Where to camp to avoid bears

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kpeter
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by kpeter »

I will second the notion of avoiding Vernon Lake if you really care about avoiding bears. The last time I was there (2010), I watched as this handsome creature inspected each camp in broad daylight to make sure they had bear canisters. Who needs park rangers when this guy works for free?
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Seriously, though, I have not suffered any bear attacks anywhere in twenty years--this bear inspection was as close as I have come, and Vernon of course is at lower elevation, and heavily trafficked. Many people on these boards enjoy cross country above treeline, and that no doubt reduces the odds of bear encounters. But SSSDave and I tend to prefer to mix trees into our viewsheds, and so we won't have that bear avoidance advantage. But frankly, I just don't even think about it anymore. I do tend to cook far away from where I sleep--as in more than 100 feet--often going on a short hike to find a nice dining room with a view.
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I wonder if being alone (no human talking) vs being in a group (lots of chatter) makes a difference? Bears have keen senses of smell but not great eyesight. But what about their hearing?

I think all our experiences are anecdotal, including mine. Not exactly scientific research. If you have only seen three bear in 15 years, then none in camp, regardless of where you camp, not much can be concluded. Staying out of areas where bears have become habituated is obvious. In other areas bear population is sparse. I think it is a luck of the draw.

Hunting both makes bear avoid humans, as well as provide some tasty treats. They go after the meat that his hung in camp. They also go after domestic animals that have wandered into their habitat. They know when it is hunting season. How much they "fear" people out of hunting season is debatable. Repeated contact with humans probably desensitizes them whereas the naturally avoid the unknown creature. Bears are pretty high up on the food chain; I do not think they fear many other species. So the net effect of hunting on bear behavior is uncertain. Rather than resenting the no hunting policy in National Parks, I resent that they do not allow me to carry bear spray.

The Canadians I know who backpack, when in bear territory, cook dinner before they reach camp then pack another mile or two to sleep. That is taking the "cook away from the tent" one step further. And they ALWAYS carry bear spray.
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rlown
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by rlown »

Wandering Daisy wrote:I wonder if being alone (no human talking) vs being in a group (lots of chatter) makes a difference? Bears have keen senses of smell but not great eyesight. But what about their hearing?
http://www.blackbearbb.org/bearfacts.html
A bear's hearing ability is excellent, and like dogs, bears hear high pitches, exceeding human frequency range and sensitivity.
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Ikan Mas
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by Ikan Mas »

Over the past 15 years I've not had any problems with bears, but I also use canisters religiously for all backpack trips regardless of where I am. Canisters became part of my standard kit and really don't understand the resistance to them at all. I do know there are bears out where I'm at from their scat and other signs.

Unless there are no fish, I am fishing almost every camp and eating what I catch. I use a frying pan with my stove and never use a campfire. I am admittedly a bit careless on one item; I tend to cook relatively close to my tent, but I also tend to use established camps when on trail, which tend to have a heavy human odor already from others campfires. I believe I have had more deer lick my canisters than bears!

On one occasion in 2010 did I go into heavy bear avoidance mode. We were in Hoover where the PCT intersects Matterhorn Canyon. There was a nice meadow there with an abundance of Beldings Ground Squirrels, which were probably a significant bear attractant. I had fished the creek and had a handful of tiny brooks for my effort. I was coming back to camp with my catch when about 50 feet from my tent I found a fresh pile of bear poop. It had obviously been deposited that afternoon, perhaps after we had set up tents. I decided that was too close and disposed of the fish far downstream of camp, forgoing that part of dinner. We notified our neighbors, who were from New Zealand, and both parties stashed their canisters out of camp. The bear came through camp that evening (we heard him) but didn't disturb anything. He/she probably knew that canisters were a waste of calories and went back to hunting squirrels. You will have bears where there are rodents to munch on.

The Marbles seem to be real bear heavy despite some pretty real hunting pressure from the locals. Marble bears are pretty cautious and there is lots of brush for them to hide in, so I smell more bear there than I see there.

Like squirrels, berries are an attractant. August-September in the OR-WA Cascades is prime bear time with the ripening crop of purple tasty treats. Generally, the bears stay focused on their natural diet and seem to leave us alone. I did have one show up at night last year in the Pasayten after cooking a monster cutthoat I caught. One shout sent him packing.
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AlmostThere
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by AlmostThere »

I really do not think hunting is anything that affects the attitudes of the bears. I know that in Yosemite they chase habituated bears around with paintball guns, yet they continue to plague campgrounds -- looping around and coming back to be chased again and shot with paintballs. And the rangers do in fact shoot to kill the ones that start to be actually aggressive (not just assertive) about bothering people for food, and it has zero impact on how other bears behave. The decrease of incidents in that park has to do with increases in proper food storage. The ranger micromanage proportionately -- in Yosemite they tag and monitor problem bears to the nth degree, which is probably the only reason there are so few injuries and no deaths due to bears there. I talked at length with one ranger who was assigned to do just that -- track and follow and drive problem bears out of Little Yosemite. They just come back, and come back, and come back. They used to move bears to other parts of the Sierra, and they just. come. back. Nothing fazes a bear in pursuit of easy calories, except proper food storage. Yet you can avoid the bears even in Yosemite -- stay out of previously mentioned areas. Don't hang out in parking lots in Yosemite too long... we crossed paths with a bear leaving Curry trailhead parking. He was strolling toward the cars, we were hiking away from them. In the backcountry on trails other than the JMT, you may see a bear, but he probably won't be bothering you.

Meanwhile, over in Dinkey and Kaiser wildernesses, where hunting is allowed, rangers are all but requiring bear canisters, due to increased incidents there. You probably cannot camp far enough from those lakes to be clear of bear -- the wilderness areas just aren't that big and the lakes too close together.

In SEKI I see bears all the time, and they are huge problems -- picking up packs when you stop to pee along the High Sierra Trail, apparently. Bear poop is one of those things often sighted up high. One walked right into the campsite in lower Paradise when I had a class up there, so I got to show folks how to get a bear out of camp without issues and teach them about bear body language. No eye contact, scare the bear gently away. His hackles were up but he moved the heck out when I followed him. Distantly, with arms wide, waving poles....

Canisters everywhere, for me, and I camp in less used sites as a matter of course unless there is a reason to use heavily impacted ones. In some areas the rangers ask you to use the too-close-to-water, heavy used sites, to avoid making more sites -- minimizing impact by minimizing sites in very heavily used areas.
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by Tom_H »

Wandering Daisy wrote:The Canadians I know who backpack, when in bear territory, cook dinner before they reach camp then pack another mile or two to sleep. That is taking the "cook away from the tent" one step further. And they ALWAYS carry bear spray.
I would presume you also are referring to backpacking in Canada, in which case the bears may likely be grislys. The discussion now becomes a whole other story.
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cahiker
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by cahiker »

I have seen bears on trails or front country campgrounds several times, but only once in camp. That was at Bear Pen in the Granite Chief Wilderness, which isn't very heavily used. From this I could draw the conclusion that one can camp anywhere without "Bear" in its name to avoid bears!

A bear knocked over my canister while I was asleep in a heavily used campsite near the Half Dome / Clouds Rest junction a couple of years ago. That was a bit of a disappointment because the volunteer who was camped nearby to shoot bears with her beanbag gun had led us to believe there would be a big commotion when the bear came through camp and we would surely wake up.


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EagleB
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by EagleB »

I will have to second that any of the trails heading out of Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon have a lot of bear activity, at least at the lower elevations. Many of these trails are very popular in the summer months, and I have had multiple close encounters in Paradise Valley in particular when stopping for a night. Unfortunately, many bears quickly learn how to get to food from careless hikers and they tend to be very bold. The last time I was there, a mother and two cubs sauntered into our camp only a few feet away from us as if we weren't even there! There were four of us, and it took quite a bit of shouting, etc. to scare them off. Of course, that was only the beginning...they spent the whole night trying pestering us, and we started the next morning exhausted.

I personally love to see bears and always look out for them, but circumstances like that can be disconcerting. Like most others here have said, once you reach higher elevations and are in less crowded areas you will be less likely to encounter a bear. Regardless, it is always imperative to practice caution. Just my 2 cents :)
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by RoguePhotonic »

Obviously I have spent allot of time in the backcountry. I think I am around 650 days now in the last 7 years. The number of issues I have had with Bears? None. I don't recommend it but I have also spent a very large amount of time sleeping with food in my tent. When I find myself 14 days without resupply it just doesn't fit in the barrel so what do I do? I lay it all out on the floor of my tent. No issues yet. My only real thing about where to camp to avoid bears comes down to that fact that if I know I am going to have food in my tent and I'm in an area I know has problems like Lyell Canyon I don't want to be sleeping with food in my tent and avoid it if possible. But who knows maybe I am just lucky. I once stayed at Cathedral Lake after a resupply and I set up camp and set out to climb Cathedral Peak. I had two large bags of breakfast cereal and much more food just laying in the center of my tent in this massive bear use area! No issue. :D

Of course now that I have made this post next summer i'll come back with a story of my tent ripped to hell. :angry:
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rlown
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Re: Where to camp to avoid bears

Post by rlown »

just lucky. I saw them play with the hangs on the wires before. Cans have done much to make them less likely to steal. When it happens Rogue (tent rip), please post the pic :)

and please don't tell people it is ok to keep food in the tent.
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