Date:         Wed, 18 Aug 2004 18:40:49 -0700
Reply-To:     Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Subject:      Re: bears burgling for food?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Now there's a great idea- let's all go into the Nat'l parks and declare war
on the bears for obeying their instincts and being bears.
We'll all enjoy our trips into the hinterlands so much better when we can be
the same kinds of slobs out in the woods that we are at home, with our open
cans of beer and bags of chips laying about, smears of grease and crumbs on
our clothes, safe from the natural inhabitants because every single bear in
the woods has had a thoroughly effective pavlovian experience at the hand of
the hordes of rednecks that were imported to whip them into shape, just for
the sport of it.
'Course the experience won't be as, well, natural as it once was, what with
all the trailers and garbage dumps scattered thru the parks from where the
rednecks won't want to leave 'the beauty of nature' after they've done such
a good job of whipping it into shape... but that's ok, they'll do a
wonderful job of driving out those evil Gestapo Park Rangers while their at
it- how dare they try to preserve a more-or-less natural habitat at the
expense of our convenience?
Just too bad you won't be able to take your kids into the woods for fear
they'll be mistaken for a bear cub by a drunken redneck and have their
little heads knocked off by all the bean bags and 'thumper' rounds flying
around- but hey, that's part of the price you pay, gotta teach them bears
young, y'know.

Yup, no doubt about it, being 'nice and considerate', i.e. preparation,
cleanliness and education are for the pantywaists- much better to just do
what we 'feel' and teach them damn bears a lesson.

Y'know, if you really feel that way, why don't you do your camping in a
trailer park or a downtown street and leave the parks and forests for the
rest of us pantywaists.

Unbelievable.

Robert

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug in Calif" <vanagon@ASTOUND.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 5:51 PM
Subject: Re: bears burgling for food?


> I find this thread pretty interesting, I did go to the some of the links
> provided and its amazing to see now that you can have your "vehicle
> impounded" for committing "such a crime".  The bear lockers sound like
good
> ideas but the problem some have already stated with them is that they are
> not big enough, not enough of them, they are not refrigerated, (what am I
> supposed to do with the stuff in my propane fridge with no ice?) Now I
have
> to bring an ice chest and ice too?  You better not forget the air
freshener
> hangin from your mirror. "oops just lost your rig and its impound time".
> This is BS in my opinion. What about the stove in your rig?  They say your
> child seat should be removed because it has "residual food" on it. what
> about the stove. how about the fabric in the tent from my last egg
breakfast
> in the westy?
>
> I feel there should be more aggressive measures taken to make this a very
> bad experience for the bears. Let the campers shoot them with bean bags
and
> their own 12ga and pepper spray them big time. We need some good ole red
> neck hunters that enjoy giving them bears a shot in the rump, just for the
> sport of it. As usual, our pantywaist society has made another bad
situation
> worse by "being nice and considerate".
>
> I did not see anything on the sites about taking your own initiative and
> using bear spray or a "thumper" round which I carry in my 12 ga.
>
> Doug
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mark Tuovinen" <mst@AK.NET>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 3:10 PM
> Subject: Re: bears burgling for food?
>
>
> > Addendum re: "Best plan, assuming there are trees around (not too many
> bears on the
> >              desert) is to throw a rope over a limb and haul your food
bag
> up into
> >              the air out of reach. This is common practice in back
country
> camping."
> >
> > Whether or not there are trees around there should be a minimum of
several
> hundred feet between your campsite and where you cook and/or store food,
> toiletries, etc.
> >
> >              " If you are going to keep food in a tent you are sleeping
> in, keep a
> >                good sharp knife at your side so you can cut an exit door
> in the tent
> >                wall opposite the entrance door  the bears claws have
cut."
> >
> > If you choose to keep food, toiletries, etc, in you tent then this is
good
> advice. Or you can just wait and the bear will be more then happy to make
a
> second opening for you. We plan ahead and already have a tent with two
door
> openings.
> >
> > Mark in AK
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: don spence <dspence@OANET.COM>
> > Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2004 12:48 pm
> > Subject: Re: bears burgling for food?
> >
> > > If you are going to keep food in a tent you are sleeping in, keep a
> > > good sharp knife at your side so you can cut an exit door in the tent
> > > wall opposite the entrance door  the bears claws have cut.
> > >
> > > Best plan, assuming there are trees around (not too many bears on the
> > > desert) is to throw a rope over a limb and haul your food bag up into
> > > the air out of reach. This is common practice in back country camping.
> > >
> > > Up on the roof is better than in a westy. Food and people space don't
> > > mix in bear country.
> > >