bear "problem" sites

[Megapixel]

Any dedicated campsites along the JMT that are notorious for bear trouble that I should steer clear of while planning our hike?

[Phreak]

Vidette Meadow & Charlotte Lake areas have a lot of bear incidents.

[Jester2000]

The hiker part of Tuolumne Meadows has had its share of encounters, mainly due, I think, to all of the adjacent RVers and car campers. Heard a horror story or two, but didn't see any bears while I was there.

[Spirit Walker]

Lyall Canyon is very notorious as well as the lakes south of Rae Lakes and around Kearsarge Pass.

I'm wondering how many years it will take for bears to stop bothering hikers now that bear cans are required? Or will they simply wait until we're cooking and the food is out to come visit?

[Sly]

The hiker part of Tuolumne Meadows has had its share of encounters, mainly due, I think, to all of the adjacent RVers and car campers. Heard a horror story or two, but didn't see any bears while I was there.

Every time I stayed at the campground (3) there were bears. Also, although Lyell canyon supposed to be bear alley, I slept with my food without incident. (not really recommended)

To the OP, all the mentioned areas except, I think, Lyell canyon have, or had, bear boxes. Also, I believe it's now required to carry a bear canister, so there's no area one needs to avoid.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

13 hikes, seen 4 bears, none were a problem.

The problem used to be much worse before bear canisters. Now, based on what I learned on all my hikes over the years, these are the places you're most likely to meet bears:

Tuolumne Meadows campground

Thousand Island Lake

Shadow Lake

Reds Meadow Campground

Tully Hole

Vermillion Resort

Blaney Meadows near Muir Ranch

Rae Lakes

Charlotte Lake

Bullfrog Lake

Vidette Meadows

Crabtree Ranger Station area

Whitney Portal campground

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

I'm wondering how many years it will take for bears to stop bothering hikers now that bear cans are required? Or will they simply wait until we're cooking and the food is out to come visit?

If they are bothering you, you're doing something wrong. I haven't seen a bear in daylight since the late 80s when the dumpsters at Reds Meadow were wide open and not bear proof (the bear came each morning for a quick breakfast in the dumpster).

Don't gut fish and cook and camp in the same place. They can smell this stuff MILES downwind. Ideally don't cook where you camp, and if you do, cook, eat, clean dishes and put all dishes with your bear can 100+ feet away from your tent. Food leftovers are a no-no. If you have leftovers, put it in a ziplock and back in the can. Reheat next day and eat. Don't just dig a shallow hole and cover it up and then camp there. Don't sneak any late night snacks into your tent. Don't forget anything that smells in your packs, even sun tan lotion, etc - that stuff all goes into the bear can at night.

compared to the 1980s and early 90s, the bears are really not a problem any longer. Back in those days, you had nightly visits to the popular sites everywhere on the trail, and since hanging food was the only thing people did back then, they always got rewards. There were many sites I didn't stay at, because I knew bears would come by at night for sure. Now you can set up your tent there and most likely you won't see any bears, even in places that were extreme trouble like woods creek or Rae Lakes, as they have put plenty of bear boxes there.

They are scared of people, even those who visit campgrounds on a daily routine route. At Tuolumne Meadows, the rangers chase them up trees and give them a good amount of paintball gun shots in the butt to teach them that this isn't a buffet, but they still come back, however when one walked through my camp site and started to sniff my pack, all it took was moving the zipper on my tent and it was walking away to the next site.

[Jester2000]

If they are bothering you, you're doing something wrong. . .

Well, to be fair, it's entirely possible that someone near you is doing something wrong, or that someone who was there before you was doing something wrong.

One of the reasons that the backpacker site at Tuolumne gets visits (despite everyone there using the bear boxes) is the adjacent drive-in campground.

[Helmuth.Fishmonger]

Well, to be fair, it's entirely possible that someone near you is doing something wrong, or that someone who was there before you was doing something wrong.

One of the reasons that the backpacker site at Tuolumne gets visits (despite everyone there using the bear boxes) is the adjacent drive-in campground.

yeah, but the bears will get the food from the car camper next door and only wander past your site, realize these guys aren't idiots and move on to the next possible free breakfast very quickly. A problem bear for me would be one that simply doesn't leave. I've read one trip report online of somebody who does a lot of total off trail hiking and in an area very few hikers ever go to, he had a bear more or less sit in his camp next to the bear canister and do nothing but block the hiker from accessing it or leaving. This standoff lasted for more than an hour, and he has pictures of that bear real close, just hanging out around the canister. Old weak bear, he said, probably desperate.

[Spirit Walker]

In 1992 on the AT there were two problem bears. One at Outerbridge Shelter came up while people were cooking. They got scared and took off. The bear got dinner. The other was in the Whites at Ethan Pond Campsite. He came up while we were cooking. We threw things at him and he backed off - for a while. After dark he came back and took down an entire tree next to the shelter, as well as the branches that held our food. According to the register, he was alternating between the shelter area and a nearby campsite, getting fed pretty much every night. He was a fat healthy bear.

Back in 1991, I camped in Lyell Cyn on the JMT. All the trees near the pass were festooned in broken bear ropes. The bears were simply breaking off the tops of the trees and the branches the food was hung on. One almost got my hung food, but I managed to retrieve it before the bears did. (One stood on the other's shoulders atop a big boulder. The food dropped to the foot of the boulder, where I was camped.) Smart bears, but not quite smart enough.