Bears

So, we are just starting abit of research for our upcoming USA trip and have found that Yosemite National Park camping grounds can be booked out 5 months in advance.  There is about 15 campsites to choose from, so it is taking abit of reading up to decide on the best campground for us. 

Anyway in our research, we have also discovered the small problem of bears.  We have learnt that bears, in their scavanging for food (or anything that looks or smells like food) will go to extreme efforts to get at it.  It is not uncommon for them to rip car doors apart in search of an empty cadbury's packet.  They do have bear proof bins for food etc but warnings are plastered on every website about the fact that you need to lock up everything including toothpaste, soaps, moisturisers, plastic bags etc.

With this in mind, Ed wants to know if he is allowed to bring an AK47 and his RPG into theparks as personal protection?!   They say in America you have the right to bear arms (pardonthe unintentional pun!) and by crikey he's going all the way!  Back to these bears, it looks like you can't even wear bloody deoderant without getting eaten!  Seriously though, we knowabout bear proofing food yada yada, but what do you do whenyou are going on a full days hike?  Do you starve, or is it cool totake food in your pack for the day?  And what about that deoderant, ifyou don't have a shower can a bear smell it and want to kill you inyour tent?  Does Ed have to set up clamore mines around the tent?  Orwill the bear just have to sniff Ed's 7.62 round out of his AK 'cos whenhe's in the land of rootin' tootin'  Yosemite-Sam he'lllet rip of a mag or two!

Getting bitten by a brown snake or funnel web does sound like a better way to die than being torn apart by a bear!   We will keep you posted on our survival training techniques.  Next week...a predator that stalks and ambushes, the COUGAR (another man eating enemy)