[kanawa]

Watch out for bears, they can do you in

While I've seen bears many times there have been only two times that have concerned me.
Once, three Springs ago the dog and I were walking a trail in the same park as above when,
not 12 feet in front of us, a bear came barreling out of the brush onto the trail
and high-tailed it down the path, thankfully away from us.
While I was caught a bit flat-footed, my dog's instincts kicked in and he started to give chase.
With some anxiety I gave the command to halt and was pleased when he obeyed.
Since then I've been more aware of the need to make enough noise to warn of our approach.
I've taken to shouting out, "NO BEARS ALLOWED" at regular intervals. ;~)

The second occurrence while not directly affecting me made me realize the seriousness of the potential danger.
Last August I had spent 2 weeks of remote travel in the Missinaibi Lake area of northern Ontario.
After a week of my return home a report came through of a woman being killed by a bear in a location I had passed through on my journey...link
The woman's husband had frantically tried to fight off the bear with a Swiss Army knife.

While a predatory bear is a rarity, this event convinced me to be better prepared.
While a gun is not an option at this point,
(and in the area mentioned not allowed, being part of the Chapleau Game Preserve)
I'm not going to be left with a Swiss Army knife as a means of defense.
I was considering an 8" but settled for this 6" Buck knife,
made in the good ol' U.S. of A.

That would be my final line of defense,
may not save me but I'd like to put some hurt on him as I go down.
Probably never need it but I'd sure feel foolish if I did and didn't have it.
My first defense, hopefully only for nuisance bears, is a compressed air horn,
followed by bear-bangers and pepper spray.
The dog may help as a deterrent as well.

[Candor7]

If you want to be prepared for being cornered by a bear, and can't have a gun, then a spear is the next best thing to have. There is an inexpensive hollow handled knife which you can make into a spear by mounting it on a stout sappling, and you can use the butt of the spear to pole your canoe across shallows. After the spear the next best thing is an axe.

When you get into the deep wilderness, bears can spell trouble, and its good to be prepared. One is usually not much of a problem but if two or three of them get onto your camp/food scent, they will hound you mercilessly.This problem is compounded by some campers who feed bears, so they learn to hang out waiting for canoists. I favor this hollow handled knife , simply because it can easily be made into a spear from any straight sappling, and it offers formidable protection against a bear.

Two men each with a spear could easily kill a bear, well not easily, it would be work. I usually make my spear the first day out and it doubles as a canoe pole and hiking staff.Two are better than one.I try to make it 6 to 7 feet long. I keep it handy at night by thrusting the butt end of the spear into the ground outside my tent door. The blade comes with a cordura sheath and doubles as a knife until you make a spear of it. Costs about 20 bucks, and is available from many suppliers, I use SMKW , Smokey Mountain knife works. This knife could save your life, it is called the " Cold Steel Bushman", 12-1/4 inches overall, with a seven inch razor sharp blade: