overcoming nerves in bear country

“Hey all been a very long while since I was last on this forum,used to hang a lot here until about six years ago.

Anyway I`d found a new hobby,cycling and kinda got away from the backpacking, canoe camping thing.

Last time I was out, this is a few years back,I had a bear encounter,some tree shaking,barking at me etc..the same bear also wandered into my campsite three times.Fortunately nothing happened but it has left me a little nervous about going back out.

My wife and I are headed out to Algonquin Park for some canoe camping,starting Tuesday and I`m feeling a little apprehensive (wimpy I know) and I`m just wondering if there`s any thing I can do to calm the jitters.The bears are bad up there this year apparently,and I`d like my trip to be relaxing not full of stress,any suggestions ?

I have bear spray and old olive oil barrels for hanging the food in.
last edited: 8/05/07 6:47:07 PM”

“Be sure to take someone you can outrun.”

“Get one of those bear dogs?

Get a really big gun?”

“Look at bear statistics online. You'll see you're relatively safe. That should calm the nerves.

Make more noise next time out.”

“drink until you don't worry about it any more.Make sure you pee on your tent to let the bear know it's your territory. Might be a good idea to pee on the wife too, just to be on the safe side.”

“I see things haven`t changed much here over the years !!

Nigal and tarprat are still here I see.

Spirit coyote pee on your own wife,think i`ll stick to other methods thanks.”

“what sarge said generally works for me. look at it this way, youve had a seriously major bear encounter, which is more than most backpackers ever have, so youre not due to have one ever”

“algonquin this time of year, i'd be more worried about the ridiculous heat and humidity, as well as the stupid bugs. wear a headnet”

“if you get yourself covered head to foot in black flies will bears still bother you?”

“In all seriousness...get a bear can if you are concerned at all. Put everything in that at night. Put it some distance from your tent or sleeping bag (if you sleep out) and you will sleep like a baby. I camp in bear country almost exclusively....I've seen them but never lost any food. Now where is that wood to knock on?”

“I agree with the bear can! I love mine, though heavy, its worth it's weight, even against clever raccons.”

“I should know this park is ontario? should I know if you're talking about black bears or grizzly? Should I know if this park has habituated bears?

Where were you when you had this aggressive encounter and why didn't you spray the #&%!$er?

You overcome your fear by doing it.”

“i heart my bearikade. a little extra weight is worth not going thru the trouble of hanging at night”

“not that this really has t do anything with algonquin, but it is on topic: i once read a stat that there has never been a fatal grizzly attack on a group of 4 or more, and no attack of any kind on a group of 7 or more

there has also never been an unprovoked wolf attack on the north american continent”

“Never?”

“I want one of those bearikade but too expensive. I have the bear vault. Works good for lot's of things. Worth the weight!”

“How's about 'provoked'?


Yep --- I'll put in a vote for the bear can also.  It's worth the extra weight to me just not having to screw with hanging a bear bag.”

“maybe that wolf stat should read "fatality" and not "attack". cmb knows more about it”

“i'm thinking before my next long hike, i'll get an ursack. are those back on the market, or is there still the kevlar shortage due to the war?”

“I don't like bear cans,I have one and will use it if I have to, but I prefer hanging. Bear Baggin' will become a lost art, kinda like bunting in Baseball ;-)”

“Xanax”

“After your experience, it's natural for you to have a little trepidation in bear country. I'd be more concerned if you didn't. It's just like falling off a horse, get back on and, over time, the fear will likely diminish.”

“my wife can't wait for fall to come so we can get into the Ouachita's for campin, but since folks keep telling her of the bears there, she's gettin shy......guess I'll have to drug her and drag her along.....”

“Yep --- I'll put in a vote for the bear can also. It's worth the extra weight to me just not having to screw with hanging a bear bag.”
Tilt
10:00:07 PM
8/05/07

..you are just afraid of hitting yourself in the head with a ROCK!!!!!!”

“(That too!)”

“YOu know I always camp away from the group, and right before I go to sleep I drip some bacon drippings around the other people's tents....seems to work for me.

LOL..actually I do the bear bagging routine.”

“Where do you live, Seawalrus?

While we are all really safe statistically, bears can be a problem in Algonquin.

I bought a Bearikade canister and a bigger pack to carry it in; if I had the Ursack I'd still hang it.

Good luck,

Doug”

““not that this really has t do anything with algonquin, but it is on topic: i once read a stat that there has never been a fatal grizzly attack on a group of 4 or more, and no attack of any kind on a group of 7 or more

there has also never been an unprovoked wolf attack on the north american continent”
crash bang
8:43:20 PM
8/05/07


http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1157580611668&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1112101662670”

“Where do you live, Seawalrus?


I live I St.Thomas,Ontario.

We`re headed into a heavily used area of the park,I`ve seen the mess weekend campers leave behind.That`s my biggest concern.I don`t have a bear canister,just old olive oil barrels that I hang.”

“Trash + Bears = Trouble.”

“that`s a big problem for algonquin.”

“well, nct, i heard that factoid long before that article came out. and like i said, it may have been fatality, and not attack”

“This is what you wrote:

there has also never been an unprovoked wolf attack on the north american continent”
crash bang
8:43:20 PM
8/05/07
Google wolf attacks and see what comes up. Your way off base, with this comment.”

“You want confidence. Your experience will help you--as you have already met one bear and survived the experience.

I don't think that it's statistically true, and perhaps the stats tt'ers can correct me if I am incorrect, but just because you've already had one encounter in no way means that you are less likely to have another encounter.

Perhaps you should consider an anti-bear spray. It's lighter than a food storage container, costs less, and protects you beyond the bear who wants just your food.

For example try:
http://www.udap.com/”

“hay SW! we're practically neighbours! i'm over in Hyde Park/NW London!

what trail are you doing in algonquin? me and CB were up there last year - not a single bear in sight(they were all scared off by his hiker stench)
last edited: 8/06/07 4:17:18 PM”

“VALUM!”

“jesus christ, nct, call the lupine anti-defamation league, then, if you feel that strongly about it”

“how about "DOCUMENTED, unprovoked, by a HEALTHY WILD NON DOG-HYBRID" wolf attack. got any?

oops. wait. i got ONE
last edited: 8/06/07 5:10:08 PM”

“First fatal wolf attack recorded in North America?
HOTLINE - February 6, 2006 by Sarah Gilman
Conservationists have long assuaged the public’s fear of wolves by saying that there have been no documented instances of a healthy wild wolf killing a human being in North America. Until now, that is.


http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=16084

so until just a year and a half ago, i was right (about fatalities, not attacks) and theyre not even sure if wolves are the culprits, and if they are, its because of idiot humans leaving trash out, allowing the wolves to lose their fear of humans

so my comment was not "way off base", as you assert. i should have clarified, however. thank you for showing me the error of my ways”

“Who is "Valum" and how does he/she help?”

“Well I remembered my old name on this forum and the password so I`ll go with it....Paddles.

I already have bear spray,started taking it out just before I stopped the camping thing.It`s going with me tomorrow.

Yah know I`ve had a wolf encounter as well, and it hasn`t left me nervous,but the bear thing I don`t know...guess tomorrow will be the test.

I think part of it is the Algonquin Park factor,heavy use by careless,thoughtless party animals who leave their garbage every where,not considering the next guy camping there.

I can remember being 5 days out on the Western Uplands and coming across,unbelievable messy sites.

We`re not going that far in to the interior ,and anything within 4 hours walking distance sees heavy traffic,increasing the risk of bear encounters.Bears know where the easy food is.Guess that`s my biggest fear.”

“i have been trying to spot wolves in Wisconsin for years now... only scat, tracks, cries, and the remains of deer. yellowstone pays millions to re-introduce wolves and they just walk into Wisconsin on their own. amazing! i am certain they know i am there long before i ever have a chance to spot them.”

“yea, its rather ironic, that because of the stupidity of humans, youre actually safer the more remote you get (response to paddles)
last edited: 8/06/07 5:38:45 PM”

“Diazepam!

I think Spam is putting in a vote for "Better Living through Chemistry"  LOL
last edited: 8/06/07 5:52:43 PM”

“Okay so I don't know how to spell it but isn't it made to calm nerves?”

“so is bourbon”

“Well let me tell you this and maybe you will find some usefull advice about your concerns. Not sure where it is your going, but if the bears are black, they scare away easy, a small fog horn will work, or something like that, a loud whistle. Or a cap gun. The idea should be to scare them away not draw them in close. Now if this is brown bear country, same idea would help, but these critters are alittle more dangerous as they become aggressive quite easy. Bear spray works under certain conditions some of the time. But it is a close range device at best, so in this case, I would also be wearing a 6 inch fixed blade, and have a pistol on the hip too. If you want total peace of mind, be prepared to kill the bear, when needed. A dog would be most usefull in keeping the bears on noticed, if it was the type of dog that would tangle with a bear. And you could just not worry and most likely will not encounter a bear. I know the best thing to do, but its up to each of us to decide, I carry a 44mag. Heavy but no fear of bears either. You will be using a boat so weight is not that big of a issue.”

“if the bears are black, they scare away easy

racist!”

“I have Lorazepam. 1mg/pill. Made me feel like ass for a day but I adjusted quickly.”

“At least I didn't leave the country. lol,”