Bears!

[bcla]

I want to think that we were at Marcy dam,,,,if it is near a major trailhead....end of june. I had a rookie backpacker with me....so his fear of bears was off the scale..... My first time in the area and it was horrible...not like oregon/idaho at all when it comes to trails....we packed out early....squirrels.....down right horrible, nothing you could do and rookie fear of bear couldn't keep food outside.....my only plus is that I put the trail on Mt. Marcy off my bucket list...did not make it to the top....weather front came in on us

signs everywhere....they don't hike past july I think....

I've heard of the squirrel issue at Grand Canyon NP. When I went on a guide hike down (but not guided going back up) our ranger told us to feel welcome to harass the squirrels all we wanted, because they are relentless going after food.

Lake Tahoe is really weird though because of the mix of populated areas and wilderness. Government regulation regarding bears is a patchwork since it's in a couple of states (including state parks), multiple counties, quasi-governmental agencies, one city government, and the US Forest Service. You can be in South Lake Tahoe where it's just like any other town with normal trash cans, then be in a Forest Service parking lot where they have national park style bear proof trash receptacles. There are tons of reports of bears getting bold enough to walk right into homes or even supermarkets.

Still - I think the OP is overthinking this. I used to go crazy thinking that I had to use unscented this and that. But bears have some of the strongest senses of smell of any animal. Their sense of smell is constantly bombarded, so it's not as if they're going to be fixed on any one smell. The big thing that gets people in trouble is when a bear finally gets food and then tries to repeat it. That's the think that most land management agencies don't want. Recommendations to reduce odors is just one step in trying to manage bear activity.

 

[JimMIA]

One pro tip on outrunning bears:

It's the same concept as outrunning alligators (who are quite quick for short distances on land). You don't have to outrun the bear; you only have to outrun one other human...

 

[Deb & Bill]

We have bears in SW Florida. At least once a week there is a story on the news about someone finding a bear in their backyard.

 

[JimMIA]

We have bears in SW Florida. At least once a week there is a story on the news about someone finding a bear in their backyard.

Yep -- lots of them on the east side of Naples. Big Cypress National Preserve, just east of Naples has a sizeable black bear population.

Very rarely, one will wander more eastward to the Shark Valley area of Everglades NP, but not much further than that. There are areas in the southern part of ENP that are high enough elevation for bears, but I've never heard of one down there.

A good friend of mine, who lived at Shark Valley, went to take his garbage out one evening and found a black bear sitting right at the foot of his porch steps. The one thing you do NOT want to be doing when you encounter a bear is to be taking out the garbage! He ran back into the house and the bear ran the other way. We saw scat and occasional footprints for 3-4 days, but never saw the bear again. SV is too low and too wet for a bear, so it left.

 

[DL55]

Not sure where you plan to camp but some of the National Parks where Bears are most active-Yellowstone, Grand Teton and Glacier at least, allow hard sided campers only-so you may want to read up on camping in specific locations-this also applies to Forest Service campgrounds out side of National Parks where there is alot of bear activity ( the campground Colleen27 refers to above is one of several with proximity to Yellowstone on the North Fork of the Shoshone River where the Forest Service, not BLM, does not allow tent or soft sided pull behind campers)

Some campgrounds are hard sided only but they do have campgrounds that you can use tents. I've camped in a tent trailer in all three parks. I also have a fear of bears so I sleep better in my hard sided trailer now.

 

[Tink-osophy]

It's all happening on this board today - bears, cicadas, ticks!

Sorry, I can't be more helpful 1GoldenSun. The only bears I know about are at the Country Bear Jamboree!

I really hope you can organise the trip so you feel comfortable and have fun!

 

[bcla]

Sorry, I can't be more helpful 1GoldenSun. The only bears I know about are at the Country Bear Jamboree!

Originally meant for Walt Disney's ski resort project at Mineral King in what was then part of Sequoia National Forest. It was supposed to be mostly operated as a dinner theater.

And yes there are bears at Mineral King.

 

[Heather07438]

The best thing I can do to alleviate my worries is to prepare and educate myself as much as I can.

Yep. Read up, prepare yourself and then don’t worry. Bears don’t want to bother messing with humans, it’s way too much trouble for them. Especially in summer when they can find plenty of access to easier food.

• Keep a clean camp. All food, toothpaste, soda and juices, and other bear attractants should be secured away from tents.
• Use food lockers when available or follow the campground’s food storage recommendations and guidelines for properly storing food while in the area.
• Use recycling and trash bins provided at campgrounds frequently instead of storing garbage at your campsite.
• Keep your pets leashed and secure their food between meals.
• While away from camp, secure food and garbage.

Use these tips when hiking in bear inhabited areas:

• Avoid surprising bears by making noise, as bears will avoid you if they can hear or smell you.
• Always give a bear space. Never approach, crowd, pursue or displace a bear you see ahead on the trail.
• Never get between a mother and her cub even if the cub appears to be alone or sick. Leave that area
• Leave pets at home or keep them leashed. Loose dogs can startle bears and cause them to chase the dogs back to their owners.

Whether on the trail or in your campsite, do not run. Remain calm, group together and pick up small children. Continue to face the bear and back away slowly, talking calmly to identify yourself as a human and not another animal. If the bear continues to approach, try to scare it away by making yourself as large and imposing as possible and making loud noises. Carry and know how to use bear spray, which is available at many outdoor retailers and can be used to deter a charging bear.

^Thats from recreation.gov
Good advice. We commonly have bear sightings in our neighborhood. After understanding proper precautions the most important thing that helped me feel safe is knowing what to do if I ever actually felt threatened and vulnerable. Bang metal. They don’t like that. The harder and louder the better. If you yell don’t shriek, use a low and stern voice. Mace spray is good to have, the chance you will need it is less than one in a million but having it in your tent might help you sleep better. Most campgrounds do a great job of conditioning bears to stay away. Bears are awesome. They really don’t want to mess with people personally, they’re just lookin for some easy leftover food scraps. Enjoy the great outdoors under the starry sky

 

[Heather07438]

It's all happening on this board today - bears, cicadas, ticks!

Sorry, I can't be more helpful 1GoldenSun. The only bears I know about are at the Country Bear Jamboree!

I really hope you can organise the trip so you feel comfortable and have fun!

Honestly- I’d be more scared of ticks than bears while camping. Lyme is worse and much more probable than a bad encounter with a bear.

 

[Heather07438]

We saw scat and occasional footprints for 3-4 days,

One year I planted sunflowers and they grew over 6’ tall. One day one was missing, cracked off. Who took it? Next day I found a huge (huge) pile in my yard, dotted with sunflower seeds The bear. Guilty!

 

[bcla]

Yep. Read up, prepare yourself and then don’t worry. Bears don’t want to bother messing with humans, it’s way too much trouble for them. Especially in summer when they can find plenty of access to easier food.

• Keep a clean camp. All food, toothpaste, soda and juices, and other bear attractants should be secured away from tents.
• Use food lockers when available or follow the campground’s food storage recommendations and guidelines for properly storing food while in the area.
• Use recycling and trash bins provided at campgrounds frequently instead of storing garbage at your campsite.
• Keep your pets leashed and secure their food between meals.
• While away from camp, secure food and garbage.

Use these tips when hiking in bear inhabited areas:

• Avoid surprising bears by making noise, as bears will avoid you if they can hear or smell you.
• Always give a bear space. Never approach, crowd, pursue or displace a bear you see ahead on the trail.
• Never get between a mother and her cub even if the cub appears to be alone or sick. Leave that area
• Leave pets at home or keep them leashed. Loose dogs can startle bears and cause them to chase the dogs back to their owners.

Whether on the trail or in your campsite, do not run. Remain calm, group together and pick up small children. Continue to face the bear and back away slowly, talking calmly to identify yourself as a human and not another animal. If the bear continues to approach, try to scare it away by making yourself as large and imposing as possible and making loud noises. Carry and know how to use bear spray, which is available at many outdoor retailers and can be used to deter a charging bear.

^Thats from recreation.gov
Good advice. We commonly have bear sightings in our neighborhood. After understanding proper precautions the most important thing that helped me feel safe is knowing what to do if I ever actually felt threatened and vulnerable. Bang metal. They don’t like that. The harder and louder the better. If you yell don’t shriek, use a low and stern voice. Mace spray is good to have, the chance you will need it is less than one in a million but having it in your tent might help you sleep better. Most campgrounds do a great job of conditioning bears to stay away. Bears are awesome. They really don’t want to mess with people personally, they’re just lookin for some easy leftover food scraps. Enjoy the great outdoors under the starry sky

Some of that is simple to understand, but not necessarily accurate. Grizzly bears with cubs are scary as heck, but American black bears with cubs are generally just as timid as black bears without cubs. They're generally not wired to put themselves in danger, and they're really good at directing the cubs to climb up trees. I've seen it myself, where mama bear just walked away even there was still one of her cubs up a tree.

The one thing that isn't allowed in national parks is weapons (other than guns, but that's a long story). And the kind of weapons that would be effective against bears are pretty simple, because they're what the National Park Service uses such as paintball guns and other things. A slingshot and plastic beads would be ideal, but that's considered a weapon. I've seen video of a park ranger firing a shotgun with rubber slugs at a bear. If a bear needs to be hazed, it wouldn't be illegal to throw objects at it, like bottled water or small, non-food items. Once when I went camping I kept bottled water on top of my bear box. I asked a park ranger about it, and that wasn't a problem as bears have no problem finding water. But if it ever comes to it, those are missiles that can be lobbed at bears.

Also - bear spray is considered an illegal weapon in most national parks. There are exceptions, and they're universally where there are grizzly bears.

 

[1GoldenSun]

Thanks everyone.

I think the main takeaway is that bear safety procedures differ from location to location based on the type(s) of bear(s) that populate(s) that area and the behaviors they have adopted. I think this is where some of my conflicting information is coming from; it just isn't the same in every location.

I'm considering looking for indoor lodging in Sequoia, and canceling the campground reservation. My husband won't be with us there, and I think that would make me more nervous. All of the campgrounds where we have reservations (Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Acadia) allow tent camping, so I'm assuming that either the bears don't pose a problem in those areas (the specific campgrounds, not the parks in general), and/or they have preventive measures in place (either they have bear boxes or the bears in that area don't tend to break into cars, etc.). I'm assuring myself that although outlying incidents can occur, they would not be offering tent camping if the risk were more than very minimal.

We're staying in a hotel in Yosemite. I think to be safe we'll bring all our food items into the hotel with us. And I guess when we leave the car in a parking lot to go on a hike, we'll make sure to take all the food with us so our car doesn't get broken into.

We've been watching videos about how to identify bears so we know how to respond if we see one. I do really like bears and I want a healthy bear population, but I'm also really hoping I don't see one!

 

[RedAngie]

I’ll settle for these bears.

 

[chickapin parterre]

It's all happening on this board today - bears, cicadas, ticks!

At The Zoo"

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it, I do believe it's true.
It's a light and tumble journey
From the East side to the park.
Just a fine and fancy ramble to the zoo.
But you can take the cross-town bus
If it's raining or it's cold.
And the animals will love it if you do.

 

[disneyseniors]

OP, there's one thing that has not been mentioned. We live in bear country in N. Mn. and have bears each Spring. I keep a megaphone with LOUD sirens on it. They don't like noise, and are usually sent running by just yelling or beating on something (usually the door). If it is a nuisance bear, they will not run due to noise, but stop and stay. We had that happen once and it was scary. But most of the time they will run away upon seeing you or hearing you yell and bang on something. It might be helpful to get one of those loud megaphones.

 

[bcla]

OP, there's one thing that has not been mentioned. We live in bear country in N. Mn. and have bears each Spring. I keep a megaphone with LOUD sirens on it. They don't like noise, and are usually sent running by just yelling or beating on something (usually the door). If it is a nuisance bear, they will not run due to noise, but stop and stay. We had that happen once and it was scary. But most of the time they will run away upon seeing you or hearing you yell and bang on something. It might be helpful to get one of those loud megaphones.

Depends if it's a food conditioned bear or not. Once they have food, they're resistant to leave. The bears you have don't sound like they're campground bears. My main experience is in the Sierra Nevada in pockets where black bears are notorious for their skill and creativity. I've heard of some bears (nicknamed "ninja bears") that will sneak up when there's an opening to take food or bags. There are also some nicknamed "kamikaze bears" because they've been able to climb up trees and jump on [correction] branches trying to defeat food hangs left by backpackers. Bear canisters are almost universally required these days in certain parts of the Sierra Nevada.

I suggested throwing things at bears. That's something they really hate. I've seen Travel Channel programs on how they used clear (biodegradable) paintballs, which will sting when going after bears. Or some documentary on bear hazing in Anchorage, where they even have grizzly bears. I saw something where one bear was going after garbage, and the team went right after it, including throwing a garbage can right at them to make it uncomfortable.

And for the OP, for your list of destinations, bear spray would only be allowed at Yellowstone or Grand Teton. You could have it in your vehicle, but not out all those other places. If you're nearby, it might be legal to have them. When we stayed at Sequoia/Kings Canyon, we camped in the Giant Sequoia National Monument portion of Sequoia National Forest. They have far more lenient rules on many things, including weapons and collecting. Also - bear spray isn't a preventative. I've heard of people spraying it on their tents thinking it would ward off bears. It's really just a pepper spray in a large can size. It has to be sprayed full strength into the face of the bear, where it will be disorienting and generally will make it impossible for the bear to keep its eyes open. It might also be illegal to use one defensively against a person, although the circumstances might mitigate it.

 

[disneyseniors]

Depends if it's a food conditioned bear or not. Once they have food, they're resistant to leave. The bears you have don't sound like they're campground bears. My main experience is in the Sierra Nevada in pockets where black bears are notorious for their skill and creativity. I've heard of some bears (nicknamed "ninja bears") that will sneak up when there's an opening to take food or bags. There are also some nicknamed "kamikaze bears" because they've been able to climb up trees and jump on beaches trying to defeat food hangs left by backpackers. Bear canisters are almost universally required these days in certain parts of the Sierra Nevada.

I suggested throwing things at bears. That's something they really hate. I've seen Travel Channel programs on how they used clear (biodegradable) paintballs, which will sting when going after bears. Or some documentary on bear hazing in Anchorage, where they even have grizzly bears. I saw something where one bear was going after garbage, and the team went right after it, including throwing a garbage can right at them to make it uncomfortable.

And for the OP, for your list of destinations, bear spray would only be allowed at Yellowstone or Grand Teton. You could have it in your vehicle, but not out all those other places. If you're nearby, it might be legal to have them. When we stayed at Sequoia/Kings Canyon, we camped in the Giant Sequoia National Monument portion of Sequoia National Forest. They have far more lenient rules on many things, including weapons and collecting. Also - bear spray isn't a preventative. I've heard of people spraying it on their tents thinking it would ward off bears. It's really just a pepper spray in a large can size. It has to be sprayed full strength into the face of the bear, where it will be disorienting and generally will make it impossible for the bear to keep its eyes open. It might also be illegal to use one defensively against a person, although the circumstances might mitigate it.

No, they are definitely Not Campground bears! They are everywhere up here, black bears, and in the Spring when they are done hibernating, the young ones, around 150 lbs or so, venture out looking for food opportunities. We have bird feeders and that draws them. We put them away when we see the first bear and they usually don't come back. They are opportunistic and will go where the food is. The only problem is when a huge older bear (I"m talking 350 or up lbs) comes in and isn't scared of anything. Had this happen once. But it comes with living in the rural North Country.

 

[bcla]

Thanks everyone.

I think the main takeaway is that bear safety procedures differ from location to location based on the type(s) of bear(s) that populate(s) that area and the behaviors they have adopted. I think this is where some of my conflicting information is coming from; it just isn't the same in every location.

I'm considering looking for indoor lodging in Sequoia, and canceling the campground reservation. My husband won't be with us there, and I think that would make me more nervous. All of the campgrounds where we have reservations (Grand Canyon, Sequoia, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Acadia) allow tent camping, so I'm assuming that either the bears don't pose a problem in those areas (the specific campgrounds, not the parks in general), and/or they have preventive measures in place (either they have bear boxes or the bears in that area don't tend to break into cars, etc.). I'm assuring myself that although outlying incidents can occur, they would not be offering tent camping if the risk were more than very minimal.

We're staying in a hotel in Yosemite. I think to be safe we'll bring all our food items into the hotel with us. And I guess when we leave the car in a parking lot to go on a hike, we'll make sure to take all the food with us so our car doesn't get broken into.

We've been watching videos about how to identify bears so we know how to respond if we see one. I do really like bears and I want a healthy bear population, but I'm also really hoping I don't see one!

There's always some risk. I don't what to say other than that incidents that have been dangerous to people are exceedingly rare, but they get a lot of attention in the news when they do happen. Most people don't look at a photo of a car that got T-bones on a residential street and think they're never going to get in a car again. I would also point out that there's never been a recorded case of an American black bear killing a human in California or Nevada.

In Yosemite and SEKI, the rule is that food has to be stored out of sight during the day and can't be in the vehicle at night. At night is when bears might start looking around in cars. I don't believe there are any bear boxes around the hotels. At Curry Village, it's primarily tent cabins, and they used to have bear boxes in the parking lot. However, years ago they removed most of them and placed bear boxes near each tent cabin. Anyone with a hard sided cabin can take the food inside. If you use a bear box, test it out a bit. Bears will bang on them to see if maybe a locking mechanism didn't fully close or is broken. If it's nor a communal one, use a padlock.

The primary fear isn't really that having food is going to result in your vehicle being broken into. Some bears have broken into cars without any food. The primary concern is that they'll receive a reinforcement when they do find food. Heck - once I forgot to take a little bit of food out of my trunk when camping in Yosemite, and nothing happened.

 

[bcla]

No, they are definitely Not Campground bears! They are everywhere up here, black bears, and in the Spring when they are done hibernating, the young ones, around 150 lbs or so, venture out looking for food opportunities. We have bird feeders and that draws them. We put them away when we see the first bear and they usually don't come back. They are opportunistic and will go where the food is. The only problem is when a huge older bear (I"m talking 350 or up lbs) comes in and isn't scared of anything. Had this happen once. But it comes with living in the rural North Country.

I've come across bears many times and it's usually more fascinating than threatening.

Yosemite gets a lot of the publicity, but Lake Tahoe is a totally different matter. Part of the problem is vacation homes stocked with food but nobody present. If they break in, nobody finds out until maybe a renter or the owner comes back.

 

[luv2cheer92]

We did a similar sounding trip last year. We saw two bears while out hiking and several while in our car. The two while hiking was a grizzly at Grand Teton and a black bear while at Glacier, both were a good bit off in the distance and never seemed to be a threat.

Yosemite was the most strict about locking up any food. We were staying in one of the tent cabins in the valley and our spot was about 1/2 mile from the parking lot, one of the furthest ones. We had brought enough food/snacks/drinks in our car for a 2 month road trip, no way were we going to carry all of that to our campsite to lock it up, nor would it all fit. But we still got a warning sticker on our car and would have gotten a fine had they seen it again. Thankfully they didn't pick up on it until our last night. We did try to bury and cover everything up as much as we could.