Bears n Camping

[Camper1]

Ive got a couple of questions for those of you who camp in the US, firstly, in all honesty how do you deal with the concern regarding bears?

Do you think about it much, carry a gun/deterent? What precautions do you take if any?

Secondly, this might sound strange and or turn into a laugh but in the event of a bear coming into your camp, would you prefer to be in a hammock or a tent? lol

[MedicineMan]

95% of my travels are in the eastern US=black bear=little to no fear.
I've have hiked in many national parks in the west and bear regard is a whole
nother matter=Grizzly bear.
Not that I'm slack in the east. I do use a bear bag but for example when paddle camping on Yellowstone Lake we'd take the clothes off that we cooked/ate in and those clothes would go up the bear line with the food and we slept 100 yards away from where we'd cooked.
When hiking in the east (AT or GSMNP mostly) I don't look over my shoulder thinking a bear might be stalking me-when hiking in Glacier NP in a thickly forested area I did stop every so often and listen/look.

So after bears many (except an Aussie!) might be concerned with serpents=again no worries, the most serious of our serpents will run or warn.

My concern is spiders. They can give you the nip and you'll never know it. Several days later and your skin is falling off!

Now the odds. I've been hiking on the AT for 36 years fairly consistently--one bear encounter in Mass, he did 180 and ran.
Never a bear encounter in GSMNP where there are 2 bear/square mile.
353 units of the Nat. Park system=many hundres of hours hiking in the west and again NO bear encounter.

I mentioned spiders. You do know bees kill more people year than a lot of other things combined

[1bigpaddle]

I have camped over 20 years in remote "black Bear" country. I always hang a food pack to avoid giving them any extra reason to visit. I have to date chased 7 bears out of camp, and had one stand off with one before he gave up and left my fishing equipment alone(might not have been the smartest move but i needed to fish for my meals too)! I never carried anything more than a knife or a large stick.
Since then, I have moved and camp in grizzly bear and mt lion country. I still use similar methods of keeping my food up and out of the way. But now I do carry a side arm. I would not argue with a grizzly bear, if he wants my fishing tackle he can have it
As for tents vs hammocks- I have 17yr of tent experience, and 3yrs in a hammock. I have not personally had any problems, but I have friends who have had bears walk into their tents and trash it. I have had friend who have tents trampled on by bears, moose, and other large things! I think the hammock is just strange enough that they will avoid walking into it. And as long as you dont eat in it and leave it hang for long periods of time, i dont think a bear will care.

[FLRider]

I've only been hiking in the back country for the last year or so; before that, the majority of my trips were to front country developed campgrounds.

My precautions consist of hanging my "smellables"--that is, my food, cook kit, any toiletries that have food-esque odors, etc.--at least one hundred feet (thirty-odd meters) from my campsite. In order to protect against black bears, the bag has to end up at least ten feet above the ground and four feet from the nearest support that could handle a black bear. Essentially, if I can get at the bag by jumping, I need to move it to a more inaccessible location.

Having had my first bear encounter on my first solo backpacking trip (and I saw three in less than a mile of trail, including a cub!), it was an interesting experience. However, all three (black) bears took off like a shot as soon as they heard/saw me. Which is normal black bear behavior.

What that did do, however, is cause me to rethink my campsite for the evening. I moved on rather than stay in the vicinity, mostly because of the cub; bear cubs can be like teenagers, curious and with the parents to squash whatever's bothering the kid. So, rather than risk an encounter on my first solo trip, I moved on for the night.

Other than those precautions, though, I don't worry too much about it. Black bears aren't particularly aggressive towards humans; we're big enough animals to be threats to them in a fight. Grizzly and polar bears, on the other hand...well, if I ever go up into the northwest, my precautions will include bear spray at a minimum...

[crashvandicoot]

Now the odds. I've been hiking on the AT for 36 years fairly consistently--one bear encounter in Mass, he did 180 and ran.
Never a bear encounter in GSMNP where there are 2 bear/square mile.
353 units of the Nat. Park system=many hundres of hours hiking in the west and again NO bear encounter.

This is because MedicineMan is typically jabbering to his camera about serpents and cuben fiber and whatnot while stomping through the woods, scaring off most of them.

I'm not in bear country, but honestly, if I was, I'd still be more worried about a deer smashing into my hammock. They're stupid, fast, and easily spooked. Did I mention stupid? I've seen several run straight into parked cars at trailheads.

[Camper1]

so from what i read black bears are not a threat like grissly bears, but just ensure your food is hung away from where you are and dont mess with a bear cup or mum might get angry and that grissly bears are the concern yet they arent in most area's..????is that correct??

[FLRider]

so from what i read black bears are not a threat like grissly bears, but just ensure your food is hung away from where you are and dont mess with a bear cup or mum might get angry and that grissly bears are the concern yet they arent in most area's..????is that correct??

Pretty much.

Here is a map put out by the USGS showing the range of grizzlies. I wouldn't put too much faith in it; a bear isn't going to be impressed if you whip out the map and say, "You can't be here. See, this dark area is where you should be. Get back up there!" On the other hand, it's probably pretty accurate.

Black bears become a problem if you habituate them to associate people with easy food. Which is why places like the Great Smoky Mountains have specific rules regarding food storage and back country campsites. It's not to make your day harder; it's to avoid bears associating people with food. When bears associate people with food, they may become aggressive if the food is not forthcoming. Which is...bad.

But, of all of the things most likely to kill you on a trip to the back country? Well, traffic probably tops that list. There's no substitute for the idiocy of your fellow drivers...

[SnrMoment]

+1 on dealing with the smellables.
Spray for the griz, but only usable outside the hammock/tent.
Was armed with a camera when this group popped out of the woods on me at Yellowstone Lake last September. I didn't move and they kept on going.



There's no tent/hammock camping on the Cody side of the entrance to Yellowstone. Hard side only. Have been more sightings/encounters with bears than ever recorded in the past.

They usually see you before you see them.

[Busky2]

Everyone knows that the North American Black Bears makes the great pet and our Grizzly Bears make the best babysitters in the world. Wink, wink, nod, nod.

[Kzoo]

I'm not in bear country, but honestly, if I was, I'd still be more worried about a deer smashing into my hammock. They're stupid, fast, and easily spooked. Did I mention stupid? I've seen several run straight into parked cars at trailheads.

Thanks, crash, something new to worry about. I'm thick in deer country and this is probably something worth giving some consideration about when choosing a location.

We do have bears in Northern Michigan, but they're black bears and I've never had any encounters with them. I always use a bear bag, not only as a deterrent for the bears, but also to keep the racoons out of my stuff.

As others have said, it depends on where you camp and what you have to deal with. I would not want to cross paths with a grizzly, but around here I probably take more precautions for mosquitos than for bears.