When spending time in nature, it’s easy to lose yourself in the beauty and serenity of it all. The smell of fresh air, the chorus of wildlife all around and endless views that are a photographer’s dream are there to be discovered. The tranquility can be mesmerizing, but at the same time, you are at nature’s mercy. A peaceful hike in the woods can become a fight for your life in a split second if you happen across the wrong animal at the wrong time. Being out in nature is recreational for us, but for the creatures that live there it’s pretty much what they do for a living. They live and die there. They hunt or are hunted, forage for food, defend their territories, and raise and protect their families. When we enter their domain, we become part of that equation from their perspective. They don’t know we’re just there to enjoy a walk and take some pictures. They see us as just another animal that might pose a threat, and indeed, some of us do. Sometimes we can even be seen as an easy meal! Knowing this, it is up to us to take precautions and remain vigilantly aware of our surroundings. Common sense and a little homework can make the difference between a fantastic outdoor adventure and getting eaten alive.
Many animals can do us harm – moose, elk, snakes, mountain lions, coyotes and wolves to name a few. I certainly don’t want to tangle with any of them, but the one I think of most often and the one we take the most precautions for is the bear. I don’t care what kind of bear, black and brown are both capable of eating me! Granted, black bears are not considered to be as aggressive in general, but there have been many people killed by them just the same. For the record, coyotes are pretty high on my list of critters to be respected. They hunt in packs, and they’re wily, you know?
Most of our preventive measures are common sense. I’d say the most important thing we do is that we’re very careful with our food and anything else that might have an attractive scent such as toiletries. I am an absolute nazi about this, maybe even more so than Ken! A bear’s sense of smell is thought to be 7 times better than a bloodhound’s, and about 2,100 times better than a human’s. Our food preparation is very organized, and not a scrap is dropped without being picked up immediately. Food and toiletry items are never left out unattended – if they’re not in use, they’re in the Jeep. We clean up after meals promptly which lessens the amount of time that food odors are wafting about, and decreases the likelihood that a bear could approach while food is still out in the open. Having food locked up in a solid structure makes it a little more difficult (but not impossible – it just takes longer) for bears to access, and gives us more time and a better chance at defending our stuff. If we’re staying at a campground, we use their designated dish washing sink and remove any food particles which go in our trash bag in the vehicle when we’re finished. If we’re camping in a remote area without facilities, we scrape food residue into a trash bag, wash our dishes, and carry the grey water at least 100 yards from the campsite to disperse in the brush. As a side note, we use biodegradable camp soap for this, and it is our hope that it delivers its promise of being non-toxic and generally benign. We go through this same type of ritual for brushing our teeth – far away from camp and pouring some water to dilute it. After all of our efforts, it would be silly to draw a bear into our campsite with some spit-out toothpaste! Our bear spray is kept handy at all times, especially while cooking and eating, and after dark. I usually carry it to dump grey water and brush my teeth, too. We also both always carry a knife, but that likely wouldn’t be of much help and the pepper spray is the weapon of choice.
Bear spray is a large can of pepper spray which typically shoots out about 30 feet. It is considered to be the best form of deterrent during a bear encounter. Although it may seem like a gun would work better, there are some things that can go wrong. This includes inability to draw the weapon fast enough, poor aim, and having the wrong caliber – not strong enough to kill, which in turn just makes the animal angrier. Bear spray seems to really stop them in their tracks, even grizzly bears. Aside from all that, we really wouldn’t want to kill a bear unless we absolutely had to. They are, after all, one of nature’s magnificent creatures, and one which we enjoy seeing from a safe distance.
We also do quite a bit of hiking, and some overnight backpacking. The same rules apply here, with heightened awareness since we don’t have a vehicle to climb into for safety. An additional precaution we take while spending a night in the woods is the use of bear canisters to store our food, toiletries, and trash. These are hard plastic containers designed to prevent bears from getting at the contents. They are hard enough to withstand the crushing force a bear would use, and there are no edges to use as a point to pry it open. In order to open them you have to use a coin or screwdriver to twist two screws to unlock it. So unless bears grow opposable thumbs, access will be denied! We do still hang these in a tree far away from the campsite, just in case. We’d like the bear to experience his disappointment at a safer distance.
One last item we’ve recently added to our arsenal is an electric fence. Here’s a pretty interesting video of its use posted by a nature guide working with a BBC film crew in Alaska.
They were in the midst of hundreds of grizzlies while filming, and used this system to keep their camp safe. It was pretty compelling, and after looking at several other videos demonstrating its effectiveness, we decided to get it. One of those videos is presented by NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School), demonstrating the testing of these fences with seven grizzly bears at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in Montana.
We won’t use it every time we set up camp. This is for when we’re really out in the middle of nowhere or in thick bear country and feel we want the added protection, especially at night. Our original plan was to combine it with an alarm called Pack Alarm, but we’re holding off on that at least for now. The electric fence system will run off the secondary battery in the Jeep, via the inverter, as it requires an alternating current. (This system can also run on two D batteries, making it useful for backpacking as well.) We tested it at home to make sure the battery will last all through the night, and it passed with flying colors.
We are not experts, but these are the precautions we take in bear country. We seek new knowledge on the topic all the time, and recommend that others do the same. One video I watched and highly recommend is Safety in Bear Country - Dr. Tom Smith - 2012 NOLS Faculty Summit. I usually watch long videos like this a little at a time in shorter segments, but this one fully grabbed my attention immediately. It is just as entertaining as it is informative, and the information presented is comprehensive and eye-opening. At the end of the video, the attendees were taken outside for a couple of hands-on demonstrations, which were also truly eye-opening. If you spend any time in bear country, you should definitely check it out!
Bears are powerful, intelligent, beautiful creatures which makes them both a deadly force and a joy to witness. We strive to enter their world in a manner that promotes our safety and theirs, to experience the beauty of nature with as little impact on it as possible.
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