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  1. #1

    Default Disturbing Story of an Aggressive Black Bear in VA

    Here's a well-written, firsthand account of a bear harassing a pair of hikers in the middle of the night in their tent. They retreated from the campsite, and the bear followed them for quite a distance.

    https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail...lachian-trail/

    I'd always views black bears as big, timid raccoons, but things are changing. It seems there's a new story like this every year.

    Maybe canisters will soon be required for the entire length of the AT?

  2. #2

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    They were told Max Creek Shelter was closed due to bear activity, and camped nearby anyway.

    Sometimes, when you ask for trouble, you get it.
    Teej

    "[ATers] represent three percent of our use and about twenty percent of our effort," retired Baxter Park Director Jensen Bissell.

  3. #3
    Registered User somers515's Avatar
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    Interesting article, thanks for sharing DuctTape. I've always read that bear attacks were so much less likely when there is 2+ people in your group (as opposed to being solo) so perhaps a little unlucky that they had so much trouble. I thought the author did a nice job of laying out what they did wrong (and of course camping near, but not inside, a closed to camping zone was one thing) and what they did right and in fairness it seems to me they did a lot right and perhaps why they lived to tell the tale!
    AT Flip Flop (HF to ME, HF to GA) Thru Hike 2023; LT End-to-Ender 2017; NH 48/48 2015-2021; 21 of 159usForests.com

  4. #4

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    Most folks do not understand how far a bear will roam in one night. They will routinely travel several miles if the picking is good. A food habituated bear is going to go where the food is with the least effort and that typically is a trail.

    There is also the sleep with your food fallacy that trains bears to come in close. I am not sure about other states but in NH Fish and Game is very reluctant to shoot a problem bear unless its actually attacked someone.

    This book https://www.amazon.com/Libertarian-W.../dp/B083J1FXY8 has some very interesting observations on when clueless folks from "away" do the wrong thing with bears.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by DuctTape View Post
    Here's a well-written, firsthand account of a bear harassing a pair of hikers in the middle of the night in their tent. They retreated from the campsite, and the bear followed them for quite a distance.

    https://thetrek.co/appalachian-trail...lachian-trail/

    I'd always views black bears as big, timid raccoons, but things are changing. It seems there's a new story like this every year.

    Maybe canisters will soon be required for the entire length of the AT?
    Sorry, I think this story was mistitled. I feel for the author, and appriciate her honesty but the article should have been titled: "hikers do not heed warnings or follow recomended best practices and experience predictable outcomes"

    They camped at a closed overnight sight. They cooked near their tent. They had smellables including icy hot next to their tent. This is kinda what you get.

  6. #6
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    To be clear, I'm glad they are ok, and I am glad that this person was honest. Reading the title, I expected something a little less user-created. Glad no one got tasted.

  7. #7

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    When you read a written set of guidelines about what to do when camping in bear territory it doesn’t sink in as much as hearing about real encounters, and what was done wrong to attract bears. Maybe this story, with a list of what was done wrong, will more effectively get the story out. Those two hikers will never make the same mistakes again, and hopefully other hikers they meet will learn the same lesson when they hear the story.

  8. #8
    Registered User somers515's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Digger'02 View Post
    . . . They camped at a closed overnight sight. . . .
    Actually this is not true, at least according to the linked article. They stopped before they reached the closed camping site. The camping ban area was expanded afterwards as a result of their incident, so when they set up their tent that night they were in a legit location.
    AT Flip Flop (HF to ME, HF to GA) Thru Hike 2023; LT End-to-Ender 2017; NH 48/48 2015-2021; 21 of 159usForests.com

  9. #9

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    The idea that black bears are docile harmless animals ended for me when I heard a talk at a professional geological meeting of a prominent Canadian geologist. He had an all-night pitched battle with a black bear in eastern Canada. He finally killed the bear with his rock hammer. Yes, black bears can attack people (even large men), and be deadly.

  10. #10

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    I’m taking note and instead of being reactive plan to be way more proactive

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by RockDoc View Post
    The idea that black bears are docile harmless animals ended for me when I heard a talk at a professional geological meeting of a prominent Canadian geologist. He had an all-night pitched battle with a black bear in eastern Canada. He finally killed the bear with his rock hammer. Yes, black bears can attack people (even large men), and be deadly.
    We really could use an eye roll reaction for posts like this.

  12. #12
    Registered User dudeijuststarted's Avatar
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    This article is astounding proof that people attempting an Appalachian Trail thru hike should get some outdoor experience under their belt first, preferably on the AT itself. Emergencies surely happen, but this was rife with the antithesis of black bear, and working with EMS, etiquette. No one cares if you're a thru hiker, no one wants to hear your policy on guns, don't cook near your campsite, don't run from bears, don't identify yourself with food by throwing it at the bear. The bear basics used to be day-one stuff. I think phones have replaced alot of technique.

    I'm glad they're okay because that was definitely a close one, and I'm glad the article is there for future hikers to read.

    Sheesh.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by CalebJ View Post
    We really could use an eye roll reaction for posts like this.
    . If you look at the list of fatal black bear attacks, the majority have been in Canada and some also in AK. Different perspective.

    The wrappers in the pockets is mentioned but not as wrong or right-definitely a wrong. The toiletries too should have been hung. Hikers should know to take that stuff out anyway, the mice will chew into your stuff.

    "Bear activity="problem bear. If you hear those words it would behoove you to determine where that might be in relation to where you are going. There are lots of places to camp along the AT. It's different than, "I saw a bear" unless it is, "I saw a bear when it wandered into my campsite." Don't pick the nice established site either that's still relatively close. Would have been a good idea to pick a stealth site, off the trail, not used. Bears have a pretty big range though.

    I understand the fear and loss of coherent thinking. I will mention however that there is an endless supply of sticks and rocks along the AT. Throwing a knife sheath at a bear is near comical and should have broken the tension.

    Two bears is either momma and cub or cubs. It is extremely rare for a black bear momma and cubs to be engaging in a human predation attack. It did follow them but the guy had wrappers in his pockets.

    Lesson learned. Kudos for hanging their food right.

    My hiking partner and I had a bear (probably a griz) sniff our tent like this in Glacier. But we had to watch videos and adhered to the triangle of cooking in one place, food hung in another, sleep away from the food. The bear just batted at our packs and moved along.
    "Sleepy alligator in the noonday sun
    Sleepin by the river just like he usually done
    Call for his whisky
    He can call for his tea
    Call all he wanta but he can't call me..."
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  14. #14

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    I read all the stuff they'd not hung as contributing to the issue. Perhaps one of the top reasons the bear(s) were sticking around. I learned some years ago to double check ALL things that could smell. I'd hung my food, trash and toothpaste. I still had a raccoon after my pack just after I fell asleep. I'd left a granola bar in a hip pocket. I'd left FLOSS in the pack. I'd left something else in another side pocket. I was lucky that I only had a raccoon but they are VERY persistent. I had to get out of the hammock, get my headlight on, get the hang down....then at midnight I'm searching all the pack and other things for all the things I'd either overlooked, or didn't think anything would bother (Floss). I hung it all. I felt one more tug on the pack. The next day I found that the raccoon had removed the hip pocket and carried it 10 meters away to investigate it. At least I found it. Now, I check very carefully to empty everything.
    Their concluding thoughts of what was right and wrong, looked like they learned some stuff and shared it for anyone.
    For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
    Hammock hangs are where you go into the woods to meet men you've only known on the internet so you can sit around a campfire to swap sewing tips and recipes. - sargevining on HF

  15. #15
    GSMNP 900 Miler rmitchell's Avatar
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    Interesting read. Good information and cautionary tale about hanging smellable items.

    There was an incident at Cosby Knob Shelter on May 9/10 where a hiker was bitten by a bear. The shelter was closed at the time for "agressive bear activity". Rangers were called and responded during the night. Fortunately the lady was not seriously injured but the bear was shot and killed.

    I may post more when I have time, but much of the information I have is second hand.

  16. #16

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    In grizzly country I always take the proper measures, such as the triangulation my canister placement, kitchen, and campsite.

    Forgive me for saying so, but what's most striking about this story (and the overall trend) is that it's now become necessary to take the same precautions for black bears. In theory yes, we're all supposed to be taking such precautions all the time, but the reality is that unless grizzlies are present, most hikers haven't been doing so.

    Until recently, I'd wager that a high percentage of AT hikers have been cooking and eating out the door of the tent, hanging food in the shelters, and even sleeping with a food bag in the tent. These were in fact the most common practices, evidenced by all the tuna-can rigs in the shelters, and it was possible to behave this way 99.9% of the time without incident. Things have obviously changed, which is why this struck me as disturbing, aggressive behavior.

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by DuctTape View Post
    Until recently, I'd wager that a high percentage of AT hikers have been cooking and eating out the door of the tent, hanging food in the shelters, and even sleeping with a food bag in the tent. These were in fact the most common practices, evidenced by all the tuna-can rigs in the shelters, and it was possible to behave this way 99.9% of the time without incident. Things have obviously changed, which is why this struck me as disturbing, aggressive behavior.
    Black bear populations are increasing, and bear habitat is decreasing. It’s not surprising that there is more contact between bears and people, and that the highly intelligent black bears have started to associate people with food.

  18. #18
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    Here's a little info to go with this. A lot of people are now carrying bear canisters. What they are doing in the GRSMNP where you are required to hang your food bag, but canister as well, is to put the canister in the backpack and hang the whole kit. Bears, which are proving to be cunning and smart about anything food, relate the 'backpack' to food storage. Hence the why as to a couple of the bears entering tents and bringing out the backpack though food is hung on the cables. Also, there was a bear attack at Cosby Shelter in the GRSMNP on May 9 resulting in an injury via a bit limb. The NPS dispatched a team to 'neutralize' the bear. So strange how this stuff never makes the local or national news.

  19. #19

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    The NPS dispatched a team to 'neutralize' the bear. So strange how this stuff never makes the local or national news.
    The NPS keeps a pretty tight lid on news events that occur within Park boundaries, especially in regard to the personal privacy of those involved in backcountry incidents.

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by DuctTape View Post
    The NPS keeps a pretty tight lid on news events that occur within Park boundaries, especially in regard to the personal privacy of those involved in backcountry incidents.
    If someone is actually injured it will definitely make it into the news. A death will make it into national news. In the incident detailed in post#1, there were no injuries, or any actual attack, just a bear that wouldn’t be scared off.

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