Date:         Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:22:58 -0600
Reply-To:     Fillmore West <fillmorewst@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Fillmore West <fillmorewst@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Westy Configurations and Bear-proofing
In-Reply-To:  <AANLkTimAAp3pp_p7RUiaYqtreQZGGpg5VI2ySgxafDWj@mail.gmail.com>
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I'll see if I can sneak one more in
without getting bit !!!   ;o)

Back & th' day ...  ;o)
We used to have a tag team of dogs.
One little yappy bugger with big ears,
to wake up a big,
Bear eatin' dog
wit' Charp Teeth !!!

It's what the castle type folks used to do...


On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 12:31 PM, Don Hanson <dhanson928@gmail.com> wrote:

>  Pushing it for not friday....
>
>   but a good deterrent for bears (and creeps) is to have a dog along in
> your Vanagon..  Bears and dogs seem to not like each other much.  Bears
> will
> choose to go elsewhere if you have a dog in camp...except maybe if it's a
> small bite-sized breed.  They (dogs) are also pretty handy in Griz country
> because they get spooky if they smell bear sign on a trail you may be
> hiking...and you can avoid surprises if you watch your doggie's demeanor...
>
>  If you have a big strong dog(s), it is not a good idea to chain him/her
> outside to the picnic table while you sleep....We awoke, back in the day,
> while sleeping in a Splitty VW van in Yosemite, to find our two dogs
> dragging a picnic table (before they started getting ripped off and so
> became customarily  embedded in the ground) behind in hot pursuit of a
> night
> marauding bear, waking other campers and creating quite a disturbance with
> the table dragging through the campground....
>
>  we were young and dumb...one of the dogs was a Huskey, too.
>  Don Hanson
>
> On Sun, Jun 27, 2010 at 10:46 AM, Dave Mcneely <mcneely4@cox.net> wrote:
>
> > We always carry bear spray when in bear country, but come to think of it,
> > it might be good to use against the drunk humans you mentioned.  I think
> > inquiries to knowledgeable personnel might be in order concerning bears
> in
> > any particular region.  Yosemite black bears seem to be the best anywhere
> at
> > getting into vehicles.  Grizzlies are pretty frightful critters, however,
> > and don't seem at all reluctant to get into camps and tents.  I wouldn't
> > expect one to drop onto the van from on high, though.
> >
> > when backpacking in bear country, we always hang all smellies, and we
> sleep
> > at least 100 yards from storage and cooking spots.  But we do cook,
> > minimally -- freeze dried stuff, heatables, and such.  We've never had a
> > problem, but we've known folks who have.  So, what to do in the vanagon?
> >  National Park campsites with known bear problems provide storage
> lockers,
> > and some large NFS ones do too.  But -- the cooking?  Hardsided vehicle
> is
> > reputed to be adequate, except in Yosemite.  Hmmmmmmmm.
> >
>