montanapalooza 2002

“Martyb, I don't know of anyone who uses them in Glacier, the Bob Marshall, or the Beartooths, but I'm sure there has to be.

Here, they recommend hanging your food, etc 100 yards from camp, as well as cooking and eating away from camp. Even with the cannisters, I'm sure they'd want it stored well away from camp as well.

I think the cannister would certainly be convenient though and have contemplated the idea myself.”

“What do you guys think the smoke situation is going to be up there? I saw Red Lodge on the news last night and it is a little hazy there.”

“Newgirl, I quit smoking in '81. That should help.”

“Newergirl has a tummy flu. I've been up since 2:30 this morning, cleaning up vomit, bathing and rebathing her, and preparing pedialyte. Damn. I am one tired mommy.”

“And in no mood for the jokester answeres Geezr!!! LOL! I meant from Yellowstone . . . duh!


I'm only kidding you.”

“Newgirl, hope she's better soon.

It could be worse . . . you could have a whining old geezr with the stomach flu.”

“My understanding is that they (manufacturers and Nat'l Park Service) have tested the things extensively (in zoos as well as in wilderness) and the only way any kind of bear can get into them is if they have a quarter to turn the locking screws. Yes, even grizzlies, as noted in an old thread here w/r/t Denali NP requiring them in that park. The trick is that they're smooth, with no edges, etc. that the beasts can get their claws or teeth into. The black bears down here routinely destroy cars, too (neener neener neener - our bears are as tough as yours). They're good for keeping the little critters away from the food too.”

“BTW, I did LOL at the post on the canister thread asking why you'd want to put a bear in a canister. Wouldn't he be mad when you let him out?”

“are your bears as tough as our bears. ;-)

Our girls are meaner too . . . tell 'em Newgirl.”

“I could get light, but I don't think I can stand not having my jammies, polar fleece booties, pillow and teddy bear.”

“Already know about Montana girls - my mom is one!!”

“I thought you'd be more resourceful, Geezr. I got a backpacking sized Piglet from the Disney store for son, so he can leave his regular Piglet at home.

Pillow?! I thought you guys just used a rock for a pillow up there!”

“In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear conflicts, the Montana Department of Fishing and Gaming is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert of bears while in the field. The department has posted the following notice:

We advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle any bears.
We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear.
It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity.
Outdoors men should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear feces. Black bear feces is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear feces has little bells in it and smells like pepper.

If an encounter is eminent, place hands over the back of your neck, put your head between you legs and kiss your butt good-bye!”

“So that's why my pack is sooooooo heavy, the rock is too big!”

“Hey you guys should take the Bear Identification Test on the Montana FW&Parks site. It's for bear hunters to be able to tell the difference between grizzlies and black bears. I thought I had it down, but i missed 2 on the first run.

BEAR ID TEST”

“We are bringing a extra Expedition Bearikade (2.2 lb/holds ~10 days food), and a extra Weekender (1.8 lb/holds 6-7 days food) that you guys can share.

OM has dibs on one.”

“I missed one Aero, 93%. I missed correctly identifying the sow and cub pic.

And Malinda said I was stupid because I had a rock for a pillow!”

“We'll have to see how well we do from a dead run!”

“and tears streaming down my face!”

“head net
DEET
*if you forget these, you're toast.”

“Gearjunkie, Aero and I are running for our lives and we're supposed to remember Deet and a head net.

Are crazzzzzzzzzzy?”

“Are Montana bears unable to penetrate a head net?!”

“No, they just roll on the ground and laugh! it just kills 'em!”

“Hey, whatever works....”

“80% on the test, for me, but I didn't read any of it. Would that have helped??

Food ropes... - I thought I might bring 50' of 6mm line. We could string it up and toss most of the food line over it, rather than having bags hanging all over the place. Somebody probably already thought of that, right”

“Head net..... Are the skeeters that bad?”

“H of BC, I went right to the quiz as well.

If that bear gets to me before Aero, I'm going to need all the rope can get.”

“They can be bad until it cools off in the evening . . . they have a hard time flying with their wings froze to their bodies.

I think I have a net in the pack but have never used it.”

“That's a likely result, Geezr, as I understand Aero is a pretty decent runner. Remember, you don't have to outrun the bear, only the other people you're with.”

“Head net may be optional; DEET isn't, in my opinion.”

“Martyb, and me with a rock for a pillow.

GJ, yep. bring deet.”

“Just got back from beautiful Gillette, Wyoming. Got a call from jerbear while I was there. I guess he's still in Cody? After my 'date' with my wife, I'm going to try and get a hold of him to meet. Me a bourbon and him a root beer!!!”

“Of course, with a rock for a pillow, that gives you a weapon when the bear rips through the wall of your tent....”

“Chief, make sure he brings his car or whatever to Red Lodge. We need more vehicles at the trailhead. Most everyone coming out just has pickups or jeeps. i'm planning on leaving my pickup, which will hold 5-6, at E. Rosebud.”

“Am I being shunned? I can't get anyone to answer my questions? LOL”

“Jgeils, what you need to know lad?”

“The Montanapalooza thread knows all - ask away....”

“for the next several days and NEED to know. What three toppings go best on a pizza when drinking an Alaskan Amber??????”

“moose, elk, and bear, of course....”

“...just hit 'em with your rock pillow, spray 'em with deet, then wrap 'em in a head net and cook for several hours on a pocket rocket; apply to pizza, bake at 600 for 2 hours; enjoy.”

“""Greetings from my vacation in Seattle. Man, it sure is a lot cooler up here. I've
done a little hiking here and it has been great!! One question that was asked of me
regarding my Montana trip was "are there any cancel Christmas sections of the
trail?" Meaning, are there any places on the trail where it is narrow and steep and
one wrong step and your family is canceling Christmas. I said I don't know, but I can
find out. I may have someone interested in coming with me. Are there any places
where someone with a small fear of heights would have big problems?"" jgeils
01:37:31 AM
07/08/02”

“"Not that I would try to use it that much, but can you get any kind of signal on a cell phone up there? Is it worth taking?"
jgeils
11:28:41 PM
07/09/02”

“Hey kids where is everyone! I am in Red lodge library.Found the cafe, and I am a few days early. Will give Aero a call and see whats up. I saw the area that we will be a hikin and its awesome. Lookin forward to seein ya all! Yo bear”

“Yo Bear!!!!”

“Jgeils, there's nothing particularly dangerous. You switchback down an open face on the way to East Rosebud but the trail is wide. If heights bother you, as they do me, you might want to bring trekking poles. Great for balance when you're tired and have 40 lbs on your back.”

“Hey jgiles!”

“Can't help you with the cell phone. I would think not, but it doesn't weigh much so if you think you might need it, by all means take it.”

“OK Martyb, meat lovers it is!”

“I don't like heights too much, but I can deal with them. One of my brothers was thinking about going, but he can't. He would have had more trouble with the heights than me, not that I'm going rock climbing anytime soon. LOL”

“Jerbear, no fair peeking. See you Sunday.”