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climber_chick
Jul 12, 2004, 1:04 AM
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Yeah, I'm so stoked. 5 days in the middle of nowhere, Resurrection Pass! Freeze dried foods, water purifiers, tents, smelly friends and the mountains! I'm giddy. What are your favorite backpacking foods?
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krestkid
Jul 12, 2004, 1:07 AM
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I was born in AK and still have family up there...my aunt has done Resurrection Pass before and they have always taken a gun after numerous bear encounters. Just a thought to look into. I hope you have a wonderful trip!! One day when I get back to AK I hope to do Res Pass.
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climber_chick
Jul 12, 2004, 1:13 AM
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My parents are a bit worried about bear encounters. I can understand that worry as well. We are hoping that pepper spray will do the trick. I'm not sure they would be too happy with us taking a gun. But eh, we can find out. :roll:
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b_fost
Jul 12, 2004, 1:22 AM
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pepper spray will just make a bear mad. please be careful.
and backpacking is awesome!
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chanceboarder
Jul 12, 2004, 2:29 AM
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yeah i think i have to agree with b_fost on this. some friends and i had a bear come into camp one evening looking for food while we were backpacking in alaska and my friend sprayed it with regular old peper spray. lets just say it was little more then pissed off at us for that. try something stronger.
have fun out there :)
cheers,
jason
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climber_chick
Jul 12, 2004, 4:33 AM
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What is something stronger?
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chanceboarder
Jul 12, 2004, 4:53 AM
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In reply to: What is something stronger?
best just to avoid the bears all together if you can. have a great trip, let us know how it goes.
cheers,
jason
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climber_chick
Jul 12, 2004, 6:56 AM
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Ah cool, thanks. I'm heading out to REI tomorrow to check out prices so I will see if they have any. I know I have seen it before, and I will definitely let you know how the trip goes! Thanks! :D
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changling
Jul 12, 2004, 7:13 AM
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If your concerned about bears, bear spray is said to be the best way to deter a bear. I've even read that bear spray is better than a gun. I can see how since if you manage to spray a bear, they are blinded and will leave you alone whereas if your shot is not a deadly one, you've got yourself one hell of a pissed bear. But then again, you can miss your aim with bear spray, and if the wind conditions are not in your favor, you might find yourself blinded instead. Either way, you must learn how to properly use bear spray and practice before heading out.
And as far as I know, the only stories of bears attacking people I've heard about involved bears in a very undernourished state, so I'd personally wouldn't be too concerned and just make sure to practice proper etiquette in bear country.
Now back to the topic at hand. I'll probably be heading out canoe-camping in a couple of days (keeping fingers crossed) and I am really excited about it. I've been spending too much time in the city, I need to head out and be myself.
In reply to: What are your favorite backpacking foods?
Pre-cooked microwave bacon. I just stick the bacon with the plastic pouch in boiling water until it is nice and hot, and voila, I get my meat fix for the day, with no greasy mess to clean up, and it's so delicious.
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scuclimber
Jul 12, 2004, 7:38 AM
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I've never used that bear spray before (living in CA I'm not too worried), but as an REI employee who has sold several cans of it (to people going to AK actually :wink: ) I can tell you it's gotta be pretty damn strong because it's illegal to use on people. So yeah. A gun might not be a bad thing to have though, provided you don't actually shoot your foot instead of the bear. :shock: Have a fun trip!
Colin
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toejam
Jul 12, 2004, 8:58 AM
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No bear spray for me, but no grizzlies in CA either.
I like french toast with real maple syrup, grilled cheese sandwiches with a little sun-dried tomato, and pasta with sausages. Don't do much freeze-dried, but my pack gets heavy sometimes...
Fresh trout fried in butter and garlic is always good when you can get it.
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dr_feelgood
Jul 12, 2004, 10:29 AM
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For some reason i get the Image from one of the batman movies, where batman has a shark on his foot....
"Robin! Hand me the Bat shark Repellant!"
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dontfall
Jul 12, 2004, 1:35 PM
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In reply to: What is something stronger?
kick to the balls? However, I wouldn't want to get that close to a bear to find out so I'll leave that up to you.. :wink:
I would say pepper spray is also a bad idea. I thought of a fog horn to use because of it's loud noise but that could be mistaken for a distress call. I have access to hand guns, 9mm or 45 would be my two choices but I dought you have access to them.
Good Luck
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climber_chick
Jul 13, 2004, 7:55 PM
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That Counter Assault Bear Spray was $36.95. Super spendy. Though if it could save a life.... ahhh the decisions!
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cthcrockclimber
Jul 13, 2004, 8:02 PM
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Our family has a friend who hunts. He does hunt bears as well as other animals and carries bear spray around in case he doesn't have time to react (he doesnt use guns, only arrows) so IMO if it's good enough for him it's good enough for me.
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overzealous
Jul 13, 2004, 8:02 PM
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In reply to: In reply to: What is something stronger? kick to the balls? However, I wouldn't want to get that close to a bear to find out so I'll leave that up to you.. :wink: I would say pepper spray is also a bad idea. I thought of a fog horn to use because of it's loud noise but that could be mistaken for a distress call. I have access to hand guns, 9mm or 45 would be my two choices but I dought you have access to them.
Good luck doing anything besides getting a bear really mad with either of those. Of corse, a shot in the air might scare it off.
I'm not a "gun person" but from what I've read about bears, (i.e. the ten minutes of usenet reading I did yesterday after this topic came up) you'll be hard put to quickly stop one with any handgun....
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bumblie
Jul 13, 2004, 8:03 PM
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Take lots of pictures to post on RC.com. The fewer clothes, the better. :)
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cthcrockclimber
Jul 13, 2004, 8:04 PM
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Our family has a friend who hunts. He does hunt bears as well as other animals and carries bear spray around in case he doesn't have time to react (he doesnt use guns, only arrows) so IMO if it's good enough for him it's good enough for me.
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chanceboarder
Jul 13, 2004, 8:16 PM
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i dunno personally i've never carried anything to repel a bear when out backpacking. just remember to keep things like food and toothpaste and pretty much anything with a smell away from your camp and out of reach of a bear or in a bear proof canister. remember bears eat mostly berries and fish and stuff like that, not humans. they like to keep their distance from people as much as they can. here's a link you may want to check out http://www.nwtwildlife.rwed.gov.nt.ca/...arcountry/safety.htm
cheers,
jason
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thegreytradster
Jul 13, 2004, 11:49 PM
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As a local you may already know this. In AK the two predominant species of bear are the Black Bear and the Brown Bear. The Black Bear is your run of the mill Yosemite etc. bear. The Brown Bear is what is known as a Grizzly in the lower 48. Bear spray is a good idea as well as small bells on the clothing or pack so you don't surprise one in the willow thickets.
The black bears are not particularly aggressive or dangerous. The brown bears on the other hand are! As both bears come in any color from honey blonde to coal black telling them apart by sight can be difficult from a safe distance. Bears also commonly use the same trails as humans and other animals as the larger brown is the more aggressive the two species seldom will use the same trail. This can be used to your advantage.
If Black bear spoor, (shite) is found on a trail you probably won't encounter any dangerous Browns. It is characterized by digested portions of berries and small (rodents) animal fur.
Brown Bear spoor however commonly contains small bells and smells like pepper!
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jumpingrock
Jul 14, 2004, 12:08 AM
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If you see a bear close by and it seems interested, drop your pack (creates a distraction danger in this though is that if you are mauled then your backpack could be used as a sheild, depends on the situation. If you are between a mom and her cub... keep the bag, you'll need it!) and slowly back away while making lots of noise and looking as big as possible. If you are attacked by a Grizzly I would use bear spray. Otherwise put your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye. Might be good idea to stay in that position until the bear leaves as well.
Oh right, I love bringing pasta. And I recomend bring pita bread. That stuff is light, good and lasts. I also always bring beef Jerky and dried peperoni along. Good stuff, have tons of fun :).
David
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tattooed_climber
Jul 14, 2004, 12:12 AM
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In reply to: What are your favorite backpacking foods?
different kinds of salsa's (reg, 3 bean, cheese) with flat breads! jerky, meat spreads, trail mix, protein bars, power bars, Expensice Cheeses, pepperoni,.....you get the idea.....anything that is still ok after being crushed in my pack.
as well, i take any left overs, through it in a special bag and into the vacume packager!......then boil the bag and its good to go...(i only do this with pastas and chilli!)
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mike
Jul 14, 2004, 12:49 AM
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I carry bear spray in Grizzly country. Beats that laying down and balling up crap, gives you something to do. The backcountry rangers carry it in Glacier National Park, which is enough to convince me. Counter Assault is a good brand, shoots 30 feet, for about 7 seconds (could be two bears), some of the others have more pepper but don't shoot as far. I don't carry it in black bear only country. I only got the spray out once, something was busting big sticks when it walked around my tent late one night, turned out to be a mule that got loose, the rangers had used him to carry a metal bear safe into the backcountry.
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climber_chick
Jul 14, 2004, 1:01 AM
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Hey, thanks for all the info! It will definitely come in use if I ever encounter a bear.
And all the food ideas are great. :lol:
I'm trying to talk the parents into letting me take the digital camera so I can put the pictures online, versus scanning them, which takes forever and the image sucks. So I will let you know if I get any pics up from the trip.
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coylec
Jul 14, 2004, 6:21 AM
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Food:
sharp cheese (the sharper the better - i'll keep better)
those pasta in a box things (put in ziploc w/ powdered milk and powdered butter -- one pot just add 16oz water)
bagels
peanut butter
jamabalaya (requires lots of fuel ... takes 25 minutes of simmering)
mini-candy bars (snickers are my current favorite)
hard candies (i like jolly ranchers)
lemonade powder (spices up dinner)
oatmeal (maple (bring extra syrup in a 2oz/4oz nalgene)
tequila and margarita mix (2 tequila:1margita + snow = fun)
softshelltacos w/ refried beans (good for mid-trip to guarentee morning bowel movement (saving you from having to go at worst times)
flatbreads
what i like to do is to have groups of foods that you can mix up ...
for example, you can use cheddar with bagels or flat bread or your refried beans. you can add pb to bagels or flatbread. you can have flatbread with rice or with refried beans. the more compatible your foods, you have more flexiblity ... not too hungry one day, you can use that food to supplement you later meals without having weird mixes.
coylec
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