Probably overly concerned about Bears...

[SOLcreature]

Hello everyone! This is my first big hike and I am just going to be honest, my only true fear, is running into a hungry black bear. I have 2 herniated discs in my lower back (yes I know the risks of backpacking with them) so fighting one off is unlikely and I don't want to A. Be mauled or B. Have my food stolen. I am not entirely thru hiking but I am beginning on May 4th with a goal of reaching midway NY by end of the summer, and I am hiking alone. I am really trying to focus on being as light as possible so I really do not want to carry a Bear Container but I am looking now at the Garcia: http://www.backcountrygear.com/backp...FQ6ynQodyEoA7w because I would rather have the peace-of-mind when sleeping in a hammock. This will also be my first hammock trip so I am a bit concerned about the thought of looking like a hanging food bag! And the more I am reading I am finding that everyone is recommending sleeping with their food because more and more bear are figuring out the hanging method, and making off with food bags. I was raised outdoors, and know how to leave no trace, but I was raised in an area with no black bear. Since I am going through the area I keep hearing the most about bear activity (GA/NC) I am starting to get more concerned. So I guess, are my fears legitimate, and is it really necessary to carry one of these big bear canisters to be safer? Anyone encountered a bear while hammocking?

[leaftye]

A bear canister is a nearly fool proof way to store your food. Put it far away from where you sleep if you want to give bears one less reason to visit your campsite.

Hanging a bear bag works if done properly, but lots of people do it wrong and lose their food.

You can reduce the chances of a bear finding either of the above if you use an odor proof bag too. If the bear can't smell it, it probably won't find it.

If you sleep with your food, which I don't encourage, you really should use an odor proof bag. Even if the bear never attacks you, do you want it the smell drawing the bear to your hammock to check out the situation?

[max patch]

I've hiked on the AT close to 40 years and a bear has never bothered me yet, so yeah, you're probably overreacting.

[Kookork]

I started hiking being cautious about the black bears in Canada. I really hike alone( As far as I know,being a solo hiker on AT is a relative term,There are some people around you if not with you normally) but I started to enjoy watching the bears from distance and showing them that I know they are there but I am ignoring them. Just like a hello you might say to a fellow hiker who is far from you doing things off trail. Just walk and give them space they deserve( and not in a panic way). BTW, I still have not seen a hungry enough bear in the season you want to hike. Good luck and enjoy the bear if you are lucky enough to see them

[SOLcreature]

Thank you for the responses everyone! I am sure I am far overthinking much of this, as I have read many times here... It will fall into place as I get started. I think I am going to suck it up and carry the somewhat bulky thing, if I am so inclined and as my fears subside, perhaps I'll mail it home : )

[leaftye]

Carry it if you want. At least the bears won't get your food, and that's a very good thing for the bears. Other hikers get way more confident than they should be and end up feeding the bears.

[gunner76]

You will be lucky to see a bear while hiking. I live in an area in eastern NC with a very high bear population and I have yet to see one while hiking.

Hang your food from the trees and or use the bear cables at the shelters and you will be fine. I don't know of anyone being attacked by a bear in a hammock (bear burrito) while you can find lots of reports of bears breaking into tents (bear fortune cookies).

[Slo-go'en]

Hang your food from the trees and or use the bear cables at the shelters and you will be fine. I don't know of anyone being attacked by a bear in a hammock (bear burrito) while you can find lots of reports of bears breaking into tents (bear fortune cookies).

That's probably because fewer hammockers sleep with thier food then tenters. The thing a bear valut is most useful for on the AT is to keep mice out of your food, which is a much more significant problem.

[Spirit Bear]

I ran into 6bears last year hiking just the GA section of the AT. I got over my fear ofbears after that last one. During the time though I got pretty spooked walkingthe trail, I even bought a bear bell and also put my pot attached to it to makeeven more rattle noise. Once I ran into bear number 6 though the fear went away.I use the PCT method for hanging my food, the key is to make sure you get thebag to actually sit about 10 feet above the ground and make sure the bag isroughly 8-10 feet away from the tree. It's hard to find believe it or not,especially when you're tired and just want to hang in your hammock or sleep inyour tent.

If you do encounter a bear just know they are not interested in eating you, ifanything they are busy looking for food on the ground. 5 of the 6 I ran into didn’tmove when the saw me they just continued doing whatever they were doing, eatingsitting, or walking. 1 ran off before I saw it and all I saw was his backside,however he was only about 10 feet off the trail around the bend.

If you hike alone and hike quiet chances are you will see one. It's when youhike with buddies and talk when you don't encounter one. All 6 I ran into lastyear I was hiking alone.

1 of the 6 was actually a bear cub. That one really freaked me out. I thoughtthe mom was going to kill me to protect her cub, but that was just a myth. Ifanything the mom will chase the cub up a tree then run off, only to come backfor the cub later.

If you encounter a bear just remember not to do anything different than youwere doing before you saw it. Just continue to walk on the trail, unless he iswalking towards you on the trail. talk to yourself but don't yell, just talk sothe bear knows your there, sometimes they don't catch your scent and they havepoor eyesight.

Black bears avoid people at all cost, however they do know that people havefood in those things they have on their backs, so given an opportunity a bearwill snag the pack if you leave it unattended with food in it.

If you go fetch water, take your food. If you go to the bathroom take yourfood.

Some on here will tell you not to worry that they leave their food in theirpacks unattended all the time, they are just lucky.

You can sleep with your food however if you want peace of mind, given you havea fear like I do, then hang your food for peace of mind. But I think it isn’tnecessary, several thru hikers sleep with their food and to this day, no hikerhas been killed over their food bag, on the AT anyway.

See the link, here is yellow yellow who was an aggressive bear taking a packright at the shelter...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMPSjzKzC-c

[Snowleopard]

The main reason for a bear canister is to protect the bears from becoming accustomed to getting human food -- i.e., ' a fed bear is a dead bear'. Yellow-yellow was a very shy bear, but eventually became unafraid of people and was killed by a hunter. Attacks by black bears are extremely rare, almost non-existent along the AT. The main problems areas are GA and the Smokies, and NJ; personally, I would consider carrying a canister in these areas, but properly hanging food would work too. Some places up north have bear proof boxes at shelters.

Kookork, perhaps you should worry a little more than you do now. There has been a predatory black bear attack on people in Algonquin Provincial Park and, if I'm remembering correctly, in other parts of Eastern Canada. This warning does not apply on the AT.

[No Directions]

Here is a video you might find helpful.
http://www.smokiesinformation.org/hi...ifesafety.html
In 20+ years of hiking the AT in GA I have never seen a black bear. I have seen them in GSMNP and SNP and they either ran from me or were oblivious to my presence.

[Malto]

If a canister makes you feel better then take it. But don't take a Garcia, it would be the bottom of the list and I have used every single approved canister and even the Ursack. Either spend the money for a bearicade or buy one of the bearvaults. Unlikely that you will be able to fit a thru hiker sized food load into a Garcia. I'm sure that there will be people declare that they fit 57 days worth of food into a Garcia but all that I can say is good luck doing it for an entire thru hike on the go vs. repacking and loading in the kitchen.

[Another Kevin]

I hang my food to keep the rodents out of it.

If I'm staying in a shelter, I'll use the bear box, bear pole, bear cable, if they're provided. Otherwise, I'll hang my food from the mouse trapeze if others have done so; if I'm the first one there, I'll bear-bag properly. If I'm tenting, I virtually always bear-bag. I may be slightly less disciplined about it in the dead of winter, when the bears and many of the small mammals are in hibernation.

A bear bag, box, cable, or pole is the only place I leave food unattended for any longer than it takes to pee. It's more about the mice, chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, and porcupines than it is about the bears. But proper storage works against all of them.

When I've seen a bear on the trail, it's always been a rapidly disappearing bear butt, as the bear hightails out of there. I have heard the sound of a bear huffing in the night - coming from the direction of my food bag - but since my food was still there in the morning, I guess he didn't figure out the hang.

[tf bear]

Face it. Bears do not like you! They will take your food if they are hungry enough and you leave it unattended. Use it as a pillow and you will have the best nights rest ever.

[MDSection12]

Face it. Bears do not like you! They will take your food if they are hungry enough and you leave it unattended. Use it as a pillow and you will have the best nights rest ever.

This advice seems well enough... But it appears to be coming from a bear... What's your stake in this?

[Kookork]

gunner76

You will be lucky to see a bear while hiking. I live in an area in eastern NC with a very high bear population and I have yet to see one while hiking.

Spirit Bear

I ran into 6bears last year hiking just the GA section of the AT.

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These two posts are about the same animal and same trail,right?!!

[Spirit Bear]

gunner76

You will be lucky to see a bear while hiking. I live in an area in eastern NC with a very high bear population and I have yet to see one while hiking.

Spirit Bear

I ran into 6bears last year hiking just the GA section of the AT.

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These two posts are about the same animal and same trail,right?!!

I can only account for myself, I might just have a magnet for them, hence my trail name.

Here is bear #6 I got him on film just briefly. He was heading right towards my food bag. After he saw me he stopped for about 30 seconds then ran down the trail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN7FCjFzxE0

[poopsy]

I must admit that I do not understand bear anxiety. I know that it exists and the fear can be paralyzing. I once had to let an employee go from a bush job because he was so afraid of bears. But I do not understand it, nor where it comes from. Is it learned somehow?

There are many more substantial risks in the woods that a person can be afraid of. Hypothermia, slipping, falling, sharp objects, insect and rodent carried diseases, and car traffic on the way to the hiking trail are just a few I can list off the top of my head. But after a lifetime of living, working and travelling in the woods, being afraid black bears just does not make sense to me. The term "irrational fear" seems appropriate and it falls into the same category as arachnophobia.

It's tough if you are afraid of bears on the trail. I also think you should realize that it is not one based on significant risk.

[Odd Man Out]

From my reading of bear experts, I conclude the following. In most cases when people report bear "attacks", the bear is not really attacking the person, but going after food. Also, unless the bear is really really hungry, its fear of you is much greater than it desire to get your food. So I have concluded that a fear of being attacked is low enough to not worry about. If you run into a hungry bear, it wants your food, not you. Bears don't eat people in hammocks. Not sure why you feel compelled to fight. You can certainly lower your chances of having the bear get your food by camping in places that are not established campsites. And in response to your statement that you don't want to have your food stolen and you don't want to carry a canister, I defer to Mick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C2W_O9BX4g

[Kookork]

I can only account for myself, I might just have a magnet for them, hence my trail name.

Here is bear #6 I got him on film just briefly. He was heading right towards my food bag. After he saw me he stopped for about 30 seconds then ran down the trail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN7FCjFzxE0

Once I switched to hiking and climbing from hunting ,I started to find wild animals during my climbs in places that my companies used to climb many times and they never saw them before. They always were there but I was hiking with the hunter mentality.