Evan Dallas wrote: > Also, many people say that black bears won't bother you as long as: (a) you > don't corner them in any way; (b) you don't get between them and a cub or > their food; (c) you don't have food near you or your camp (other than your > own body, I suppose...); and (d) there aren't any menstruating paddlers > with you. Any informed opinions on how reliable this advice is? I assume > this is NOT true for grizzlies. If true for black bears, would it be ok to > cook food in such a camp, or is it better to eat cold stuff? a, b, c, and d are all good things to follow to MINIMIZE the chances a black bear will hassle you. After 35 years backpacking and yakking in black bear country in WA, OR, WY (some griz territory), ID, NV, and BC, summing up 30-40 nights/year, I calculate about 1100 nights out. I have had **three** encounters with black bears over that time, and in each case, the bear either ignored me (and walked around my camp -- food was out, sausage one time!) or took off like a scalded cat! Mind you, all of these interactions were with bears which were **not** habituated to associate humans with food they like to eat. Bears which are habituated to seek out human encampments as a food source are very different in their behavior. The places I have visited are almost entirely free of bears which might associate humans with food. Even so, by religiously stringing my food up at night and keeping **all** food items out of the tent, I have felt "safe." I also cook in a site maybe 50 - 100 feet away from my tent. Others avoid sleeping in the clothes they were wearing while cooking. I have never taken that precaution. None of this guarantees me freedom from black bear hassles. I'm just playing the odds. So far, I'm winning! -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Mon Aug 16 1999 - 11:56:03 PDT
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