[pct-l] Bear Aware.."Bear Country" starts in section A !!!

[scourtway at bpa-arch.com (Steve Courtway)]

"Bear Country" starts right here in Section A........black bears take the
PCT under I-10 from the san gorgonio wilderness now and again and head
sobo.....

In recent years there have been many confirmed sightings in San Diego
County:

  a.. August 2000-Separate sightings at Palomar Mountain, Cuyamaca Lake, and
upper Pine Valley.

  b.. June 2000-Separate sightings at Palomar Mountain (Forest Service
Campground), Cuyamaca Lake, and Pine Valley.

  c.. May 2000-Two black bears were reported on Palomar Mountain.

  d.. April 2000-Bear hit by a car in Box Canyon (Anza-Borrego State Park),
ran off after accident.

  e.. January 2000-Another brown colored black bear was sighted In the
Palomar Mountain area.

  f.. December 1999-Confirmed report of treed bear in Ramona, northeast of
San Diego.

  g.. September 1999-Confirmed sighting and photograph of a brown colored
black bear at Fry Creek on Palomar Mountain.

  h.. July 1999-Confirmed sightings of a black bear in Cuyamaca
Mountains/Pine Hills.

  i.. June 1999-Confirmed sightings of a brown colored black bear near the
La Jolla Indian Reservation and San Luis Rey picnic area.

  j.. May 1999-Two bears spotted near Warner Springs.

  k.. 1994-A female cinnamon colored black bear confirmed near Highway 76,
Lake Henshaw, and the San Luis Rey picnic area.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chuckie V" <rubberchuckie@yahoo.com>
To: "PCT-List" <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 2:22 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Bear Aware...a fun story for a Friday Afternoon


> >>>>Chuckie V has a great story!!! He ran after a bear who took his
food -- but failed to notice in the low light that the bear had stopped. He
ran smack dab into the bear, scared it enough that it dropped the food, and
miraculously lived to tell about it.
>
>
>
>
> It was only a great story afterward, Donna! It happened at Glen Aulin
Camp, not surprisingly.
>
> Here's a long-winded but enjoyable snippet from a magazine article I wrote
for the triathlon press:
>
>
> Another one of my fears that kept me awake more than one night was the
possibility of being ripped apart or eaten by a bear. I had numerous
nightmares of vicious bear attacks as far back as night number one in the
desert. And although bears aren't stupid enough to reside in the desert like
man is, the PCT is rarely ever located in true desert, but instead in high,
dry countryside. "If a man could survive out here, then why couldn't a
bear?" I reasoned.
>
>
> Though I don't remember clearing customs or crossing the border, I finally
entered 'Bear Country.' I knew this not only because of the signs stating
that I was in 'Bear Country,' but because I also had my first run-in with a
bear, literally. The setting was (where else?) but Yosemite, at a place
called Glen Aulin Camp, just north of crowded Tuolumne Meadows. I had set my
plastic garbage sack full of food next to my pup tent (a saying I never
understood...if I can't even set up this damn tent, how could a puppy?).
Anyway, I left the bag there only momentarily while I stood just a few yards
away and chatted with other hikers, all the meanwhile brushing my teeth.
>
>
> I was going to put my toothbrush and paste in the bag before storing it in
one of the many bear-proof boxes that Yosemite requires campers to use. But
before I could finish polishing my molars, a black bear suddenly appeared
and grabbed my goods with its teeth which, I couldn't help but notice,
weren't quite as white as mine. He took off straight back into the woods
from which he came.
>
>
> Having been beat up by my older brother nearly everyday of my childhood,
my instincts lean favorably towards flight in such a fight or flight
situation, and this was no different. I started running all right, but for
some unknown reason I decided to run after this furry beast. By all means, I
didn't plan on fighting this bear, which must've outweighed me by about two
hundred and fifty pounds. I simply needed that food back. It was my food
after all, and I had been lugging it without anyone else's help. It was this
sort of thinking that made it clear to me I was now an integral part of
Nature, where survival of the fittest is rule number one. It was show time,
and time to get my food back.
>
>
> Understanding that survival of the fittest is Nature's most obvious rule,
I still failed to grasp that there are certain other rules you must abide by
when existing in the wilderness. Namely, the food chain and how it works.
It's surprising I didn't give it much thought as simple as it is really. In
a nutshell, the food chain works like this; bigger creatures eat smaller
ones.
>
>
> Bears want you to believe that they become that big by eating berries,
leaves, or the occasional stolen Snickers bar when, in fact, they eat
people. And with the exception of your average Wal-Mart customer, whose size
is nearly prehistoric, bears are almost always bigger than people are. They
are certainly bigger than the average backpacker, and therefore higher on
the food chain. Trust me on this one--animals only get that big from eating
other animals. Why I pursued a beast so much larger than me might not make
sense in Mother Nature's grand scheme of things, but truthfully I didn't
give it that much thought. Again, I just wanted, rather, needed my food
back.
>
>
> As I gave chase some of my food began falling from the plastic bag, which
was now torn apart, leaving an easy trail to follow. First, some ramen
noodles hit the ground, then a chocolate bar, then a tin of sardines, now
with a newly formed dent on it. Instead of stopping to collect some of the
calories, I kept my pursuit up in hopes that more food would continue to
fall out and I'd scare the culprit off. I hadn't noticed that I was
practically on top of him at that point. Smokey decided to stop by skidding
on all fours when impact occurred. I nearly doubled over him when I finally
came to my senses. Immediately, I turned around and retreated at a pace that
would even make Carl Lewis blush.
>
>
> Witnesses helped me retrieve my stolen supplies, and the only items that
were lost were one packet of Top-Ramen that had torn open when it landed on
a rock, and a candy bar that was covered in bear slobber. I could've eaten
the candy bar, and might have, except that bear slobber is the most putrid
smelling stuff in the world. That's coming from a hiker who knows what nasty
smells are all about.
>
>
> The story was told and retold throughout the night (and would later
circulate up and down the trail) as a bunch of us backpacking types sat by
the warmth of one of the few fires I enjoyed during my trip. I remember one
fellow saying in a thick southern accent, "If I'd uh had uh video camera,
I'd uh been uh millionaire..." The bad-news bear returned three more times
that evening, but by then all my belongings, including me, were secured
safely in one of the bear-proof containers.
>
>
> For more laughs, check out the rest of the story at:
>
> http://www.chuckiev.com/page/page/864007.htm
>
> -Chuckie
>
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