View Full Version : Unbelieavable bear issues...
This is Boo Boo, current AT thru hiker. I've been on the trail for over 6 months, and lately I've been having a serious bear issue. I've been stalked by a bear for the past few days. I've also noticed an increased racoon presence by my tent/camp at night. It's really been crazy. I'm in Maine and didn't expect to encounter this. Anybody else have this issue? Any possible reasons? Any quick fixes? Please, any help is greatly appreciated. Baltimore Jack probably has an answer...
tlbj6142
09-20-2004, 16:33
Its the fall. Everyone wants food for the winter.
This is Boo Boo, current AT thru hiker. ... I've been stalked by a bear ... Any possible reasons? Any quick fixes? Please, any help is greatly appreciated.
1) Change your name, Boo Boo.
2) Quit showering in BBQ sauce.
6 months of cooking smells permeating your kit?
steve hiker
09-21-2004, 02:31
Boo you better get off the trail real soon or get you a big 12-gauge magnum cause it looks like you got a PREDATORY black bear stalking you. And if you're in Maine these ain't the shy scared black bears you see down south. Nosirreeeee!!!
In the southeastern U.S. black bears have a warm, shy, gentle and friendly look in their eyes. Make no mistake! By the time you get near the Canadian border, you find an aggressive black bear sub-species that looks at you as FOOD! That's right. Even some of his southern bear brothers will STALK and ATTACK and KILL and EAT hikers. Just look at what happened in the Smoky Mountans in 2000 -- a black bear mom attacked and killed an experienced woman hiker and was teaching her cubs to EAT PEOPLE.
When other hikers found her the bear and her yearling were standing over her dead body, munching away like they'd just gotten an order of Chicken McNuggets. The killers wouldn't move from their human feast even when several hikers gathered and started throwing rocks!!!
Unlike griz, black bears are PREDATORY and will stalk and circle you (yes YOU, Boo!) as you walk in the woods. That's what's happening right now, Boo. That black bear is SIZING YOU UP! When that b-b-b-bear finally attacks he won't just want to kick some ass, he's gonna want a HOT MEAL! Them predatory black bears may try to silently sneak up behind you, charge suddenly from ambush, or just circle in the woods around you like a shark. When they decide that you are prey and they are going to take you, they often approach with a slow but relentless pursuit that can be extremely difficult to turn away.
One hiker, before he used his 12-gauge, had such a bear rise up and look him directly in the eyes at close range. He could see in the bear's eyes what it intended to do to him, and it made his soul quake--he never had experienced such terror before (or since) in his life!
It is very difficult to shake off a predatory black bear, once they sniff you and get their beedy eyes fixed on you. Please take SERIOUSLY the threat posed by a predatory black bear! A man-eating tiger is no more determined or deadly. That bear has probably killed before. Once such a bear has tasted human flesh, he will often try to stalk and kill every human he can find in the vicinity and cache the bodies for his food supply. Do not let him add YOUR carcass to his freezer! Take cover NOW, Boo.
you arent the only one with a BEAR story!
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=2216
Blue Jay
09-21-2004, 08:42
This is Boo Boo, current AT thru hiker. I've been on the trail for over 6 months, and lately I've been having a serious bear issue. I've been stalked by a bear for the past few days. I've also noticed an increased racoon presence by my tent/camp at night. It's really been crazy. I'm in Maine and didn't expect to encounter this. Anybody else have this issue? Any possible reasons? Any quick fixes? Please, any help is greatly appreciated. Baltimore Jack probably has an answer...
Yep, that sure is unbelievable.
bailyrosco
09-21-2004, 09:05
I would have to agree that is really an unbelievabe story. Kind of a made for movie story I think.:-?
Flash Hand
09-21-2004, 12:28
Bears werent around until Bear Scared registered with whiteblaze... how coincidence?
Flash Hand :jump
Blue Jay
09-21-2004, 12:54
Bears werent around until Bear Scared registered with whiteblaze... how coincidence?
Flash Hand :jump
Bears were around then but they were, bears, not monsters from another planet.
So, I guess he stopped into town to make his post. So, I guess the bear is patiently waiting for him back up the trail too. Sure.
Blue Jay
09-21-2004, 14:15
So, I guess he stopped into town to make his post. So, I guess the bear is patiently waiting for him back up the trail too. Sure.
No, bears are very quiet, therefore they are allowed in libraries.
I met Boo Boo when he was passing through Kent, CT. I talked with him a bit as I gave him a lift into and around town for his mail pickup and dropped him at the grocery store. He did not strike me as someone who would take the effort to post a story like that unless he believed it was true. He does strike me as someone who would express himself, like his post, and then leave before getting any response. For example, he only gives rare insights of his hike on trailjournals.com (http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=1780). Perhaps he did have a run-in with a bear and is a bit paranoid about noises in the bushes, who knows, but I think there may be something to what he says.
walkin' wally
09-22-2004, 05:33
BOO BOO,
You don't by any chance have a teddy bear strapped to the back of your pack like a guy named Bramble does? Is that what's following you around?
Flash Hand
09-22-2004, 19:36
you arent the only one with a BEAR story!
http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=2216
I ve hiked with Tyler and One Leg for several miles, and I had known Tyler for crave of food and eat a lot during his long distance hike. According to the stories provided by One Leg, I can sense that Tyler might have had tempted to bring munchies in the tent, for the evening meals. I did it sometimes, left food in my tent after having problem finding a tree branches to hang food bag but never seen any bears. After reading those experiences from other hikers, I will have to re-think the next time I hike in 2005.
Flash Hand :jump
grrickar
09-23-2004, 09:52
One hiker, before he used his 12-gauge, had such a bear rise up and look him directly in the eyes at close range. He could see in the bear's eyes what it intended to do to him, and it made his soul quake--he never had experienced such terror before (or since) in his life!
A hiker carrying a 12 gauge? Wha?
Blue Jay
09-23-2004, 10:40
A hiker carrying a 12 gauge? Wha?
For a BearScared story that was an understatement. Usually they carry a cannon.
Upon further investigation of my pack, I found that someone had duct taped an opened can of sardines between the padding and the pack itself. I am not making this up, and have people who have seen me remove it from my pack.
Someone must think it's a funny practical joke to do this. I'm glad I found it before anything serious came of it. I do have a sense of humor, as anyone who has hiked with me knows, but I don't think this was an acceptable joke. Hiding rocks, tampons, or even a pair of ladies underwear in a pack is funny, but not an open can of sardines. I'm thankful we've had cooler weather lately.
So a bit of advice to hikers out there. That fishy smell? That might not be you this time. Check your pack.
Thank you for all the replies, and keep on truckin'.
Bears have been known to follow peoples tracks, and sometimes even mark peoples tracks with their urine.
Could be a territory thing. You know, we are on their territory.
minnesotasmith
09-23-2004, 13:56
In Alaska, from what I've read, the majority of people over the age of 12 not a member or PETA (or otherwise brain-damaged) carry a large-caliber weapon capable of putting a serious hurt on bears whenever they set foot off pavement. A 12-gauge shotgun, if loaded with rifled slugs, is an excellent inexpensive short-range defense weapon against aggressive bears.
smokymtnsteve
09-23-2004, 14:10
my son who works as an ATV guide in AK does not carry a gun, nor do any of the other guides. however they do have a 'bear escape button" on the ATV as explained in the safety talk....the escape button is the "rabbit" high speed gear on the ATV.
SavageLlama
09-23-2004, 15:50
Boo Boo- apparently Yogi is trying to catch up to you.