over coming irrationality....

“I had a bear encounter 2yrs ago,nothing major just some tree shaking and woofing. The bear showed up three times around the campsite.Handled the situation much better then I thought I would.This hasn`t stopped me from Interior camping,but it has put a damper on me.I find myself listening for every noise ,imagining it to be a bear(irrational even stupid I know)
My wife and I saw eight bears in three days ,four years ago and that didn`t spook me.Unfortunately this one did.Any way to over come this fear??? and put more joy back into my camping.”

“Black bear or grizzly bear, paddles?”

“Prozac”

“chlorpheniramine maleate 8 mg











fixes your allergy to bears and puts you to sleep at the same time”

“Bitpusher:they were blackbears.I think what spooked me was,this bear made three deliberate attempts to approach,our campsite.I also know someone who had a black bear rip through their tent and paw at one of his friends.Guess I gotta bad case of the jitters.Maybe I should try a solo wknd,see if conquer this parania.”

“It sounds like onr aggressive bear too. Did you ever report this bear?”

“Yeah I did,and they closed the campsite down.Apparently they knew about this bear,and had made some attempts to catch it.I think the biggest problem is that area of the park is heavily used,and not all backcountry campers are LNT.Too many people are willing to haul all kinds of crap into the woods but,aren`t willing to haul it out.I`ve come across sites littered with food , wrappers,beer bottles etc..bears aren`t stupid and they get to know food sources.People don`t seem to realize that their trash could cause someone to be hurt..and cause the death of a beautiful animal.”

“Just keep telling yourself that you are not going to live forever and imagine how manly it would be to die fighting for your life.”

“I have an irrational fear of snakes. It used to paralize me. Now it just paralizes me internally for a moment. Just keep going, it gets easier.”

“It's easy to say, but you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning then being attacked by a bear. Perhaps making an effort to learn more about them will alleviate some fears? They're really very neat animals.”

“I saw a yearling black bear last weekend. It was pretty cool. They usually scare pretty easily, but that one sounds habituated. I hope the Park Service can successfully relocate it before it has to be destroyed.

Learn the best ways to scare bears off. Often just banging your hiking poles together, shouting, and waving your arms over your head is sufficient to scare off a black bear.”

“Paddles, where did this encounter take place? It sounds like a national park, where bears are protected and people leave food where bears can get it. Bears lose fear of humans in this kind of environment.

One solution is to start hiking in national forests, where bears are hunted. They are much more afraid of humans there (for good reason, since humans are at the top of the food chain and bears quickly figure that out).

I always try to avoid areas where there are bear problems these days. Too many people so not follow sound food-handling practices, which adds to the aggressive bear problem.

Another point, and it may not apply, but I will pass it on anyway, is besides hanging food or using bear-proof containers, you should eat well away from your tentsite and be certain you do not get any food on your clothing. Bears will follow the scent, however faint it may seem to us, wherever it leads.”

“What Geobeet said!

1. You are very unlikely to hear a black bear unless it is running or growling. Oops, or eating nuts!

2. There must have been an odor in the tent, on clothing, the body, the sleeping bag or something. Can't use perfume, some medications, etc. Don't even keep a toothbrush in the tent.

But, if you really want a bear, put some sardine oil on your body or clothing!”

“"Prozac"

-- M Silver



"chlorpheniramine maleate 8 mg"

-- HogOnIce



"Better things for better living --- through chemistry."

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (c. 1960)”

“Geobeet it ocurred in a Provincial Park in Ontario.The Park is heavily used.It happens to be my favourite park Algonquin.I try to make it a habit to go into the remoter areas of the park,but this area is one of my wifes favourite areas,we`ve been back since with no problems.Now slimmer we don`t leave food in our tents and dishes are immediately washed after eating ,all foods and personal effects such as deodrant,toothpaste etc.are hung with the food bag.My friend was in a hunt camp when his tent got ripped and entered.”

“"I have an irrational fear of snakes."
- Sassafras


hmmm... I wonder what Freud would have to say about that?”

“Ever paddle Quetico, Paddle?”

“Not yet ,but it`s in the works.I`ve looked it up ,on the Ontario Parks web site.One of these days!!”

“RE: Your problem

Don’t you realize there are no bears? You’re completely delusional. Get a grip.”

“Obviously there must not be hunting allowed in the park and the bears have become aggressive as a result. All you can do is search out areas away from camping haunts and keep your camp as clean as a whistle.

I do wonder sometimes about spilling food or crumbs on my clothing. Doesn't take much for a bear to pick up on it. We eat so absent-mindedly.”

“Hey paddles, let me know before you plan this trip. I can give you several different areas to visit in the park.

I was even thinking about hosting a TT trip up there in a few years.”

“Thanks I`ll keep that in mind.
Ant chance you could E-mail me some info.”

“We have to be careful about spilled food at our local camping spots because you'll be eaten alive by Fire Ants if you don't ---”

“Tilt how far north have the fire ants come.I know my father had problems with them in Alabama.”