, when a smallish grizzly bear came within about 30 ft. But i was with 3 buddies, and we all made a lot of noise. the bear did a semicircle around us (displaying - we were in his territory) and then left. We were north of the tree line, so no way to do a bear bag, so that night we put all our food in some brush a few hundred yards from our tents and hoped for the best - no problem, i guess he went on to other goodies. But that was the end of our taking solo hikes away from the group!

[Painted Turtle]

I have run into a lot of bears but mostly in CT, NY, NJ, and a whole herd in SNP. Every time they were gone out of sight before I had a chance to bring my camera into action and it is on a harness on my chest, FAST, gone. The thing to watch out for are the mice!

[Duff]

Did a thru in 2009; I only saw bears in the Shenandoah. They would stick their head up out of a berry patch and watch from quite a distance. I never felt threatened, but was cautiously watchful. Most times when someone described a bear sighting all you would hear about was their having seen the bear's backside as the bear fled. The overriding surprise was at how fast the bears were. There was a story of someone having their food stolen from their tent on/near Max Patch. Latest info I've seen is that wasp/hornet spray is preferable to bear spray due to the effective spray distance. Never carried neither, nor felt a need to on the AT - just sayin, that I'd rather spray from 20 feet than lie to myself and "stand tall" to a bluff charge until three feet. I might want to stand there, but probably the reality is you'd hear stories of a hiker running away from a bear screamin' like a little girl, until getting caught and eaten.

[Derek81pci]

So true Duff... I can't even imagine the feeling of a bear charging at me... and I have been shot at, several times in my military career. The feeling of helplessness... lol, I guess that would fuel the screaming like a girl as i try NOT to run away.

[Many Walks]

We saw lots of bears on the AT. Some were really close and some curiously sniffed around our tent at night. Never had a problem or felt threatened, but it is always a thrill to see them in the wild. Do some research on bear behavior and coexistence. You'll understand them better and will ease the fear if you know how to read their actions. Here is a good place to start http://www.americanbear.org/links.htm. Enjoy your hike!

[SouthMark]

Another good source of REAL information on black bears:

http://www.bear.org/

[hikerboy57]

Bring a corkscrew, they're scared to death of them. the last time I saw a bear on the trail, I whipped out my trusty corkscrew, and when I looked up the bear was gone!!

[brian039]

I saw lots of bears on my thru, most of them just ran off and the ones that didn't were off the trail a bit and didn't pose a threat. The one exception was coming out of Wind Gap, PA. I would estimate it to be a 500-600 lb bear and it was in the middle of the trail about 50 yards in front of me looking at me. I was scared s__tless, but knew not to run and tried to remain calm and collected. I tried holding my poles over my head and yelling to appear big and scary but it just held its ground and looked at me. It never really threatened me but was just standing in the middle of the trail not moving so I started throwing rocks at it because it was getting late and I needed to find a campsite. Throwing rocks didn't seem to bother it much but it eventually decided that I wasn't very interesting and wandered off. I made sure to set up camp well way from that area.

[WingedMonkey]

Bring a corkscrew, they're scared to death of them. the last time I saw a bear on the trail, I whipped out my trusty corkscrew, and when I looked up the bear was gone!!

They prefer boxed, or should I say, bagged wine.

[map man]

People are afraid of things they aren't familiar with.

I suspect that every day you spend on the trail you are much less likely to be injured due to wildlife attack than you are likely to be injured each day you spend in your own home due to a fall on steps or a fall in your bathtub.

I suspect that each day you spend hiking you are much less likely to die by animal attack than you are likely to die in a car accident each day you drive or ride in a car.

I suspect that in a logical world hikers would spend more time researching what intersections in their home town have the most accidents than they would researching how to stave off bear and wolf attack.

[maybe clem]

I've had lots of bear encounters on the A.T. on my thruhike and section hikes. Each time I ran into a bear on the trail the bear ran off like a stray cat when I made noise. You wouldn't even have had time to get a camera out. One bear I nearly stepped on - came around a bend and he was sitting right there eating berries. Largest bear I've ever seen. He spun right around and took off.

The only time I've seen nuisance bears, ones who weren't easily frightened off, were around shelters (twice) and a campground (once). Those are looking for food, not people. Another reason to not sleep with your food.