You know how mischievous a raccoon can be; think of a six-hundred-pound raccoon after you or your food! Bears are best appreciated from a distance without any human interaction.
Within the Contiguous United States (CONUS), there are three types: the brown bear, the black bear, and the grizzly bear.
Brown bears are travel marketing euphemisms for grizzlies in Alaska and are still grizzlies, thus there are really only two types of bears here. Black bears are less aggressive, but can climb trees readily. They have larger, pointed ears, and there is no shoulder hump. Front claws are about 1.5" long. Height is 2.5 to 3 ft at the shoulder. Average weight is 200 pounds but the largest reach 500 pounds.
Grizzlies are the most aggressive and dangerous to humans. While they are common to the Yellowstone ecosystem, they rarely travel south into the Wind River Range. The face is somewhat dished in, and there is a prominent hump at the shoulders. Ears are short and rounded, while front claws are 2" to 4" long. Height is 3.5 ft to 4 ft at the shoulder. Average weight is 500 pounds but range to 900 pounds. There are less than 1000 grizzlies in the lower 48 states.
The Yellowstone Ecosystem (YE), which is comprised of Yellowstone Park and surrounding National Forests, receives more visitation than Glacier Park and has an increasing grizzly bear population estimated at 1 bear per 30-50 square miles. The injury rate in the YE outside of Yellowstone Park has increased over the last two decades and averages about one injury per year outside the Park. Within the YE (outside Yellowstone Park), there have been three grizzly-bear-inflicted human mortalities in the last 156 years [USFWS, Region 6]
Bear-resistant food storage containers are the most effective method of storing food. Containers are available on loan on first-come / first-serve basis at the Pinedale, Washakie, Buffalo, and Wind River Ranger Districts offices. They are also available for purchase or rent at local outdoor stores in some of these towns.
Always cook and hang your food at least 100 yards (300 ft) away from your sleeping area.
The following is directly from the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee webpage at http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/:
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Remember: bear pepper spray is not a substitute for
following proper bear avoidance safety techniques.
Selecting a bear pepper spray:
Purchase products that are clearly labeled "for deterring
attacks by bears:"
When to use bear pepper spray:
How to use bear pepper spray:
Each person should carry a can of bear pepper spray when working
or recreating in bear habitat. Spray should be carried in a
quick, accessible fashion such as in a hip or chest holster. In
your tent, keep bear pepper spray readily available next to your
flashlight. You should also keep a can available in your cooking
area. Spray should be tested once a year. Do not test spray in or
near camping area. Be sure to check the expiration date on your
can of bear spray.
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Even when using a food storage container, it is recommended that you hang all of the food (and other items such as toothpaste, pop, gum, etc.) at least 10 feet off the ground and 4 feet from the tree trunk. However, this is not foolproof! Black bears are very often creative and persistent in their efforts to obtain food rewards.
In the Popo Agie wilderness, USFS requires food to be hung or placed in bear-proof containers. Lately, we've been camped in a high, alpine area with no trees high enough to hang food. USFS provides aluminum lockers about the size of a large breadbox for much of it. I've hung multiple containers of food in other areas of that area.
Hanging enough food for some 16 people to last several days requires a good knowledge of rigging and physics. The food for a crew of 16 has a large volume. When a reration can be made mid trip, not all of it need be hung at once. The Washakie Ranger District uses commercial mustard and mayonnaise buckets. These are about 12 inches square by 16 inches high. We pack these to a nominal 15 pounds weight, and three of them fit in each pannier on each side of the horse. We also take two large plastic coolers with fresh produce. A typical trip requires four packhorses, so there is about 500 pounds of food and other supplies. Clearly, this requires more work than hanging a couple of backpacks on a rope.
Since we mark the containers with weight and pack them by day of use, the placement is crucial to get what we need first on the first trip. One horse, bringing another cooler of produce carries the mid-trip reration and additional canned goods. At the camp, the items for the night's meal are removed, and as much of the following day's food is placed in the large canisters in the field kitchen. The remainder is usually hung from high trees.
Hanging this many containers and coolers must be done carefully to prevent injury. A support line of 3/4-inch manilla rope carries the load. A light heaving line of 1/4"-braided nylon is used to get the rope into position. We tie a two-pound rock to the end of the light line to provide momentum, and we coil some ten turns of the line to throw with the rock. Several tries will be needed to throw the rock through the right limb-trunk angle fifteen or more feet in the air. The line is then worked down to the ground to pull the heavy line up over the crouch of the limb. The heavy line is then secured around the trunk. If the trees are thin, the line is led at an angle to another tree to get more support. The light line is then thrown over another limb of a tree about 20-30 feet away. While this is going on, the heavy line is rigged with several block and tackles near the area that will be the middle of the span. Light loads of one or two buckets may not need a pulley to lift them. The light line is now made fast to the heavy line, which is hauled up slowly to tension the line. This end of the heavy line can now be made fast to the truck (or another more distant trunk). All length of this line should be used to increase the strength of the cross line.
A 4:1 block and tackle can lift some nine of the containers by their metal bails. A short piece of line is used to seize them together into a square. This is the time to be certain that the sequence of days is correct. Remember that an empty container will be needed for garbage. A single line is adequate for garbage, as the bucket can be somewhat tossed upwards as the lift line is pulled. The coolers will also require at least a single block to lift them safely. The hoist crew must stay out from under the line of containers at all times. Should a line part, there will be little time to avoid the falling load.
We keep a clean camp by removing personal food and snacks, toothpaste, deodorants, to a "bear bag" each night. This is hauled up on a single line, possibly with a five-pound load. Each person has a marked plastic bag to drop into the bear bag. You must check your pockets to be certain that no food is left to attract a bear. Food should not be taken into a tent to avoid transferring a scent.
In some areas, there may not be high trees for support of food bags. There may be cliffs where food containers may be safely lowered out of reach of bears. Of course, if the bear is used to chewing through a rope to make the food come down, it may end up a hundred feet below in a thin layer! There is also a significant risk if too few people lower too much weight. Because of the risk, each container could have its own line. This is an instance where a lot of one-half inch line is required as well as restraining personnel safety lines and belts for those who are lowering the containers.
Without tall trees or cliffs, the best that one can do is secure the food that won't fit the canisters in a tall stack with pots and pans piled on top. Bear bells can be added for additional alarm. If a bear arrives, one must be prepared to use bear repellent and noise to wishfully drive it away. Obviously, more bear-resistant canisters are needed to separate the bear from the food.
Always cook and hang your food at least 100 yards (300 ft) away from your sleeping area. Some cooks use only one set of clothes for cooking to avoid carrying scents back to their tent.
Are you carrying candy, gum, or snack bars in your pockets? These items must also be hung out of reach at night. Any scented item such as deodorant or other cosmetics should be added to the bear bag. It's not enough to put these items out of your tent for the night; we cannot allow bears to find anything edible in camp.
Protect your tent and pack by leaving them open and unzipped. Which is more likely, a bear or rain. You may have to make a choice. If you don't keep food in your tent, you won't have a bear slash it open to get candy.
Protect your car by keeping it free of food and scents.
Bears can hook teeth or claws into a window or trunk lid and rip them open. Why risk a high repair bill to save a few dollars of food?
What you think of as garbage, a bear thinks of as food. A sealable container that can hold the garbage must be hung or protected as food until it can be carried out of the wilderness area.
You can coexist with bears during your wilderness trip, but it is best if bears are only distantly seen. If they are attracted to your camp, you must address the problem. You must protect yourself and your food from bears lest the bear be killed for protection of the public. You are responsible for avoiding danger.
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The following information is derived from a USFS public notice for the Pinedale District of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and the Washakie District of the Shoshone National Forest jointly issued by Rangers Robert L. Reese and Garry W. Edson in1995. I've republished it here as a guide to protection against bear attack in the wilderness.
Black Bears News, 1995
Although bears are nice to see in the wild, they are not nice to have as visitors in your camp. It is good to remember that you are camping in the bear's home and you are the visitor.
Bears are exhibiting unnatural aggression in the following areas (1995):
These bears have shown a tendency to have no fear of humans and have been reported to come into camp searching for food.
Campers are advised to be very careful when camping in these areas, or avoid them altogether. Camp smart so as to have a safe and enjoyable visit to the backcountry.
Bear-resistant food storage containers are the most effective method of storing food. Containers are available on loan on first-come / first-serve basis at the Pinedale, Washakie, Buffalo, and Wind River Ranger Districts offices. They are also available for purchase or rent at local outdoor stores in some of these towns.
Even when using a food storage container, it is recommended that you hang all of the food (and other items such as toothpaste, pop, gum, etc.) at least 10 feet off the ground and 4 feet from the tree trunk. However, this is not foolproof! Black bears are very often creative and persistent in their efforts to obtain food rewards.
Always cook and hang your food at least 100 yards (300 ft) away from your sleeping area.
Protect the bear by being a smart camper and a good visitor to their home.
(End of ranger notice, 1995.)
These books discuss bears and protection:
Hart, John. Walking Softly in the Wilderness Sierra Club Books, Inc., San Francisco, 500 pp., 1984.
Hampton, Bruce and David Cole. Soft Paths. National Outdoor Leadership School, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 200 pp., 1995.
Manning, Harvey. Backpacking one Step at a Time. Vintage Books, New York,1986.
Original material copyrighted
Ó 1998-2000 by Frank R. Leslie. Sierra Club and its volunteers may freely reproduce and distribute this material free of charge. Send comments, recommendations, and updates to fleslie@bigfoot.net. This will also appear on my Yosemite/1270 website for your downloading convenience. (407) 768-6629.