Campsite Security

**herbalist** · 10-01-2010, 10:09

As a woman backpacking alone, this is a concern for me. We have black bears in the Sierras, and of course there are major urban areas close by. I am actually more concerned about human predators. My strategy is to stealth camp if possible, and to use an Ursack and odor proof bag to keep food odors away from camp. My deterrent/alarm system is my German Shepherd, Kaia who always travels with me. She has better senses to detect bears, and my hope, if ever there is a human checking me out as a potential victim, that her presence will cause him to reconsider. The truth is that most human predators are lazy, and don't tend to walk miles under load looking for victims.

**G.L.P.** · 10-01-2010, 10:33

I am a deadly weapon .......

i use to carry a gun all the time.....i got away from it i figure people i can handle with hand-to-hand if need be...and if a bear is going to attack me while im sleeping there isn't much you can do anyway...it will happen so quick you won't have a chance to get a round off
most cases a small can of mace will work better then a gun
you shoot a bear with a .22 your just going to (fill in the blank) it off

or you can do what i like to do to Dutch and put my food bag under his hammock while he is sleeping....this way i have a chance to run LOL

shug gave the best advice ...be aware of your surroundings at all time

**leepingreenlizards** · 10-01-2010, 10:37

Originally Posted by Veto 65

You can also eat before you get to your camp site. Do all of your clean up too. That way there is no fire at all, and no cooking smells.

You do know that a bear can smell you, irregardless of whether you cook or not. Yes, cooking and storing food a minimum 100' from camp helps, but only to keep the bears attention in that area. We have so many residual odors from brushing teeth, eating, handling foods, gas, burps, sweating, bathing and etc. that it can be difficult to conceal\mask yourself by merely stealth camping.

Let’s not forget that hammock campers also resemble giant "Chalupa's" and "Taco's" wrapped up in our hammocks and that it also puts us at a very convenient dinning height. LOL!

I remember watching a report on the news years ago about a guy that was camping and after eating a meal, crawled up in his hammock to take a nap, only to wake up and find his hand in a bears mouth. The bear didn't hurt him, because he didn't panic...it was startled and ran off. The point here is that his tasty din-din scented hand and clothes were what attracted the bear and you can wash all you want, but soap has scent and clothes have scent.

**Riverpirate** · 10-01-2010, 10:37

I am ALWAYS packing where ever I am.

**MacEntyre** · 10-01-2010, 10:56

Originally Posted by Cookie

Make noise so the bear knows you are coming.

Why do hikers need to make noise in the woods, but hunters sneak around without getting bothered by bears?

I was once walking veeerrrryy slooowwwly (and being real quiet) through the woods, stopping every few feet for several minutes at a time, looking for Bambi... when I smelled sewage. There was no apparent source of the smell. I crept slowly on, without making any noise. Later, another hunter told me that there is a bear in that area that smells real bad. He said if I smelled sewage, that bear was very close by!

**Triptease** · 10-01-2010, 11:06

What does it say about me (and more importantly our society) when I always concealed carry around town, but when I head into the wild with the lions and tigers and bears I leave it at home?

**Law Dawg (ret)** · 10-01-2010, 11:11

Originally Posted by MacEntyre

He said if I smelled sewage, that bear was very close by!

I was bow hunting deer (moving maybe 20-30 feet per 30 minutes) and saw what looked like fresh bear track. What's fresh? 5 minutes, 5 hours? As I continued on the track I came upon a pile of bear scat still steaming (never even heard the bear)...THAT'S fresh. The average bear is not interrested in getting us but we are in their living room and they will keep an eye on. I'll wager that any of us that have spent any time of note outdoors have been MUCH closer to large predators than we would like to know.

**Cannibal** · 10-01-2010, 11:11

Originally Posted by mak52580

What does it say about me (and more importantly our society) when I always concealed carry around town, but when I head into the wild with the lions and tigers and bears I leave it at home?

Same here. Sad world.

**Flatland** · 10-01-2010, 11:21

I was just going to say, I am much more concerned with human predators than animal ones! I'm not familiar with anything happening in the northeast, but on the southern end of the AT there have been a number of well-known murders, including those by Gary Michael Hilton, a convicted serial killer who preyed on hikers. I don't pack on the trail (a 9mm is not exactly ultralight!), though I might consider it if I were doing hikes in heavily traveled southern trail sections.

In terms of bears, in the ADK High Peaks you are required to carry a bear canister. When traveling in the Whites or out west I bring my Ursak.