Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (August 2004, week 3)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Wed, 18 Aug 2004 16:47:45 GMT
Reply-To:     Philip Chidlaw <pchidlaw@MCN.ORG>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Philip Chidlaw <pchidlaw@MCN.ORG>
Subject:      Re: bears burgling for food?

This has also been my experience and maybe good luck with bears in the Sierra Nevada. We like to camp at Bucks Lake in Plumas county, which has a history of nighttime bear visits in campsites. No food lockers, bear-proof or otherwise. We encountered a bear there just this past June. I had placed a cooler and a food bin up on top in the luggage carrier of our westy. It was late-night laziness that caused me to slide a second, shorter food bin under the van from the passenger side. My wife woke me after hearing the bear bumping the van, and he had pulled the box out and just made off with it by the time I climbed out. It was my hail of rocks that caused him to drop the box and run splashing into the lake with nothing but a bag of marshmallows, missing out on some choice eats. The next morning I told our girls that I had ridden him and pulled his ears until he dropped the goods. They believed it.

The campers nearest us had encountered a bear from inside their tent trailer before we arrived. They stored food inside, and claimed that they scared the bear off by whacking against the canvas side when they heard him bumping around out there. They had been camping there annually for years this way.

Lacking bear-proof lockers, my vote is with the top of the van or maybe inside as a last resort. -Phil

> It is my personal opinion, at least with regards to the black bears in the > Sierra Nevada, that if you are in the van or the tent, the bears will not > bother you. I have spent many, many nights in my tent with my food under > my head in busy bear areas in the Sierra and have never been bothered. > YMMV > > Ive also left my rig full of grub while on climbs in Yosemite Valley and > have never had a problem. Yes, if there is a bear box USE IT, but thats > not always an option. I just make sure everything is in the cupboards and > that all the curtains are drawn. When the bear cant see the food or > cooler, he is much less likely to break into the car. > > Probably just jinxed myself... > > > jg


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!


Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com


The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.

Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.