Planning on section hike from NOC through the Smoky Mtns

[TSWisla]

I just check the NPS wesite and it says that 2 shelters are closed due to bear activity and that there may be other closings. Are the bears really that active there? Should I avoid it this year? Any other trail closings in that area that I should be aware of? Thank you.

[TSWisla]

I forgot to mention that I will be in the area at the end of September.

[Gambit McCrae]

It happens every year, and to the same shelters almost every time. End of September you should probably be good by then but I would definitely have a good plan B. I try and do a Smokeys trip in march-may prior to the bears becoming a big problem for the year.

[centerfieldr162]

I just check the NPS wesite and it says that 2 shelters are closed due to bear activity and that there may be other closings. Are the bears really that active there? Should I avoid it this year? Any other trail closings in that area that I should be aware of? Thank you.

I just got back from a weekend trip (3 days of hiking) and encountered more bears on the trail this weekend than my total time of 6 years hiking in the smokies put together. I always see them while I'm driving around in the car but up until this point I had only seen three bears on the trail. In the past three days though I saw 6 bears and got bluff charged by one as I think I startled her walking quietly and didn't see her in the woods beside me. Yes, it was terrifying. I wouldn't avoid it though. The website updates regularly the trails and shelters that are closed so just plan accordingly. I am one of the few who carry bear spray though.. just in case. I hike by myself and it makes me feel better. I also whistle and make noise while I'm hiking so I can let them know I'm coming, if they don't already. It was a great weekend and the weather will be nice in September. Do it!

[TSWisla]

Thank you!

[MuddyWaters]

I just check the NPS wesite and it says that 2 shelters are closed due to bear activity and that there may be other closings. Are the bears really that active there? Should I avoid it this year? Any other trail closings in that area that I should be aware of? Thank you.

Bear "activity" means that bears are getting aggressive at a shelter at trying to get food. In most cases it also means they arent showing fear of humans either. They close shelter to get bear to concentrate on its natural food sources, often problem bears are tranquilized and moved to remote areas of park. This doesnt always work.

Happens every year. People are the problem.

[TSWisla]

I agree that people are the problem. The amount of garbage that I have encountered on the trail is absurd. Idiots that want to burn their trash/food, etc. I also do not understand the obsession with carrying around and cooking large, aromatic meals. You are on the trail to hike, not for gourmet cooking. It is what it is.

[Tundracamper]

My mother lives up near the GA/NC border. She said something about the acorns and other bear food sources being very scarce this year - for some reason. For the first time since she's lived up there, folks are reporting lots of bear activity. Seems bears are just really searching hard for food before the winter and I guess in some cases being more aggressive than normal.

[Longboysfan]

I wonder what to expect when I go in October.

[Longboysfan]

I'm starting at RT 64 and ending up near Gatlinburg.

[HooKooDooKu]

Are the bears really that active there? Should I avoid it this year?

"due to bear activity" is code for "some dumb@$$ has not followed the rules concerning how to keep bears safe from your food while in camp and we now have to close this shelter/campsite to retrain the bear to NOT come here looking for food".

About the only thing that seems out of place at the moment is that there is an above average number of shelters/campsites currently closed "due to bear activity". Beyond that, bears seem to be about as "active" this year as any other year. So far, I haven't seen any new stories about any changes this year in availability of the bear's natural food sources.


I've hike GSMNP for 25 years now, and based on my trip logs, I've hiked more than 200 days for a total distance of about 2,000 miles. I can tell you that getting to see a bear is a huge hit-or-miss kind of game. There's been several years when I never saw any bears. There was at least one year I couldn't seem to step foot in the park and NOT see a bear.

But generally speaking, the odds are that you will not see a bear. If you do see a bear, the odds are that it will be just for a moment before he quickly disappears into the woods.

Bottom line, there's no reason to let "bear activity" affect your plans.

The only thing that should affect your plans is if you find there is just too much distance from one available shelter to the next for you to handle in a day. I say "available" as you will need to get a "general" back packing permit an obtain a reservation for each shelter on each given night you plan to stay in GSMNP. There is always the possibility that the combination of closed shelters and shelters where all the reservations are already taken for a given night would require you to walk more miles in a day than you are ready to handle.

However, you can make reservations upto 30 days before the beginning of your hike in GSMNP to make all of your shelter/campsite reservations. Of course should a shelter you have a reservation at close, you would have to adjust your plans.

[TNhiker]

There's been several years when I never saw any bears. There was at least one year I couldn't seem to step foot in the park and NOT see a bear.

likewise......

went one year without seeing a bear-----next year saw 9 on one trip.....

Bottom line, there's no reason to let "bear activity" affect your plans.

one thing i would suggest...........make that two things...

----dont leave a pack unattended............bears have associated packs with food and will often "steal" them and run off with them...

---use a redundant system with the cables in the park............the cables are open faced and bears have learned they can shake the cables and get a pack down........a simple carbiner clipped to the main cable will do the trick....

[Ashepabst]

likewise......
---use a redundant system with the cables in the park............the cables are open faced and bears have learned they can shake the cables and get a pack down........a simple carbiner clipped to the main cable will do the trick....

it's kinda funny the effort they went through to put these up at however many dozens of sites with such a glaring design flaw. even just a different shaped hook would've made a big difference.
i have a ton of extra biners that never see use. do you suppose folks would walk off with them if i started leaving them behind?

[TNhiker]

it's kinda funny the effort they went through to put these up at however many dozens of sites with such a glaring design flaw. even just a different shaped hook would've made a big difference.
i have a ton of extra biners that never see use. do you suppose folks would walk off with them if i started leaving them behind?

Yeah----my first time looking at the cables 20 years ago and it was the first thing I noticed...

one simple design flaw...

and yeah----leaving a carabiner behind and it wouldn't last very long...

[tawa]

If you base your hike on bears, hogs, snakes, availability you will never leave your home!
Forget about it---get on the trail and start walking ---it will be ok and you will adjust and adapt to whatever comes your way!
Worry about the things you can control and let the other stuff float away!-

[HooKooDooKu]

it's kinda funny the effort they went through to put these up at however many dozens of sites with such a glaring design flaw. even just a different shaped hook would've made a big difference.

Yeah----my first time looking at the cables 20 years ago and it was the first thing I noticed...
one simple design flaw...

Notice that every bear cable (at least in GSMNP) has TWO hooks side-by-side on a small loop. I've wondered if there wasn't a purpose for that. I've found that you can use the pair of hooks together to securely hang your food bag without the use of a carbiner. All you have to do is loop your draw-string around the BACK of BOTH hooks, and then hang the bag down between the two hooks.

[TNhiker]

Notice that every bear cable (at least in GSMNP) has TWO hooks side-by-side on a small loop. I've wondered if there wasn't a purpose for that. I've found that you can use the pair of hooks together to securely hang your food bag without the use of a carbiner. All you have to do is loop your draw-string around the BACK of BOTH hooks, and then hang the bag down between the two hooks.

I always figured the two loops were to hang more bags.....

especially at, when reservations weren't required at some sites, places where there was more food bags than hooks....

ive been at some campsites where there have been 3 or 4 food bags hanging from every hook....

and I doubt most people would buy into the way you suggest, especially when there have been countless times where I've found the cables reversed with using the open hook on the tree anchor.....

my money is still on a cheap carabiner----like ones given away as a promotional item....

[HooKooDooKu]

I always figured the two loops were to hang more bags.....

Then why don't they point in opposite directions?
Seems like it would be easier to hang more bags (especially those times you're trying to hang entire packs) if they were in opposite directions rather than tightly spaced against one another.

countless times where I've found the cables reversed with using the open hook on the tree anchor

Yea, I see that all the time as well.

...leaving a carabiner behind and it wouldn't last very long...

Since they place spring loaded hooks on the tree side, I wonder why they don't use the same thing on the hanging side.

my money is still on a cheap carabiner----like ones given away as a promotional item....

I too use a carabiner... especially since you can't count on having a pair of hooks to yourself at some of the more popular campsites.

[TNhiker]

Since they place spring loaded hooks on the tree side, I wonder why they don't use the same thing on the hanging side.

thats the $100,000 question.....


not sure where they got the design for the bear cable system and i would think , too much time has passed to really find out an answer to how they decided to design them....

especially since you can't count on having a pair of hooks to yourself at some of the more popular campsites.

i dont think one should ever count on having a pair of hooks to themselves.......

not unless the campsite is empty of other people..

i know that if was in a campsite and i saw a bag using two hooks (and there were still more bags to be hung)-----things would be rearranged pretty quickly.............