As previously mentioned, hang everything with an odor (excluding your hiking partner ) plus I carry a can a bear spray which should be a good deterrent for most any predator. I've never needed to use it.
As previously mentioned, hang everything with an odor (excluding your hiking partner ) plus I carry a can a bear spray which should be a good deterrent for most any predator. I've never needed to use it.
When I am out in the Pineys I just try and stay aware of my surroundings. When I pitch camp the usual precautions are taken .... store food away. Toothpaste too.
Never camp on an animal trail or path.
I am noisy!
Other than that I try not to worry about it. It is their hood ...... so I try to have that Dr. DooLittle vibe. I say "Hey" to rabbits and squirrels and hope the word get passed along that I am there in the woods to enjoy. So far .... I have had good luck.
Shug
Whooooo Buddy)))) All Secure in Sector Seven
Doesn't but the OP mentioned human predators ... always more of a concern than critters where I usually camp. So stealth solves all the issues and makes for a peaceful campsite. Yogi ain't going to hang around for my poots or the guys I usually hike with! Heck we nearly can't ourselves sometimes!
Sig is nice!
Now that's funny ... going to pass that along to my daughter in her first year of law school!
Best advice given yet! Big thumbs up!
WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.
"A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin
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I live in southern Ontario, and always have black bears in mind when out in the back country. No big cats, which is a good thing.
In the decades I've been canoeing/camping I've had the fortune of never seeing a bear, although I'm sure they've been to visit. We Canadians are a gentler lot and don't usually go in for the carrying of pistols into the wilds. I'd be way more scared of people carrying guns than any animals I might encounter. Now in the far north, in Polar Bear territory, that's be a different situation, and that would call for rifles or shotguns.. But I digress...
Basically a recap of what's been said..
As for booby traps… ah well, the most I might do is drag a small dead tree with lots of branches to each end of my tarp. It gives me the illusion that I might hear any beast snapping branches as he tries to get to me. At least give me a second or two warning. Just long enough to wish I had a pistol with me!!
- Keep your campsite meticulously clean of foodstuffs
- Wash all of you camp dishes and pour the waste water well away from camp
- Hang your food at least 100 yards from camp
- Hang all cosmetics, toothpaste, trout scented body washes and garbage with the food
- If you’ve been fishing and or cooking and are in the habit of wiping your fishy/foody hands on your clothes, then stow them in a plastic bag outside of your shelter or better yet, haul them up with the food
- Clean fish well away from the campsite and throw the bones back in the lake
- When going fishing I carry a set of heavy gauge rubber gloves to a) protect my delicate fingers and b) to keep that lingering fish smell off my hands. I also use them when doing dishes.
- If you’re canoeing, try to camp on islands. This minimizes random encounters with animals that might just wander into camp. They have to have a reason to swim out to an island
- If you’re worried, try carrying some non-lethal bear spray
There's a part of the movie "The 13th Warrior" when the Vikings are laying down to sleep even though they expect to be attacked that night. The hero, an Arabic Antonio Banderas asks how they can be so calm. One of them responds.. "If you're destined to die tonight, then you'll die. Staying awake all night worrying won't change a thing. Relax and sleep"
A little corney, but words to live by, or die by. You know what I mean.
Chard
Fulfillment is living a life that makes the lives of others worth living.
DIY is addicting and fulfilling!
"If guns kill people, then pencils mispell words, cars cause people to drink and drive, and spoons made Rosie O'donnell fat."
Right there with ya buddy!
I go out there to experience the wildlife, I don't want to avoid it. Bikes and folks walking are moving targets. Anybody that has ever had a cat knows what cats do with moving targets. I don't worry about such things when I sleep. I don't want my food stolen so I put it out of reach, but I certainly don't do it because I'm worried about being attacked.
The only thing we have to fear....
Trust nobody!
WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.
"A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin
Home of the Gorge Rats: Linville Gorge
My Videos YouTube Channel
Photo collections Flickr Photostream
Gorge Rat Productions On FaceBook
Study wild animal attacks and you will find that most happen in areas where humans have encroached into their habitat in a big way. The worst place in the world for bear and other critter problems is a campground because the flatlanders teach them bad habits by being sloppy and thinking that nature is just like that Disney movie they watched. Camp far away from where folk gather and pay close attention to ground sign (or tree sign for bears) and you can figure out what lives there. Learn your forrest craft...that's why you are there init? BTW sometimes the area you are trekking through will smell just like a big cat box...don't stop there and watch the back of your neck.
If you feel the need, get some pepper spray (easy to use and requires almost no training). You will have more problems from flatlanders than critters if you pay attention (it ain't that expensive).
Last edited by Law Dawg (ret); 10-01-2010 at 11:27.
Make noise so the bear knows you are coming. If I am hiking and I notice a lot of bear sign, scatt, tracks, etc. I will start to click my hiking poles together from time to time and call out "Hey Bear" every now and then. Especially when comming up on a blind curve or over grown area. This gives mama bear a chance to gather up the cubs and scoot.
"Sometimes only nature felt real, while all human monuments and actions seemed to be the settings and the plots of dreams"
"So many people live in the past or the future and betray the present."
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