Bears

Because some bears, as a result of their interaction with human kind, can become very skillful at finding and eating human food. They may develop into "problem bears", as referred to by authorities and lay people alike. Which often may lead to punitive action by authorities including relocation & occasionally and unfortunately the bears ultimate demise. "A fed bear is a dead bear".

I have therefore decided to include some basic information, on proper backcountry bear (Make that human) etiquette.

Having Backpacked hundreds of trail miles in the Sierras, and large portions of the Yosemite backcountry.

The best information I have found, through my extensive research and practical wilderness experience including several face to face first hand encounters, suggests that most bears (particularly Black Bears) are mainly opportunists looking for a few "easy" calories to sustain them through their long winter hibernation period.

Remember that bears represent the top of the local food chain, including humans. It's their home you're visiting. I hope the following tips help you behave like a proper guest.

The best rule of thumb is " KEEP YOUR DISTANCE" and they will reciprocate.

Prevention is most of the battle. Keep the following items in mind when you plan a trip to the backcountry.

Do's:

  • Proper food storage is essential.
  • Do plan ahead and don't leave excess food in your vehicle.
  • Do read your wilderness permits about local conditions.
  • Do use only approved methods of food storage.
  • Do some homework on proper food storage techniques & buy or rent a bear can if backpacking.
  • Do store your garbage & toilet items with your food in separate containers and use an approved method of storage.
  • Do use "bear boxes" or "cans" (Now required in Yosemite.) or try the cables/poles available in the more popular sites.
  • Do follow the written instructions in your Wilderness
  • Permit and information package for proper storage techniques. When obtaining your wilderness permits, ask local authorities what the requirements are in the areas you'll be seeing.
  • Do speak to the local rangers about bear activity in the area you plan to visit. These people have the information you need, listen carefully and follow their directions.
  • Do prepare all meals well away from your camps sleeping area, at least 100 ft.
  • Do speak to the local rangers first & where permitted, carry pepper spray if they advise you. Information on pepper spray.

Don'ts:

  • Don't try to get a "closer look" by approaching a bear.
  • Never try to corner a bear for any reason.
  • Never attempt to feed a wild bear. (Or any wild animals).
  • Remember a fed bear is a dead bear!
  • Never leave your food unattended or stored improperly, for even the briefest of times, (i.e. your backpack or food sack).
  • Don't prepare any food, or leave any garbage or items with strong odors, (i.e. toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, fishing tackle, bait etc.) in or around your campsite.
  • Don't keep snacks in your tent, even gum.
  • Wherever possible particularly in Yosemite, use the food lockers provided & never store food in your vehicle. If you must leave food in your vehicle put it in the trunk or cover it. Generally out of sight is out of mind. (Some areas even this won't be sufficient)

If you come across a bear:

Do's:

  • Keep a cool head at all times
  • If there are 2 or more of you, stand close together to appear more imposing.
  • Make loud noises, such as shouting or clanging Pots and Pans together.
  • Try to avoid direct eye contact. Bears seem to find this threatening behavior.
  • Keep a good supply of rocks handy in camp. (Near your tent door at night).
  • Defend your food stores. It only encourages bears to pilfer if you don't.
  • Throw rocks near the bears. Do not try to hurt the bears!
  • Report any bear encounters to the proper authorities. (I.e. park/forest ranger, game warden etc.).

Don'ts:

  • Don't try to get a "closer look" by approaching a bear. Particularly if attempting a photo opportunity. (Use a zoom lens.)
  • Don't turn your back or run. (You'll look like food)!
  • Never try to recover your food from a bear once they have gotten to it.
  • Again try to keep a cool head at all times.
  • Yell for help, it may be closer than you think.
  • Stop drop and cover your neck just like the civil defense drill you learned in school.
  • Most of your vitals are easier to get to from the front so stay on your stomach. Roll back to your stomach if the bear turns you over.
  • If the bear persists, and only as a last resort, resist with all your might.
  • Try to grab a stick or a rock, a knife or whatever you have, and fight for your life. Your survival could depend on your fierceness.

Bear Incidents in Yosemite National Park

--1999--

Vehicles broken into by bears in parking lots: 318

Bear damage reports in park campgrounds: 227

Other bear damage reports: 131

Human injuries: 5

Bears captured: 44

Bears relocated: 33

Bears killed by NPS 4

Bears injured by vehicles: 10

Bears killed by vehicles: 7

Total bear incidents in 1999 768

Total property damage caused by bears in 1999

$224,341.

This past bear season in Yosemite has been a "bad" one,

due to late snows & drought conditions in some areas of

the Sierras. Many reports of bears in garbage dumpsters

& residential cans from Lake Tahoe area this year. For

more information look at the Yosemite bear activity

report (updated weekly) here.

Attention Humans

You are now in BEAR territory. If you don’t use metal food lockers – where available

in the campgrounds – or portable bear-resistant canisters, then bears will probably

eat all of your food tonight. No Joke, no exaggeration, no kidding.

It is a terrible thing to let bears get your food. For you the penalty is possible bodily

harm plus having your camping trip spoiled. For the bears the short term effect is an

upset stomach (try passing a Power Bar wrapper through your bowels) and greater

confidence in dealing with people. But the ultimate penalty for the bear is death.

Eventually they become too accustomed to people and too aggressive in getting

food from people. Finally the "problem bear" gets a bullet through the head and an

indecent burial at the local dump. No relocation, no zoo tour, no more life, no

kidding. It’s a terrible waste.

This is very serious. You must keep your food away from the bears. Use food

lockers at the campground and in the National Park {Sequoia/Kings Canyon} if they

are available. Best of all, be self-sufficient and carry your food in a portable,

bear-resistant food canister. Using a canister will protect your food and help keep

the bears safe.

You’ll be sorry if you think hanging your food is safe enough in the backcountry.

Bears are getting food out of the trees all the time. They seem to know and

overcome all the tricks you can engineer. And absolutely do not sleep with your

food. Please don’t risk it.

Remember, the bears aren’t the "problem". You letting them get your food is the

problem. And you know full well that you are helping to kill the bears if you let them

get your food.

This is the wilderness – be responsible for yourself. Thank you for your attention and

take care,

Wilderness Rangers

Inyo National Forest

The warning above clearly states the problem that

bear / man interactions have become on parts of

the PCT. For most of its 2650 miles, the PCT

travel through Bear Country. Fortunatly most of

the major bear problems are limited to a few

areas. These occur primarily where bears have

learned that backpack clad humans represent

easy pickings.

The major bear problems along the PCT generally

start around Rock Creek Crossing (milepost 753

map G14) in the South (Central California

Region). From there, the problems extend some

260 miles North. Ending around Highway 108 or

Sonora Pass (milepost 1013 map I10). This is the heart of the Sierra Mountains and

travels through a number of National Parks and Forest. Including: Inyo National Forest,

Sequoia - Kings Canyon National Park, Sierra National Forest, Yosemite National

Park, Stanislaus National Forest, and Toiyabe National Forest.

Outside of the Sierra Mountains, the only other place where bears may become a

problem is in the North Cascades National Park. It's designated by the U.S. Fish &

Wildlife Service as a Grizzly recovery area. There a modified form of food hanging, "The

Bear Pole" is used.

Along most of the PCT the normal practice of hanging your food works well in keeping

your food stores safe.

Within the backcountry Bear territory of the Sierra Mountains, the hiker has as a

number of wepons in their arsnal for maintaining that safe distance between bear and

your food. Below is a brief discussion several avenues available for negoiating the

backcountry with a minumum of interference from bears. These include Hanging Your

Food, Bear Boxes, Bear Canisters, Stealth Camping and Off Season Hiking.

To provide additional information, we've included links to the various National Parks and

Forest along the problem sections of the PCT. You may drop in and read their

requirements for backcountry travel and what they have to say about bears and you.

Hanging Your Food

The practice of hanging food to keep it out of harm's way, is as old as man. Ever since

the days we lived in caves, hanging food in trees was used to keep it safe from

competitors. However, in the millennia that distance us from our ancestors, bears have

become smarter and we're far too out of practice.

As a result, when it comes to the hanging game, bears are winning more and more. To

curb the bears appetite for human food, many Forest and Parks are actively

discouraging the practice of hanging your food. Preferring instead that hikers store

their food in bear boxes or in Bear Canisters carried in the pack. In some cases the

use of Bear Canisters maybe required.

If you have any doubts on how to properly hang food, checkout Instructions

Counterbalancing Your Food. This page provides detailed instructions and pictures of

the proper way to hang your food.

Bear Boxes

In some areas with lots of bear activities, the local authorities have installed Bear

boxes. These are large metal containers where you can store your food safely.

As you can see from the table below, for the long distance hiker, bear boxes only help

to a limited extent. They are only found along a 50 mile stretch of the PCT between

Rock Creek Crossing and Wood Creek Crossing. This leaves you a couple of hundred

miles to travel using your own devices.

Bear Boxes on PCT

Location (Number)

Milepost

Map

Lower Rock Creek Crossing (1)

754

G-15

Lower Crabtree (1)

760

G-15

Wallace Creek (1)

764

H-2

Tyndall Creek (1)

769

H-2

Center Basin Creek (1)

778

H-3

9900' Elevation (1)

H-4

Vidette Meadow (2)

781

H-4

Lower Junction Meadow (2)

782

H-4

Charlotte Lake (1)

784

H-4

Rae Lakes (3)

788

H-4

Woods Creek Crossing (2)

795

H-5

Note:The bear boxes above are listed from South to North. The mile points listed are

approximate locations based upon information in the PCT Databook and PCT

California Guide.

Sequoia & King's Canyon National Park Locations of Backcountry Bear Boxes

Bear Canisters

Bear Canisters are a relatively new wepon in the war to keep our food out of the

mouths of bears. They are gaining in popularity, despite much critism about their

weight and limited storage capacity. According to information published on the Parks

and Forest websites, right now they are not required if you are using an approved

storage methods. However, there are reports that are required in some areas. Plus at

some campsites canisters would be the only approved option available. (Check our

National Parks and Forest section to get the latest requirements.)

Thru-hikers have been slow to endorse them, primaily because of the desire not to

carry any more weight than needed. Plus, for the thru-hike, canisters represent and

extra step in planning. They must be shipped to start of the bear problem area and

then home later. There's also an added cost of purchasing the canisters. Renting

canisters could potentially reduce the cost. However, the places that rent them are not

conveniently accessable to the foot traveler.

If you're hiking North during prime bear season and planning on using a canister, it

should be shipped to Kennedy Meadows. Once you've reached Sonora Pass you can

lighten your load and send it home. If you're traveling across the Sierra early before the

snow's melted, you can generally avoid canisters (see Off Season Hiking.)

There are two bear canisters on the market. A plastic canister The BackPacker's

Cache made by Garcia Machine weighs 2# 12oz. and sells for $75. An aluminum

canister, The Bear Can made by Gio Enterprises weighs 2# 3oz. and sells for $95.

Both canisters are approximatly 8 X 12 inches and hold 600 cubic inches of food.

Bear canisters are heavy and bulky, though they've become lighter since they were

first introduced. The aluminum can is VERY hard to pack. The difficulty stems from the

internal reinforcing ridges. However, it is lighter and opens at both ends.

According to information on the Yosemite National Park page, bear canisters can be

purchased or rented at several places in the park, including ,Yosemite Valley Sports

Shop, Curry Village Mountain Shop, Crane Flat Grocery, Wawona Store, Tuolumne

Meadows Sport Shop. In Sequoia National Park, they maybe rented at Lodgepole,

Mineral King or Cedar Grove. It's not clear if the rental could be of value to thru-hikers.

Especially considering problems associated with scheduling and shipping the

canisters.

Bear canisters maybe purchased online from

For more information, read The Care and Feeding of Your Bear Canister by Tom

Reynolds. It provides many tips, from on how to pack you canister to what foods to

take to maximize your canisters limited volumne.

Bear Poles

Bear Poles are found at some campsites in the North Cascades National Park. They

are tall poles with a hook. An additional pole is available to assist lifting the food bag to

the hook.

Stealth Camping

Proposed by Ray Jardine in The Pacific Crest Trail Hiker's Handbook. This is the

practice of camping away from popular campsites. By staying away from locations

where bears are likely to frequent, one minimizes the risk of bear contact.

One key to making this work is by preparing your food well away from your camp.

Typically you will stop sometime in the evening near water and prepare your evening

meal. Afterward you'll continue your hike another hour or more. Setting up your camp

well away from any cooking odors that are likely to attract bears.

Off Season Hiking

If you find yourself in the middle of the Sierra Mountains in early spring with 10 feet of

snow still in the pass and the last person you saw was three days ago on skies, you

are probably safe from bears. After all remember the bear is smarter than you. They

are still snug, warm and sleeping.

Just when it's safe to go out and play in Bear Country without worry obviously varies

from year to year. But it's generally a safe bet that if snowshoes are on your

equipment list, the Bear Canister won't.

Most thru-hikers need to start early to complete the trail in one year. As a result most

will travel through prime Bear Country before the bears become a problem. However, if

you skip the high country in order to return later when the snow's gone, you'll need to

prepare for bears.