Camping in Canada (Bears?).

[Lee_M]

just search bear attack on google images- that'll make sure you never leave your hotel room

 

[Dave Davenport]

dress up as a bigger bear?

Better make that an unattractive bigger bear, having an 8' grizzly wanting to shag you could turn out worse than it wanting to eat you.

 

[Haitch]

I have driven/camped the Canadian Rockies from Seattle to Alaska.* What the others said: stash all your food at night, either hang it from a tree or put it in a reinforced locker (where available) away from the tent, and have absolutely nothing in the tent with you (including sweets, snacks, some sites even advise against lip balm). Some of the campsites are very big and comfortable and the biggest threat is asphyxiation from the nightly mass-barbecue ritual, others are little more than a metal bucket and instructions to swill it out in the stream before returning it. My biggest concern about cycling would be making it to the next campsite every night. Some are very spaced out, man.

* That sounds rather grander than I intended, but grand it was.

 

[vernon]

So glad I started this thread now. LE/JOG?

Exmoor beast?

 

[Brandane]

Exmoor beast?

Good point; forgot about that. Perhaps a circuit of the Isle of Cumbrae then?
10 minutes away from home by ferry, and a nice flat 10 mile route.
The only wildlife to worry about are hedgehogs on the road.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

When.being charged by a bear...stop to ask it if it is a grizzly or a black bear. That way you can decide whether or not to lay down and play dead or fight back.

 

[snorri]

, I am wondering how much of a problem our Grizzly friends are,..... Is there an abundance of proper campsites? As presumably they might have fences to keep the bears out. .......If there is a significant risk of being torn limb from limb by an angry bear

Stop looking for excuses, MTFU and get on with it.

 

[Somebuddy]

Brandane - There is a guy from UK that has flown into New York, cycled south to Florida, headed west across the southern tier, is now in LA and plans on cycling up the west coast into Canada, and back across country and back down to New York again. You might be interested in his blog as he will be cycling your dream. You can see how he gets on with the wildlife!! The website is Vaguedirection.com

 

[ayceejay]

I have encountered black bears on several occasions, their main interest seems to be food. They love dustbin diving and like nothing better than seeking food we would consider garbage. If a black bear is discovered munching on food you consider yours let him have it and he will leave you alone. A male bear weighing 400lbs running is a thing to behold and you sure don't want him/her running after you. The mythology is that you shouldn't try to run from a bear but if you can't help yourself be sure to run downhill, the theory is that with front legs shorter than back legs (yes they run on all fours) this will put him at a disadvantage but I don't suggest you put this to the test.
When I lived in Cape Breton the local dump was a hole in the ground and with no collection you had to dump your garbage yourself. There was a bear fence around the pit and the gates would open to let people in and staff who were sorting out the garbage. Bears would show up at a certain point to help with the sorting and this was a sign for people to leave - no shooing, no pepper spray just leave quietly.

 

[stephenjubb]

have a look on www.crazyguyonabike.com and search for canada.

lots of folks have crossed canada on bike and written up their experiences their.

 

[neil_merseyside]

have a look on www.crazyguyonabike.com and search for canada.

lots of folks have crossed canada on bike and written up their experiences their.

Only the ones that survived could do that though!

 

[HelenD123]

have a look on www.crazyguyonabike.com and search for canada.

lots of folks have crossed canada on bike and written up their experiences their.

Me! Have a look at the link in my signature. I camped most of the time, both on sites and wild and survived the bears. I took the recommended precautions of not having any food or toiletries in my tent and stashing them a good distance from my tent every night. I used all sorts of ruses for this such as stashing them in the toilet block on a campground, in the back of bear proof bins as well as the traditional hang from a tree (this was a last resort as I found it difficult and there wasn't always a suitable treet). Very few campsites had bear proof lockers for food. On the few occasions I asked for advice I was told to put the food in my car . I also avoided cooking near my tent when wild camping.

To be honest I'd be more worried about the traffic than the bears. Looking back at some of the stretches where I was mixing with trucks it was crazy.

 

[albal]

Never came across any bears on my transam, but, did hear many tales of encounters in the rockies. One guy, riding early in yellowstone, so as to avoid the tourist traffic, and luckily for him was warned by an oncoming motorist of a grizzly near the roadside. Bear spray to hand is good advice i'd say.

 

[ianrauk]

Bears look like friendly chaps to me.

 

[Brandane]

Me! Have a look at the link in my signature.

Helen, your blog on CGOAB is actually one of the reasons why a Trans Canada ride has become one of my ambitions. I haven't managed to sit down and read all 152 pages of it as yet, but the sections which I have read are an inspiration.
In all honesty, despite posting this thread, I think this will remain one ambition which will not be fulfilled. I would love to do it, but when thinking about these things I tend to conveniently forget that I have one or two medical issues. The major one being a heart rhythm problem which rears its' ugly head now and again; particularly in the past month or so. My GP has warned me against any strenuous exercise meantime, although I tend to define "strenuous" loosely (i.e. managed a hilly 40 miler last week with no ill effects).

Sods law says that I would have problems in Canada requiring medical attention, and any travel insurance company would wash their hands of it as it is a pre-existing condition. So it is a non starter this year, but there is now an operation available to correct my condition, involving a laser beam and a Surgeon with a steady hand. Fingers crossed!