Camping in Canada (Bears?).

[ayceejay]

I would plan a trip around cheap accommodation other than camping if I were making that trip. My concern would not be bears but the micro creatures like black flies and mosquitoes that could make your trip miserable. You will encounter them on your bike too but deet will mostly cover that just keep your mouth shut but sleeping out - not for me.

 

[Crankarm]

"Boo Boo such generous campers! What have we here?"

 

[slowmotion]

We have been hiking in the middle of nowhere in Northern BC, but it was in daylight. If you make a noise, jangle the bear bells, and keep your bear spray close, you will almost certainly be as lucky as we were.

Quite how you could keep up such a regime of deterrence, asleep, at night and under canvas, stretches my definition of optimism.

 

[Trail Child]

 

[ufkacbln]

Wear a cycle helmet!

 

[BigonaBianchi]

i would get eductaed on bears before i went.

make noise.
dont surpise a bear
never run from a bear
know the difference between a grizzly and brown/black bears
carry bear spray in an easy access place and know how to use it...

...and dont go walkabout trying to find a bear like this bloke

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-pn_JSE8rE

 

[Brandane]

Wear a cycle helmet!

At least they seem to be useful for something then......

 

[Brandane]

Link us to some of this TripAdvisor advice you're seeing--I can't find anything specific on the topic with a quick search.

I posted on the British Columbia forum. To be fair, the bottom line seems to be that the chances of a bear encounter are remote, but there is always the chance. The link on one of the first posts to Wikipedia makes interesting reading!

Slowmotion raises the point which is my main concern:

We have been hiking in the middle of nowhere in Northern BC, but it was in daylight. If you make a noise, jangle the bear bells, and keep your bear spray close, you will almost certainly be as lucky as we were.

Quite how you could keep up such a regime of deterrence, asleep, at night and under canvas, stretches my definition of optimism.

 

[coffeejo]

Since the bells/noise advice is to avoid startling a bear, I would have thought unless you're prone to extreme bouts of flatulence in your sleep, you'd be fine at night so long as there's no scent of food on you or anything else in your tent.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

Put all your food and cosmetics ..even toothpaste etc in a bear box if there is one on the campsite or at least 100m away from your tent if there isnt one. I slept at night with music playing from my cell phone in my tent...but then I was awake all night tring to decide if it would be better to hear them coming or not...also i was told by rangers to cook away from the tent, and change my clothes before i slept as the cooking smells embed in your clothing and bears like that!

I'd also be aware of your bike....i met a cycle couple who had had a bike destroyed by a bear once...

also be aware of the wind direction

...i think the chances of a close encounter are slim if you do th eright things...but then i wasnt in canada

 

[BigonaBianchi]

..another thing..re bear spray.

They come with safty catches...you may want to make 100% sure it's applied at night in your tent....you wont want that thing going off by mistake in your sleep !

 

[Canrider]

Thanks Brandane.
Regarding 'emptiness', the most remote part of the entire Van-Tor route won't be the Prairies but the bit around the top of Lake Superior in Ontario. And I knew a guy (cycle courier in Winnipeg) who rode from Winnipeg to Toronto and back for the hell of it.

Bears, well, there's risk, but there's always risk, bears/moose/drivers/weather/plane crash.

 

[Star Strider]

Strip down to your undercrackers, cover yourself in fire ash mud and leaves.

 

[rich p]

Strip down to your undercrackers, cover yourself in fire ash mud and leaves.

or...
...Strip down to your undercrackers, cover yourself in fire ash mud and leave

 

[BigonaBianchi]

dress up as a bigger bear?