Bears - Real or am I neurotic?

“Sorry Newgirl, that was as close to a bear dressed like Daisy Duke that I could find.

Too funny, Stumprider!”

“If you're talking about the bear camping out in our campsite. Fellow camper's didn't think it too funny. I was up wind, so I slept okay, until 5am when I was the first one out to see the bear still 15-20 feet from our tent!”

“That is one freaky story simer190. No matter how fearsome griz are, from what I've heard they're nothing like a polar bear. They see humans, they see a burger.

By the way it's odd how the bear just pushed on the door the way he did. An animal like that should have been able to get in with no sweat. Maybe he was just curious or playing with y'all.”

“I'd be more concerned about rabies than normal black bears,, most live on plants and insects and aren't particularly agressive,, grizzlies are more carnivorous and unpredictable, they get an urge for meat, you're near and look easy, you're a meal to them.Kodiak and polar are strict carnivores,, they would scare me, but not to worry about in GA. My last trip to the Whites had a lot of postings about bear cautions, so I would think other parks and forests probably do the same, mostly what we've alll heard before, the only surprise to me was they recommended not taking dogs with you,, I figured they'd be early warning, but I suppose the bear would see them as an enemy. I've had all kinds of sightings, but keep my distance,, cook 100 yards from where I sleep, hang the food and anything like clothes I've spilled food on at the cooking site, and wear a small bell when I see forage areas a mother and cubs would like. I'm always amazed at what you see in the nighttime camp, pity we have to sleep,, you'd be amazed at what wanders through at night, my favorite is watching coyotes and bobcats take a look see ( good thing I don't need to sleep long hours or I'd miss them).”

“tilt - The bears at Disneyland HAD southern accents. They took out the Country Bear Playhouse last year and are replacing it with something else. Rumor is it will be a Winnie the Pooh ride of some sort.”

“my apologies... seems the right hand doesnt know what the left is up to. Apparently NPS has been busy over in the yellowstone area.

Thats the trouble with information. Its hard to know its accuracy , age or even its validity at times and without public discusion bad info tends to drift along unchallenged... I certainly dont have the time or the inclination to research every article that drifts across my desk.

is it possible they were in fact all gone and current generation migrated down from canada?”

“"Bears are real AND you are neurotic."

Ok Phaedrus what's the big idea here, stealing my line?”

“Has anyone ever had a black bear show up at a shelter or even come in one? I've never seen one at a shelter before. Most people just keep their food right in there and only hang it from the rafters cause of mice. The only time I've seen food not kept in the shelter was at Ethon Pond in New Hampshire. They had a big metal box away from camp. That was the cooking area and food locker. That would freak someone out to wake up and have a black bear in the shelter.”

“No Dirty – griz have survived in the Yellowstone and Glacier NP areas. These are not immigrates or planted bears. If there are Griz in Washington they may very well be Canadians A.

Swamp – Kodiak, Alaskan Brown and Grizzlies are all the same species. They just have different zip codes. “Though Kodiak bears are often touted as the world's largest land carnivore (meat eaters), they are really omnivores (using a variety of foods). They actually spend more time eating grass, plants and berries than meat. Fish are an important part of their diets, but few Kodiak bears expend the time or effort necessary to chase and kill mammals” “Kodiak bears are a unique subspecies of the brown or grizzly bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi).” {from: http://www.state.ak.us/adfg/wildlife/region2/hunting/trivia.htm}”

“I've encountered bears a number of times. They always left me alone. The people who have been bothered by them all had the same story, not being smart with their food. I've had more probelms with raccoons. In the Sierras the problem is marmots. Also it was definitely a grizz I saw in Glacier Nat'l Park. One big animal!! As in previous posts, be smart and respect all wildlife.”

“Sorry, Scully, I got there first.”

“.'Has anyone ever had a black bear show up at a shelter or even come in one?'
walkindude

Yes, in GSMNP I have seen a bear show up at a shelter, many times. Even three bears at the same time.

A friend once had a bear snatch his backpack 20 feet away from him at Mt. LeConte. He has the shredded remains as a souvenir.

On another trip there. he was in the shelter with others, when a black bear casually walked past the front of the shelter. Someone shouted, "There's a bear." They grabbed cameras and ran out to get pictures. My friend remained in the shelter. He heard them asking, "Where did it go, where did it go?" The bear had hustled around the shelter and came back behind them to the entrance. However, when it saw my friend there, it backed off. I believe the bear would have helped itself to whatever it liked in the shelter.

Several times I have had a bear come from behind the shelter to try to get between the shelter and me. When I turned around, they backed off. There is no doubt in my mind that they would have entered the shelter to help themselves. So I try to always keep the shelter door(gate) closed and hooked.

Four of us were at Laurel Gap Shelter one day. One inexperienced(new) backhiker, from Long Island, NY, had a tent set-up. It was a new one and he wnated to try it out. While the four of us were talking, a large bear appeared at the edge of the clearing, pacing back and forth and looking our way. We watched a while, until the bear disappeared in the trees. I turned around and the NY hiker had dropped his tent and was carrying it into the shelter. He had quickly changed his mind about sleeping outside the shelter.”

“I remember hearing about that now, Phil. It's the end of an era...

Perhaps they'll go to the Museum of American History on the Mall in DC, or some eccentric billionaire like Bill Gates will install them in his den.


Funny thing, NS... I avoid shelters and campgrounds so I haven't a single bear in the Smokies in all the time I've hiked there.

I did see a juvenile in Shenendoah, tho'...”

“I've done quite a few float trips on Alaska rivers. I've seen grizzlies on every trip; they are magnificent. Since you camp on gravel bars (bear highways), they come through your camp pretty much every night. We have never had any trouble. Of course, these are salmon-stuffed wild grizzlies, not park bears that associate people with food.

People get in trouble when they surprise bears (particularly with cubs). Make noise when hiking in bear country, and take standard food precautions.”

“"By the way it's odd how the bear just pushed on the door the way he did"

i'm sure it was just curiosity, if he wanted us he probably could have had us... but it was curiosity that scared the #&%!$ out of us.”

“Tilt - The odds of an encounter are greater, when the berries are ripe. It was four or five years until my first encounter. But I've have seen many bears since then. And they do visit the backcountry campsites in GSMNP. Walnut Bottoms with CS#37 and CS#36, used to have the greatest concentration of bears.

Now that I usually spend months there each year, my chances of encounters are higher than most hikers.”

“Most all the bears I've seen have been in Big Frog Wilderness in Cherokee NF (Tennessee). It's a real previledge to see them in the wild but I'm still a bit nervous sometimes. I recon that's good though. I'm the only person in the east that uses a bear canister.

nowslimmer
When your at a shelter (without a gate), do you keep your food in it or do you hang it outside away from camp? Do you cook in the shelter?

I live in Tennessee but seldom hike in the Smokys. The National Park Service rules & regulations you to death so I prefer North Georgia or North Carolina (outside the park). State Parks can be a pain in the a$$ sometimes too.”

“.'When your at a shelter (without a gate), do you keep your food in it or do you hang it outside away from camp?'
walkindude

I hang the food pack outside, sometimes the entire pack, with a large plastic bag over it. GSMNP used to have two 8-man shelters w/o a fence. It was necessary to hang the food. Those two shelters are gone.

Now, all but one or two of the 100 backcountry sites in GSMNP have some good, outside hangers for food and backpacks. At the recently remodeled shelters without fences, food and packs can be hung on these outside hangers. At most of the other shelters the outside hangers are now used. (Most of the mouse strings have been removed.)
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'Do you cook in the shelter?'

At the remodeled shelters that I have seen, except at Davonport Gap, a spacious, cooking/eating rail with benches is inside the shelter at the front edge. So, most cooking and eating is done inside.

At the non-remodeled shelters, signs now request that you cook outside. I usually do so, unless it's raining or it is empty and I feel rired or lazy.”

“.'I live in Tennessee but seldom hike in the Smokys.'
walkindude

I've had a lot of enjoyable experiences in GSMNP. You might look at my writing, Losing Myself in the Smokies, Introduction,
that Matt posted.”

“the smokies don't float my boat, either.


and saltlick, what the hell do you think i do every weekend? get eaten? sheeee-it, man. just go do it.”

“In 20+ years out in the woods camping and backpacking I’ve seen 1 bear. Black bears walking down the street in front of my house or through the backyard, lost count long ago, like yesterday morning 6:00 am taking the dog out for a walk, got to the end of the driveway looked down the street and there’s a bear with 2 cubs heading my way down the street on their way to the state forest at the other end of the street, I stopped the three of them stopped we looked at each other for a minute I moved back towards the garage and the 3 of them moved off the street into the woods about 20 yards on the other side of the street. They are awesome to see no matter how many I see them it never gets old.”

“You don't live in the city, do you?”