A bit of a twist on this......

I had the good fortune of a Moose hunting trip in Alaska with some college friends this year.  We were 5 miles into the mountains, and a long day's tredge through swamps and mountainous terrain from the trucks. 

The biggest issue throughout the week were the 3 dead moose we had hanging in game bags by day 4.  There were definitely Grizzlies in the area, and the MN contingent (which consisted of 2 out of 8) had some serious concerns about what might happen.  The weather was sufficiently cool to age the moose well, but I was amazed we didn't get any big, brown grazers in the 8 days we spent up there.

To make matters even more sketchy we often got back from field dressing moose around 1 am.  We would eat "dinner" and head to bed.  I was never comfortable with the lack of clean-up that was done (dirty pots sitting in the cook tent), and expected to wake up nightly to find myself with a bed partner who was looking for more than a good cuddle.

I have to say I would never be this brazen in the BWCA, or ever again in AK, for that matter.  With grizzlies within a mile or two from our camp, I can only think:

1.  We were INCREDIBLY lucky
and
2.  These bears didn't yet associate us with food.

Maybe the dead carcasses sitting in the bush helped, but we didn't see any sign of feeding on those either (with the exception of some very satiated ravens).  The closest we came to large mammal "danger" was the pack of wolves that patiently waited, and howled, just a few hundred yards away as we field dressed our second moose early in the week.

Maybe we have some of Cliff's luck, but I wouldn't trust it again.  Sleeping that close to bear spray and a .44 isn't something I care to repeat in the future, and we plan to work on this parties cleanliness and habits on our 2010 trip.

Hi, folks. 

I'm new to QJ, but wanted to says thanks for taking the time to provide your thoughts re bear-proofing.  I've been fortunate to be healthy enough to canoe in the Northwoods for 35+ years and have seen a bear only once.  It was actually on my very first trip (1973).  I was 13 at the time and was canoeing with my next door neighbor for several days on Moose Lake.  I witnessed a bear near our camp run across a creek...looked to be chasing after a small deer...only lasted a few seconds, but I still have the vivid memory 35 years later.

Anyway, for the past 10 years or so, I've always kept a fairly clean camp and ground my gear and food pack, even having the food pack with me in the tent at night sometimes.  Instead of bear spray, I carry a small air horn (the kind used on boats or at sporting events).  I figure a good blast or two of this would frighten any bear aiming at my pack.

Now, after reading on this topic in various forums, I'm beginning to wonder if I'm just being stupid....or perhaps ignorant and just lucky....so far.

Is the air horn a good choice?  Can it replace the need for repellant?  Maybe use both? 

Is it ridiculous to even think about keeping the food pack in the tent?

Thx, again.

Pine-knot.

I've been lucky enough not to have a bear in camp (so far as I know) since I started paddling Quetico in 2002.  However, I've seen bear on three separate occasions that were close enough to where I was camped that they could have easily made the trip ... 2002, solo bear on Kawnipi; 2004, sow and cub on Burntside; 2008, solo bear (2 separate sightings of "same" bear) on Suzanette.  While not sighting bear on other trips, I will generally find recent paw prints or scat on portage trails.  So, I'd have to classify your lack of bear sightings as being "unlucky."

Since I sometimes travel solo and I also backpack in the Rockies, I've been carrying bear spray for probably 15 years.  I've yet to upholster it, but I prefer a deterrent to an annoyance (sound device).  I've seen a number of films where bear spray actually dissuaded Brown bears (Grizzlies).  

I also keep a clean camp and I'm also a confirmed hanger (multiple pulley system).  I'm not even comfortable with chapstick or toothpaste in my tent.  

So ... I'm mostly with Snow-Dog on this one!

dd

I'm sure you meant 'un-holster', but I did get a pretty funny mental picture over Quote:
.   I was thinking maybe a nice brocade like on a couch....

What are folks doing in the burned over areas? Hard to hang food - short of finding a handy cliff.

I'm sure you weren't laughing when it happened, DD, but that would have been really funny to witness    

...and thx for the previous advice on bear-proofing