[Philmont]: Bears

I grew up backpacking in the Sierra Nevada, where bears are numerous
and talented. I've had backpacking partners had to chase bears
through Little Yosemite Valley to retrieve a pack (the bear was
carrying the whole thing), and had bears scratch my car's paint and
rip the bottom out of a completely empty pack. In 40-ish years of
travel in the Sierras I've had backcountry bear problems twice.

So, the question is, how many bear sightings does the typical crew
usually have? If someone accidentally gets a spot of toothpaste on
their Bibler tent, do they really have to ritually dispose of it? I
know I'm getting facetious, but how much of this bear advice is good
advice that is rarely required, and how much is it sober precautions
for a real risk? I'm mostly interested in stories from folks that
have been there. I already understand the argument, "It's a good
practice and it certainly doesn't hurt anything."

We teach bear-awareness here in Washington, but I have to confess that
the local wildlife are a bunch of wimps compared to the chipmunks,
raccoons, squirrels, jays, and bears of the Sierra Nevada. I have
routinely done all sorts of really silly things with food here in
Washington, and have never had an animal problem. We teach
food-discipline, but it just doesn't seem to matter here.

So, is Northern New Mexico really like the high Sierra, or are we just
being properly cautious?

Yours in Scouting,

Rick Tyler
Assistant Scoutmaster
Troop 575, Chief Seattle Council
 
 

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Received on Wed Jun 1 01:17:01 2005