The right to bear arms

[Drago]

Next time you fancy a bit of cycling based wild camping you should consider the fate of this poor lady...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-57763443

 

[jay clock]

I have friends in Oregon at present. They swear by bear-proof canisters . I am amazed that the people in this case had food in their tents at all. When I was there it was a given that you either use the bear proof metal lockers or tie the food dangling up in a tree

 

[Drago]

Whereas in this country you might get pooped on by a magpie.

I once had a rabbit pull a flicknife on me and threaten to carve me up good if I didn't hand over my carrots.

 

[KnittyNorah]

I have friends in Oregon at present. They swear by bear-proof canisters . I am amazed that the people in this case had food in their tents at all. When I was there it was a given that you either use the bear proof metal lockers or tie the food dangling up in a tree

Yes - I learnt that all and any consumables - even (perhaps especially, often being strongly-scented) toothpaste - should be kept in a locker or in a bundle from a tree - AWAY from where you are in a tent. And you don't eat or cook in and around the tents, either, but away from them, in a separate area, so that the tents are not a place of interest to the bears.
I was told that it was vitally important that bears, being fast learners and highly intelligent, never got a chance to learn that tents might contain food ... having food in and around them is about the fastest way to ensure that they learn this, given the bear's natural feeding mode of foraging, and its scenting ability, which is one of the best, if not the best, in the world. If bears were domesticatable, trainable and safe in the same manner as dogs, we'd have no issues whatsoever with tracking, tracing or detecting anyone or anything, such is their olfactory ability!
Mind you I learnt this back in the times when dinosaurs roamed the earth so I expect camping practises have changed since them. A bear's sense of smell, and dead people, haven't though ...

 

[Drago]

A far simpler solution would be not to camp in a people-eater's home. It has always worked for me.

This. We've all seen the fantastic documentaries, Jurassic Park, Jaws and The Silence of the Lambs.

They teach us one simple, obvious reality - Hang about needlessly in a dangerous predators front garden and you know its quite likely you will end up as an hors deurve.

 

[winjim]

I once had a rabbit pull a flicknife on me and threaten to carve me up good if I didn't hand over my carrots.

Picture of Drago on his last camping trip.

 

[MichaelW2]

I had a sleepless night on a mountainside in black bear country. Grizzlies are a whole order of magnitude more hungry and every camper in the NW USA should know by now. If a grizzly came into my camp once, I wouldnt just go back to bed.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Marginally better than the Right to Arm Bears though.

 

[Cirrus]

Bears Lives Matter

 

[KnittyNorah]

When I worked in Saudi Arabia I lacked the Right To Bare Arms ...

 

[MichaelW2]

Old but educational joke.

The National Park Rangers are advising hikers in Glacier National Park and other Rocky Mountain parks to be alert for bears and take extra precautions to avoid an encounter.
They advise park visitors to wear little bells on their clothes so they make noise when hiking. The bell noise allows bears to hear them coming from a distance and not be startled by a hiker accidentally sneaking up on them. This might cause a bear to charge.
Visitors should also carry a pepper spray can just in case a bear is encountered. Spraying the pepper into the air will irritate the bear's sensitive nose and it will run away.
It is also a good idea to keep an eye out for fresh bear scat so you have an idea if bears are in the area. People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear scat.
Black bear droppings are smaller and often contain berries, leaves, and possibly bits of fur. Grizzly bear droppings tend to contain small bells and smell of pepper.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I'm going to be that guy and say that all the gags on this topic seem disrespectful given that this woman has suffered a horribly violent death, witnessed by her own sister.

https://krcrtv.com/news/local/bear-...ok-strong-cyclist-and-loving-human-by-friends

Through it all, close friends are choosing to remember the good memories: a daring cook, competitive cyclist, and, more than anything, a loving human being.​

​

Close friends like the Gibbs are still wrapping their heads around the tragic loss, which involved Lokan being dragged from her tent by the bear while camping in the small town of Ovando, 75 miles northwest of Helena.​

​

​

"We just miss her presence," says Brian. "It's put a big hole in our lives."​

Lokan is in part remembered for her active involvement in the Chico cycling community. Chico Velo tells KRCR she volunteered for several of their events, including their "Trailworks" program that supports the maintenance and sustainability of local trails. Brian says he would join Lokan on 30 to 40-mile bike rides weekly, sometimes three times a week. ​

​

​

"How is she as a cyclist? Very strong," says Brian. "When I started cycling with her, I always noticed she peddled downhill too. She was very aggressive and then she went very fast uphill. It made me a stronger cyclist just riding with her."​

​

Enloe Medical Center confirms Lokan was a retired nurse there in recent years. Other friends, who asked to not be identified, said her medical career took her as far as Santa Rosa. Her life of healing extended even further after the Camp Fire, which burned most of the Butte Creek Canyon community.​

​

​

"She loved to come down here and help us, asking what projects you have whether it's clearing up trees that have fallen, working on rock walls, anything," says Brian. "An aggressively friendly person you want to be around."​

 

[Drago]

I expect everyone to take the pith mercillessly when I go.

 

[Profpointy]

I had a sleepless night on a mountainside in black bear country. Grizzlies are a whole order of magnitude more hungry and every camper in the NW USA should know by now. If a grizzly came into my camp once, I wouldnt just go back to bed.

A pal of mine has done a lot of geology field work in Greenland, and one of his colleagues had a polar bear sit on his tent. The guy just sat very very quiet trying not to touch the huge bear's arse shaped lump impinging on half his tent. Eventually the bear wandered off and all was well

 

[glasgowcyclist]

It's not the first time that a relative of someone who shared an interest in cycling and was killed has found this forum.

The internet makes this a much smaller world and we should remember that this forum has a number of US members.