[CDT-L] Music sooths savage beasts

Chris, I read the details of your grizzly encounters with much
interest. They tend to confirm my experience that animals usually do
not attack unless provoked (except sometimes the provocation is mere
presence, such as being near a dog).  If you had sprayed the grizzly
in the eyes instead of the mouth, maybe -- or maybe not -- he might
have backed off. I carried a pepper spray for several months, until I
got tired of the weight and got accustomed to black bear roaring.  Ray
Jardine's CDT pocket planner suggests making noise to avoid surprising
bears (he says he and Jenny sang a lot in Glacier), and also traveling
in groups.  Like you, I almost always hike alone, but would consider a
partner for Glacier Park.  I am looking for small christmas bells to
wear around my ankle, something like Tarahumara Indians gather
catepillar cocoons from trees to make dancing ankle rattles.  

I plan to start fairly soon from New Mexico northbound, but take up to
three months to wander over much of New Mexico, before entering
Colorado around June, waiting for snow melt.  I should be in great
shape by then for a faster pace.  Like you, I do not have a computer
(not even a home to store one in), but free access turns up in a lot
of places, maybe even Wichita Falls.  You are not far from my old high
school in Fort Worth.  With good wishes, Willis Whoa

p.s. Note that my email address has changed from hotmail to yahoo.com,
because yahoo.com offers better sorting and grouping of address lists.




==
The Four Noble Truths:
Life=Woe, Cause=Self, End=Bliss, Path=Whoa. "Whoa dispels Woe"
http://profiles.yahoo.com/williswhoa

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To:            <cdt-l@backcountry.net>
Cc:            "William Emerson" <wemerson@hotmail.com>, "Roger Carpenter" <rogercar@pacifier.com>