What I did last weekend

[cjsmith]

I went to a star party, enjoyed a view of Half Dome, helped some kids (and adults) look through a telescope, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, watched the Perseids, and chased off a bear.

Next time: even MORE warm clothes.
Next time: some electric way to heat water (camp stoves emit visible light) or several Thermoses.

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Holy moly. Glad she woke up. I wouldn't be surprised if the bear that got into the chicken coops was one that had to be killed by Fish and Game. Once they get too comfortable coming around people...

I admit to wishing I had a rubber-pellet gun when I was at the star party. Park rangers use those to try to get bears to be uncomfortable coming around people. I feel for her -- she's hungry, and if I were hungry I'd be awfully tempted to steal food -- but she's already way too habituated and Park Service will probably eventually have to kill her.

[ladycelia.livejournal.com]

Oh, one of the bears that got killed was definitely the one that had torn up the coop--they matched it to the tracks. The other one was the one that had taken the pigs.
Fish and Game told my sister that they've had to shoot an extraordinary number of bears this year because of aggression brought on by lack of food.
Another time, Ellen and her husband were driving home and a bear getting ready for winter came galumphing down a hillside right in front of their car. They couldn't stop and went right over it. They were driving a small SUV. The bears back was car hood height. My sister was in shock (it was a brand new car and she's just run completely OVER a bear), so she got out of the car. Bear stood up, shook itself, and went galumphing down the slope.
Bears are crazy-tough.