Bear safety, backpacking, dogs
Someone asked me about tips re. bear safety in the backcountry. This is way too big a topic to cover here, but here are some general tips and references.
Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidance, Herrero, Lyond Press 1985 (excellent, recommended).
Best Hikes with Dogs in Western Washington, Nelson, The Mountaineers Books,2002.
Many books on wilderness travel will address this issue, and if you do this sort of thing, you are responsible for your education.
Bears will defend their food and their young, so never get between a bear and its cubs or food (which is often an animal carcass, so avoid those). Bears don't like surprises, so make noise and don't surprise them. Travel in groups. I hike by myself , so I talk, sing (Al's ready to kill me), gong my ice ax on rocks, and I shout a lot after dark or before entering thick brush. In Alaska, people often toot boat horns; you won't see any grizzlies if you do that <not sure which I'd prefer>. (: You never want to annoy or threaten a bear. You're supposed to face down a cougar, making eye contact, but not a bear. Never run from a bear or cougar; this is hopeless, and invites pursuit. A bear will often bluff-charge, and will stop if you don't run.
Most times I've seen bears, I just see moving brush as the alarmed animal flees abruptly.
Nelson points out that whereas your dog might warn of a bear's presence, it could also annoy and provoke the bear if it is off-leash, and if the bear charges, the dog will retreat to a place of safety -- behind you -- with an annoyed bear right behind it. An argument for keeping your dog on-leash.
My dog is almost always off-leash on the trail, illegally. We're usually where we're unlikely to encounter people or rangers. I always have a quick-draw leach ready, attached to the pack and coiled with a rubber band. I always leash to dog at night. Coyotes, lynx, bobcats could take out a corgi justlikethat.
If your dog chases wildlife, you're obligated to keep it on-leash. Herding dogs might be prone to chasing, say, deer. Not a problem with Al, fortunately.
Herrero points out that most grizzly or black bear attacks come from bears who are habituated to humans and foraging for human food or garbage. There are important exceptions to this, but the basic rule is: Do not let bears get your food! When they do, it's a huge problem for everybody, especially the bear. A fed bear is a dead bear; someone will have to shoot it. If you find bear turds with plastic or other human food packaging in them, leave, right away, don't camp anywhere near there.
So if you're car-camping, ALL food gets shut-up in the car at night (Yosemite bears learned how to break in to cars). NO food or food garbage, wrappers, etc. goes in the tent, EVER, and even cooking pots and utensils must be treated as food (you can never wash-off food odors). An empty food bag smells just like a full food bag. Backpackers must hang their food (see photo). Few backpackers know how to do this effectively, and bears are extremely ingenious and motivated. The trend nowadays is towards bear-proof food cans, which I have not tried since they weight about 2 lbs. (prohibitive for me), but they have the advantage of reliability and convenience. They are required in some places. In high places, there are no trees. Sometimes, you can hang food off a cliff.
A good bear hang takes time and a lot of practice. I have 2 different-colored 100' lines in a small stuff sack with a tiny carabiner, which acts as a pulley. I fill the sack with stones, throw it high into a tree, retrieve the sack and anchor the line. Repeat at another tree 20-50' away (tree-climbing is often involved). Before you pull this line tight, you clip the carabiner near the middle of the line, with the midpoint of the 2nd line thru the biner. That high horizontal line is your "fixed rigging", like the mast of a ship. The line thru the biner is your movable "running gear"; you use it to hoist the food bag, which must be:
12' off the ground
10' from nearest tree trunk
5' below any branch a bear could climb.
Even so, it is vulnerable to a bear that can figure out the lines and break them.
The food bag should be crow-resistant and lined with a twist-tied tough plastic bag.
Few people are good at this. Some of my bear hangs would work. Some are imaginary security. The bear hang is the first thing I do in camp, before tent or anything else; I want to get it done before dark.
Backpackers in bear country religiously avoid smelly food, esp. meat and fish, and select foods with a nose to minimizing odors: like, take jerky, not sausage. My Wellness kibble smells like great bear-bait. I like the new freeze-dried raw meat dog foods ("Vital Essentials" is the current favorite; "Nature's Variety" is also good). I like freeze-dried or dehydrated foods that are just-add-boiling-water, so I don't have to hang my 1-qt. teakettle. You must hang all utensils that have had food it them.
I violate this rule often, with landsjaeger sausage and salami. I keep them wrapped in about 3 layers of good plastic bags. This won't seal-in the odors but it will help. Your ideal aspiration is a person with no food at all.
In grizzly country, you don't cook or eat near where you sleep; you want the "kitchen" and 100 yds downwind of the tent (so your tent is not between your food and a bear following its scent)..
Nowhere does any food, candy, food wrappers, dog food, or cooking utensils EVER go in a tent.
I often carry a can of bear mace (capsacin pepper spray) at my belt, probably a false security blanket.
There are extremely rare but troubling instances where black bears or grizzlies (juvenile males, I think) will become predatory, and will attack not to protect their young or food, but to eat you.
I've gotten sloppy with my bear-discipline, perhaps falsely reasoning (hoping? hope ain't a plan) that bears don't bother hanging out above 6000' at night, they go down low. But I did see some big bear turds in snow on the summit of Alaska Mt., 5500', with Gwynnie this July. They might've been there a long time, refrigerated by the snow.
In the Boundary Waters Wilderness of northern Minnesota, where I grew up, we were camped on a very popular campsite on Lake Insula, last night of a 7-day canoe trip. A note at the camp warned of a problem bear. On high alert, my uncle had us pile all the food inside the packs (open, so the bear would not damage them), in a pile in the middle of a wide bare-bedrock apron, and we piled all empty cans, cook pots, etc. on top of the tarp, so the bear would make a lot of clatter, warning us.
My uncle slept with his old Army .45 automatic under his pillow (this powerful weapon good only for scaring a bear, unless you hit it in the brain).
Of course, I had to get up in the middle of the night to do my business. The latrine was a Forest Service lidded box at the end of a long trail. Sitting uneasily upon the seat of ease, I suddenly had the feeling that I was being watched -- really, just like in the movies. Clutching my light, I slowly turned around, pointed it behind me, and turned it on. Two large, bright shining yellow eyes were staring at me, 4 feet away.
A flying squirrel, possibly the only one I've ever seen.
Next morning, we awoke to find all the cans and pots neatly deposited on the one small available patch of grass. We'd heard nothing. The bear opened peanut butter jars and powdered milk envelopes, cleaned them out better than a dishwasher. Not a speck left. No damage. Nothing left for breakfast but a can of Spam and a can of bacon [NEVER bring bacon or fish camping]. Fortuitously, it was our last morning anyway.
This bear was probably shot by rangers, or perhaps removed to a remote area. Habituated bears can be dangerous.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Thank you so much John!
I went to Killarney Provincial Park last week, the park ranger said there was a momma bear / cubs sighting near our trail / backcountry site, she reassured us that we "should" be safe :)
Needless to say, we talked and sang along the trail, I clapped and cough before reaching every corner, totally paranoid and checked every turd I found on the way.
We did practice hanging our packs before dark (so glad we did), it was harder than I thought, I had to tie my rope to a short branch to swing upward, took us 30 mins! We put all the food, utensil, toothpaste in the pack and hanged it roughly 8 feet off the ground between 2 trees. the tree was 200 ft away from our tent.
We didn't pack the pocket rocket + MSR cannister + pot, we only boiled water and did not taint it with any food, I read in backpacker magazine that I should also hang my fuel, what is your take on that? Should I also hang the stove, fuel and pot too? I plan to bring my Trangia alcohol stove out of retirement in my next trip, should I hang the Sigg alcohol fuel bottle too? What about an MSR fuel bottle for a whisper lite?
I also read about storing feminine products in the pack and hang it, should menstruating companion (human) skip the trip entirely?
How did you decide which dog to bring along? Vienna is perfect off leash, recall is 99% reliable (even with prey in sight), she has more stamina and we've done 8 mile day hikes without sweat. Mocha on the other hand is great on leash, totally independent off leash, he can manage the 8 mile hikes, but we stop frequently, he also have delicate paw pads that tend to get injured easily, my gut instinct tells me to bring Vienna along, I've also experienced incidents where she chase after big dogs, defeated and ran behind me for safety. How do I ensure her safety and my own?
M80s, silver salutes and cherry bombs are illegal in Canada, It is also impossible to own firearms (i tried) in Canada, we used to carry a 44 for canoe camping trips in Florida, no such luck here. Do you know if an Air horn will work?
I am going to purchase my first bear mace and read the books you've suggested.
Have you used a Bear canister? Like them? Ditch them?
I've backpacked in Asia, Australia, Europe and southern / central US, snakes, crocodiles, alligators, dingos, wallaby and pocupines don't bother me, bear makes me VERY nervous :(
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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on
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"...hanged it roughly 8 feet off the ground between 2 trees...."
That will keep it safe from packrats and mountain goats (which, I'm told, can be astonishingly destructive).
For bears, 12' or more off the ground, 10' from the nearest tree trunk, 5' below a climbable branch. Google "bear, 'bird feeder'".
Hang your food bag and any contaminated utensils. Forget the stove and fuel. I don't hang my pack; I sleep on it.
I've never used a bear can, but they are required in some places, and I've considered paying over $250 USD for the hi-tech carbon-graphite bear can that's 1lb 15oz. (i.e., a ton). The plastic ones are cheaper. As I said, a bear hang is a difficult art. But for me, 2 lbs. is a ton.
I like my 2-line system. I'm usually solo, with a light load to hang and a small biner for a pulley. For a larger group/load, a pulley really helps; I've used a crevasse rescue pulley.
I also rely on that fantasy that I'm at a higher elevation than a bear's likely to be.
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Thanks John, I will practice bear bag hanging and hang them higher next weekend :) While watching bear spray action on youtube, I came across a segment with Jack Hanna VS Grizzly. Do you have a spray that you recommend? REI only carry Counter Assault.
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Permalink Reply by Robyn - Halo's Mom on
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Hi Sam: we don't backpack, but we have an unusual amount of bears around our cottage the last couple of years. I've heard of people buying a 'bear-fog' canister that comes equipped with a harness to wear it on your back and a gun type dispenser in a holster you wear on your hip. Also people have been walking around with 'bear bangers' which are like fire crackers that don't need a lighter. I get really freaked out when we start having bear sitings, I just make my husband walk the dog early AM and evening, I walk her in the daytime :) We had 2 baby bears in our cottage backyard in the middle of August, about twice the height of a corgi. They were able to determine that there was no mommy, so the MNR removed them before they thought people = food, apparently there were people at the other end of the lake feeding them! Unbelievable! I don't even want to run into one that size. Carefull out there!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I'm not an expert (I don't do overnight hiking or wilderness camping) but I do know a lot depends on where you are and what your bears are like.
Here in Pennsylvania we have black bear. They are quite big, but don't really hunt (eat plants, grubs, road-kill-- they might take a fawn that's still parked in cover). They are generally shy and you'd be unlikely to run into one unless you were very quiet. Habituated bears can be problems because they get cranky when their food supply isn't where they expect it. Cranky bears are prone to slapping and you don't want to be slapped by a 500-pound bear.
Black bears generally run from dogs and I've heard of tiny terriers treeing sows with cubs. That said, we came across bear scat once on a hike and Jack took one sniff of it and spent the entire hike right beside me; he usually ranges some way away.
Black bears can run FAST and can climb quickly and gracefully. Some sources say to play dead if attacked, others say to fight back. This source http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/forest_facts/safety/bearfacts.htm says to play dead first, since it's probably a defensive attack, but if they bear continues to maul you once you've played dead then it's a rarer predatory attack and you should fight like mad. Regardless, if charged you are meant to stand your ground and make noise.
My father has spent a lifetime in the woods and says most will run if you come across them, exception of course being if you get between a sow and her cubs. Since older cubs don't stay real close, this can happen.
As you can see by this list, fatal bear attacks are rare but not to be taken lightly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_Am...
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Thank you Beth, I've been reading several magazines and sites, mixed advise mostly. One said "...if the bear enters your tent unprovoked and started "feeding off" you, then you'll need to fight back with all you got...". You think? REALLY??? It's comic gold!!!
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Ha! Yep, the general rule of thumb is a wild animal is charging in self-defense, stay calm and play dead. If it's trying to eat you, fight back. So the idea is you play dead for bear attacks (since they probably aren't eating you) and fight like heck if a mountain lion attacks (because it probably IS trying to eat you).
Then there's the old adage that black bears can climb trees but grizzlies can't. Except apparently some young grizzlies can climb, and they all can if the tree has ladder-like branch arrangement.
How you are meant to keep all that straight if you find yourself face-to-face with a charging wild animal is beyond me. Still, do you know what kills more humans in Yellowstone than bears? Bison. One of my dad's friends was out there and some guy got killed when he tried to sit his toddler on a wild bison's back to take a picture. The thing swung it's big ol' head and gored him in one swipe.
Horrible, but then what would make someone think that they should stick their kid on a wild animal's back????
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About 200 bee sting fatalities are reported annually in the US, only about 10% being anaphylactic shock, the others being due to fright, heart attack, etc.
To put things in perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Nicola Porter on
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Screw that. I will just continue my suburban hikes thank you very much.
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It's been done, more than once I think. A woman smacked a cougar in the face with a stick and it left. That's one reason I sometimes carry a 6.5' bamboo pole.
OTOH, I've heard of a cougar demonstrating remarkable persistence.
If you do have to store some emergency food in your tent, find some kind of container to constrain odors; for a granola bar, this might be most important AFTER the bag is opened. The glucose tabs sound like the best bet.
In general, NEVER store food in camp overnight, or when you're away. Even if I had a bear cannister, I would not store the food in camp; I'd put it quite a ways away, in a visible place if possible. They're not odor-tight.
Good bear discipline requires good housekeeping. My food and garbage goes in only 2 places -- the main bag and the daily ration bag. You don't want a candy bar in your pants pocket, a sandwich here, an apple there. I've really slipped, with the dogs, 'cause now I have the dog bowl and all that smelly dog food.
Bears aren't the only critters to worry about. Mice chewed my boots on their first trip. A snafflehound (packrat) stole my pal's glasses. Climbers have had their harnesses gnawed by snafflehounds - for the salt - and had to improvise. Porcupines will steal boots (and chew rubber brake lines on cars). Goats can destroy everything. Your bear-hang bag must be crow-proof if you're going to hang in daylight while you're away.
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