Diabetes and backpacking in bear country

[Gold Winger]

Oohhhh. . . City Scout. What a cut. I'm wounded through and through.

 

I've seen bear scat. I've seen big cat scat. I've heard Louie Armstrong scat. So what?

 

Our ranger told me the same thing.

 

"Go fill a boot up with sugar in active bear country and see how long the bears keep away from it. Put that boot in your tent. Sleep tight."

 

I did.

 

BTW, I don't get your point about the Scout Law. Explain to me why it is okay for you to mock the Philmont staff but if I call your comments silly, I've not being nice. This Ol' City Scout jess don' unnerstan.

 

(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

[Trevorum]

Gentlemen, let's not let the recent excitement over in the Issues and Politics forum bleed over here into Camping and High Adventure!

 

I greatly appreciate the advice from all knowlegeable sources. Regarding emergency glucose and bears, we will consult with the Philmont medical staff and also with the Rangers and will make our own decision.

[hamer82]

And these people call themselves scouts????

[Vicki]

Yeah, hamer, I do (call them ALL scouts). Like any other group of human beings, you just have to hang around awhile and learn how to actually listen to what they're saying - often means getting past the tone and the resulting bickering. Not to mention knowing which scout can set the other scout off without even trying!

 

Kinda like a real troop, actually. Keeps it interesting. Stick around.

 

Vicki

[Ohio_Scouter]

Boy, that Vicki sure has our number, huh gang ?

[Gold Winger]

I resemble that remark!

[GernBlansten]

GW, where's the love?

 

Group hug?

[Vicki]

I wanna see GW in a group hug!

 

Gern, a honey bear enema? Ewww...

 

OTOH, being a bear (odd symmetry with this thread, eh?), group hugs are a way of life.

 

Vicki (edited for typo)(This message has been edited by Vicki)

[Gold Winger]

What's wrong with group hugs? I'm pretty warm and cuddly for a cantankerous and grumpy middle aged guy.

[Trevorum]

For the Scouter.com record, I wanted to post some feedback concerning my son's recent experiences at Philmont.

 

1. Before leaving, he calculated the quantities of meds he was likely to need. We added a 50% safety factor, and then we each carried that amount in an insulated container. (My supply was the emergency backup, in case his was lost, damaged, etc.) Because of the strenuous daily exercise, he did not come even close to using his own set of meds despite the high-carb diet. BUT - within one week after returning home, he determined that ALL the meds we had taken with us were no longer effective because of the lack of refrigeration and we had to obtain full new prescrption refills. In retrospect, I should have left my backup supply of insulin in the refrigerator at basecamp.

 

2. He took several packets of flavored "energy gels" we found in the local sporting goods store. He kept one of these (unopened) in his boot at night.

[Pack212Scouter]

Not supper weight efficient...and a little late. But what about carrying one of the new 6 oz cans of coke? Once washed and maybe even soaked in bleach or something, no food smell should remain or permiate the aluminum. I used to be severe organic hypoglycemic, and this was one of the remedies suggested.

[BrentAllen]

This "City Scout" had his first up close bear encounter two weeks ago, in Yellowstone. I wanted to hike the Hellroaring Creek hike but only had a small window of time to do it, since we were moving from Mammoth down to Grant that morning. My wife and daughter couldn't hike it due to the difficulty, and my son didn't want to get up and go, so I went solo - which I never do. I hit the trailhead at 7:00 am, and saw several cars in the parking lot. I didn't know if there were any day hikers on the trail, or just overnighters down at the creek. Signs posted on the billboard stated two of the camp sites had been closed, due to bear trouble - a nice final piece of info before heading down the trail, solo.

 

The trail starts off dropping down 600' in the first mile, to a cool suspension bridge over the Yellowstone River. The second mile goes through the "Enchanted Forest" and out into large meadows before reaching Hellroaring Creek, all basically level.

 

2/10's of a mile before reaching the bridge, a small sign points out the juncture with another trail, and the distance to the bridge. I was calculating time and distance as I passed the sign. I started up a small rise, and came face to face with a black bear, heading directly up the trail towards me. He couldn't have been more than 10 yards away. He kept coming, so I backed away slowly, yielding the trail to him. I backed around behind some rocks and took off the safety on the bear spray, and took the lense cap off my camera. When I saw he wasn't headed in my direction, I started snapping pictures. He just kept going up the trail, as if it were made for him - he could have cared less about me. After counting my lucky stars that it wasn't a female with cubs or a grizzly, I headed on down the trail to the bridge. I found tracks on both sides of the bridge, and realized if I had been there 10 minutes earlier, I might have gotten pictures of him on the bridge, which would have been very cool.

 

After that, I would say "hey bear" somewhat loudly when passing through areas with limited visibility. I didn't feel stupid doing that after that encounter. I didn't see anyone else on the trail until I was just about back to the bridge on the return trip. It turned out to be a very nice hike, with a fun story to tell and a happy ending.

 

[packsaddle]

My vote is also with the pharmacy. Get the glucose tablets in sealed foil and forget the worry.

 

Brent, By the way, nice hike, I know it although it's been a while. Where else did you go?

That sounds like most of the encounters I've ever had with bears out West. If they know I'm there (and they have every time) they either ignore me or head the other direction. I've never had to use the bear spray (I leave my supply with a friend who lives in Cook City). I have heard that one of those aerosol boat horns is as effective a deterrent, if needed. Anyone else hear anything about this?

I've never encountered a grizzly really close but off-trail (up the Lamar Valley) I have stumbled onto their fresh kills where they often bed down to guard it. Those were some very nervous moments.

The only time I've ever been charged by a bear was in the Smokies with my wife at the summit of Mt. LeConte. Really interesting experience, having a snarling bear barreling down at you.

[BrentAllen]

pack,

My wife broke her knee a few years back, and had two surgeries to try to fix it. She is limited in what she can do, but we did manage to get in a some nice hikes. Elevation change is her biggest problem, mainly going down hill, so we looked for hikes that were fairly flat.

 

Wraith Falls isn't long, but we saw lots of wildlife. Marmots on the rocks, a big bull elk feeding out in the open, even saw a long-tailed weasel, which was pretty cool.

 

I enjoyed the Yellowstone Picnic Area trail, but I think I was the only one. Ingrid thought it was dangerous (near the edges of the canyon) and the kids thought it was too hot (not enough shade). Only wildlife was two osprey flying around right above us.

 

We walked down the edge of the river at Sheepeater Cliffs, and saw a couple of marmots out eating.

 

Of course, we did the lower terrace at Mammoth, and the boardwalk at Old Faithful. We even made the top at Observation Point at Old Faithful, which showed Ingrid she could handle some elevation change, at least around 150'.

 

Shoshone Lake/ DeLacy Creek was probably the longest we did, right at 6 miles (3 in, 3 out). Beautiful area, but no wildlife at all. The wind was up around 15 - 20 knots, so there were waves and whitecaps on the lake. Even so, it was a great day. We got in the water up to our knees, and it was cold!

 

Our favorite was probably Storm Point. A big bull bison was out in the meadow at the start, and he crossed the trail right behind us. He headed down to a wallow next to Indian Pond, and gave us a nice photo shoot. There were several marmots out in the colony at the rocks near the point, and I took some pretty humorous pics. The scenery along that trail is some of the best in the park.

 

Going back to Cascade Lake, we found the remains of an elk kill, right on the side of the trail. Just before we reached the lake, there was a skull, backbone and a few other bones from what appeared to be a bear. We saw one mule deer on the way in, and did find some bear scat on the trail on the way back, that wasn't there when we went in.

 

The last hike we wanted to get in was part of the Hayden Valley trail, at least up to LeHardy Rapids. We parked at Fishing Bridge and got back to the last building behind the stores, and found a "Trail Closed" sign. Earlier in the week, the Mollie's Pack had taken down a bison in the valley, in full view of the road. As you can imagine, this drew a huge crowd (which didn't include us, unfortunately). The wolves fed until they couldn't eat anymore, and headed back about 500 yards, into the treeline. A grizzly picked up the scent and came down for a meal. The Mollie's defended the kill and I was told it was an exciting fight - the griz up on his back legs, growling and swatting at the wolves with his arms and claws. He retreated for a couple of hours, and when he returned, the wolves let him have the kill.

Anyway, all that activity had closed the trail. I left the family there at the sign to watch a couple of nearby bison while I went to get the truck. As I pulled back on the service road, a ranger turned in right in front of me. She drove back to the trail, got out and removed the sign. She said they had just opened the trail, so we decided to give it a try.

It was very quiet, and kind of spooky, knowing there hadn't been anyone on the trail for close to a week. Add in limited visibility and several bear scat droppings, and we were all a little jumpy. We got about 2 miles in and decided we had seen enough. We never saw anything, but I had the feeling we had some 4-legged company nearby.

 

We left the park the next day, and headed into Cody to see the museums, which we weren't able to see when we were out in there in 2005. Then on to The Badlands for a couple of nights before making the long drive back. We had a very nice trip. Back to the grind, now.

[packsaddle]

Man, thanks! I almost felt like I was there again, what a great drama between the wolves and that grizzly. You had a great trip! My wife has similar problems (drunk driver/wreck/injuries) but she can do some non-challenging walks. Going back on that trail as the first people in a while was really special. Nice.

When I drive out there I take the road that goes out through Cook City and then through Cody, sometimes up through Red Lodge. I just can't get enough of it. Try to get there sometime in mid-May while the streams are really swollen and the herbivores are dropping calves. That's a really dramatic time as well, but it would be hard to top what you described.

The grind is just a means to do it again sometime. Thanks.

 

P.S. when I was a boy back in 1957 my father and I hiked into Shoshone Lake to do some fishing. The water was cold then too, LOL. Didn't catch a thing but it was a good time for my father and this son. That was when I bonded with Yellowstone for life.