by Phil » Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:24 pm
AT and I have probably logged 100s of bear encounters of one kind or another over the years, some close and a little sketchy, but most no different than seeing any other kind of animal in the wild, from deer to squirrels. It's just the food they're after. Sure, they can get aggressive about it if you don't store you food correctly, but in terms of where along your route you'll most likely run into the most aggressive, it's LYV itself. "Aggression" has to be taken in context though: they're not going to attack you, but they tend to be pushy about it when they want something and you give them the opportunity to get at your stuff, especially if they're "habituated". And LYV being what it is, and too many of the people there being who they are, with what they think flies, that's exactly what you have. That area is really busy, but the further you go out, the more in-tune the backpackers are to proper food storage, and therefore, the less aggressive the bears are (and actually more afraid of you by nature than you need to be of them).
Do it right, follow the rules and protocols, maybe see them or have them poke about a bit, but you have nothing to worry about at all. It's actually kind of exhilarating. Your clothes, menstrual cycle, clean cookware, the rock you spilled a little olive oil on....nothing. It's worth so much more for you and your fiancee to carry a can, use it right, and enjoy the freedom and experience of all that means to you than it is putting a moment's thought into bears.
Yep, all that, and we're still here talking to you...with all our limbs still attached and no great traumas to report.....And besides, statistically speaking, the vast majority of bear encounters with outcomes that weigh in the bear's favor are in campgrounds, not the wilderness.