Re: [Paddlewise] Bear Bags

From: "David Seng" <daveseng_at_acsalaska.net>

>   Our bears here in SE Alaska tend not to be "smart" (habituated to
> people) unless they live in town and forage through the garbage cans!  I
> think that if I paddled or camped in areas with more people (and thus
> more ursine habituation to our bad habits) that I'd opt to use a bear
> canister. 

I think this is a key distinction.  Many folks who criticize this or 
that approach to bears usually don't consider the subtle difference
between bears that are familiar with humans and those that are not.
What you can get away with in true wilderness won't necessarily work
in areas where wilderness and cottages are mixed.  

I've been nose-to-nose with a black bear in Jasper NP and seen lots of
bears out west - they tend to be afraid of people.  I've only seen 
one bear in Ontario, right outside Killbear Provincial Park, in the 
heart of decent kayaking territory.  He was foraging in the town
dump!  These bears are not afraid of people in quite the same way
and I'm more afraid of him.

Cliff Jacobsen's approach of leaving food on the ground off the beaten
track may work in true wilderness where bears are used to following 
specific paths looking for natural food, but I bet it wouldn't work 
in some parks where people are careless and bear problems more
common.  In the latter case, the bears look all over the campsite 
for food.

By the way, you have to be very careful in assuming that the bear 
can't smell the food in your gear.  While you may be ok on the first
day, opening and closing the food bags while preparing meals will
tend to transfer the scent to the outside of the bags over time.
Bears have lots more nose than you do.  If you want to test this,
try offering your food bag to the friendly, neighborhood, garbage
bag destroying, food crazy dog and see how he reacts.

I'm willing to bet that most bear problems are "avoided" by luck rather
than skill.  They are rare enough that just because it didn't happen
doesn't mean it can't or won't happen and doesn't mean that the 
precautions taken actually worked.  Take care!

Mike

***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed
here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire
responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author.
Submissions:     PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net
Subscriptions:   PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************