I have spent a lot of time in the mountains as a child. Since I grew up without TVs I didn't have the same frame of reference for what scared regular suburnanite kids. Ghosts weren't part of my reality, but BEARS were. I never actually saw one, although I saw many fresh tracks which was scary enough. I just knew that they were something to be taken seriously and that they could most certainly gobble me up if I ever saw one. Well, I recently read a story that I found recently on the Net that brought back all those childhood fears into sharp relief! My wife did a quick search on snopes to see if it was a fake, and here is what she turned up:
I have been lucky enough to see bears in the wild. Believe it or not my hometown in northern WI is rural enough to occassionaly have bear sightings in town.
Ran into one while Mt. biking in the woods once, which scared the shit outta me, and him as well. He turned and made a joyous ruckus crashing through the brush.
Those Grizzly photos are amazing! wow. But I have NO respect for trophy hunters. For food is one thing. I grew up hunting & have known enough trophy hunters to say that each n every one I've met is an egotistical asshole.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
I spent a summer up in a little, tiny town called King Salmon in Alaska. Bear sightings were pretty regular, and they roamed around our "dorms" (a little shack where the employees of the hotel lived) most nights. They are not really a threat, with the exception of a mother and her cubs, or if you have exposed food near you. (or, for that matter, unexposed - I saw a car in the center of town that was totaled by a bear trying to get at a pizza box on the passenger seat).
If you are walking in an area that may have bears - make noise: clap, sing, yell, whatever. They typically want nothing to do with you and will stay away.
BTW: if you haven't been, take the time to go to Alaska at least once. Even if you stick to Anchorage and Denali National Park, it's an amazingly beautiful state with a unique population to boot. I never had access to a car, but I've heard about some great road trips along Alaskan highways...
A rustic town established as a logging center a hundred some yrs ago called Rice Lake.
Northwest WI, near the Lac Court D'Oreilles Ojibwa reservation and Chequamegon Natl. forest.
To this day there are streams one can actually drink from while hiking around there! But those days are numbered under Senor Bush (oops! put this one in the political bin!)
Quite a nice place, but in the summertime if you venture out biking be careful! Once while I was Mt. biking I hit a jump and thought it strange the the hang time, only to realize a flock of goddamn mosquitoes the size of pelicans had grabbed hold of me. It would have been the end if I hadn't beat them off with my air pump.
I've seen bears and wolves in the wild there, which are no cause for worry. its the skeeters.
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Working "hard," or the perception of working hard, doesn't really mean anything. Sweating, vomiting, and breathing hard could be a good workout or a tropical disease kicking in.-Dan John
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