Recently, I traveled to Mount Mitchell in North Carolina where you have to realize the fact that you are sharing the space with black bears. This brings up talks of bear safety. Andrew and I have always joked that perhaps the “just play dead” technique is really a suggestion by bears themselves to make us easier targets. The bear population would put out a notice such as this:
When in bear country, remember this: if you see a bear, the best thing to do is to lie down and pretend you are dead.
Signed,
The Bears
While that theory may be a bit far fetched, it is strange and fascinating the different techniques for protecting yourself from a bear. There are products commercially available that claim bear protection such as pepper spray, noise makers designed to deter an interaction and even electrified fences that would provide a protected perimeter. I have heard that if you pee around the site where you make camp, it will deter them as well. Everyone seems to think hanging any food and items that have an odor will help keep them away while you are sleeping.
Andrew shared an article with me that prompted this post. It tells the story of how a woman fended off a bear by throwing her IPhone at it. I immediately thought of you, Melissa! It seemed to work by distracting the bear, but perhaps we should reach for something less valuable than an IPhone to throw. Perhaps a rock would do the trick? Of course, carrying a firearm with you would do the trick as well.
Tags: Andrew, bear, hiking, Melissa, Random Thoughts
I would never throw my iPhone at a bear. There are too many great apps for that.
We should just develop a “bear hypnotizing” app (animal-friendly, of course!) and then no iPhones have to be ruined on the course of a hike.