Date:         Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:13:56 -0500
Reply-To:     mcneely4@COX.NET
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@COX.NET>
Subject:      Re: Westy Configurations and Bear-proofing
Comments: To: neil n <musomuso@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <AANLkTikHHNa1OC8c2Z5QSVCwlL8tT_F0ZNoENflDPpSl@mail.gmail.com>
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---- neil n <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:

> Personally I'd be hesitant to cook up any meat or fish while camping
> in the wild.

When backpacking, we have routinely carried peanut butter, a calorie dense, easily used food -- no preparation needed.  We didn't think much about it as a bear attractant.  Then, when hiking in Denali, we were sitting on a creek bank eating our peanut butter, and reviewing the cautions about foods to carry and not carry in bear country that we'd read before but evidently hadn't taken to heart.  High on the list of no-nos is peanut butter.  We looked across the creek to see a grizzly wending its way in our general direction.    The bear had not seen us (it was probably 1/2 mile away).  We packed up quickly and departed.  We actually considered for one time in our outdoor experience violating the principle of leave nothing -- we considered leaving the peanut butter -- but thought better of it, as the bear, if it found and ate the stuff, would associate it with the human smell that would be present also.

We moved on, and never saw the grizzly again.  We've never carried peanut butter in bear country again.

>
> My guess is that if one is camped in a spot not regularly populated by
> humans, the bears may not be as adept to getting in or more to the
> point, not as concentrated in a given area as they would be if an area
> regularly smells nice (to them).

Bears were, as we all know, dense in the human populated parts of Yellowstone back in the day.  Garbage control, along with education and campground rule enforcement have made seeing a bear in Yellowstone unusual for most visitors.  That's better for the bears, and better for the people, too, mostly.   Black bears have become quite common in the East now, and have recently shown that they will attack and in rare cases consume humans.  Back in the day, we all "knew" that black bears generally were not a danger to people.  No longer true.

David McNeely