I have just returned from my two week solo trip...unfortunately things did not go as planned. We have a saying here in Alaska the some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you! Well this time the bear got me literally! Looking back at the events I realize now that my mistake was that I got sloppy with my camp habits and cleanliness. While eating dinner I accidently spilled spagetti sause on my leg, rather than really cleaning it off I just wiped up the excess and left it at that. The bear attack came that night while I was asleep. I woke up feeling a pain in my lower leg...at first half asleep I thought it was a leg cramp but then something clicked in my half asleep brain and I realized what was happening; a black bear had either bitten or clawed through the tent mesh door and had grabbed my leg through the sleeping bag and I was now being dragged out of the tent! I tried to kick at the bear but from inside the sleeping bag that was useless. I reached for my gun but it was now out of reach. I grabbed at the tent but that looking back was pretty rediculas. At that point the bear had my leg firmly in its jaws and was pulling my leg like I am pulling yours! Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha.......... Actually I am back safe and sound after a great trip I thought I would just have a little fun before posting the real trip report. Give me a day or so and I post the details of my trip. Bob Sitka P.S. If you didn't like my little joke, well you can just grin and bear it! *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> From: "Rev. Bob Carter" <revkayak_at_ptialaska.net> > Ha,Ha,Ha,Ha.......... > > > Actually I am back safe and sound after a great trip I thought I would > just have a little fun before posting the real trip report. Give me a day or > so and I post the details of my trip. Rev Bob! You tease! Did you get any pictures? ??? Looking forward to the report :-) Cheers, Jackie *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Good one, Bob! You got me! On a serious note though here is a true report of a bear attack in The Smokies some weeks back for any of you that might have missed it. >From National Park Service - Morning Report Monday, May 22, 2000 http://www.nps.gov/morningreport 00-213 - Great Smoky Mountains NP (NC/TN) - Fatal Bear Mauling A woman from Cosby, Tennessee, was killed in a bear attack yesterday evening. The woman and her companion entered the park around noon to fish along the Little River. The man last saw her around 2 p.m. when the couple separated and he went fishing. He went to look for her about an hour later, came upon her day pack, then found her body off the trail. There were two bears at the body, a large adult female and a yearling. Another fisherman hiked to Elkmont campground to report the incident around 5 p.m., and rangers were on scene at 6:05 p.m. Two bears were in the area and rangers shot and killed them. The bears are being taken to the University of Tennessee for necropsies to ensure that they were the animals involved in the attack. As a precautionary measure, park officials have closed backcountry campsites 21, 23, 24 and 30, all of which are in the Little River drainage. The woman's name is being withheld pending notification of family members. A news conference is scheduled for 11 a.m. this morning. This is the first-ever fatality from a black bear attack to occur in the park. [Bob Miller, PIO, GRSM, 5/21] --- Bob Matter Hammond, Indiana *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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