But in Ontario, you have the right to bare arms (and chests)
I just checked in to see if ArchiveGuy had gone camping yet and I see he has posted today, so I assume not.
There are bears in the woods, and they are angry.
Nope, not until Labor Day weekend.
Same deal here. I didn’t even know “bear boxes” existed.
Of course!!! It’s in the constitution, ya know…every citizen has the right to arm bears…
(d & R)
(sorry…but it had to be said.
105mm
As I understand it, Labor Day is Tahoe’s prime bear season. They’re getting ready for hibernation and are attracted by the mooks who don’t know any better and leave their food & trash easily accessible. Worse are the few who want a bear photo-op and deliberately leave out food.
It’s a very long box but too narrow for the bear to comforatbly turn around. The bear gets lured in with donuts and a big bag of stuff at the other end, which closes the entrance hatch when pulled.
Yeah, I just watched the relocation of a Tahoe nuisance bear on a Nat Geo channel last night.
Bear boxes? Bears?? And you camp in that? What’s wrong with you people?
Come to England, the most dangerous camping scenario involves these critters
That’s the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent I ever set eyes on!
I’m afraid the Second Amendment does not cover the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, so we have no defense against that creature.
How do you think we built an empire?
In some places (like the Adirondacks High Peaks) hanging food simply doesn’t work. The bears are smart enough and have seen it enough that they will defeat any hanging scheme you devise. Rather than bear boxes, the DEC has made bear canisters mandatory, and even then the bears (one in particular) has figured out how to open one model.
They’re smarter than the average human, let alone the average bear.
Well, when they get opposible thumbs and start driving David Drake’s hover tanks, then I’ll be impressed. Until then, I’ll bet on the humans (as a whole).
I lived in west side of the Sierras for years and always just used a bear canister when in the back country. I know in the Bishop area Sierra Mountain Sports and Wilson’s rented them. I can’t imagine that the Tahoe area wouldn’t have places to rent them. I was a porter so I bought my own. I’ve also had quite a few (utter harmless and quite neat) run ins with black bears. A canister really is the way to go anyway. Just put it far from your camp at night (along with your cooking gear) and you should be good.
I’m still betting on the bears.
As a point of interest, REI sells bear-proof food containers, the idea being that you put your food in there and then the bears just swat the thing around trying to get at the food inside.
This is nothing new and all fine and dandy, but at the bottom of the page there is a warning regarding a particular area which contains a particular bear which has, in fact, figured out how to open these things.
For some reason, I find this hilarious.
I see I’m not too late to this thread …
Icehouse may be near Tahoe on the map, but it’s on the west slope of the Sierra, separated by quite a bit of exposed granite. The problem bears from Tahoe City & Incline won’t be over there. Bear boxes are only important in places like Yosemite where the bears are experienced, resourceful and persistent. You’ll be just fine storing food in the car, as long as it’s out of sight; preferably in the trunk. Just don’t leave unattended food out when you’re not cooking or eating.
I used to go camping at Icehouse all the time back in high school/college. Of course, we never took any precautions concerning bears (because we were young and therefore impervious to harm). Previous experience notwithstanding, I’d be a bit more careful now that I’m old and feeble.
And just remember…you don’t need to outrun the bear, you just need to outrun the guy next to you.