Camping in Bear Country

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.

Our Jeep & Modifications

Note: This post was edited in March 2017.

OK, time to talk Jeep stuff!  We purchased a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited in the spring of 2012.  Since we like to go to very remote places and we do a lot of camping, we viewed this as an essential purchase as an aide to our lifestyle.  This was also part of our plan regarding our big trip to Alaska.  As such, we have made several modifications to enhance our ability to do these things.  Aside from aesthetics, each item has a practical function.  I’ll try to list these in the order they were added.

Here's what it looked like before anything was done.

15,000 Miles of Awesome!

We have exciting news to share!  A few years ago we had an idea and started planning an epic journey.  The time to take this journey is approaching.  We’re taking our Jeep and our tent on a little trip… for 4 months, across the continent.  We’ll start in Florida, drive across the U.S., through Canada, and into Alaska.  Our Jeep was purchased and modified for the purpose of this trip and many similar trips to follow.  We will be tent camping the whole way, staying at a hotel maybe once a week or so, in order to do laundry, stock up on supplies, make phone calls, etc.  Other than that we will be off the grid and loving every minute of it!  Planned stops include several National Parks – Canyonlands, Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Banff and Jasper in Canada, and Denali to name a few.  We will also drive the Dalton Highway up to Deadhorse in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, which will put us well inside the Arctic Circle.  The Dalton Highway was featured on seasons 3 through 6 of the television series Ice Road Truckers.  It is 414 miles of mostly gravel road, having gas stations only at mile posts 56 (Yukon Crossing), 175 (Coldfoot), and 414 (Deadhorse).  That’s a 239 mile stretch with no gas available, so we’ll be bringing an extra supply just to be safe.  You can never have too much gas… well, actually... oh, never mind!

Limekiln & Harris Lakes; Moose River 8/7/13 – 8/14/13

This year’s annual camping trip with Adam & Jacqui and Kaden took us to new places.  Our first night was spent at Limekiln Lake Campgrounds, just outside of Moose River Wild Forest.  We had a spot near the water, and had to keep a constant eye on Kaden, who is two years old and into everything.  He is a very busy little guy, and moves quicker than expected!  The site was nice and roomy, plenty big enough for all of us to share.  Adam & Jacqui rented a pop-up camper for the weekend; we used our regular tent for the single overnight, as it sets up and tears down pretty quickly.

Shenandoah National Park 5-16 & 5-17-13

Okay, so we’re into 2013 now! We’ve had two visible modifications done to the Jeep at this point: a roof rack/basket, and a light bar. I’ll discuss those more in detail in a later post, but their functions are obvious.

Catch Up & Review: 2012 Part 2 – Moose River; Lewey Lake

Our summer vacation consisted of stays at two of our favorite places – Moose River and Lewey Lake.  In Moose River we took a spot next to Sumner stream, and were later joined by The Amy & Dan Clan (which includes them, their son Daniel and their dog); they took the next campsite up the road.  They told us they’d heard reports of moose sightings at Helldiver Pond, so we walked in to the pond to check it out.  The moose is there in the early morning hours, though, so no luck for us.  On a future visit we’ll have to set an alarm so we can go see him!

Catch Up & Review: 2012 Part 1 – Ocala National Forest

Enough time had passed since we moved to Florida and we really needed to do a good camping and hiking excursion down here.  It’s quite different here, in that summer is not the ideal time for these activities.  It’s really, really hot, and the insects are relentless – a perfect combination for misery!  Winter, on the other hand, is a lovely time to be outdoors for the most part.  Temperatures are moderate and the bugs are greatly reduced. 

So at the end of January we grabbed our backpacking gear and headed up to Juniper Prairie Wilderness Area, in Ocala National Forest.  The trailhead is next to the Juniper Springs Recreation Area Campground where we paid to park our car.  We wanted to avoid any vandalism that might occur at the trailhead, which we read reports of online.  We hiked to Hidden Pond, stayed overnight, and hiked back.  During the daytime it was about 80 degrees, and we were in the sun most of the time.  We wore pants as usual, and worked up a pretty good sweat.

Catch Up & Review: 2011 Moose River ; Wanakena/Five Ponds

In the summer of 2011, our vacation was spent mostly in the Adirondacks, after visiting some family. First leg of the camping trip was at Moose River Plains Wild Forest; we spent three nights there. It was awesome as always. One of the campsites we’ve always wanted to stay at but is always occupied was finally vacant, so we grabbed it. It’s a really pretty spot by the water.

Catch Up & Review: 2010 Part 3 Moose River

For our final camping trip of the year we spent one last weekend at Moose River at the end of August. The campsite we chose had been oddly decorated off to the side. Someone put a lot of effort into this rock arrangement, and they arranged some long grasses on the ground and in the trees. It was very strange, and I have no idea what it means, if anything.

Catch Up & Review: 2010 Part 2 Forked Lake; Lewey Lake

Our next trip was at the end of May to Forked Lake in the Adirondacks.  It is a primitive campground, and all the sites are walk-in or canoe-in.