I never really thought about them too much until planning for my hiking weekend I ran across the review of that trail where tons of people said they saw bears.
I thought to myself - OMG! what would I do?
I've heard stories of people seeing them in campgrounds where food is kept, etc.
My friend Kara and I think we might have 'heard' one on a hike once and we hauled ass down the trail but we weren't sure.
So, what did I do in preps for this past weekend?
I thought about buying bear spray but decided that I would go in shock and probably not be able to open my backpack and pull it out.
So, I saw this in the general store in Little Switzerland and decided to buy it instead.(even though the clerk tried to get me to buy an air horn)
What is it exactly?
A Bear Bell.
It's a jingle bell and you put it on your backpack to alert the bears that you're there so they stay away.
Hmmmm.
I'm sure you can only guess what Brad's reaction to this was when I told him about it.
Brad: awesome! is that the dinner bell for the bears to know where their food is?
Dee: LOL
A hiker we ran into said the same thing.
Kelli and I laughed our asses off all weekend about possible bear sightings and this bell..that is until we found out that one of the trails we did was actually shut down a few weeks back due to 'dangerous bear activity'.
Seriously.... that's what a Park Ranger told us!
So, we asked the Ranger what are you suppose to do if you see a bear in the woods???
His response:
black bears in NC are not that big. Only about 120-pounds -- unlike grizzly bears out West.
So....
* if there are two of you stand together to look bigger and scream at the bear.
* throw rocks if there are ones around to throw
* and make as much noise as you can
If the bear has her cubs with her -- it might be a whole different story. Have any of you guys ever seen a bear in the wild?(not a zoo) If so, what did you do?
13 comments:
My aunt has one in her living room! No joke - they went hunting in Maine and got one and had it stuffed. I don't think anyone will break into their house - they also have a few moose mounted on the wall too!
No, but we're getting used to wildlife! Our neighborhood here has all sorts of critters.....going up in size to deer. Living in Colorado made me feel more comfortable with wild animals......the Rocky Mtn National Forest had all sorts of elk. They are ENORMOUS.
Love the bear bell! Love Brad's comments!
A bear bell! Love what Brad said, too funny! That makes me nervous too.
Never seen a bear and hope to never meet one in person!
Haha, the bear bell. Are you sure that's not like the Parent Trap "knocking two sticks together to scare away mountain lions"? Kidding. They probably just don't like being bothered, so knowing you're there helps.
Never seen a bear in real life- SCARY!
We sure did see a bear! Fortunately we were close to our cabin and ran inside and locked the doors. I can't even imagine what I would do if I ran into one while hiking. Probably sit down and cry :(
Here's to yelling and throwing rocks!
a bear bell?! who knew!!!
I'm still laughing about that bear bell and Brad's comment.
I've never seen a bear and I hope I never do. Unless it's very, very, very, very, very, very far away and there's no way he or she can get to me.
Bear bell! And Brad's comment is hilarious!
I hope to never, ever meet a wild bear. Scary! I think I would make a mess in my pants and die of a heart attack!
Love this post, Dee....and love your blog. I once saw some grizzly bears in Glacier National Park....they were far enough away on the side of the mountain, but I was still scared to death. I kept looking up, down, left, right, the entire rest of the hike for fear a bear would find us. I have heard the bear bells work, but not from anyone who actually encountered a bear. Funny post.
I have never seen a bear in the wild...I am sure I would freeze up!
PS - the bell reminds me of that scene in The Parent Trap!
ackkkkkk!! bears? bear BELLS? this is all new territory to me...
The park ranger's advice cracks me up simply because I am picturing 2 women standing together to look "bigger", while screaming and throwing rocks. Ha!
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