A scout with candy in his tent got mauled last month, then this weekend a scout sleeping in a tent near a picnic table with Koolaid on it gets mauled:
http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbc...5002/-1/NEWS01
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?se...rld&id=5707606
do not cook under your tarp in bear country in the month before hibernation begins because bears have only one focus during this time - find food.
People never think it will happen to them and don't follow the basic rules about food; shame really.
On the upside, it looks like the scout in the most recent attack just got a good scare and no permanent damage.
I've been to Hickory Run State Park before, even hung there. There was another attack in the same park about 1 1/2 - 2 years ago. That one there were 3 people, 1 woman and 2 men. They kept their food in a tent that they were not sleeping in. During the day, she went back to get something and the bear was in the food tent, she startled it and then ran. Yeah, she got mauled, luckily the 2 men were able to get it off her. One of the men got attacked also but they all survived.
Really you shouldn't cook at camp at all. You should cook an hour or so before you get to camp, to be the safest.
Well, I think 150 yards away would be enough, but if you use your tarp even an hour before, you defeat the purpose.Originally Posted by lvleph
The biggest part of safety is common sense. That said, we took a troop of boy scouts through the Smokies on Lakeshore Trail in June and they would not listen to us when we told them about cooking in camp. It was a constant battle.
It's even worse when you are out with adults and you feel like you are having to be a "dad" with them because they don't want to follow basic safety rules with food in camp. I don't get why anyone would not be willing to hang their food, especially when (as in GSMNP) bear cables are provided at every campsite!!
This fall campers should be particularly careful. The dry conditions this year have caused a lack of the hard and soft mast the bears usually eat on leading up to there pre-hibernation gorging. So you have bears which are even more desperate for calories and they are being more aggressive this year. Of course I can only speak to my area so YMMV.
http://wvhighlands.org/wv_voice/?p=343
That's a great link. Thanks.
"Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities." - Mark Twain
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” - John Burroughs
I hear you. Been there done that with "adult" beginner campers... The worst group only got one trip. I refused to camp with them after that.
Its really frustrating when they ask you to take them out and teach them about it because they know they don't know anything. But then they don't listen to you anyways and make stupid mistakes that are potentially fatal, but refuse to accept that it might be so. You know people like that are destined to become statistics sooner or later.
Even experienced people can be attack - for example, the Treadwells - http://www.katmaibears.com/grizzly-attack.htm
and check out this video of a party of hunters being attacked by a bear:
http://www.fieldandstream.com/fields...542449,00.html
Granted they were grizzly attacks, but black bears exhibit similar behavior - especially when on an eating binge or with cubs.
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