Staying safe should be a top priority when it comes to enjoying the great outdoors, but during a recent camping trip with some friends I realized that some people lack general common sense when it comes to being outdoors. First thing’s first. Don’t go looking for wildlife. (Might seem obvious, but I can think of a few people recently who thought it would be “really cool” to run into a bear. Don’t. It’s not fun.) When you’re out and about in back country, stay noisey. Animals don’t like to be snuck up upon. Being loud announces your presence, warning animals away from your area. If you encounter a bear: Raise your arms above your head (to make yourself look bigger to the bear) and back away slowly. Don’t run. Chasing prey is fun for bears. Stand up tall and take up as much space as you can. This sounds dumb but raise your arms above your head and speak to the bear in a loud voice. People say things loudly like, “Hi Bear. Back away bear. Go away bear,” etc. You get the idea. Approaching bears or other wildlife to get a picture is also probably not the smartest thing you can do. Leave the wilderness shots to the professionals. If you find yourself in the presence of young bear cubs their mother is probably not far behind. Mama bears get suuuper protective of their young. So get yer butt outta there if you happen to come across a mama and her cubs or that just might be the last thing you do. Food storage: If you’re camping in an area with wildlife (which is almost anywhere that’s not your backyard), be sure to store your food well away from where you are sleeping. An ideal place to store food, and other odorous items (like the clothes you cooked in, toothpaste, lotion and anything else that emits a smell), is locked away in your car, or up in a bear hang. What’s a bear hang? This. bear hang (diagram via: http://bit.ly/1D6f6VW) Bears have a better sense of smell than dogs. So you might want to think twice about going to sleep in the clothes in which you roasted marshmallows. Speaking of bears, do you know what to do if you encounter a bear? Whether camping or hiking you’re most likely to encounter either a grizzly bear or a black bear. Do you know the difference between a black bear and a grizzly bear? If you don’t and you plan on spending some time in the wilderness this summer I suggest you read up on them. But here’s a quick lil breakdown: Bears-black-grizz-Distinctive-Features (pic via: http://bit.ly/1fhR3xz) There are different tips on how to survive an attack depending on which kind of bear you encounter. I’m not an expert, look to the Google for more in depth information on this but essentially if you are being charged by grizzly, play dead. Grizzlies need to know you’re not a threat. Black bears, on the other hand, are great climbers so stand your ground and make all that noise (“go away bear!”) and if you can’t find yourself a way out of the situation you’re supposed to fight that bear with all you’ve got. Welp, good luck out there. A.

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July 17, 2015

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