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Cosmo
02-27-2004, 22:37
Laurel Ridge Campsite is getting a bear box this spring. So is nearby Sages's Ravine. There was an incident late this fall were a camper at Sages had a bear claw into his (new) tent to get at food stored there. Before you jump in about Darwinsim in action, know that it took him nearly 20 minutes to chase the bear away, and he freely admits he did a stupid thing. Because the bear was persistant and not easily discouraged (perhaps habituated to viewing hikers as a food source) we will be installing the bear boxes. At present both sites are posted advising overnighters to hang their food. Once the snow melts (and the bears wake up) we will get these boxs installed. In the mean time make the effort to hang your food (and other stuff with interesting smells like soap and toothpaste) well away from your sleeping area.

Cosmo

A-Train
02-28-2004, 12:41
Although not frequent, there are occasional bear encounters in this area. I've attended/worked at a summer camp about a mile from Bear Rock Falls and the AT and a black bear tried to get into the camp's dining hall. Laurel Ridge and Sages Ravine are beautiful places, but you should still take precauctions

Undershaft
04-12-2008, 14:41
Last summer a thruhiker named Hyde was followed for about 20 minutes by a black bear coming out of Sage's Ravine

pheldozer
07-09-2012, 10:30
Does anyone know if there are plans to reopen the bear rock falls site? or has the previous damage and the building of the laurel ridge site negated the need?

It's the first place I slept on the AT, and would love to again sometime.

Driver8
07-09-2012, 15:25
Was just there this weekend. Laurel Ridge is the place where tenting is allowed there now, Bear Rock Falls area is posted no camping for revegetation. The water is so low that the falls are pretty minimal now, alas. A friend and I were going to scramble down to look at them from below, or hike around on an old road about half mile south of the brook crossing, but figured the payoff in terms of water flow and views was too small. Postponed for a wetter time.

Cosmo
07-10-2012, 07:43
Does anyone know if there are plans to reopen the bear rock falls site? or has the previous damage and the building of the laurel ridge site negated the need?

It's the first place I slept on the AT, and would love to again sometime.

The original site will not be re-opened. It gets too much use in a place that regenerates very slowly due to dense tree cover (hemlocks). Further, the State in all it's wisdom considers it too dangerous to use as a campsite because people fall off the cliff (two fatalities in the late 90s). One was from people trying to climb down the cliff to 'see the falls' (there were also several high-angle rescues from people doing this as well), the other was apparently a guy out taking a whizz in the middle of the night.

Sadly, users of the "new" campsite (open since 2000) have pretty much butchered the surrounding laurel by building fires (prohibited here, but OK elsewhere on the Mass AT), and taking short cuts between tentsites rather than staying on the existing trails. It was really nice when it was first built, but it's very heavily used by groups and weekenders who may not be as respectful of the outdoors as more experienced campers.

Cosmo
http://massatprojects2012.blogspot.com/

pheldozer
07-10-2012, 16:23
thanks cosmo! i intended to stay at laurel ridge during my last trip, but it was really crowded and IMO not that great of a location. trudged on to the race brook site, and had the place to myself with a nice little, legal fire