sunny
we are going camping thsi weekend and my friend said this is a bad time bc the bears are collecting for winter? when is a good time to go camping?? is there one?
Answer
Anytime can be a good time to go camping... it's mostly a matter of personal preference. Probably the most significant issue to be concerned about is the weather. Stormy weather, be it rain or snow, can certainly have a negative impact on your camping experience by limiting your activities, but more importantly it can also be dangerous. While rain can make it fairly difficult to enjoy a camp fire... or even have a camp fire... it can also cause flooding and/or flash flooding which tends to be rather dangerous if you're in the right location at the wrong time. It can wash out roads making them impassable.... flood roads where you could get stuck.... rivers & streams can rise and prevent you from crossing them, sometimes for several days, or longer. The primary concern with snow is how much snow actually falls as well as how much if any is already on the ground. Just a couple inches of snow can obscure all sorts of hazards as well as make roads disappear... and depending on what kind of vehicle you're driving, as little as 6 to 8 inches of snow can make driving very difficult and getting stuck very easy. A couple feet of snow could result in an extended camping trip. Of course it depends on what part of the country you're camping in, what time of the year it is and the elevation you're at... as well as your specific location. Most developed campgrounds in National Parks & many of those in National Forrests as well as most private campgrounds have paved roads with good access. But if you're going all out & camping out in the boonies by yourself.... weather can be a significant issue. Also what you're camping in makes a difference too. if you're camping in a tent or just a sleeping bag... rain & snow kinda sucks... while a pickup camper, travel trailer or motor home offer more of the conveniences of home. Other than precipitation, the temperature can affect your overall experience as well. Best thing to do is check the forecast before you leave home and be prepared. If you're camping trip will be longer than 2 or 3 days it would be wise to ensure you have some method of receiving updated weather information where you're camping at. Regarding the issue of bears, that really depends on where you're going camping as bears are quite numerous in some areas & quite rare in others... and some have no bears at all. However, it only takes one bear to be a problem so the thing to keep in mind when camping is to put all your food away and secure it. Food inside an ice chest, box or plastic container sitting on the ground or table is not put away and secured... put it in your vehicle with the windows rolled up. If you're camping in a tent... don't take any food inside the tent with you at night.... not even a little snack. If you've been standing over a grill cooking meat of any kind with the smoke & grease billowing up & around you, the aroma will likely linger on you... and more importantly... on your clothes for up to several hours. So going to bed, or your sleeping bag, inside a tent at night smelling like a nice juicy steak isn't very wise either. When you go camping, wherever that may be... you're not in the city anymore and there are all kinds of critters out there.... any of which you could encounter at anytime. Remember, it's their home... they're wild animals... they have a right to be there.... and it's all about survival. Just because you're camping in a developed campground with a lot of other campers in close proximity is not a guarantee you won't encounter a wild animal. While bear attacks on humans are quite rare... even in bear country... they do occur.... and people have been injured, from slightly to severely... and even killed too. However, most of those attacks could have been prevented simply by taking proper precautions. There are other critters in the wild to be concerned about while camping too. A mountain lion is just as dangerous, if not more so than a bear.... and lion attacks on people have & do occur as well... and some of have been fatal. While bears & lions are about the only two significant threats, there are many other critters to be concerned about for various reasons such as skunks, racoons, spiders, snakes, bees, rodents, bats, moose, elk & deer. The skunk issue is rather well known, coons can terrorize your campsite searching for food & are quite clever & quite capable too... spiders & snakes can deliver a poisonous bite, bees can swarm n sting (we've got killer bees here in the SW from Texas to California)... rodents & bats can carry many diseases including bubonic plague & rabies... & moose elk & deer have antlers. Don't think the latter is too cute or afraid to hurt you. This time of year bull elk are in the rut... their hormones are ragin... they're horny n huge with big horns & lookin for a fight. If you take your pet(s) camping with you... then you also have to consider their safety as well as how they affect yours in that they may attract the attention of something lookin for a meal. Most pets, especially cats & small to mid sized dogs can be considered prey for a variety of predators. A bear or a mountain lion can easily take out nearly any domestic dog, including sheperds, dobermans, pitbulls & rottweilers Even the largest breeds one on one are no match for a grizzly bear & likely to be lunch for a lion. Other ground based threats to pets include bobcats, coyotes, badgers & wolverines.... and airborne threats include eagles, hawks & owls. Eagles are large & very powerful birds... they can easily swoop down without warning & without beeing seen.... snatch up a cat or small dog while remaining airborne..... and be well on it's way with your pet before you even realize it... in broad daylight.... with a lot of people around or even in town...... and even if your pet is on a leash. A large owl can do the same thing and can do so in total darkness as well. While all these and more are possibilities that do occur..... the fact is they occur very rarely. Being prepared and taking proper precautions for the area you're camping in... as well as applying common sense is the best way to ensure a safe, happy & rewarding experience camping in the great outdoors.
One more thing... very important.... don't wear perfume or cologne or use scented lotions, soaps & shampoos when camping... or even out in the wild for the day... as doing so is the best way to attract the attention of a wide variety of unwanted critters with undesirable results. Just leave them & the cosmetics at home..... and enjoy nature.... naturally.
Remember... undesireable encounters with wild animals of any kind are almost always a situation of it doing what comes naturally and the fault of stupid humans. Far too often the result is an innocent wild animal being killed.
Anytime can be a good time to go camping... it's mostly a matter of personal preference. Probably the most significant issue to be concerned about is the weather. Stormy weather, be it rain or snow, can certainly have a negative impact on your camping experience by limiting your activities, but more importantly it can also be dangerous. While rain can make it fairly difficult to enjoy a camp fire... or even have a camp fire... it can also cause flooding and/or flash flooding which tends to be rather dangerous if you're in the right location at the wrong time. It can wash out roads making them impassable.... flood roads where you could get stuck.... rivers & streams can rise and prevent you from crossing them, sometimes for several days, or longer. The primary concern with snow is how much snow actually falls as well as how much if any is already on the ground. Just a couple inches of snow can obscure all sorts of hazards as well as make roads disappear... and depending on what kind of vehicle you're driving, as little as 6 to 8 inches of snow can make driving very difficult and getting stuck very easy. A couple feet of snow could result in an extended camping trip. Of course it depends on what part of the country you're camping in, what time of the year it is and the elevation you're at... as well as your specific location. Most developed campgrounds in National Parks & many of those in National Forrests as well as most private campgrounds have paved roads with good access. But if you're going all out & camping out in the boonies by yourself.... weather can be a significant issue. Also what you're camping in makes a difference too. if you're camping in a tent or just a sleeping bag... rain & snow kinda sucks... while a pickup camper, travel trailer or motor home offer more of the conveniences of home. Other than precipitation, the temperature can affect your overall experience as well. Best thing to do is check the forecast before you leave home and be prepared. If you're camping trip will be longer than 2 or 3 days it would be wise to ensure you have some method of receiving updated weather information where you're camping at. Regarding the issue of bears, that really depends on where you're going camping as bears are quite numerous in some areas & quite rare in others... and some have no bears at all. However, it only takes one bear to be a problem so the thing to keep in mind when camping is to put all your food away and secure it. Food inside an ice chest, box or plastic container sitting on the ground or table is not put away and secured... put it in your vehicle with the windows rolled up. If you're camping in a tent... don't take any food inside the tent with you at night.... not even a little snack. If you've been standing over a grill cooking meat of any kind with the smoke & grease billowing up & around you, the aroma will likely linger on you... and more importantly... on your clothes for up to several hours. So going to bed, or your sleeping bag, inside a tent at night smelling like a nice juicy steak isn't very wise either. When you go camping, wherever that may be... you're not in the city anymore and there are all kinds of critters out there.... any of which you could encounter at anytime. Remember, it's their home... they're wild animals... they have a right to be there.... and it's all about survival. Just because you're camping in a developed campground with a lot of other campers in close proximity is not a guarantee you won't encounter a wild animal. While bear attacks on humans are quite rare... even in bear country... they do occur.... and people have been injured, from slightly to severely... and even killed too. However, most of those attacks could have been prevented simply by taking proper precautions. There are other critters in the wild to be concerned about while camping too. A mountain lion is just as dangerous, if not more so than a bear.... and lion attacks on people have & do occur as well... and some of have been fatal. While bears & lions are about the only two significant threats, there are many other critters to be concerned about for various reasons such as skunks, racoons, spiders, snakes, bees, rodents, bats, moose, elk & deer. The skunk issue is rather well known, coons can terrorize your campsite searching for food & are quite clever & quite capable too... spiders & snakes can deliver a poisonous bite, bees can swarm n sting (we've got killer bees here in the SW from Texas to California)... rodents & bats can carry many diseases including bubonic plague & rabies... & moose elk & deer have antlers. Don't think the latter is too cute or afraid to hurt you. This time of year bull elk are in the rut... their hormones are ragin... they're horny n huge with big horns & lookin for a fight. If you take your pet(s) camping with you... then you also have to consider their safety as well as how they affect yours in that they may attract the attention of something lookin for a meal. Most pets, especially cats & small to mid sized dogs can be considered prey for a variety of predators. A bear or a mountain lion can easily take out nearly any domestic dog, including sheperds, dobermans, pitbulls & rottweilers Even the largest breeds one on one are no match for a grizzly bear & likely to be lunch for a lion. Other ground based threats to pets include bobcats, coyotes, badgers & wolverines.... and airborne threats include eagles, hawks & owls. Eagles are large & very powerful birds... they can easily swoop down without warning & without beeing seen.... snatch up a cat or small dog while remaining airborne..... and be well on it's way with your pet before you even realize it... in broad daylight.... with a lot of people around or even in town...... and even if your pet is on a leash. A large owl can do the same thing and can do so in total darkness as well. While all these and more are possibilities that do occur..... the fact is they occur very rarely. Being prepared and taking proper precautions for the area you're camping in... as well as applying common sense is the best way to ensure a safe, happy & rewarding experience camping in the great outdoors.
One more thing... very important.... don't wear perfume or cologne or use scented lotions, soaps & shampoos when camping... or even out in the wild for the day... as doing so is the best way to attract the attention of a wide variety of unwanted critters with undesirable results. Just leave them & the cosmetics at home..... and enjoy nature.... naturally.
Remember... undesireable encounters with wild animals of any kind are almost always a situation of it doing what comes naturally and the fault of stupid humans. Far too often the result is an innocent wild animal being killed.
What precautions should we take for camping in BC?
Jason
Hi last month my friends and I we were planning to go to BC for camping but then we decided to wait a little longer. We never been to BC before so we have no clue what to do and where to go. But we just want to be a part of the nature and we don't really care getting lost in the woods and stuff like that but what about the bears? you know black bears and huge grizzle bears do you think they would attack us? we love to drink bear and bbq so I'm sure the smell will definitely attract the hungry bears and what happens if you kill a bear? of course I'm talking about self defense you know when a bear attacks you then you gotta do something to protect yourself rather than running because I've heard that running and climbing on a tree wouldn't be a good idea.is it true? thanks for the answers
we like to drink beer not bear lol :)) sorry for the typo
Answer
Depending on where you go, the chance of seeing a black bear is pretty good. We usually camp in the Kootneys, the Okanagan, or the Caribou/Chilcotin. I've seen black bears in all those places.
Rule one. Don't leave your garbage out. Take it to the trash every night. The trash bins are bear safe. Don't leave out any dog food etc. In some places bears have gone right into tents for food. Keep your food in your car (if you're tenting)
Rule 2. Get some bear spray for if you go out hiking. We've seen black bears several times out on a hike. They have always chosen to go the other direction. If they do come at you make lots of noise. Raise your arms to make yourself look big. If a black bear does come in for an attack, use your spray. If it's a grizzly, good luck. I've never seen a grizzly, and to be honest, I would probably sh*t my pants. I'd be shaking too bad to use the spray.
When you're out in the bush, make lots of noise. The bears have fair warning you're coming, and will move on most times. Don't let your dog run lose. Keep it on a leash. An angry bear will chase a dog, and lead him right back to you.
Depending on where you go, the chance of seeing a black bear is pretty good. We usually camp in the Kootneys, the Okanagan, or the Caribou/Chilcotin. I've seen black bears in all those places.
Rule one. Don't leave your garbage out. Take it to the trash every night. The trash bins are bear safe. Don't leave out any dog food etc. In some places bears have gone right into tents for food. Keep your food in your car (if you're tenting)
Rule 2. Get some bear spray for if you go out hiking. We've seen black bears several times out on a hike. They have always chosen to go the other direction. If they do come at you make lots of noise. Raise your arms to make yourself look big. If a black bear does come in for an attack, use your spray. If it's a grizzly, good luck. I've never seen a grizzly, and to be honest, I would probably sh*t my pants. I'd be shaking too bad to use the spray.
When you're out in the bush, make lots of noise. The bears have fair warning you're coming, and will move on most times. Don't let your dog run lose. Keep it on a leash. An angry bear will chase a dog, and lead him right back to you.
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