I've noticed in our Bear Watch section a report on a bear on the South Arm of Knife Lake which was a problem in late May.  Anyone been to Knife and had problems the last couple of months? 
Our next trip is Aug 17th and we are going to Knife Lake and will probably stay near where this bear was spotted earlier this year.  Would YOU stay where you know you might find a bear...or would you avoid it?  If you did stay there, would you do anything different than usual to keep your camp and food safe??

While taking all of the precautions regarding smells, clean camp, etc, I would avoid a campsite that was known to have a problem bear. Why? This bear has associated people with food, and as such, while they might have difficulty finding the pinata, they will be persistant, and be a constant nuisance until they either find it, or you leave. Why invite the hassle? I speak from previous experience...

I agree, 99% of bear problems are self inflicted, all the reasons that have been mentioned.
Bears that have been habituated are an issue as OS mentioned. While they might not attack you, they'll certainly make your life miserable, so why would you want that.

There are also what have been called the " Rogue" bear. These are young male bears who have established a territory and see everything in it as foe or food. Unfortunately for us humans, were just another item on the menu for these bears, rare as they are.  

I've debated this with IC on the trip we took together. While I have no doubt that yelling/rocks/a beaver wood stick across the nose would deter the 99% I mentioned, the 1% that won't be is why I carry Bear Spray.

I'm less afraid of being killed by a bear outright, than mauled and left to die a slow and painful death. As a solo paddler, I plan for the worst, look for the best.

The recent episode with with Jack Hanna noted wildlife expert points out the value of being prepared for the worst. He did nothing wrong, but the bear(s) didn't see it that way

IC, I know you keep a clean camp, but IF you stay in a known problem bear area, I think it would be a wise choice to invest in some Bear Spray in case your unlucky enough to encounter that 1%

With your baking skills, you'll have every Yogi and Boo Boo in the neighborhood showing up

I would probably try to keep from staying at a known nuissance bear campsite.  The south shore of South Arm Knife has been a bear feeder for at least a decade, most likely because it's an easy day's paddle from Moose Lake and people aren't vigilant about their food/trash.  Take an island campsite, or be ready to pack up and leave.  Sure, bears can swim, but my experience is that they typically don't hole up on an island when there's lots of food on the mainland.  At least Knife Lake has lots of campsites, so if you have to pack up, you can do it without having to portage.

I would definitely stay away from a known problem bear on a hard to reach lake with only 1 or 2 campsites.

jjcanoeguide wrote on Aug 13^th, 2010 at 3:05pm:


I wonder about that and here's why. (This is only my own surmising BTW and I could be mistaken). Moose often take their calves to islands to help deter predation from their #1 mortal enemy, wolves. I believe that adult male bears frequent the islands in search of these calves.

Like I said, I could be wrong but bear sign on islands is not at all uncommon and I expect to find it if I look hard enough than not. I suppose I would have to defer to canoe guides and fur trappers though on that one.