Bears

[jshwdy]

Hi

I've been reading about the bear activity in Georgia so far this year. It made me realise I hadn't really considered bears to be the threat they are. Further research helped to muddy the waters considerably and now I'm really not sure what to do.

I've read its best to hang and that hanging is the worst thing you can do. I've read you should sleep with your food (in an odor proof bag i presume) and that sleeping with your food is asking bears to come for dinner.

I don't know if leaving a little later, my planned start date is April 29th, will have any effect. Do Bears have a "busy" season or a time when they are more active?

My thoughts are to get a Ursack, avoid camping near shelters but stop at them to prepare food and eat. Then hike a little further on to avoid having my cook site near my tent site. Beyond that I intend to talk to my fellow hikers, in places where bear activity seems exceptionally high hang the food otherwise sleep with it

I did read about not wearing the clothes you cook in to bed, but i cant see how that will work as i am not taking that many clothes to start with.

So what are strategies that people are planning to use (or actually doing so for those on the trail) regarding bears?

[Big Dawg]

I'll snap a pic if I see one (bear),, otherwise, I don't think too much about them.

Ultimately you'll have to make the decision of whether to hang or snuggle your food, based on weighing the comments you've read so far on this forum. Go w/ your gut, and roll with it. Start date shouldn't affect your bear strategy much. If an Ursak gives you peace of mind, go for it. Eating at shelters for ease, water, and social interaction, then rolling on to tent elsewhere is a decent plan.

[ScottP]

Hi

I've been reading about the bear activity in Georgia so far this year. It made me realise I hadn't really considered bears to be the threat they are. Further research helped to muddy the waters considerably and now I'm really not sure what to do.

I've read its best to hang and that hanging is the worst thing you can do. I've read you should sleep with your food (in an odor proof bag i presume) and that sleeping with your food is asking bears to come for dinner.

I don't know if leaving a little later, my planned start date is April 29th, will have any effect. Do Bears have a "busy" season or a time when they are more active?

My thoughts are to get a Ursack, avoid camping near shelters but stop at them to prepare food and eat. Then hike a little further on to avoid having my cook site near my tent site. Beyond that I intend to talk to my fellow hikers, in places where bear activity seems exceptionally high hang the food otherwise sleep with it

I did read about not wearing the clothes you cook in to bed, but i cant see how that will work as i am not taking that many clothes to start with.

So what are strategies that people are planning to use (or actually doing so for those on the trail) regarding bears?

You're going to hear the same outlay of things that you've already heard.

as far as I know, there's only one recorded incident of a bear attacking a person who was sleeping with food.

The not wearing cooking clothes to bed is an old NOLS thing. I'm not sure if it's ever reasonable, but it's intended for more like northern Alaska.

Not sure to what extent the odor proof sacks do anything.

Don't camp near the problem areas if you can avoid it.

I don't think hanging food should be encouraged from a management perspective. A proper hang might be fine. But 99% of hangs are not done properly, so that's kind of a non issue.

One thing to try to take into account is look at what type of people are giving what type of advice.

When you have the guys with 20,000+ miles giving you information, that's worth something.

[bflorac]

Ok, I have been in front of a bear that has no fear of humans. It is no fun when a 300 pound bear raises up on two legs, pounds on the ground and give chase just to scare you away (or in my case, back into the shelter). It gives me a reason to have a lot of respect for bears. That said, of the 5 or so other times I have seen bears, they just run away never to be seen again. So here are my rules.
1) Hang my food. If the bear wants it, have at it. I can replace it. I know he may not attack me but I don't even want him close enough to bluff. I actually sleep a lot more comfortable when there is another hiker near by with food with him. I know were the bear will go first!
2) If you find a bear that does anything but run away, you don't want to hang in the area. Pack up and move 5 miles away ASAP.
3) Leave no trace. Clean up shelters. If there is trash there (even it is not yours) pack it out. Don't give bears a reason to hang around.

[Big Dawg]

I know were the bear will go first!

Ahhhh,, but history dictates otherwise.

If we're camped in the same vicinity in the future, and mr bear gets a midnight snack from your hanging pinata, then I'll gladly offer a snicker bar to ya, so as to give you enough calories/energy to make it to the next road, hitch a ride to the nearest town, so you can replace your food/bag.

[rocketsocks]

How bout we outfit the bear bag with a mild electric correction,and an alarm,with flashing lights,"SPOT" messaging and........

[stranger]

Two words....Lyme Disease

That's something to concern yourself with, not bears.

Don't worry about bears...they are a non-issue, learn the PCT Method of hanging your food, use bear cables where possible and tie your bag to the cable so your bag cannot be 'bounced' off a hook, and avoid shelters where possible because that's where the bears will go for food. A bear isn't going to bother you because you are sleeping in the shirt you cooked in, people can sometimes get a tad obsessive about some things.

Andrew Skurka just spent 6 months circling Alaska, alone, the land of Grizzly Bears...you know the bears that actually have attacked and killed people more than any other bear. He slept with his food and had no bear incidents.

You will be fine

[NowWhat?]

Looks to me like there needs to be more "research" done on this subject.

[ChinMusic]

Looks to me like there needs to be more "research" done on this subject.

How many more miles does LW need to hike?

[StealthHikerBoy]

I was taught many years ago in Boy Scouts to envision a triangle with 3 points: 1) where you cook and eat, 2) where you go the bathroom, and 3) where you hang your food. Then, never sleep in that triangle. To me, that seems to ensure I won't be hassled by a bear in the middle of the the night, or even a mouse for that matter. I have had a bear bag eaten once, but I think because I didn't hang it high enough. Anyway, it just isn't that tough for me to follow the triangle rule and it seems to work.

Now, if I could just master that PCT method for hanging a bag I'd be all set

[jshwdy]

Thanks all for the advice.

I do agree that there seems to be some room for some good research into this subject. It seems with so much conflicting advice around there is room for some studies to help guide.

I'm going to stick with my plan and hope experience doesnt teach me to hard of a lesson.

As for Lyme Disease well I'm concerned and will take precautions.

[ScottP]

by conflicting evidence you mean nearly everyone with multiple thru-hikes sleeping with their food, then yes

[Wise Old Owl]

bear-hang-400x379.jpgWell bring some rope.... hang it.

[SouthMark]

40 years of black bear research:

http://www.bear.org/

[Deer Hunter]

This may help you in your decision making, jshwdy.

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?43207-To-Hang-or-not-to-hang-POLL

[jshwdy]

Deer Hunter - Thanks for the link, very helpful
SouthMark - Thanks for the link. Very informative.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pag...-run-away.html

The thing that I find most confusing is the fact that anecdoctal evidence, such as from this site, says sleeping with food no problem no bears but all the "official" sites say don't do it. My thought is that an official site has more to lose, liability wise, if they suggest sleeping with food is ok and then someone gets attacked.

in the name of helping out others make their own conclusions here are some of the sources that I have read (Note that they may all get their advice from the same source)

http://wildlife.state.co.us/SiteColl...arsCountry.pdf
http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/ou...g-black-bear-c
http://www.americanbear.org/awarenes...ng-hiking.html
http://www.mountainnature.com/wildli...ampingtips.htm

I think i am going to go with my first plan and I'll update this in a month or two, after I have hiked a little ways, to let you know I had any problems

[Wise Old Owl]

more importantly I end up doing some of the research round here... Does anyone have the "other" bear knot drawings? there are five variations.

[JAK]

Bears do NOT belong on the trail, even with a leash.

[Wise Old Owl]

Huh? - JAK you ok?

[CrumbSnatcher]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHJx0...ure=plpp_video