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  1. #1
    Senior Member Knotty's Avatar
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    Shenandoah National Park: Bears & Converts

    My daughter and son-in-law were headed down to Greensboro, NC from NJ last friday and decided to do Skyline Drive in Shenandoah NP and car camp along the way.

    Before entering the park they met a thru hiker who was suffering from the heat, so they gave him a ride to Front Royal to find a hotel with pool. His name is Hybrid and he had just recently moved up from the ground to a hammock. Hopefully we'll see him on the forum.

    Once in the park they ran into three bears; papa bear, momma bear and baby bear. Oh wait, that's a different story.

    Two bears were roadside and totally unafraid of cars and people. The third was on a trail. Again, it could care less about people and they had a hard time getting it to move along so they could pass. Between the heat and the bold bears they decided not to camp and just drove straight to NC.

    Being from northwestern NJ, the kids are no strangers to bears but what bothered them was that the ones they ran into had no fear of humans at all. They also knew that Turtle Feet had her hammock trashed by a bear in this area last month.

    Forget the lions and tigers, its just "bears oh my!"
    Knotty
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  2. #2
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
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    Its an unfortunate situation because sooner or later trouble happens. Worlds colliding. Around here their gone in a flash. Glad the kids played it safe.
    " The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."

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  3. #3
    Senior Member Mancat's Avatar
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    Where were they when they saw the bears? I am planning a trip in September and I am trying to avoid the places where there have been incidents. Bearfence is one of the areas I am avoiding.
    "If animals could speak the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow, but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much."
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  4. #4
    Senior Member R00K's Avatar
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    We had the silver back mountain foxes at Mt Rainer walk right up to the car and beg for food like a dog. It was very interesting to see such a rare animal up close, but a shame when you realize how dangerous it is for both the animal and the hikers.
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  5. #5
    Senior Member Knotty's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mancat View Post
    Where were they when they saw the bears? I am planning a trip in September and I am trying to avoid the places where there have been incidents. Bearfence is one of the areas I am avoiding.
    Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
    Knotty
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  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mancat View Post
    Where were they when they saw the bears? I am planning a trip in September and I am trying to avoid the places where there have been incidents. Bearfence is one of the areas I am avoiding.
    That's not the only recent incident at Bearfence. When my wife and I section hiked the park recently, Bearfence was closed due to a bear shredding a thru hiker's tent. Rumor on the trail was that he was pretty careless with his food storage. We were sent to the campground nearby were we were given free sites. A pretty raucous party ensued.

    Miguel

  7. #7
    Senior Member Fronkey's Avatar
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    I'm still waiting for my day with a bear. But, I sure don't want to run into a mother and her cub. Your daughter was smart to move on.

    Fronkey

  8. #8
    I went through the Shenandoahs in late May during my AT thru and I was really surprised at how habituated the animals were. Deer wouldn't run away until you were literally a foot away from them, and I had a overly-friendly bear attempt to approach me while I was setting up my hammock late one night at Pinefield Hut. It came down from the hill to the right of the shelter, and kept inching closer and closer, even when I shined my headlamp in its face and yelled at it. After yelling for about 2 minutes straight (and waking everybody up—what a great way to make friends!) it kind of shrugged its shoulders and slowly made its way back up the hill. It's too be expected, I suppose; animals will lose their fear of humans if they aren't hunted.

  9. #9
    Crash's Avatar
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    Knotty, have a good trip anyway!

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