On Tue, 2 Dec 2003, William Robb wrote: > Since we got the crew, we have done all of our camping in bear areas. It's > seems that BC works best for us, and it's a bear area. > Bears and dogs don't get along so well, and this has had some interesting > effects on our camping experience. > Being awakened be the dogs going off when they are telling a bear that they > are looking after business in their part of the world is pretty exciting. > OTOH, bears are, like most animals, pretty lazy, and will take the path of > least stress. > We don't give them any reason to come near us, and every reason to stay > away. > It's worked so far. > > Smells that will attract a bear to your tent include, but are not limited to > food, cooking smells (don't ever cook close to your tent, even if you are > not in a bear area), some cosmetics (yup, people do take em camping), and > menstruation of all things. > > The black ones are mostly vegetarians, so you generally have to piss them > off somehow to get them to attack you. > The brown ones can be really nasty creatures, and don't take a lot of > provocation to get really piss faced. > > I don't ever really feel safe in grizzly country > > One of the worst things you can get in your tent is a bear cub.
The worst thing that could happen to you out in the back country of BC is to startle a bear. They don't like that :) Best thing to do if you are out in the woods is make noise, they will stay away. If you get bear spray, test it out before you pack it up (too make sure that the spray mechanisim works). I don't recommend bear bangers anymore to reasons below. The bears in BC have started to become smarter, pretty soon they'll be driving cars! In Whistler, they had to make "bear proof" dumpsters because the bears kept getting into them. It only took a day or two for the bears to figure out how to open the new ones! In The East Kootneays of BC, the bears are now attracted to gunfire, because they associate that with a fresh hunting kill. Hunters in the area now have to move their kill ASAP, or else the bears will get them. Luckily for me, they have yet to associate the whir of a fly reel with a freshly caught salmon :) I've been really lucky, I travel the backroads and hike, bike, fish in pretty remote areas and I have yet to come across a bear (knocks on wood). I have seem LOTS of bear tracks and poop. - Chris -- Chris Murray /"\ [EMAIL PROTECTED] \ / ASCII RIBBON CAMPAIGN http://apeman.org/ X AGAINST HTML MAIL Cell: 604.861.8307 / \/ Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments. See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html
