Earlier than setting off on a hike, you at all times plan the place you’re going, the timing, and what to take with you, proper? You must also plan forward how one can hike (or camp) safely round wildlife. Particularly bears. It would seem to be you’ll solely encounter bears when you go to Yellowstone, the Smoky Mountains, or Alaska. However bears occupy a a lot higher space. Do you know that black bears are present in 40 of the 50 states of the US?

Black bear and grizzly bear ranges are growing yr after yr, so earlier than touring to the wilderness, ensure you test if it’s bear nation. Whether it is, learn on for our security recommendations on how one can hike in bear nation.

Don’t assume that as a result of it’s chilly, bears will probably be tucked away of their dens. Simply final month (in November) we had a household of 5 bears in our yard within the mountains of North Carolina. Additionally, grizzly bears would possibly come out of hibernation in early March in Yellowstone.

All the time carry bear spray and know how one can use it earlier than you set off in your journey. Bear spray shouldn’t be allowed on planes, so if you’re flying to your vacation spot you’ll want to purchase it within the space. REI carries them. Watch the video on the finish of this submit to learn to use a bear spray. *Don’t discharge the bear spray indoors*, study to make use of it outside.

NEVER EVER give meals to a bear, strategy it, attempt to get a selfie with a bear, or attempt to pet it. In case you are in a nationwide park and see somebody doing this, take a photograph (attempt to embody the license plate quantity) and report them on the workplace. A fed bear is a lifeless bear.

Mountain climbing in bear nation

• In case you see a bear earlier than it notices you: stand nonetheless, don’t strategy, and benefit from the second. If it’s shifting in your route, be sure that he is aware of you might be there and announce your self with a loud and grave “Hey Bear”. The bear will more than likely flip round. In case you don’t announce your presence you would possibly startle the bear when it’s too shut and it would react violently. (I imply, when you startle me I would scream so it’s comprehensible to have a response.) As soon as the bear is shifting away, transfer away quietly in the wrong way. We had an encounter with a mom grizzly and her cub in British Columbia and we did this. You possibly can learn the story right here.
• In case you encounter a bear that’s conscious of you: don’t run; operating might set off a chase response. Again away slowly in the wrong way and await the bear to go away.
• Pay attention to your environment, attempt to make noise periodically, and don’t use earbuds.
• Don’t hike alone.
• Hold children within reach.
• Make noise in thick cowl.
• Be further conscious when foraging for berries or nuts. Bears are doing the identical!
• All the time KEEP YOUR PETS ON A LEASH or depart them at house. Canines might harass bears and trigger them stress, and in return, a bear might assault your canine.
• Don’t litter. Pack out your trash. Getting bears habituated to human meals sources makes them extra more likely to have harmful encounters with people.
• Don’t get between a mom and her cub. If a mom thinks her cub is in peril, she is going to defend it. In case you see a cub, at all times search for mother and remember.

Tenting in bear nation

• Arrange backcountry camps away from dense cowl and pure meals sources.
• Hold your camp clear. Don’t depart meals sitting round, and at all times lock it up (within the automotive, or in a bear-resistant container) when you exit for a hike.
• Don’t preserve something that smells like meals or toiletries in your tent. No snacks, no toothpaste, no deodorant, no sodas, no lip balm, no sunscreen, no bug spray.
• In case you camp together with your pet and have to preserve a litter tray within the tent, use unscented litter and preserve it clear. No pet treats both.
• If automotive tenting, preserve meals and toiletries inside a locked car and ensure all of the home windows are closed. Bears have discovered how one can open unlocked automobiles and how one can bust opened home windows.
• If backpacking, preserve meals and toiletries suspended no less than 10 ft above the bottom and 10 ft from any a part of the tree. Some parks have already got a system in place (see crimson arrow within the picture beneath from a backcountry campsite in Yellowstone). This regulation would possibly differ from nationwide park to nationwide park so at all times test for laws on the park’s entrance.

Cooking in bear nation

• When cooking don’t dump meals waste in your hearth (or exterior the hearth for that matter). No bean sauce, or meat fats, or anything.
• Cook dinner away out of your tent so that you don’t entice bears to your sleeping space. Many areas suggest a “bear-muda triangle” strategy, together with your tent on the first nook (ideally upwind), your meals storage at one other nook, and your prepare dinner space on the third, separated by 100 yards. A variation places your wash-up space at yet one more distant level.
• Put all of the trash in a bag inside a bear-proof storage locker or trash can that almost all campgrounds present. If none is obtainable, put the trash inside your locked automotive. In case you are on a backpacking journey, put money into a bear-resistant meals container.

Bear in mind to hold your bear spray inside attain, don’t pack it within the backside of your backpack.

WATCH THIS VIDEO AND LEARN HOW TO USE YOUR BEAR SPRAY

Bears should not out to get you

Bear in mind, bears should not out to get you. They’re simply going about their lives such as you and me. And such as you, they’d somewhat not get right into a battle. If we study to respect bears somewhat than concern them, and take just a few frequent sense precautions, we will all stay collectively fortunately.