Hiking and Camping Safely in Bear Country

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Exploring bear country offers an experience hikers and backpackers would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Few American landscapes rival the remote, pristine beauty of national parks like Glacier, Denali, Yosemite, and Yellowstone. Whether you hit the trail for a day or a week, and whether you prefer campsite camaraderie or backpacking’s blissful solitude, entering the land of gri...

Full article at http://www.trailspace.com/articles/hiking-and-camping-in-bear-country.html

"When in Bear Country: The Actions of Dumb People are the Cause of Smart Bears!"

The difference between the 'intelligence' of the bears at Philmont Scout Ranch and the National Parks is phenomenal.
The way we do 'Bear Bagging' (using bear cables strung between two trees) at Philmont, is similar to the illustration above, you could never get away with at a National Park such as Yosemite, because the bears would get your food and it would be illegal, you must use bear canisters in Yosemite.

This is entirely due to the training of the Crews by the Philmont Rangers, and the Crews actually following through with the training.

In normal 'non-tourist' wilderness locations using the above illustration may work just fine, and it usually does, it all depends on the bears.

But when you come down to the root cause of 'smart bears', it is not a 'bear-problem' it is a 'people-problem', or closer yet... 'problem-people'.

Wow! Excellent and very detailed information! Thanks for the great article