Camping with bears!

18 years ago

Once upon a time (Sounds like a bear story, don't it?) We were looking for a nice quiet camp near Cherokee, N.C. finally, we found Stoney's Campground, near Cherokee, up a little side road, across the road from a cool mountain stream, so we rented a space!

Old Stoney, the Indian owner, regaled us with stories about the bears that always came into the camp at night, but, he told us not to worry--his "bear" dog would chase them away!

We had a Nimrod tent trailer, which didn't give much protection from bears, but he wasn't worried--"Just whistle and the bear dog would come and chase the bear away!"

Around 2 in the morning, i awoke to hear growling under the trailer, so i managed to peel the canvas window back a bit, and-wow-there in the gloom was a large black shape, with lots of growling going on!!

This scared me, and, being the canvas wouldn't give much protection from bear claws, i kept pushing back against my wife, who was sound asleep! She finally asked me what i was doing, so i told her about the bear outside!

she said:"If he gets you, he'll not be hungry when he gets to me!"

Well, i worried the rest of the night, and come the first rays of daylight, i carefully opened the blind, and there, outside, where i thought i had seen the bear, was the spare tire on the trailer parked next to us! And what crawled out from under our trailer??? Yep, Stoney's bear dog!

I'll tell you--it took many years for me to live that night down!!

Rustyj

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Comments (6)

dalew
18 years ago
There's an old story we Lab dog owners love to tell ... there's nothing like getting up in the middle of the night to "look at the stars" and maybe water some nearby bushes, only while doing so, to have the lab come up behind you and maybe looking for a little nuzzle! Especially in bear country!

Dale
tplife
18 years ago
Some learn young, some learn old, and some never learn. Carry a firearm that you are trained and prepared to use, otherwise stay home.
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rustyj14
Original Author
18 years ago
Aww, c'mon, tplife, i don't think ya need a gun to go camping! We traveled all over this land, and never carried as much as a "pop" gun!
Of course, if yer living in a tepee in bear country, and ya feel unsafe, i guess ya oughta carry something--maybe a box of corn flakes, or grape nuts, like they show in the tv commercial! Worst that can happen is, the bears will drag yer tent away, while yer out there with yer pop gun!
mncamper
18 years ago
I wouldn't be opposed to bringing a firearm along with on a trip out to bear country, but to date I've yet to do so. Just keep your food away from camp, up in a tree, and take other precautions & you should be fine. I've only ever seen a bear in the wild once! And it was running away from us about 50 yards away. Let some camp utinsels dangle from your pack, the jingling should scare away any unwanted "friends".

Though, I think everyone should know how to safely operate/handle a gun. Most firearm owners are trained and in turn properly train their children to respect the power of the gun.
broca
18 years ago
Have to agree with Rusty on this one. Hiked the Appalachian Trail twice, do some volunteer trail work and backpacking out west each summer, but have never considered carrying a gun even in grizzly country. Although I am a life-long hunter, I think it far more useful to be trained in bear protocol than gun use in bear country.

Your chances of being killed or injured are thousands of times greater just walking across a city street or driving your car on the highway. I think bears kill on average one or two humans per year, automobiles 45,000. Guess which gets on the front page of every newspaper in the country.
tplife
18 years ago
The February issues of Field & Stream and Outdoor Life contained special sections on bear attacks and fatalities. They found that the liklihood of surviving a bear attack was much greater for victims who were armed, and rarely are victims able to outrun the bear. Bears sense fear and running as capitulation and will attack. As hunters, we tend to be armed when were in bear country. As armed campers, we've been in campgrounds during cougar sightings. As human beings, we intend on being survivors and enjoying the great outdoors. We wouldn't take a drive in our cars unarmed much less enter the wilderness without that dependable survival equipment.

Camping with bears!

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dalew

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Camping with bears!

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dalew

tplife

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