The most beautiful Buddha

Nice.

When I hike in the mountains I enjoy the views along the way and from the top, if we happen to get to a top. But it's the walking I like best. Views from the top can be spectacular. But I really feel sorry for the people who consider the climb a "price" they pay for the pleasure of the summit. Being in the mountains, and moving; the surroundings and the exercise, that's what I like.

I think that's why they like me at the hiking lodges I visit. The people who live and work there love the mountains. "Bagging a summit" is just such an anti-climax after the joy of the climb.

 

You may want to wait until after the trip to tell her that.

 

In the Lake Louise or Jasper area we hiked a trail where, due to bears, you were required to hike in groups of at least 4. You waited at the trailhead until another group or couple showed up and hiked with them.

Bears never attack groups of 6 or more people. In some areas 4 is considered adequate to be safe.

I'm sure you know all the usual precautions: keep aware of your surroundings and make noise so as not to surprise a bear. DO NOT WEAR BELLS. Folks in the know call them dinner bells. Bears will stay away from human voices, but bells incite their curiosity.

Inquire of local rangers or hikers. If bears are known to be in the area, consider hiking with another couple that happens to be getting ready to hike the same trail. Statistically, you are about twenty thousand times more likely to be killed in a car accident getting there than attacked by a bear.

Prepare yourself by reading a book about bears by an experienced ranger or outdoorsman.

The joke about outrunning your companion is very funny. Whoever wrote it was a better comedian than bear authority, however: If your girlfriend plays dead and you run, the bear will most likely run you down, if it doesn't just walk away.

Respect the bears. Don't hike where they're known to be feeding. But otherwise don't be afraid or allow your fear of them to spoil your hiking. They're part of the wilderness. When they do attack, which is extremely rare, it's almost always because they feel you are threatening them.

CAVEAT: Take special precaution anywhere people are known to have been feeding bears. Bears accustomed to receiving food from humans are the really dangerous ones. Again, consult local authorities. E.g. park rangers.

 

Do NOT take her into bear country during her period. The rest of what Daniel says is good advice although I have never heard the one about bears not attacking groups of people.

BTW you are starting your trip in he time period where bears are coming out of hibernation and are very hungry. There are many things you can take with you to prevent bear attacks have you considered any of those?

Bear Pepper Spray-Please Compare Our Prices

http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Falls/9200/bear_safety.html

Black Bear Safety Technigues

There are no guarantees in bear country and in Alaska they have been known to come to the sound of gun fire because they know hunters have killed game. A nice lever action 30-30, bolt action 30-06 or something similar would be nice, you don’t have to have a scope because you’re not hunting just trying to protect yourself close up. Personally I think a 12 ga shotgun with OO busckshot is the best but kinda heavy to tote around. They also have non-lethal loads you can use to scare the bears away if you see them in time. As far as pistols go .44 .45 and .357 Mag I wouldn't go below the .357 and get the load that you can handle. Many National Parks will not allow guns so check out the internet and the links above for pepper-spray (sometimes known to have no effect and other times works great) and other items such as whistles, bangers or what not. Good luck and have fun.

Wildkow

 

I thought the point was that the view was the Buddha and if you didn't "get" that, you needed to study some more.

 

A note on pepper spray:

Pepper spray typically carries for about 20 feet. A grizzly can run 20 feet in about a second. (They are faster than a race horse.) If you spray a grizzly and fail to make a direct shot in the eyes you will only make it very very angry. Thus you have one second to score a direct shot in the eyes. If you have not practiced a very considerable amount, you will not be able to do this.

Most of the professional hiking guides I have hiked with (and these are many) prefer not to carry pepper spray. They carry a bear horn instead. The horn can startle the bear without angering it. It can also be used to alert a bear to your presence while you are still far enough away that the bear does not feel threatened. This is your best strategy.

A note on guns:

Nothing short of a head shot will stop an attacking grizzly. If you are not skilled enough to deliver a head shot to an animal running at you faster than a race horse, a gun will only anger the bear. If the bear is not attacking you, there is no reason to try to harm it (either with a gun or with pepper spray). A safer strategy is to make the bear aware of your presence while still far enough away that it does not feel threatened. I have never met or read of a hiking guide who would even consider carrying a gun into bear country. Some people do like "bear boomers," which use an explosive shell to make a gun sound. Used like bear horns.

Menstruation:

There is no evidence that either black or grizzly bears are attracted to menstrual blood. Your gf can go camping at any time of the month.

Grizzlies vs blacks:

If you really are afraid (which you should not be: respect the bears but do not fear them) learn to tell the difference. Also learn about their habits. The two kinds behave very differently. A grizzly bent on attacking you cannot be fought off, but bluff charges are far more common than real attacks. I have hiked with guides who've been bluff-charged more than once. A black bear can be fought off. There are cases of even children who beat back a black bear with a large stick. If you are attacked by a black bear, fight! If you are charged by a grizzly, stand your ground! If you are attacked by a grizzly, play dead!

Or you can just exercise extreme care with food (never cook where you will sleep, never keep food in your tent, wash all food odors off you after eating, etc.) and enjoy the woods, knowing that driving there was far and away the most dangerous part of your outing, by probably a thousand to one. I am aware of two people killed by bears in the part of B.C. where I hike. Both were on mountain bikes. The bikes are so quiet and so fast, that there is consensus that both cases resulted from the biker coming up on the bear in a split second, giving neither bear nor biker time to think. In one especially tragic case, a young woman had separated from her group because she felt the trail they were going to take was too difficult. She took an easier trail instead, by herself, and was killed by bear, apparently having surprised it by the speed and quiet of the bike.

Local rangers can tell you whether you need to hike in a group of 4 or in extreme circumstances 6 in a particular area. But if you are really concerned, find another couple to hike with, make noise (talking or singing) and enjoy the presence of the Buddha (and the bears).

On a lighter note, one of my hiking guides, a young woman in her mid-20's, is a friend of the owners of the chalet where she now guides. She had been there as a young teen, and once radioed back that there was "a herd of bears playing in the meadow." It turned out to be mountain goats, which are plentiful in the area. A decade later, while I was hiking with her, we saw spoor in the snow and she said it was bear. The owner radioed back that it was probably goat. Fifty or a hundred feet farther on we saw clear and very fresh grizzly bear tracks in the snow. We never saw the bear.

 

A head shot on a bear is a poor percentage shot and possibly the worst possible shot to take on a charging bear. Not only is it a smaller target but the skull of a bear is very thick and unless you hit it dead on it will glance off. The best shot is simply the center of mass of a charging bear you’re not going to have much time. Next would be the shoulder shot, still difficult shot but you are more likely to knock him to the ground enabling you to get off another shot to a vital area. But you do have to quickly reload and shoot again as a bear can travel quite quickly on three legs. That’s why my favorite is the shotgun with 00 buckshot and I would not even try an aimed shot at any particular area unless you’re an expert shot just go for the center of mass on an oncoming bear. If you can hit him before he gets within 10 yds the 00 buckshot has time to spread and if you can’t break him down you at least have a chance of hitting his eyes and nose thus taking out his navigation system.

As far as women and their periods are concerned the evidence is inconclusive as far as Grizzly are concerned nothing other than a study of attack data has been done to my knowledge. Experimental field tests with Black Bears have been done and no connection has been found. Experimental field tests have been done with Polar Bears which revealed that they were attracted to the scent of menstruating women. Do what you like it’s your girl friend, but you’re taking her into bear country after they have from hibernating and are quite hungry. Wild carnivores’ are attracted to the smell of blood. That smell may or may not be what precipitates an attack or feeding but it is certainly a factor in them locating you or tracking you after you pissed them off for one reason or the other.

Another tip if you happen to pick up a bear that’s starts to tag along following behind you but not getting to close, you’re in great/grave danger. Dissuade this bear from following you in any way that you can. More than likely he is sizing you up for an attack and going over recipes in his mind. If you hear popping sounds coming from the bear, made when the bear snaps his jaws together, he is agitated and attack or if your lucky a bluff charge as Daniel mentioned is probably imminent. Bluff charges though not physically harmful will nevertheless ruin your trip, day or underwear and more than likely all three.

You are venturing out into remote locations where wild things hang out and that’s cool I hope you have a great time. And they don‘t call them wild animals for nothing and while you may be able to dial 911 help is still a long way off. I never used to or plan to hike anywhere I can’t take a gun including nation parks but they ‘e too crowded anyway. I’ve seen wild animals do crazy assed things, in the spring time does (deer) drop their fawns and if you get to close they will gladly come kick the crap out of you and your companion. I have seen footage of a 100-120 pound deer kick the stuffing’s out of a 250 lb man in a very short amount of time.
Last hint mountain lions are also a danger; I have no experience with them so I can’t help here. BTW the rifles I mentioned before are the minimum size caliber you should take in bear country. Now after having said all that unless you are in a National Park you probably will never see a bear especially if you are making noise like Daniel suggested.

WIldkow

 

I have know hiking professionals to recommend carrying a hand gun into bear territory. That way you can kill yourself quickly, rather than face a slow mauling death.

Tom

 

Another useful tidbit when hiking around bears. Some novice hikers are not sure how to tell a grizzly bear from a black bear. It's fairly simple: If you climb a tree to get away from a bear, and the bear follows you up the tree and eats you, it's a black bear. If the bear knocks over the tree and eats you, it's a grizzly bear.

Tom

 

Re: Guns:

A shotgun will not stop a grizzly, and is overkill for a black bear. Grizzlies, which will not break off an attack if shot non-fatally, never stalk people for food. Shooting one non-fatally may very well change a bluff charge into an attack.

The people who have described bluff charges to me have said they were scared shitless, but it did not by any means ruin their day. (I'm not sure about their underwear, but that can be washed.) They have said it was an amazing experience. That's how I felt about jumping out of an airplane 10,000 feet above the Mexican beach: terrifying but amazing. I hope I'm never charged by a bear. But your chances of survival diminish if you shoot at a charging grizzly, because you are more likely to anger it than to stop it.

Black bears will occasionally very very occasionally, stalk people for food. But shooting one on sight is totally unnecessary.

And while the data may be incomplete as to whether grizzlies are attracted to human menstrual blood, grizzlies never stalk people for food. They only attack when they feel threatened or have been conditioned to expect to be fed by people. Therefore the menstruation issue is moot. Good practice suggests, however, that a menstruating woman use an internal pad and that used pads be sealed in plastic and stored away from your tent.

Remember that nothing in the wilderness is even one percent as dangerous to you, if you follow sound procedures, as is the drive there.

Buy a horn if you are concerned. All my hiking guides carry bear horns. Hike in a group of 4 or more if bears are known to be present (or even if they're not, if you are worried). And leave all thoughts of murdering wildlife at home. You'll have a great time. And remember to carry plenty of water, and when hiking in the mountains, always carry rain gear, because in the mountains it can rain regardless of the forecast. I have been drenched to the bone 60 seconds after the first wisp of cloud appeared over a nearby peak in what had been a cloudless sky.

Advice to carry guns, in the city or the wilderness, is based on needless fear-mongering. Don't let your fear be your guide.

 

How typically Zen, with a touch of humour. There is no boat. And Buddha's stepped out.

Speaking of bear, native tradition around here was to go bear hunting with a sharp stick. When the bear stood up and roared, the stick was placed upright in the bear's mouth so that it would pierce his brain when he bit down. I don't have statistics on the method's success.

 

Leave it to the 'kow to take a thread on the majesty of the outdoors to a:

a) Misogynistic comment
b) Yet another reason we need guns

 

You don't know much about guns daniel so you shouldn't make false and misleading statements. A 12 ga shotgun will stop any bear out there and is used as a backup gun by big game hunters world wide. No one said anything about shooting anything on sight or murdering anything. Everything I have said here is couched in terms of self-defense. These statements are just an effort to smear me daniel. Thanks.

Wildkow

p.s. Alric, Misogynistic? We’re talking bears not women LOL! ound: Man are you confused! :loco:

 

Not at all. I regard the carrying of guns into the wilderness to be ill-advised and dangerous. I regard your viewpoint regarding guns to be reckless in the extreme. I consider the carrying of firearms, whether in the city or the wilderness to create far more hazards than it addresses and I consider that carrying firearms diminishes or even eliminates the spiritual dimension of the individual's relationship with his surroundings, be it his social surroundings in the city, or his natural surroundings in the wilderness. Carrying a gun creates an emotional barrier around its owner and is a fundamental act of hostility which impacts the owner even if he never fires it. This is not a judgement upon you. It is a disagreement at the most basic level regarding our respective attitudes toward firearms.

 

So did I. Apparently there is considerable opinion that the best way to shoot bears is the Buddha.

 

My disagreement with your smear tactics has nothing to do with your opinion about guns but rather with your characterization that I advocated shooting or murdering bears for no reason.

Wildkow

 

Or that the meaning of the Buddha is that you must carry a gun wherever you go to protect yourself from bears.

I apologize if I gave the opinion that you were advocating the indiscriminate shooting of bears. However, your attitude about guns is clearly that one must be prepared to shoot both people and bears, given certain circumstances. It is noteworthy that at the first mention of bears your immediate response is to advocate the carrying of a gun for "protection."

I believe (as do the guides I hike with) that when one adds up all the factors and conditions, one is safer without a gun.

We clearly disagree on this. I am not smearing you. I am arguing against your almost religious faith in a gun as an amulet against any and all threats.