Tips

Bear Safety Tips and Tricks For Hikers and Backpackers

Source: rei.com
Written by Wendy Tucker

When you think of hiking, you usually think of beautiful views, adventures, mountains, and all the good things. Still, when you start preparing for it and think deeper, you will get to know about all the things you will face in the mountains. It involves all types of dangers, including wild animals and resting areas.

Mountains usually have bears in quite a large number. There are many kinds of bears, brown bears, and black bears. It depends upon the place you are visiting. Any type of bear can be dangerous for you, and this is the reason if you are a hiker, then you should be extra cautious. Bears have powerful smelling capabilities as they can smell 2000 times better than humans, so if you need to hide from them and have safe hiking, you must know about some of the most essential bear safety hiking tips.

Some Of The Bear Safety Tips And Tricks For Hikers And Backpackers:

Protecting yourself from wild animals is not as complicated as you think; it is just that you should be careful enough and take each and every step wisely so that you don’t come across their territory or allow them to come to your area. Further in this article, we will talk about all of the safety tips in detail.

Maintain Attentiveness:

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Watch your stride, but also look ahead and to the sides, especially in places where bears are prone to assemble. Be alert; never get invoked in minor incidents like changing the route, or when you see a beautiful site, you tend to move towards it and do not have track after that. Berry patches, densely vegetated regions, salmon breeding sites, and streams are examples of such habitats. Bears like to eat all this food; you must not go near that.

Bear signals, remnants of bear activity, fresh footprints, and scats are all evident indications that bears visit the region. Whenever you see footprints or animal-related activity, check and try to spot bears from a distance. If you are far from any activity, you must carry binoculars to help you check the whole place thoroughly.

Make a Noise:

Going across low-visibility regions increases the chances of unexpectedly encountering a bear. Usually, there you can find bears. To prevent an encounter with a bear, experts recommend making a lot of noise. Experts say that when the bears listen to the human voice, they do not come. As this noise will warn bears of your presence, decreasing the likelihood of spotting bears or other wild creatures. Don’t make too much noise, only the amount to distract the bears. This is because if a wild animal hears you approaching, it will almost certainly avoid you. This is what the experts say, and you can rely on it.

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Respect those on the route, don’t bother them, and minimize needless noise-making so that everyone may enjoy a natural environment. You don’t need to create noise in regions where there’s little likelihood of sighting a bear or where you can see for a long distance up the route.

Keep Your Food Safe From Bears:

If you are going hiking and trekking, then it is really important for you to keep your food safe from bears. They easily get the aroma of the food, and food is the most straightforward way through which the bears are attracted to the human. Also, if you are trekking, you need to store the food in those types of containers that can assure you that it can keep your food safe and do not spread any aroma that can give a hint to the bears that food is near them.

You need the best quality storage boxes so that you can have your food throughout your hiking and don’t allow the bears to take away your food. If you are looking for a good backpacking bear canister, you can visit this site and learn more about the products and how they will help you store your food and protect it from wild bears.

Always Keep Bear Spray On Hand:

This does not happen usually, but if you encounter a bear and get into some assault, it can become pretty problematic for you, so it is highly advisable to have bear spray. In the event of a bear assault, bear spray is by far the most effective deterrent. It is considered one way to give an instant reaction and save you from the bear.

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Bear sprays are for extreme conditions, so don’t consider them a standard way of keeping bears away from you. Only use it at times when you have some serious encounter; otherwise, by the other precautions, you can easily go hiking. Bear spray is your second-to-last line of defense because if it doesn’t deter the bear, your only alternatives are to pretend dead or engage in physical resistance, which also helps in many cases.

Hike With a Group:

Hiking in groups is synonymous with generating noise; this is the reason many specialists and experts say that wild animals don’t usually attack the people who are in groups, so you must make groups, and since if you’re in a group conversing and having a good time, you’re most likely producing noise.

As discussed, noise keeps the bears away . If they listen to a human voice, they might avoid you. However, being in a group entails more than just generating noise. Also, you don’t feel alone and do not get frightened every time you listen to any voice, either from the bushes or far away. Experts also say, as per the study, that people who go hiking in large groups always return safely without encountering bears or wild animals.

Takeaway

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Whenever going on hills, no matter which animal you encounter, you must be well prepared and know what all things can keep you and your belongings safe. This article will work for you as a guide as you will have enough knowledge to keep yourself safe in the woods and help you to have a good time.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wendy Tucker

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