Bear Spray / Insect Spray

[Ably Done]

So my wife and I fly in from NY in June for a week's stay at Many Glacier.

Having read this and the other Chat forum for the past year it is my sense that we should buy bear spray but that we can not bring it on the plane. Is that right?

So I am planning to buy bear spray on the taxi ride from the airport to the Lake MacDonald lodge. Would you please tell me what store to go to and what to buy?

Also what kind of insect spray?

Please note that my wife and self will only be doing day hikes from the Many Glacier Lodge and not any overnight hikes. Is the purchase of bear spray not necessary? I believe that last year near Many Glacier Lodge there was a bear incident with two hikers that were on the trail.

Thanks for your guidance.

Country Boy

[Tara]

Country Boy, you really do need bear spray for day hikes...I wouldn't hike anywhere in the park without it. You can buy it in West Glacier at any of the shops, I can't remember the names of most of them but I'm sure someone will let you know. Yes, the attack last year was on the Grinnell Glacier Trail near where there is a waterfall that is noisy and they weren't making enough noise going around a corner (my understanding of what happened). Because they didn't make noise to alert the bear, they didn't even have time to use their bear spray. But attacks are so few and far between, most people never use their spray. You should have it with you though, and know how to use it. As for bug spray, we try different things all the time. Generally we haven't had much trouble with mosquitos except my often-voiced complaint about the Gunsight Pass Trail in June...more mosquitos than I've EVER seen in Minnesota. We've had more trouble with flies, but again, not very often. I think last year we were using one of the herbal ones with no DEET in it...Cutter Advanced maybe? Anyway, it worked well...

[Dave Parker]

Well on the bear spray I would recommend either Army/Navy in Columbia Falls(cheapest) or you can pick up at the West Glacier Merchantile in West Glacier(More Costly) As far as bug spray, I don't use bug spray, have never found a real need for it, but some do, I would recommend one of the ones with deet in it, such as deep woods off.

Yes there was an incident last year, where a man and his daughter were involved, last I heard they are both doing quite well

Dave

[Ably Done]

Many thanks for your guidance; most apprecated.

Could I clarify please one issue: making noise while we hike?

I am not used to making a lot of noise while we hike and it seems a bit odd. I mean part of the joy is not always having to talk? From the sounds of your description of the incident last year one should always be making noise...

I don't mean this to be dumb but it would seem one would need to carry a boom box of sorts to keep constant noise going all the time. Am I misunderstanding your point?

Thanks again...

Country Boy.

[Dave Parker]

Don't be stealthy is probably the best way to describe it, talk in normal voices and such, when around rivers/creeks/woods, don't try to sneak through the area, be normal and be aware, you might want to take a look at

http://www.bebearaware.org, for tips on hiking in bear country, it is really pretty simple...normally on most trails in Glacier there are quite a few people, so the combination of people and such, makes for a pretty safe time, but being aware of your surrounding and such is always prudent to your safety around here.

Dave

[July Guy]

Here is an additional resource:

http://www.nps.gov/glac/resources/bears.htm#Hiking

You may want to try a ranger guided hike. You can observe how often and how loudly the rangers make noise- that would give you sort of a feel for what people are talking about. A lot depends on your surroundings- wide open exposed trail v. dense forest with lots of blind turns. The boom box wouldn't earn you a lot of friends out on the trail.

[GuloGulo]

I have had a problem with knats in certain parts of the Park. I usually go at the end of Aug. I always carry a head net. It packs light and keeps the little buggers off your head which is where I find them most anoying.

[grizzlyguy]

While this may seem apparent I want to reinforce that there is a significant difference in Bear Spray / Insect Spray. Don't get them mixed up!

insect - repellant / bear - self defense.

Don't laugh, every year, you read about someone who thinks that they need to put on their bear spray before hiking and then has a really bad day. Don't spray a tent or pack as a deterrent. A couple of years ago a park employee (who should have known better) was being followed by a bear on the trail so they sprayed down the trail to deter it from following. Closed the trail, since bear spray is a food product and will ATTRACT bears if used in such a manner.

--Sam

[Dave Parker]

While this may seem apparent I want to reinforce that there is a significant difference in Bear Spray / Insect Spray. Don't get them mixed up!

insect - repellant / bear - self defense.

Don't laugh, every year, you read about someone who thinks that they need to put on their bear spray before hiking and then has a really bad day. Don't spray a tent or pack as a deterrent. A couple of years ago a park employee (who should have known better) was being followed by a bear on the trail so they sprayed down the trail to deter it from following. Closed the trail, since bear spray is a food product and will ATTRACT bears if used in such a manner.

--Sam

Extremely good point Sam,

I remember an email I got one time, from some parents who had bought bear spray for themselves and wanted to know if it was alright to buy the smaller personal protection sized canned for their kids! Bear spray is a certain size can 225 grams or bigger, the smaller cans don't have enough product or distance to be considered bear spray.

The ingrediants in bear spray are organic and will attract bears when it is laying on the ground, the main ingrediants are of course the pepper, but the carrier for the pepper is normally vegitable oil, which when on the ground becomes a food source and they will roll in it, eat the dirt and all sorts of other things to get at it, it has to be atomized in the air to be effective. Make sure to read the various resources on the net about proper use of the product and don't let it give you a false sense of security.

Dave

[Tara]

As for making noise: We generally clap hands, shout the occasional "Hey bear", etc. when its really wooded or brushy and there could be bears anywhere within earshot. Its especially important when nearing a corner on a trail especially if there is any waterfall or nearby. If we're in an open meadow with short grass and nowhere for bears to hide, then we don't make noise. Its just part of hiking in bear country...you get used to it. You still get solitude and peace andquiet at your destinations, etc.

[Ref]

Tara's advice is solid. The goal is to alert any bears in the area to your presence well before you reach them so that they have plenty of opportunity to get out of the way. The worst thing you can do is surprise a bear, especially up close, and even more especially, a sow with cubs. The incident on the Grinnell Glacier trail last summer involved a sow protecting her cub.

Also, you're likely to see so-called "bear bells" being sold in the area or used by other hikers. The idea is that the bells make the noise for you as you walk, but most of us who contribute to this site consider them pretty useless as they generally can't be heard at any significant distance.

As for the bear spray, I also recommend taking it along. And since you can't take it back on the plane, you can donate unused spray to the rangers when you leave.

Hockey Ref

[dorf]

Not trying to scare you, but the thing to remember is that those bears are everywhere---even near the roads and hotels in Many Glacier. Tara and I were in the park the day the father-daughter were mauled on the Grinnel Glacier trail---a very popular dayhike. I've seen them near 50 Mountain, Gros Ventre Falls and Oldman Lake. One time a sow and her cubs backed up "traffic" between stoney Indian Pass and Glenns Lake for a couple of hours when cub was cowering in fear up in a tree. I've gingery avoided stepping on steaming scat on numerous trails in the backcountry as well.

Do as everyone has said and make some noise and you'll be fine.

[Ref]

Hey, Dorf --

Yes, the bears are everywhere...last time I was in the park I got up early and drove from Swiftcurrent over to Many Glacier Hotel to take some morning photos around the lake. As I was driving back, about halfway between MGH and Swiftcurrent, I spotted a black bear in the brush just a few yards from the side of the road. I slowed down and opened the passenger-side window in the hope of getting a quick grab shot. A jogger was approaching at the same time, and his eyes went from me and my camera to the bear. I never saw a guy reverse direction and high-tail it so fast in my life! The bear used that opportunity to slink deeper into the trees, and the only image I got was a brown smudge.

Hockey Ref

[Ably Done]

to everyone for their detailed response.

It sounds as if it is a subject that has far more to it than might first be thought.

Thanks.

Country Boy

[Ably Done]

6-Year-Old Girl Dies in Tenn. Bear Attack
Apr 14 12:09 AM US/Eastern


BENTON, Tenn.


A bear attacked a family at a camp site in the Cherokee National Forest on Thursday, killing a 6-year-old girl and injuring her 2-year- old brother and mother, authorities said.

The attack took place near a pool of water on Chilhowee Mountain, said Dan Hicks, spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Witnesses described the bear picking up the boy in its mouth while the mother and other visitors tried to fend it off with sticks and rocks, Hicks said. The mother was injured before the bear was chased away.

The girl ran away during that attack, but was found dead a short time later with the bear nearby. A park ranger fired at least one shot at the bear before it bolted off.

The woman and her son were flown by helicopter to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, where both were being treated for wounds consistent with a bear attack, Hicks said.

Hospital officials did not immediately return calls for comment, but Hicks said the boy was listed in critical condition. The victims' names were not released.

Forest Service employees, TWRA game agents and several hunters were searching for the bear in an area spanning several thousand acres.

The 640,000-acre park runs along the southeastern Tennessee border with North Carolina, southwest of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.