Key piece of gear for Bear Country.

[Hilldweller]

Some scary ****- in Ocala National
Forest we have stumbled on bears twice but fortunately nothing exciting. Came of it . Were going to be running the continental divide trail up-to canada from colorado in a 4x4 but making time for a daily hike as well. The bears up there seem much larger and occasionally much more aggressive than the bears in Florida or north Carolina, so trying to get prepared in the best way possible.

We've hiked trails in northern Alberta down to the Mexican line and, out there, the only thing that actually got in our faces was a pair of elk bulls; another hiker woke them up as they snoozed (remarkably concealed) in some tall grass. Startled the daylights out of us.
A grizzly charged at our Jeep in Glacier but I just punched it and went. Ran into a ranger a few minutes later that was on his trail. Ranger said, "good you left; that's a bad bear..."

The rest of the griz and black bears we've seen didn't give us any notice. They were usually just foraging weren't interested in a fuss. But, then again, we don't give them any reason to fuss.
Keep a very clean camp, make noise as you hike, maintain situational awareness.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

I added an air horn to my bear arsenal as its proved effective in the past.

Most bear spray is said to be good at 10-15' but when you consider a bear can run at ~35mph or 50' a second I dont like the timing needed.

 

[Hilldweller]

I forgot the air horn; that's on the headboard in our teardrop. Haven't had to use it.
Almost all black bears seem to avoid us when we've got the dog along. Bears are hunted around here like crazy and I don't think that makes the bears overly fond of dogs.

 

[Needin'Advice]

So living in southeast ohio, there isn't much concern for bears, but somehow it has seemed to come up a lot lately in my life.

A coworker of mine is heading out to Glacier this summer and my brother works out in the park system there. So I was asking my brother about some good hikes for him and his family. He suggested a few, but stressed the importance of having bear spray and knowing how to use it.

Then I was talking, just the other night, with a women from here that heads down into Virginia and the Carolinas to hike and she said something about using wasp spray instead of bear spray. She even said that many people like it better and that is what she has been carrying. A quick internet search will help you make a determination on that idea!

So anyway, I thought I would check in with my brother and see what his overall thoughts were on the topic. Here is his response to me(a bit long, but beneficial, I believe):

"Do not use wasp spray."

"Most of the cans I have are a brand called Counter-Assault. It is also what the park issues employees upon request. There is another popular brand called UDAP. Never carried that but I think it is essentially the same. Basically it comes down to how much irritant (capsaicin) is in the can and how much propellant is in the can. I carry an 8 ounce/7 second can. Some brands make a regular and a larger size. I also have a brand from wally world or some other box store that a visitor left with a ranger who in turn gave it to me. Still in the original package! I think it is called Frontier or something like that."

" I have a small fortune in bear spray - they go about 40-50 bucks a can. I probably have six or seven cans. I could probably loan one or two out. Also, you can rent bear spray now at a few places if you don't want to buy it. I think that appeals to the flying tourists, cause you can't take that stuff on a plane."

"I have sprayed bear spray before, but not at a bear. Not at anything really. I just wanted to see what it was like. Think real small fire extinguisher. They do make practice cans with no irritant in them. "

"Finally, I have been drifted by bear spray a couple times. Even the slightest whiff of the stuff is really nasty. It works."

Hope that is of use to some people. He also included of few pictures from his hikes. But I can't seem to get the second one to work...

 

[Ballbearing]

What about those portable electric fences? They seem like a good idea to set up around camp or around a vehicle/camper.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Bravo30]

we were camping out at Hickory Run State Park in PA one weekend and had an encounter. Cant say for sure what it was but this park has a history of black bear problems. I remember the night cause we couldn't sleep due to the cold and rain. our tent leaked so there was a puddle of water down by our doberman who was under a few wool blankets. He wasn't getting up for anything! later that night it was one of those weird moments even to this day that i cant believe happened but it did. i remember sitting there not being able to sleep when i saw what i would say very closely resembled a large fist slowly pushing in on the tent about 8-10''. a few seconds later it backed out. at the time i looked over at my gf and she wide awake looking at the same thing i was so i know it wasnt just me. Meanwhile dog was asleep lol... anyway i didn't like that experience. a few weeks later a boy scout got drug out of his tent and chewed up a bit in the same area.

In Pa were on top of the food chain for the most part but in a few weeks were leaving for an extended road trip where that will no longer be the case. i ordered some bear spray for the trip an plan on carrying an appropriate sidearm but more importantly, i need to work on my attitude for this trip. after living in Pa my entire life ive become somewhat relaxed about 4 legged critters. things are going to be different once we get out west and up to yellowstone etc etc.

 

[Midnightsun]

I grew up in Alaska and lived there most my life. I've encountered quite a few griz and black bears being out and about. Good dog is all you need they will tell you exactly what's going on around you. I always carried rifle never once used it in my defense. Bear goes one way I go the other. Bear spray ,shotgun and pistols I love to watch that especially a 50 cal pistol mentioned in earlier post you'd split your forehead open with it. They are short range weapons and won't do anything to a bear except piss him off. Just walk off dif direction

 

[SameGuy]

https://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X

First, arm yourself with knowledge. Parts of the book are a little dry but overall a good reference. Part of the book is an outline of different incidents and what caused them. Sadly many fatalities occur from keeping a dirty campsite and not storing food properly, or doing the wrong thing when encountering a bear.

 

[Peneumbra2]

Bear repellent spray is also dandy for "correcting" people who cut in line at movie theaters and the like.

 

[DCH109]

So I have backpacked all over BC and have been in bear country more than I can count. I have been feet from black bears and black bears and their cubs. I have had a grizzly walk between my tent and my buddies to the point the tent sides bowed from his/her girth. Never had a problem, never carried bear spray. Easy enough, most of the area I hiked has little to no people and we never kept food or even the clothes we cooked in, in the tent.

Now I live in the US, backpack less and will be taking my kids out. As it seems many people are pigs (garbage just thrown where they stand) and lots of places are getting over crowded, I find bears are a larger issue.

I do not use a cooler, I use a fridge and any food that can be is either in a bear proof container outside of the vehicle or hung. I am even debating moving to a yeti style cooler and away from the fridge to keep any possibility of a bear deciding that my vehicle is an adventure ride.

I do have Bear spray, but have never used it and hope if i ever do the bear is down wind. When I started camping and backpacking, grizzly or black bear, we were always told to drop any food we had, do not make eye contact and backup slowly and away from the food and bear. So far I have lived and have had to do this about 5 or 6 times. Once I was real pissed as I was dirt biking and had to give up my sandwich, it was a real good sandwich.

 

[rickc]

Sage words DCH109 though I think you meant to write the "clothes we cooked in"; me too if I'm in bear country. My job (one of them), when island hopping many summers with a bunch of kayaks and canoes was to remind everyone immediately after dinner, before it got too dark and they got too drunk, to throw their food bag ropes over a good branch and get the goodies up and away from bears and (sometimes worse) raccoons. Another thing I tend to do because it makes sense to me, is not cook overly smelly meals and if fires are permitted, I burn all scraps and used paper towels and don't leave anything out that is still food-contaminated. This all sounds like common sense but I've seen so many other wilderness campers doing it all wrong. Gotta love those Drifta pull-out truck kitchens but they make your truck smell of cooked food. Aussies don't have bears to worry about.

 

[BobsCreek]

Other than the nightmare inducing "drop bears" :-D

 

[Scrapdaddy]

I'm with Ballbearing, sitting up an electric fence around camp. We use them for our goat herd and they do work well.

 

[AbleGuy]

You might be interested in reading this current story about how effective bear spray really is:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/bear-researcher-dream-job-attacked-grizzly-55360950

This calm thinking gal in the Montana wilds drove off an attacking bear that was already on her and chewing on her head, with just her bear spray!

 

[DCH109]

@rickc thanks and fixed.

Never had an issue with food that was hung. I have seen others that did with mice and a pack rat. That big grizzly that walked into our camp just enjoyed some of the left overs that someone in our group did not clean properly in pot.