by Pete S » Wed May 04, 2011 11:44 am
I remember being in Dorothy Molter's Root Beer store on an island in Knife lake. She had a page from a Minneapolis paper with a large photo of her "wrestling" with a bear in a (small) rapids. OK, bad example, that bear probably grew up on her island and was more of a pet...
Bears pretty much have one thing in mind and that is food and from your picture I'd have to say that you really don't look much like a blueberry patch. You probably won't see them on the portages and if you do they won't exactly be holding "will work for food" signs. They MAY show up at night around your campsite though.
Two things I recommend in that department:
1) Don't bring ANYTHING that even resembles food into your tent. Gum, candy, bees-wax lip balm, maybe some lipstick type products are out...
2) Bring a rock-sock. A rock-sock is a sock that you put rocks into so that when you tie a line to it you can toss it over a tree limb. Use that line to hoist your food packs out of reach. I found out what they can do to a Duluth pack with just a couple swipes...
Now if you happen to camp halfway up Stairway portage between Rose and Duncan you better watch out for the chipmunks. The most cunning, persistent, fearless little pack raiders you ever did see. That and there are a million of them!
Now, about trying to drive tent stakes into granite...