Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 14:18:41 -0500
Reply-To: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <inua@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Black Bears vs Westy Canvas?
In-Reply-To: <42E66EA8.4010301@gmail.com>
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My experience - in the Great Smokies while backpacking and also in
Alaska in lots of places - if the bear wants it, let him/her have it.
Nothing is worth trying to argue over where a bear is concerned. -
Blacks or Griz.
The only bear deterrent I every heard of working was when a fishing
guide in Yakutat, Alaska had had enough from the bears messing up his
camp, wrapped bacon around a can of starting ether, tied it in place and
threw it the can at the next bear that began to tear up camp. Bear bit
the can, the either erupted into his mouthe and face, and he lost
interest in a hurry. Don't know if the story was true or not, but there
is no doubt that the bear would have a distraction from his business at
hand.
Regards,
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver
Michael Elliott wrote:
> I'm heading up to the San Gabriel mountains next week (near Los
> Angeles). The nice ranger man cautioned me about bears and food, the
> usual warnings. The bears in those parts are black bears ("All SGM black
> bears have descended from 11 black bears that were /introduced/ in the
> SGM in 1933, after grizzly bears were exterminated in the SGM in about
> 1900").
>
> I have camped a lot in bear country, and know how wily, fearless,
> clever, and determined those critters can be.
>
> No, packing a firearm and blowing them away is simply not considered
> good form in these parts. What one is meant to do is avoid bringing
> strongly smelling foods and toiletries, and keep things in the trunk of
> the car . . . then hope for the best, as the crafty black bear is
> perfectly capable of popping a windshield out and carving an opening
> through the rear seat into the trunk.
>
> The nice ranger agreed that keeping food in the Westy at night where I
> am sleeping should work fine. Bears do avoid confrontations, being smart
> guys and hoping to just get by without too much trouble. But during the
> day . . . away from the Westy . . . maybe on a hike or bike ride, Mr.
> Ranger didn't know whether bears climb up on Vanagons and brush the
> annoying canvas out of the way or not.
>
> So I'd like to hear your black bear vs Westy tales. Not brown bears or
> their larger cousins, grizzlies. Those are different critters,
> temperamentally.
>
> --
>
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> Carlsbad, CA
> KG6RCR
>
>
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