Just wanted to let everyone know that a bear came into camp at Beech Gap in NC on May 23. It came very close to getting my food bag from where I had it hanging. It came within a foot of my tent and sniffed around but only seemed to be interested in Food. There was another group camped on the other side of the trail that reported that the same bear tried to get into their bear canister but was unsuccessful. This all happened about 0800 while it was still light outside. There was more bear activity again later that night about 0400 but no food was stolen and no harm done.
All this bear wanted was food. This is the perfect example of why it is so important to secure your food. As hard as it tried to get the food, I strongly believe that if it had even smelled the tiniest bit of food in or around my tent the outcome of that night could have been a very different story.
Stick Chick