Mountain Dew Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 My friend... Let's call him C-bone. He is an ex-infantry guy who has shot several "bad guys" in the war...tuff guy; macho man, etc etc... Well today, I drive him up in the car to the farest I can drive to Cap Peak so we can walk up to the 'summit' and he can see the views I described to him. He would not get out of the car without his 45... the reason?? Because he has seen a bear before on Ft Lewis and it 'chased him'!! He spent the rest of the day (when we were back at work) showing me statistics on Bear attacks, and how many thousand bears there are in Washington, and how a 45 hand gun won't stop them, and how they want to eat you, and kill you, and spit on you, and moleste you, etc etc etc .... Any thing bad about bears he could find he showed it to me... I have to admit, that this "macho" man-slayer now has me nervous of Bears in the mountains/peaks/valleys/trails, etc... PLEAAAASSSSEEEEE tell me how to overcome this..!!!!!!!!! If I cannot overcome this anxiety, I might as well dress up like a indian cheif, or a cop, and become a member of the Quote
beer_factor Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 Uh... Bear... Bearfucker, do you need assistance? Quote
grandpa Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 ...I have to admit, that this "macho" man-slayer now has me nervous of Bears in the mountains/peaks/valleys/trails, etc... PLEAAAASSSSEEEEE tell me how to overcome this..!!!!!!!!! Well, my experience with the bears in the cascades (and Minnesota - I've never seen any in North Dakota), while not extensive, has been over the past 45+ years, and it comes to this. USUALLY, they don't bother you intentionally, and when they do bother you, they're looking for something to eat. Something EASY to get to. In all but one instance, EVERY time I've run across bears in the cascades, they left the area very quickly as soon as they noticed me. The one time they did not is when they were busy raiding the picnic tables at Crater Lake Park. In all cases though, I left them alone, and they left me alone. So, make enough noise (talking in normal voice) and hike on. Now as far as dealing with grizzlies goes, I've no advice, but you'll not find any where you are going. Dave Quote
ryanb Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 PLEAAAASSSSEEEEE tell me how to overcome this..!!!!!!!!! If I cannot overcome this anxiety, I might as well dress up like a indian cheif, or a cop, and become a member of the[/b] How to deal with your fear of bears? Easy, show some self control and stop acting like you're a five years old who needs his favorite toy to feel safe. People run those trails with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I'd worry more about getting rid of that homophobia you got going there, ain't nothing wrong with the village people. Quote
Off_White Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 I don't believe the Capitol Forest has ever had a bear mauling, and they're quite rare in the state as a whole. The only fatality in Washington that casual research turned up was a 4 year old girl killed near Glenwood, WA in 1974. Wikipedia has an interesting List of Fatal Bear Attacks in North America. Fear is not a rational thing though, so accurate information and an understanding of statistics may not be enough. Also, bears are complex intelligent animals with a wide range of behaviors. Like people, some will help you when you're in need and others will take everything you own. Quote
Bug Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 There have been a few bear maulings in the Cascades over the last 20 years. They happen in the spring when the bears come out of hibernation, get pushed around by the bigger bears, and are just plain desperate, hungry, and used to fighting. Then you are better off with bear spray cause while you are being mauled by a bear there is no telling which way the bullets will fly. Oh, and don't bend over in the woods without a quick look around. Quote
selkirk Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 The only part of a bear I've ever seen in the woods (16 years of hiking, backpacking, and climbing in North Idaho and Washignton) was it's hind end as it ran away. Around you need to be much more worried about mountain goats eating your boots, marmot's eating your trekking pole handles, and snaffles eating everything else. The mountain goats around here are not at all afraid of people. Of course they don't want to eat you, they just want you to go pee for them. Quote
Crillz Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 Like everyone's said, for the most part bears want nothing to do with you. They want to stay the hell away, and they want you to stay the hell away. We were face to face with a mother black bear and her 3 cubs a few years ago somewhere between stevens and snoqualmie pass on the PCT. There was no attack - all of us, including the bears wanted nothing to do with eachother. We slowly backed up, and the bears quickly went the other way. Quote
Mountain Dew Posted October 9, 2009 Author Posted October 9, 2009 THanks for all the great advice, I feel much better about bears now! My friend is just very nervous of bears after being "Chased" for a good distance by one in 2007 (so he claims)... He also swears he saw Bigfoot by a place called the "420 bridge" when he was younger LOL Oh, and Ryanb; I am not Homophobic... My grandpa and I used to drive our hogs thousands of miles just to disco to their funky disco beat! ...Here is a Pix of my grandpa and my friend Chaz... Poor grandpa, I miss him. (but he should of known he could drown in a hot tub doing what he did...) Quote
matt_warfield Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 I agree with most of the advice. I have been on a trail where a mother black bear ran up the hill while her two cubs went up a tree on the other side. We went on with no problems. Bottom line is black bears can be reasonable but grizzlies are at the top of the food chain and very dangerous. Luckily, they don't frequent Washington. But in Yellowstone Park, Glacier Park, Canada, and Alaska, be aware. I went hiking in Kodiak AK and all the bear spray and handguns don't keep one from puckering hiking around a corner. We all have our phobias about bears, snakes, and sharks, etc. but at the end of the day it is cancer and auto accidents that are way worse. Quote
rocketparrotlet Posted October 9, 2009 Posted October 9, 2009 I've seen bears in the Cascades twice, both times they lumbered away. They really aren't out to "get you"; bear killings are very rare. Might as well be afraid of crazy drivers or something, they're much more likely to kill or harm you than bears are. -Mark Quote
BirdDog Posted October 15, 2009 Posted October 15, 2009 I'm more scared of gun toting macho men than I am of bears. Quote
LostCamKenny Posted October 21, 2009 Posted October 21, 2009 When dealing with bears you must remember only one thing: You needent be faster than the bear, just the gun-toting macho, ex-infantry companion you take with you! Quote
Pete_H Posted October 21, 2009 Posted October 21, 2009 I've encountered a lot of black bears in the North Cascades and they've either run away or ignored me. Its kind of scary because they could fuck you up if they wanted to. But the vast majority of times they're going to be way more scared of you than you are of them. Quote
slugking Posted October 22, 2009 Posted October 22, 2009 How can you tell the difference between Black Bear Scat and Grizzly Bear Scat? Grizzly Bear scat has BEAR BELLS in it. Quote
LostCamKenny Posted October 23, 2009 Posted October 23, 2009 But the vast majority of times they're going to be way more scared of you than you are of them. Whatever - you can say that about squirrels, too. Quote
stevetimetravlr Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Some Grizzlies in North Cascades and other areas near Canada, thousands of black bears and mountain lions everywhere else. Best not to go into the woods, as they can jump on your back and rip your throat out and feast on your liver. Nothing to be to concerned about, I worry more about the boogie man under the bed at night myself personally. But then I try to make allot of noise when bushwacking, I don't go into berry patches unless alert, and don't wear deoderant or cologne hiking or backpacking and also don't pack tuna or meat sandwiches or anything to pungent on me. Quote
gyro Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Luckily, they don't frequent Washington. I agree with your post in general except that they do frequent Washington. http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/species/mammals/grizzly/ That is a link that shows a map of Grizzly recovery zones from the US fish and wildlife. I've seen Grizzly twice backpacking in the Pasayten. That being said, they didn't bother me, I just went the other way, hung food in trees away from camp along with any odoriferous like toothpaste, etc... Had a much more difficult time with the mountain goats that chased us off Amphitheater peak and circled our camp by Upper cathedral lake for hours trying to get our boots. In general, always hike as if you could encounter a large predator whether that be bear, cougar, alligator, etc... Don't smell like prey, don't act like prey, and don't sleep with food or things that smell like it. Quote
Bug Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 Bear spray, pistols, and hand grenades. For Mountain lions, wear a mask on the back of your head. They will not attack if they think you are watching. For cougars, give them directions to UW campus. Quote
rocky_joe Posted January 11, 2010 Posted January 11, 2010 For cougars, give them directions to UW campus. unless your south of the columbia...then directions to UO (my house) are as follows. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.