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  1. #1
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    Would you knowingly hang by a Bear marked tree

    This evening I am wondering if I should be feeling lucky.

    Friday evening when I finished work it was closer to drive to the extended family's hunting cabin in Pocahontas County, WV than it was to drive home. If you are familiar with the area the cabin is about 6 miles from Cass or to the Nat. Radio Astronomy Observatory. My brother-in-law and his family and some friends had arrived earlier in the day planning to do some motorcycle touring in the area over the holiday weekend. My father-in-law has owned the property since the early 60s. Originally it was a crude affair a 3 room building with an out house and water from a spring in the woods. Twenty years ago it was upgraded to two story house with four bed rooms, half basement, running water and two bathrooms and 3 showers. A wood burning furnace replaced the potbelly stove. No a/c but its usually not needed. There is also another building in which several people can sleep. When the whole extended family, including cousins and family friends all go up at the same time it can be crowded.

    Rather than sleep inside in either of the two unoccupied bedrooms I opted to hang my hammock in the woods at the edge of the back yard. Something I have done a few times before. When I went out to hang my hammock on the same trees I usually use I noticed one of the trees adjacent to the trees I hang from looked like it had been marked by a bear. No claw or canine marks. Just bark missing from 2 feet up to about 6 feet high. Bears had never been around the immediate area before so I dismissed the possibility and reasoned the tree damage must be from some other cause. Though there are certainly a lot bears in Pocahontas County. In 2010 Pocahontas County had the highest payments in the state for bear damage or nuisance complaints, just a bit over $18,000. Previously the largest confrontation with wild life at the family cabin was when a family of skunks decided to establish a home under the tool shed a few years ago. The negotiations about ownership were rather interesting. ; - )

    Anyway, I set up my WBBB and OES tarp and spent a pleasant night, testing out a HH XL Radiant pad for bottom insulation. Which worked well. Temps were probably high 50s to low 60s over night.

    When I arrived home my wife asked which bedroom I slept in. I replied none of them because I slept out back in my my hammock at the edge of the woods. She said I guess I didn't tell you that there is a bear in the area. Friends who live in the area had called earlier in the spring to say a bear is in the area and has been causing some property damage and when some of the family had been there earlier in the spring to mow the grass and check if everything was ok after the winter months they found bear crap in the yard. In late November the cabin is closed for the winter and generally no one goes there from late Nov until April.

    Only then did I realize that the damaged tree has indeed been marked by a bear. I think I would have rather remained in the dark about this. I doubt I will be able to sleep as soundly again hanging behind the cabin. Knowing not only is a bear in the immediate area but he has decided to mark a tree that is only 3 feet from the trees I hang from. I am wondering just which side of the tree does Mr Bruin claim as his territory and does he walk the boundary line at night. From what I've read about bear marked trees they seem to mark trees that are a along a path they frequently travel. Now its sleep inside or concentrate on forgetting the jokes about a hammock being a bear burrito. ; - )

  2. #2
    Senior Member TinaLouise's Avatar
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    Wow!! I enjoyed reading your post!!
    Well first I'd say, you spent the weekend hanging and you slept well. It sounds like you shared the bear's space and he left you alone. At least you weren't hanging from the actual tree the bear had marked. If you decide to continue to hang in this spot, I'd say, don't have any smelly's on you or in your hammock. Hang just like you would if you were backpacking.
    There's a boy scout camp that I go to regularly and during the very early part of the year, when momma bear's and their cubs start roaming about, I've seen bear tracks of momma and baby there. I still hang. But I'm very carefull to not have any smellys at my campsite. Now come summer when there's wild boy scouts all over the place, the bears move out. I would think that this also happens at your cabin when all your folks come around. The bear probably backs off a bit and just waits for you'all to leave.

  3. #3
    Senior Member MedicineMan's Avatar
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    We hang in the Smokies fairly often and never give it a thought.

  4. #4
    Senior Member WV's Avatar
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    I lived outdoors in Pocahontas County from 1984 to 1992, and still live "next door" in Greenbrier County. As you know, along with our healthy population of bears, we're well supplied with bear hunters, and the balance between them has been satisfactory. I've hung near trees marked by bears and never had a problem. A bear that's a nuisance around settled areas is something to watch out for, but here it's most likely that it would run off at the first sign that a person was present. A dog is a good friend to have with you, too.
    Last edited by WV; 05-27-2012 at 09:39.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Dblcorona's Avatar
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    I hung in the Porcupine Mountains in an area that a bear was being a nuisance. I just marked the area fairly well and never had any problem.

    Sounds like a cool place to hang though.
    "We don't stop hiking because we grow old,
    we grow old because we stop hiking."

    -- Finis Mitchell,

  6. #6
    Senior Member djminnesota's Avatar
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    I think id rather go down as a bear burrito than pancake... buritos are better
    The Urban Outdoorsman- inspiring people to get out and enjoy the great outdoors

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  7. #7
    Senior Member olzeke's Avatar
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    Twice I have quietly watched a bear walked by me while I was in my tent, in the days before I was a hanger. In each instance, the bear was just happening by in the predawn light. I watched in awe, and wonder, but never felt threatened. Humans are not on their diet, but sometimes we get in the way of something else and things happen. If it was me, I would be sure to pee on the trees I hang from, and some others in the immediate area, maybe staking out your claim as far as you feel comfortable. Might be fun to set up a camera on your trees and see what the bear's reaction is.

  8. #8
    SnrMoment's Avatar
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    I tend to be very careful about bear markings, regardless if it's black bear or grizzly. Grizz tend to reach a lot higher. Young ones like to climb.

    Love is blind. Marriage is an eye opener.

  9. #9
    Senior Member GT's Avatar
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    Bears are nice people.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by WV View Post
    I lived outdoors in Pocahontas County from 1984 to 1992, ..... I've hung near trees marked by bears and never had a problem. A bear that's a nuisance around settled areas is something to watch out for, but here it's most likely that it would run off at the first sign that a person was present. A dog is a good friend to have with you, too.

    Good to know that you have camped near bear marked trees and had no problem. There's a good chance the bear never came along that night.

    Usually when I hang behind the cabin I am awakened in the morning when dogs from the neighborhood spot my hammock in the early dawn and decide to bark at the unknown thing hanging in the trees and moving about from time to time.

    The first face to face encounter I ever had with a black bear was at Black Water Falls Park many years ago. I was out motorcycle touring and had camped at the camp ground to the right when you enter the park.

    The next morning I thought I'd walk to the lodge for breakfast. After walking a fair distance I decided the lodge was farther than I remembered and decided to walk back to the camp ground and ride the mc out to the lodge. Only to find on the return walk a black bear walking toward me on the road. After about 30 seconds of trying to decide what to do, turn around or leave the road to him, a car approached from behind the bear and he turned and went down hill into the woods. In the general direction of a couple of hikers I had seen start their hike. Maybe the hikers had a bit of excitement that morning too.

    Later that day I stopped at the Cranberry Visitor Center and discussed the encounter with them. I was assured that most times black bears will run away from humans. The worrying part is "most times". There is always that 10%-er bear who may turn out to be aggressive.

    There's always the option, as suggested, to down some suds or tea an hour before turning in and mark my own border like Charles Martin Smith ( aka Farley Mowat) in the movie "Never Cry Wolf" - at the 5:15 time mark ( unfortunately poor video quality)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xQ3d...eature=related

    ; - )

    The best thing is not to worry about it too much. If one gets to thinking to much about scary things in the dark you end up staying inside all the time. I will just take the view that the tree marking is intended for other bears or other forest creatures.

    I was just surprised to learn of the presence of a bear in the immediate area after 40 + years of going there. In 1969 I was dating the girl I eventually married, its her parents camp, and we were at the camp when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. There was no television there at the time and we could only listen to the moon landing on the radio. So I've been going there for a long time.

    Andrew Skurka had an interesting encounter with 2 grizzly bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge park this spring. One caution - AS used the S-word in the title and in the description of the encounter. When I was young but old enough to start thinking I could start using some of the words I heard adults using and get away with it. My grandfather would say " You just had something in your mouth I would not want to hold in my hand". So I never developed the habit of using that word and never use it. Thus a little reluctant to post the link. But it's kinda funny and informative - 1:39 in length.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtsI1...2&feature=plcp

    Thanks for all the other replies. And the great painting of the bear. ; -)
    Last edited by DavidWa; 05-30-2012 at 18:39. Reason: misspelling of one word

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