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Posted by Bill S on May 4, 2006 at 11:59:36 am EDT
In reply to Re: Backpacking in Bear country posted by Backcountry (Guest) on May 3, 2006 at 11:32:38 pm EDT

pjpitt claims:
"We do not have bears in So.Cal"

Ummmm, having lived in SoCal for a number of years when growing up, I beg to differ with you. It wasn't named Big Bear Lake for no reason. True, you rarely see or hear about them. But the San Jacinto, San Gabriel, and San Bernardino mountains and on up to my present area more northerly do have the odd bear or two wandering around. There aren't enough to bother with taking the precautions you need to take in the Sierra (except that many of the precautions work for raccoon, squirrel, mice, and other smaller critters).

The bear population in Calif appears to be on the increase in the coastal ranges. We have been having them appear in urban areas several times a year in the Santa Cruz and Monterey areas and on down through Big Sur to San Luis Obispo. For the most part, you will never see either bear or mountain lion. But if you know what to look for and where to go, you can find plenty of sign. Last time I wandered the off-trail backcountry of Greyback (12 years ago), I saw both bear tracks and scat.

But, neither bear nor mountain lion are significant dangers for the most part in Calif. They tend to avoid humans except when bothered or when the food situation gets desperate. The last bear attacks I know of in SoCal were Aug 1993, 2 incidents within 3 days in the San Bernardino Mountains, involving yearlings who had apparently recently left their mother. It seems likely they had not yet learned to find food on their own. The injuries in each case were minor.

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