Here is some unacceptable bear/human activity caught on tape. You just can teach some people how to act around bears.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84bBzAxLXFY
I went to REI this morning. Their bear spray is $45 in an eight ounce can. Not sure if I want to carry the weight on my section hikes. Still in research mode! My sons are in their mid 20's, over 6' and very athletic. They did not want to go for the third night out. So we spent the 3rd night in Hot Springs. Heading to GSMNP this weekend to hike up to Gregory Bald. I am stopping by Sugarlands to get some advice from the experts....
I have only had one bear encounter in the GSMNP. I was hiking in Cades Cove and walked around a bend and literally 10 feet away from me was a mother bear digging into an old tree root system (I'm guessing for grubs). I stopped dead in my tracks and was scared to death. She looked up and me and I backed off. As I was backing off I see her cub is beside her in a tree just playing around. Luckily I think she was very desperate in her search for food at the time because she returned back to digging in that tree and did not care about me at all but if she had wanted to, she could've torn me up in seconds. I was so close to her and never even heard a thing and I had been keeping my eyes out for bears, or at least I thought so.
My grandfather was hiking 4 weeks ago in the rainbow falls area and was on a trail alone. He came upon a large male in the middle of the trail and the bear had already seen him before my grandfather saw the bear. The bear never took his eyes off of him. He had an air horn and he blew it and the bear did not budge. He said he backed off and the bear stared at him for minutes and then bounded off into the woods.
Both times had potential to be bad and were pretty unnerving but since they ended well, they left for some pretty cool memories. Those creatures sure can do some damage but man they are gorgeous. They just need to be respected and more people need to be educated on how NOT to let the bears associate people with food.
Heading to GSMNP this weekend to hike up to Gregory Bald.
if you plan on camping at the campsite near the bald---it may be still closed....
it was last week....
Anyone else backpack in Glacier National Park?
All backpackers get a brief but very informative bear education, the do's the don'ts, and past occurrances. Every site I camped at had three seperate areas. Entering camp first thing bear pole, food and all scented items stayed here. Off to one side, a fair distance away was cooking area. Here we cooked and cleaned then returned to bear pole to hang. Continue on away from cook area was tenting area, no food or anything scented here.
From what I've read here might be worth a try in active bear areas on the AT. Bear boxes popping up in the Greens VT and Whites NH. But no camp/cook separations.
-My feet are my only carriage so I've got to push on through-
Actually, there are at least 4 more from this year. Maybe because I'm out until sunset a lot. The trail names might not mean anything to anybody, but I saw one on the Cove Mtn trail, Old Sugarlands, Twin Creeks (a bigger cub that I've seen more than once and seems used to people), and this one right by the Trillium Gap / Old Sugarlands trailhead in the Cherokee Orchard Rd loop. It was eating leaves, and everybody was taking pictures, so I tried too. Otherwise they're not so easy (for me at least) to catch on camera.Originally Posted by saltysack
Maybe there should be a thread about more positive bear encounters to give people some perspective? Mine and centerfieldr162's are pretty typical, I would think.
Thanks foe the heads up! We're just going up for a day hike from Cades Cove.
Those of you who have walked up on a bear, were you walking into the wind so the bear could not smell you? Or are thy just not afraid of humans in those locations? Typically when I have encountered wildlife at those ranges it is because I am walking into a good breeze.
I walked up on one in the top of a tree. It came down. My first thought was "thats a mighty big raccoon" , it was so far up there at first I could barely see it, but I could hear leaves shaking.. I hollered at it to stay in the tree, it didnt listen. Came down the trunk fast, about 10' from me, looked me in face, plopped to ground and took off at warp speed. It was yearling, maybe 70 lbs ish.
Another time had a sow and cub walk ~25' from me, and not pay a bit of attention. The cub was a cutie, a little black ball.
Another time one was resting under a tree, maybe 60' away from trail and just watched people walk by. We had been warned by hiker from other direction there was a bear ahead, sure enough, it just watched us pass.
All of these knew I was there.
Ive surprised others suddenly near trail that take off like bat out of hell.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 06-15-2016 at 22:03.
Most of your sightings in the day or night time? I night hike often but always bang my poles every so often and have never seen one while on the AT.....glad to have a bright headlamp when needed!Actually, there are at least 4 more from this year. Maybe because I'm out until sunset a lot. The trail names might not mean anything to anybody, but I saw one on the Cove Mtn trail, Old Sugarlands, Twin Creeks (a bigger cub that I've seen more than once and seems used to people), and this one right by the Trillium Gap / Old Sugarlands trailhead in the Cherokee Orchard Rd loop. It was eating leaves, and everybody was taking pictures, so I tried too. Otherwise they're not so easy (for me at least) to catch on camera.
Maybe there should be a thread about more positive bear encounters to give people some perspective? Mine and centerfieldr162's are pretty typical, I would think.
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A lot of them are in the morning or evening, but it seems like if you get far enough away from trailheads, you can sometimes run into them during the day. The one that pawed the ground at me was during the day, and so were the cubs I treed last year. But yeah, most are probably within an hour of sunset. All the 4 I mentioned were like that. I don't hike at night a lot, but when I do, I haven't seen any, yet. I bring a lot of light with me (Magnus Innovation headlamp + Fenix PD-32), so maybe it keeps them away.
I could be biased because of where I go, but I think they're more likely to be hiding out at lesser used trails, at lower elevation, than high up on the ridgelines. I can't remember seeing any on any of the Mt. LeConte trails, and only the 2 on the AT that I saw last week, but I haven't spent a lot of time on the AT in the evening. (A little around Newfound Gap.) In the evening, I've seen a couple heading towards Gatlinburg, probably to raid the trashcans. One was running pretty fast down the hill, past the cars, in the Cherokee Orchard loop. That was interesting. We had a small one, probably a female, raiding our trashcans last fall. The city puts stickers on your dumpster that say "Be Bear Aware" and you can get a fine if you're not.
Camp site 12 was open and occupied. The Flame Azaleas were at their peak! And yes, came across a bear running in the gravel road near the trail head....
i was referring to campsite 13, which is up about a half mile below the bald...........
and its still closed............
Copy! Is #13 on the Parsons' Branch Road? I know the road is still closed to vehicular traffic. Horses, well that is a different matter!
#13 is just below the bald on the Parsons Branch Side. It's about 4 miles from the trail head on Parsons Branch.
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