Watch out: Bears want our steaks !

Bears at Buck Island Lake

If you don't want to go hungry for a couple of days you will need to protect all you food from black bears. I practically live on the trail - for 15 years I have been out there with groups every week from Monday through Thursday. Rarely ever did I see a bear - although I heard them every night. During all those years my camp at Rubicon Springs has been raided only three times. We have never been bothered at Loon, Spider or Buck - that has changed. In June 2001 bears had taken all our food in a camp at Buck Island Lake. This summer (2004) we had no bear encounters yet. 2002 daily raids of camp sites along the entire trail were reported. Some of the bears are quite large (500 lbs) and pretty scary when they start messing up your truck. So, from now on you will have to be extra careful with your food supplies. Good news: They don't take beer - yet!. What to do when camping in bear country. If you think bear encounters are scary - check this picture from Africa