Bear deterrents

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

For winter camping...tow a sled behind you with your gear,its easier than carrying it.
I did minus 32 but we equipped ourselves with a woodstove and a tent that had a hole for the stove pipe.
Piece of cake.

originally posted by: DrumsRfun
a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

For winter camping...tow a sled behind you with your gear,its easier than carrying it.
I did minus 32 but we equipped ourselves with a woodstove and a tent that had a hole for the stove pipe.
Piece of cake.

That's sounds like you had an epic adventure. We are looking at taking as less quit as possible but without putting ourselves in danger of being unprepared. Only reason being is we have to transport all the equipment through airports etc. We also plan to try and do some kayaking. The main obstacle of heading to Canada and having an adventure was the bear factor as I said being in the UK there isn't much we can do over here to get use to bears.

I spent a week in Scotland last winter at -10/-15 degrees C so we got the cold weather gear. Thanks for the advice though all help is appreciated

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Bear deterrents

I would suggest a Bible and bookmark

Proverbs 12:21 No harm befalls the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.

You are righteous, eh?

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Although, still pretty in the winter, you will miss out on a lot. I recommend summer time for hiking.


Here is another video of some crazy ba$tard scaling rocks off our open pit walls.



Skip to 4:40

a reply to: Macenroe82

cool.. I'm about 5 minutes away from it.

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Bear deterrents

I would suggest a Bible and bookmark

Proverbs 12:21 No harm befalls the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.

You are righteous, eh?

Sorry but I'm not religious the only way of use a bible would be to use it as a fuel source to keep me warm if you catch my drift

No offence to any religious people with that comment

a reply to: Macenroe82

oh wow, that's crazy awesome!

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Please be careful, there was an american who came here last year and got lost in the wilderness up the hill. It took almost a week to find him. the trees are dense and grouse grind is impossible!

a reply to: Macenroe82

Awesome where is this at, Ontario?

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Im not offened why are you?

originally posted by: ThePeaceMaker

originally posted by: olaru12
a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Bear deterrents

I would suggest a Bible and bookmark

Proverbs 12:21 No harm befalls the righteous, But the wicked are filled with trouble.

You are righteous, eh?

Sorry but I'm not religious the only way of use a bible would be to use it as a fuel source to keep me warm if you catch my drift

No offence to any religious people with that comment

Well then let me suggest something more in line of a.....

a reply to: awareness10

That is at my mine site - Lac Des Iles, Palladium Mine.
About an hour and half north of Thunder Bay Ontario

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Do you have a dog? Could you get one, maybe adopt one from Canada?

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker
Howdy Friend,
Don't get worried about bears, as long as you use your head you'll be fine. I've spent a lot of time in both griz and black bear country. My advice is the following:

1. Bear spray. Absolutely carry bear spray and learn how to use it. Go when the weather is warmer, as bear spray is oil based and separates in temps around freezing, becoming far less effective. If a bear is approaching you, crouch down with your pack facing the bear and aim the spray over your shoulder. Do not hesitate, its not going to kill the bear. You are only doing it a favor by spraying it if it gets to close. It teaches them humans are dangerous and not to approach.

2. Bells on your walking stick will help, but keep in mind that bears are not always terrified of people. Try not to rush when you hike, give them time to hear you and casually get out of your way.

3. Be aware of tracks and scat.

4. Know the difference between a black bear and a griz. They behave very, very differently. If a black bear comes at you, you need to fight as hard as you can. Often times, you can discourage an aggressive black bear by standing tall, opening your coat up, and yelling at the SOB. This is not advisable with a griz. If you get charged by one of those big fellas and your bear spray fails (which is highly unlikely), fall down, protect your vitals, and hope for the best. In most charge situations, the bear wants to kick your ass more than it wants to kill you. If its a predatory grizzly, you need to fight. Look up the difference in behavior.

5. Hang your food in a tree about a hundred meters from your camp, do not cook where you sleep. Have nothing tasty in your tent, not even toothpaste.

6. Finally, BEWARE of moose. They are by far a more dangerous animal. If you get charged by a moose, but a tree in between you and the moose so you can move in a circle. You can out maneuver a big four legged critter if you can make it move in a circle. Its why we break horses in a round pen. Move around the tree with the animal until it gets sick of messing with you, they will eventually. I had to do the tree dance for 20 minutes with a big cow moose once, didn't think it was ever going to end! Most of the time they will give up much quicker once they think they have proved their point.

Okay, you're going to have a blast, just respect the power nature. I hope you get to see one of our great bears from a distance. They really put things into perspective. Like I said, I've spent 30 years crawling around bears and I am still kicking even after some close calls. Most of my close calls have been in the early spring or fall. When they come out of hibernation they are hungry, so they are out at all hours, and in the fall they are eating whatever they can find trying to put on fat for winter. Head to Canada mid summer and that will reduce your chances of run ins.

originally posted by: awareness10
a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Please be careful, there was an american who came here last year and got lost in the wilderness up the hill. It took almost a week to find him. the trees are dense and grouse grind is impossible!

Same could be said for some areas in Scotland, me and my friend whoever we have gone hiking we always make sure we know where we are going first. We can both map read and to a certain degree get a rough direction by using the sun or moon. We have no intention of getting lost lol but thanks anyway

a reply to: cowboy762

Hey cowboy some great tips there thank you. As I've said me and my friend are the sort of people willing to learn and understand the areas we go in. We are not the sort of people who would just take a map and start hiking. We (I would like to say) are sensible we know when to stop if something is getting too dangerous. As for animals of any kind, we are animal lovers and we both respect that we would be in bear territory therefore we would respect the bears as well as other animals. We always admire nature from a distance so if we saw moose or deer we wouldn't risk getting closer. Thank you again though your input is appreciated

originally posted by: solve
a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Do you have a dog? Could you get one, maybe adopt one from Canada?

My friends has a dog but I doubt he would enjoy the 6/7 hour flight from the UK lol. Also I heard it's not a wise thing to have dogs in case a bear for example may be attracted by the scent of the dog (I could be wrong)

originally posted by: cowboy762
I had to do the tree dance for 20 minutes with a big cow moose once, didn't think it was ever going to end! Most of the time they will give up much quicker once they think they have proved their point.

Everything you posted is right on, great advice. LOL yes I too have done "the tree dance." My dad and I were coming home from work when he got stuck in snow. We were only about a mile from my house. I was 5 months pregnant, he wouldn't let me help so I thought I'd have a nice walk home in the snow.

I got about half way there when a Texas longhorn bull spotted me. I was walking the tire tracks in the road but when he charged I had to run for the trees/deeper snow. I danced around that tree what seemed like forever before he backed off. He wouldn't leave entirely so I had to zig-zag my way home through the trees/deep snow.

I got stupid when I made a run for the open road towards home, because of the snow I didn't see the cattle guard/fell through. I didn't break anything, jumped up/ran like hell. By the time I got home I was bruised and exhausted. I cursed that bull the whole way, swore I'd eat him. I'm more prepared now.

Don't forget we're only human. I know it's damn near impossible but somehow try to prepare for stupid. As good as he is, occasionally Les Stroud does stupid things too.

Okay, you're going to have a blast, just respect the power nature.

Yes above all don't underestimate the awesome sometimes overwhelming power of nature. It's an absolute wonder to behold and so worth the effort.

a reply to: ThePeaceMaker

Well I happen to live here. Listen, don't worry about the bears. Listen, if we were to place a bet, I almost promise you you won't run into one. Like I bet you anything you won't see any hiking. If you do maybe by some miricle it will be that you're overlooking a huge valley and you spot one way way way in the disance with binoculars.

Alternatively if you run into one, they're not gonna attack you, again, I promise you that! Because there's only about a dozen bear attacks in canada per year. So the odds of that happening to you are far worse than you winning the lotto jackpot. Trust me, you won't even see a bear. Good luck with that. They're very reclusive creatures. They hear you from miles away and take off before you get there. If you're that worried all you need is a "bear bell". That's it. Don't go buying any bear spray or anything else. Complete waste of money. I guarantee you'll never use it. And I've been deep in the woods tons and tons for years and years.

Here's where I recommend you go if you're in British Columbia

- Vancouver Island: Parksville, then go to Tofino and Ucolet. On the way stop at Kennedy Lake. It's amazing. Then go rent a surf board and wetsuit, there's a few surf rental places there. So look those up. Then go surfing out there. That you'll remember for life.

Also if your in the interior of BC go to Kelowna and Vernon. That area is beautiful and fun.

Then if you're in the rocky mountains go to: Banff.

Also Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal are nice places to visit. Good luck. And trust me don't worry about the bears. If you see a bear and it's not running away, just yell "HEY BEAR" loud and it will most likely run away. Listen if you get eaten by a bear, that would be great way to check out! I mean seriously. Also black bears are not dangerous, and very scared of people. You wave your arms around and they'll run away. But if you see the color of the bear is brown (again you're not gonna see one, sad to say, they're way too reclusive) but if you do then just sneak away into the woods away from the bear. Even if it sees you it's not gonna chase you down.

Your best bet to see a bear is in the zoo or else maybe just maybe if you're driving in the interior of BC you might (and I mean might) see one by the side of the highway. But I that too is rare. If you're in Ontario go to Niagra falls. On the way there there's a park called: Marineland. Go there, they have a bear attraction. You can see tons of bears in a zoo like enclosure. And you can through them some bread. Lots of sea life there too. Like all kinds of whales etc etc. And if youre in toronto go to the top of the CN tower. It's a fun place.

a reply to: bigpatato
Thanks bigpatato would you mind when I have the time if I could private message you at some point, if you're in the area you may be a great help at helping me and my friend plan our trip. You seem to have knowledge of the surrounding areas