Put all your food in a bag and hang it in a tree folks. Do NOT have food in your tent. Though the article doesn’t say, the chances are good this guy had food.
Even one death is too many, and next time it might be a helpless child. KILL ALL THE BEARS.
ML/NJ
This is why I’m taking you with me should I ever go camping!
If you know #2, do you really have to go through all the investigation in #1?
Don’t camp where bears live!
Camp in a bear’s kitchen and somehow they’re surprised they get chewed on.
Was Mark Sanford in the area?
I’ve run into a number on the AT in Shenendoah. I always carry my Glock 22, just in case. Turned around once and caught a bear cub rummaging through my pack. It took something white out and ran off into the dark. I started chasing it, then I though better of it.
When I got home, I realized it stole my tortillas.
I’m glad he’s ok. It’s a bit interesting for me to see that now because I just started reading A Walk In The Woods, and there were several pages devoted to bear attacks and his fear of encountering a bear on the trail. I’m still pretty early in the book.
BTW: Crazy SOB Wildlife Biologists are deliberately reintroducing Grizzlies to Washington and Oregon National forests.
Terrifying.
Especially since out of state travelers have a very hard time transporting a rifle or handgun thru airport security, fear interstate gun laws, and mat be forbidden to have a firearm in a Nat’l forest or park.
Feds plan to reintroduce grizzly bears in Washington: Oregon ...
www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2015/03/feds... Proxy Highlight
Mar 3, 2015 ... Nobody has seen a grizzly bear in Washington since 1996, but that ... the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park in Gardiner, Mont. ... I would like it better if the Feds would re-introduce them on the west side of the state. .... Historically the grizzly bears of Washington and Oregon were known for being
I’ve hiked the AT through the Smokies about five times. Always (except for once, and that’s another story) made arrangements to sleep in the bear shelters. That kept us safe from bears at night. Only problem in shelters was you had to hang packs in the air to avoid mice. Told those with me not to take any food to bed. One clown did and had a whole in his new pants where he had stashed sunflower seeds. Never knew the mice got his stuff. Panhandling bears are the problem. Do not feed them.
And if you have cached your food safely, and aren't "caching" snacks for midnight, make sure you've cleaned yourself. If you've dripped your dinner over your clothes and don't clean your hands and mouth, hang youself with the food to be safe.
Luckily, Mark Sanford is uninjured ...
I’ve had run in with bears in the the Smokies. The SOB figured out my pack was up a tree and got hold of it. Must have gotten a hold of it and put his weight into it, because it broke the aluminum frame the rope was tied to.
The next morning my gear was scatter up the mountainside.
Have you ever seen a can of ravioli with just tooth marks (about the size of a .22), that was bone dry on the inside?
I have. The damnedest thing I’ve ever seen.
Off topic ?: Is there a place with an overpopulation of black bears and wild hogs where it’s legal to combine both into one hunt? Closer to the west coast would be preferable, but all suggestions welcome :)
I once hiked the ENTIRE width of the Appalachian Trail.