Bears and Goats

imported
#1

Has anybody had problems with bears this year getting their food bags?
I remember Bluebearee last year and her night with the bear.

Also, has anyone seen the goats that used to hang out on Sinking Creek Mtn? I have’t seen any mention of them this year.

Thanks.

Buster

#2

Ran into a hiker on Sunday by the name of Lone Fisherman on Rocky Mountain in GA that reported a troublesome bear had kept awake the folks at the Low Gap shelter the previous night swatting at the bear cables. Also on Sunday, two hikers I met on Tray Mountain reported they saw a bear cross USFS Road 79.

Band Saw

#3

Yo Buster:

There are approx. 400 bears from Sprnger thru the Smokies & some estimates are as high as 600. Quite a few are “nuisance bears” because some people think it very cute giving them people food…not knowing that this makes them dependent on “people” food & the ease of obtaining it by shaking a few tree limbs or steel cables…of course, they eventually have to be destroyed.

so, there will ALWAYS be bears present…wether you see them on your hike…or not…be courteous…hang the food high! The goats…who cares…i love mutton bar-b-q!
hehehehehehe;)

“Jaybird”

#4

YO JAYBIRD
How high is high? What is the propers height to hang your food bag?

Jersey Jane

#5

I saw some wild pigs near Wayah Bald last week…at least I think that’s what they were.

Some of the shelters had bear lines near them…I had a bag with a bag for a weight and a rope…never used it…it you put it 30 ft. in the air on a big limb the bear goes out and gets it…if you put it on a small limb he breaks the limb and gets it anyway…I think if he wants it he’ll get it.

Doc Holiday

#6

There are goats on Pearis Mountain on the AT in Virginia. There have been many sightings of them by hikers. Probably also on other mountains. Goats love the high mountain cliffs.

Many hunters feed bears. It is a common practice they use called baiting. It makes them easier to hunt if you get them coming to the same place time after time for food, you just sit there and wait for them to come in, then bang. Bear hunting. Problem is they feed them anything and everything including many of the foods we hikers eat, so the bears become accustomed to the smell and they think our food is meant for them. Also a lot of these bear baiting sites may be fairly close to the AT. Game and Wildlife officials in Virginia report they have found over several hundred of these illegal bear baiting sites on National Forest Lands. It is a wonder hikers do not have more problems with bears than they do.

So there you have it, bears and goats. Keep Hiking. :cheers

Maintain

#7

What about aliens taking down your food bag with their tractor beams?:x

Bucky

#8

There were several hikers that lost food bags this year at Black Gap Shelter, the shelter on the approach trail.

They didn’t use carbiners to clip their bags to the loops on the bear cables, so the bear was able to knock them loose.

I also heard about an acrobatic bear that would jump from a tree trunk to be able to reach food bags. Don’t know where that one was though.

Pushing Up Daisies