Did you watch the show? I've lived on the west coast of the Island for 45 years and my experience is different from yours. As to getting eaten in the U.K., I will take your word for it as I have no experience there.
Alone
- Thread starter Dave
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I suppose if you fell asleep for long enough in Scotland in peak midge season with enough bare flesh exposed you might lose a fair bit of flesh but i doubt they'd finish you off, not that i am willing to the be the guinea pig tester for this theory
OK I stand corrected and am getting the show.. I've been up here for forty years now. My simple point is that if you go fly-fishing for trout and salmon on coastal streams then you are going to see between 10 and 25 bears a day. In cruising lots of stream outlets to check good spots for fishing, then you will be near to 50+ bears - every day. Now my old Winchester Alaskan which I'm now back to using is worn out - but that's through shooting lots of long range targets not critters. I camp out and more to the point so do lots of people with no experience. The old "shoot any bear which gets under thirty feet from you." adage - well I'd have fur lined walls if I shot every bear which was within ten feet. Mostly that was from being on a salmon creek when some young black or griz came running and chasing salmon, and we only noticed each other at the last second. For sure on creeks one will come against some bluffing down where a young black gradually gets closer snapping its jaws and moving side to side. Usually people shoot those at range and say they were attacked, but if you have a big gun and let it get closer then move in on it then it will run. I've only been chased by one griz - and luckily the truck was right there and I could drive away rather than shoot her. I was watching the cubs playing and took my eyes off her for a second - but that's all it takes Luckily once she disappeared from view I knew exactly what was up. Griz don't run off once they've started on you. But I have fished a creek outlet into the river for hours, then walked up a bank and seen where a huge griz was lying watching me within springing distance. That's happened more than once.
So from my experience here:
There are a lot more bears around than most people would ever believe. Everywhere on the west coast is staked bear territory, which is why trapped nuisance bears are now shot. Otherwise since they can't hold territory they end up back in town.
If you are camped or just day tripping and cooking, then the local bear will come close to check you out - as you'll find out if you have a good dog. Yep they'll be around at night to see what you are up to - without malice. The problem is if you have food in your camp, or are scared or worse run. If you are scared, even holding a big gun, then the bear will know that and really try to spook you and you will have to shoot it.
You die in the bush and the bears and squirrels and everything else will have you cleaned up in no time flat just as soon as they smell you are dead. So given the realistic serious stuff which will try to kill you here, it might be best to resign oneself to getting snacked on eventually. Nevertheless I've avoided that for many decades.
I keep trying to watch bits of the shows but they're so scary that a bit goes a long way! It's hard to take stuff like one of them using the edge of an axe on a ferro stick, another one losing his ferro stick, and --yum yum let's try some shellfish which just might contain paralytic shellfish toxin. While (if you can take wet and overcast conditions over long periods) it's some of the most stunningly beautiful scenery on earth, it's also seen many people disappear. And what would kill a person if large predators like bears cougars and wolves were discounted: just about everything.
My grand-daughter and I would spend afternoons to 2:00 AM on the beach during August heat-waves when home was too hot.
Yep I said heat-wave, yep that fire is as big as it looks - the notion being that it reduces to embers and so provides lots of warmth while not interfering with us watching the meteor showers. Good to read by too. Yep we had wool jackets in the backpack. Otherwise next to the ocean it's absolutely freezing at night - even in the dry heat-wave. Then we'd walk out by maglight past all the bears and cougars to go home and catch up with email and watch movies. Day after day and not a cougar scratch! Of course if you are alone and have broken your legs in a fall while wearing a light T shirt, and so have no fire to make you smell like something really nasty, then you will find out just how fast your expected mileage will drop to zero. But the hypothermia will likely get you first before you end up as a snack.
The huge issue for people coming to a rainforest is how to light a fire. Those guys had issues! How about you take us through it. I can fill in with all the problems I had until I got Scandi ground knives, proper saws and axes. I can probably add pics. Here's Lyssa with some "old man's beard" which is fuzzy green stuff hanging in profusion from trees in rainforests, and she's pricking the blisters on balsam fir to extract the resin (with my knife because hers is too pretty to be covered in resin which tends to go black).
And she's doing this on a sunny day with the OMB dried over a fire because that's the only way it works. This is the ultimate zombie plant. When dry it will flare with a spark, introduce any humidity and it will suck up the moisture and continue growing and wont burn. So you get it dry, soak it it in balsam resin to prevent moisture uptake and provide accelerant and you have the next best thing to gasoline.
I can't remember when I last couldn't get a fire started winter or summer with my current tools and knowledge. But I can sure look back and remember when I couldnt get a fire going for four hours using my old tools. And a lot of people have disappeared since then because their skill and equipment didn't stand up to the conditions.
I dont have any experience of Bears, [apart from seeing one at Lake Louise once from a distance] but I have seen a vid, where Mors Kochanski says, you just need to wave about one of those big red handheld flares, and it'll scare off any bear, and possibly give it a whack on the nose with a big stick if it gets too close.
Sorry for not replying sooner to your question Dave. We only get internet when in the few settlements here and we've been mostly away out hunting/trapping etc.,
The children mostly don't do any of that anymore, nor do most of the adults!!. You won't see many kids using cell phones/mobiles as there is limited coverage even in many of the settlements. Yes many of the kids play on Xboxes and watch TV. There is also a drinking problem in masny places and suicide too. Limited employment opportunities and no incentive for many people to hunt and gather food like in the older times. But our family group live a lot in the bush or forest.
I hope your finger heals OK Dave. Keep safe.
Im sorry to hear that. But thankyou Joe. Im glad you and your family are doing well. Take care mate.
Thanks, I guess, like me, you don't know about the chances of getting eaten in the U.K. either
Well, episode 3's out, and one of the lads has a fantastic crosscut saw, and full leather sheath for it.
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Watched the first two episodes, thanks for the heads up. Have a lot of respect for all of them, not sure how I'd cope constantly surrounded by all those predators.
*Edit: Mitch for the win*
*Edit: Mitch for the win*
Sam seems Positive enough. What was Lucas thinking of with his idea for a Log Cabin... I use the term cabin loosely. Fortress springs to mind. Serious error of judgement.
Thanks, I guess, like me, you don't know about the chances of getting eaten in the U.K. either
I was born there so I know a lot about the likelihood of other violence. Actually there has been one cannibal attack in Britain so you are more likely to get eaten there than on the island.
I do think that it would be good to put things into perspective.
"Two hurt in bear attack
Quintin Winks / Alberni Valley Times
July 22, 2010
"....Two men were injured, one seriously, following a bear attack near Sproat Lake. Bruce Doyle, 47, and his friend Jay Vinden, 57, were camping near Highway 4 about 45 kilometres west of Port Alberni....The last bear attack on Vancouver Island happened in September 2008, when a person was attacked at the Port Renfrew Marina. They are the only two bear attacks of such severity recorded on Vancouver Island, said Crystal McMillan, executive director of the B.C. Bear Smart Society...."
http://www.westerlynews.ca/local-news/two-hurt-in-bear-attack-1.185177
Cougar attacks in many cases involve children:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_cougar_attacks_in_North_America
Until recently problem bears which ended up in town or at a dump were trapped and relocated. That was a huge issue as they were totally unafraid of humans and often had been recently beaten up by a more aggressive bear while it was holding its territory. Some were relocated by our 200M pistol range and were not well behaved - and we knew they were problem bears because they were spray painted. Unfortunately they had to put up with our noise and we had to put up with their behaviour. Now problem bears are put down.
Cougars are a problem if they are injured. We had quite a deer population in the many gulleys running through town, and so cougars moved in and ate lunch there without being seen. But as soon as one is seen in town, then I guess people get to feeling very protective of their pets and kids. I've seen cougars in town in daylight, but I'd bet a lot against seeing the same one twice.
But I do stand corrected for criticism without watching, and I'm glad that I grabbed the shows. With a bit of critical watching, there is much to see.
We have all noticed the clear-cuts behind the rugged coastline. That's readily visible in all air shots and easily from the boat shots. If people didn't then they will have seen that a crew was quickly able to drive then walk in to fetch out one guy in the middle of the night. That would seem like a great safety measure until you realize that clear cuts grow up fast with lots of good food for bears etc.. Of course bears with cubs tend to stay near trees which is where the guys are camped. I guess we'll be seeing a few shots of bigger bears, and wolves coming to check for a cub snack and getting caught on the trail cameras as they come to check out the camps. They may not have malice in mind but they will check out the camps, and suddenly we'll all be amazed by how many critters are there. On the bright side there should be some good hunting possibilities.
I sure wouldn't be hard on those who couldn't get a fire going. You either have the knife which will whittle fine fuzzies or some other dry tinder to get things going - or things get bad fast when you don't have a fire for cooking and discouraging critters from getting too close. For sure the thousands of people hiking the West Coast Trail just to the south do fine longer with no survival skills, but they have tents, food and stoves. And I'm betting no one has seen many bears from that trail in decades. Lose your fire steel and it's time to quit. While it may appear different, things so far have been dry for the coast. I'm sure that will change and then we'll see just how tough fire-lighting can be.
I liked the idea of the "trapper's" cabin in preparation for long days of heavy rain! But you need clay to hold your chimney together. I actually taught pottery using clay exposed by our river - and it fired super well. It formed in a lake behind a moraine and even had fossil shells. I've tried every clay outcrop on the actual coast with the same luck that guy had - zero. The advantage of a closed shelter isn't for bears but for weather. With a chimneyed fire place (or a can stove if you want to experiment), then really marginal fuel can be used, and a warm shelter which is capable of drying stuff and firewood is super.
The fire thing looks really difficult, I can understand Joe being so upset by the loss of his firesteel. I've struggled to light fires in the UK in a wet season, let alone in an area where wet is the default situation and even growing wood has a high water content. Once you're established and can dry and store wood, friction firelighting becomes relatively straightforward and the loss of a firesteel wouldn't be as much of a problem, but when you are trying to cope with everything being sodden then a reliable source of hot sparks is extremely valuable.
That's why I reckon building a substantial shelter is a priority even if you couldn't build in a chimney. Given a bit of time you could also try cleaning the clay too, to see if it became usable.
That's why I reckon building a substantial shelter is a priority even if you couldn't build in a chimney. Given a bit of time you could also try cleaning the clay too, to see if it became usable.
Did he lose it though...or was he trying to save face.
Not judging. I would have called in for rescue after the first night claiming a Bear had stolen my clothes whilst i slept.
I wonder how this guy would fare on the show.
[video=youtube;nCKkHqlx9dE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCKkHqlx9dE[/video]
[video=youtube;nCKkHqlx9dE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCKkHqlx9dE[/video]
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Just we're clear that I don't see all bears as cuddly friendly things, here's a video of a real potential attack shaping up. The bear is thin, and the real warning sign is the slobber as it's wondering if it can win and get a decent meal. Any sign of weakness and it would have tried, and they'd have gotten to test their bear spray.
[video=youtube;Iinv_5e_QGg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iinv_5e_QGg[/video]
I'd be the first to admit that I built up my confidence with bears in company of some very serious guns and the ability to use them well. I got used to always carrying a gun because often I was in the company of people who might not have reacted well to a close bear. When I'm by myself I'm often with just bear spray or nothing.
What I'm slowly trying to get at is that with a lean to and fire (which might need its own lean to..) I'd feel fine camping out there. I couldn't see any reason for concern with wolves or coyotes, but I sure wouldn't want to be near a person who is scared of dogs when the howling never stops at night. The guy who couldn't get a fire going and was scared of bears was absolutely right to quit. That's a pretty fatal combination, and I was surprised he lasted that long.
[video=youtube;Iinv_5e_QGg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iinv_5e_QGg[/video]
I'd be the first to admit that I built up my confidence with bears in company of some very serious guns and the ability to use them well. I got used to always carrying a gun because often I was in the company of people who might not have reacted well to a close bear. When I'm by myself I'm often with just bear spray or nothing.
What I'm slowly trying to get at is that with a lean to and fire (which might need its own lean to..) I'd feel fine camping out there. I couldn't see any reason for concern with wolves or coyotes, but I sure wouldn't want to be near a person who is scared of dogs when the howling never stops at night. The guy who couldn't get a fire going and was scared of bears was absolutely right to quit. That's a pretty fatal combination, and I was surprised he lasted that long.
Things looked on the up and up with a fire in the background. But things were totally over on losing the steel. From my experience, making a mistake will shake you up beyond all belief. In my case it was a bad fall down a slope but other than being a bit scratched up and battered, I was fine with nothing broken. So I fell down and like a little kid I just had to get back up and back to work - what's the problem? If you watch movies of people who really are out alone a lot, you'll notice that they always move glacially slowly and deliberately: that's because if they make a simple mistake it could well be their last - and one day that will be the case. So being careless takes on a whole new meaning, and I could see where Joe had really been beating himself up over it. Lots of people still in it with skills - but it's worth watching how they move and act because no matter how good their skills, they too are as good as their first serious mistake.
Sorry. Not for me. I would have cried like a big girls bottom.
[video=youtube;TtC14cpwwXg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtC14cpwwXg[/video]
[video=youtube;TtC14cpwwXg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtC14cpwwXg[/video]
When out hiking I always carry a single hand open jackknife with me. As to the West Coast Trail I hiked it in 74, 77 and 79 and only met two folks going the opposite way.
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