Date: 2019-06-13
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Stealth Camp near Thornton River Trail 
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: light rain

Day 73 BearThe park rangers have posted notices declaring all sorts of warnings about bears. They end with the following advice:¢If a bear attacks always fight back¢.I have always thought that Black bears which are the bears I encounter on the trail are fairly safe. But I did check o google search and was surprised to learn that there have been 25 fatalities in last 20 years, although most of these have been in Alaska and Canada. Black bear attacks do seem to be on the rise as more folks spend increased time outdoors, and run-ins with bears inevitably become more frequent. Most interactions result in a quick parting of ways. I say my successful bear encounters so far have been when the bear hurriedly takes off. I¢m told the statistics show that if a mauling does occur the chances of it turning fatal are relatively slim. But nevertheless there are 1.25 fatal attacks per year. Some interesting (????)statistics: the youngest person killed was a child of only five months of age; the oldest, a 93-year-old female. The average age is 41. The most deaths have occurred in British Columbia, Canada (6), with Quebec, Canada (3) and Alaska (3) tied for second most. Fourteen females have been killed and 11 males. All of this is fairly comforting because the Appalachian Trail doesn¢t seem to rate! I heard an interesting tale today from a hiker I¢ll call ¢Sepia Dacks¢ - I¢m using a pseudonym here to protect the guilty! On dusk he headed into the bush to do a ¢Number 2¢ As hiker rules dictate he dug the appropriate 6inch hole and set about his intended business. 10 minutes into his exertions he heard a twig snap and through the gloom saw a monster bear approaching. Clapping his hands didn¢t seem to bother the beast at which point panic set in! Hastily pulling up his dacks, he called for someone to urgently bring bear spray, a bazooka or something to help him out of this dilemma. Personally I¢d have just waved my socks in the bear¢s direction. The smell from these have been known to knock out a crazed bull elephant at 30 paces. But then again I was nowhere near.Then logic stepped in. He lifted a large boulder and cast it in the bear¢s direction. The way bear psychology works is that bears lift rocks to find food such as bugs and worms. The bear figuring that this animal had lifted a boulder much bigger than it could meant that this was a much bigger bear than it was. Hence it took off. ¢Sepia Dacks¢ Then was able to return to his business albeit things were a little less strained.As I say, I¢m fortunate in that all my bear encounters have been good ones so far.. the bear has run away. Hopefully on the trail that¢s the way it¢ll continue to be. My walk today was another good one. The torrential rains from last night had cleared. It was very cold and made for brisk walking.A highlight was meeting up with ¢The Beast¢ and ¢Sweet¢ (Caroline) who I last saw at Hot Springs (Day 26). They are a French Canadian couple who I really like and enjoy the company of. Funny how for a time they were days ahead of me but now somehow I¢ve caught up. I did manage to walk 20 miles intermittently with them and finally camping at a stealth camp nearby. A long day but with the company very enjoyable! At night we were joined by two deer. And fortunately no bears!!