Where is "There"?

Tomorrow morning around 3am I'll hit the road and drive my kids to Indiana. I'll spend tomorrow night in a hotel somewhere in Kentucky and then begin my backpacking trip Saturday morning. My pack is packed. I've given myself a refresher in first aid, knot tying, weather identification, map and compass navigation, bear country survival, and general backwoods knowledge. I have applied extra waterproofing to the seams of my backpack, sleeping bag stuff sack, and tent. I have my camera batteries charged and I modded an old tripod to make it lighter so I can carry it with me. I've practiced putting up my tent with my eyes closed. I'm all ready to get out there. The only question is, "Where is 'there' ?"

I still don't know where I will go on Saturday. I have chosen two main sites and a close by alternate for each. I just can't decide which direction to head. Below are the four places I'm thinking of going and the pros and cons of each.

The first site is the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. This 125,000 acre park is in Southeast Kentucky and Northeast Tennessee. The park follows the Big South Fork of the Columbia River. The terrain is rocky and rugged with many sheer sandstone cliffs, natural arches and bridges, and rock houses. The park encompasses the Blue Heron Mining Company mine and "ghost town" that was left behind when the mining company, which was prosperous in the 30's and 40's, went bankrupt in the 50's.

PROS:

• 125,000 acres is plenty of space
• the kind of terrain I want
• more than 125 miles of hiking trails
• backcountry camping is allowed almost anywhere
• beautiful mountain and river scenery
• I've never been to Tennessee before

CONS:

• Blackbears, wild boars, coyotes, timber rattlesnakes
• Very dense population of northern copperhead snakes
• 6-8 hours from where the kids will be
• snow on Sunday night and Monday high of 40, low in the 20's
• rain in the forecast several days next week

The alternate for Big South Fork is the Red River Gorge Geological Area. This area is 29,000 acres of the Daniel Boone National Forest in northeast Kentucky. The area has many sandstone cliffs and the highest density of natural rock arches east of the Rockies. This place is like Mecca for east coast rock climbers. The sandstone is everywhere, with many sheer cliff faces and boulders more than 30 feet tall.

PROS:

• beautiful scenery
• no bears
• lots of climbing
• easy to get to

CONS:

• crowded and pretty heavily impacted/polluted
• I can't climb solo
• 3-4 hours from the kids

The second area is the Mammoth Cave National Park in southwest Kentucky. Mammoth Cave was created to protect the world's longest cave complex. There are over 300 miles of known caves here and many more that have yet to be discovered. Above the caves there are 53,000 acres of forest that have 70 miles of hiking trails. There are two rivers that cross the park and countless streams, creeks, and waterfalls.

PROS:

• 70 miles of hiking trails
• Green River has great fishing
• Backcountry camp sites are close to trailheads so I can carry more stuff in with me
• only 1 1/2 to 2 hours from the kids

CONS:

• Backcountry camping is only allowed at 12 designated campsites
• campsites fill up quickly and are hard to get on weekends
• have to set up a basecamp and do day hikes instead of hiking through
• recent flooding in Kentucky has caused the Green River to rise beyond flood stage to 22 feet and it has not crested as of Thursday afternoon

The alternate for this area is the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. LBL has 170,000 acres and over 300 miles of undeveloped shoreline along the Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The 65 mile long North-South Trail passes through this area. Some of the largest Elk in America are found here.

PROS:

• 170,000 acres
• two massive lakes
• elk and other wildlife to photograph
• backcountry camping almost anywhere
• 2-3 hours from the kids

CONS:

• lakes are probably seriously flooded right now
• Walking 300 miles of shoreline seems like it would get old after the first few miles.
• flat terrain

I really want to go to Big South Fork but the distance makes it hard, as does the weather and the nasty wildlife considering I'll be alone. The site has the highest risk but also the highest reward. I'm thinking of spending the first half of the week at BSF and then driving to Mammoth to set up camp and chill for the rest of the week. This is probably what I'll end up doing. A bonus to doing this is that I have two old Navy buddies who live near Nashville, which is close to LBL and Mammoth. I've already contacted one of them and we plan to meet up for lunch one day. I have yet to get in touch with the other but I'll get him.

Wherever I end up, I just cannot wait to hit the trail and get out there.

You must see this

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

You simply need to watch this. It really, really, really gets the point across.

P.O.D. - Picture of the Day

This is an eastern bluebird. This one was spotted in the Cromwell Valley Park in Baltimore County, Maryland.

The Eastern Bluebird had been in serious decline in past decades because the European Starling and the House Sparrow, both non-native species, have overtaken the nesting sites of bluebirds. Large numbers of bluebird nesting boxes have been constructed in parks and wildlife refuge areas and these boxes have stopped the Eastern Bluebird population decline and the population is increasing again.

Snow Peak 450 Single Wall Titanium Cup Test

In case you didn't read yesterday's post I bought a Snow Peak Titanium Single Wall Cup to use as a cup and also as a pot for an upcoming backpacking trip. The problem was that the mug had a tag on it that said not to bring the cup into contact with flames. This had me confused because titanium is supposed to withstand heat very, very well and the mug is single-walled, so there should be no reason why I can't heat it on a backpacking stove.

Today I stopped by the Bass Pro Shop in Arundel Mills Mall on my way home from work and bought a canister of butane-propane for my MSR Pocket Rocket Stove so I could test the cup. I filled the cup with water, sat it on the stove, and lit the stove.

It was a little windy today so I cranked the stove to it's full capacity. If any of this stuff was going to explode I wanted it to do so in my driveway instead of miles into the woods where I'm the only person around. The flame from the stove was never visible but I could hear it roaring loudly. The cold water I had put in the mug began to bubble almost immediately and was at a rapid boil in about 3 minutes. I let the water continue to boil rapidly for several minutes. Nothing happened to the cup. It didn't warp of distort, it didn't turn ugly colors, nothing. My stove didn't blow up either, thankfully.

Below is a picture of the cup with boiling water on the stove. As you can see, there is nothing out of the ordinary. I boiled water. Whoopee!

My Snow Peak titanium mug has me confused

My Snow Peak Titanium Single Wall Cuparrived today. I planned on using it both as a mug and as a pot for boiling water on the trail. What could be easier than to boil some water in the morning in the cup, dump in a packet of oatmeal and voila! instant breakfast. I was disheartened and confused by the tag on the mug, which says this on the front:

Lightweight, premium-grade Titanium Single-Walled Cup.

So far, so good. However, the back of the tag says:

Warning:

• Do not place the product directly on a flame. It may cause deformation as well as discoloration. The pressure inside the double-wall structure will build up which may result in the product bursting.

So did I get a single wall or double wall cup? The double-wall is better insulated so a hot drink won't burn your lips. It is also heavier. I can see a double-wall exploding if it is heated because the gases in between the walls would expand faster than the titanium and would have to vent somewhere. I don't think the heat from a small backpack stove (the MSR Pocket Rocket Stove in my case) would warp titanium. Aircraft engine exhaust nozzles are made of titanium because it is so heat resistant.

So, my next step was to consult the Snow Peak website. On the single wall titanium cup page I found this gem of poor Engrish translations:

Titanium Double Wall Mugs and Cups
The Best Mugs and Cups you will ever own

Made from the Best Titanium, these stoves are not only the lightest on your back, but also on the environment. For years Snow Peak has been Salvaging Titanium off of expired Submarines. There are innumerable qualities to using Titanium, most of all it's strength and mire weightlessness compared to such metals as Aluminum and Steel are most important to Snow Peak.

Yes, even the single wall cup web page says double wall. WTF?

Let's analyze this paragraph a little more. First of all, there are many words that are improperly capitalized. I'm not sure how a lightweight titanium cup is good for the environment. The double-wall cup page doesn't say this so it must only be single-wall titanium cups that are good for the environment. Luckily, I bought single-walled. I'd hate for my cup to ruin the trail I was hiking on.

You know, I hate buying submarines because they always seem to expire before I can use the whole thing. Snow Peak has been Salvaging Titanium off expired Submarines so that's a good thing I guess.

Titanium has mire weightlessness according to the next sentence. Mire? Merriam -Webster defines mire as:

• 1 : wet spongy earth (as of a bog or marsh)
• 2 : heavy often deep mud or slush
• 3 : a troublesome or intractable situation

So the cup's weightlessness is due to mud? Or is the cup's weightlessness troublesome? What did I get myself into?

Anyway, I looked at the tag and found a model number for the cup I bought. It is MG-043. This number is on both the front and back of the tag so it must be correct. The web page shows these details for the Snow Peak Titanium Single Wall CupMG-043:

• Titanium Single Wall 450 MG-043
  
  
• Material: Titanium
  
  
• Capacity: 14 oz
  
  
• Weight: 2.4 oz

So I did get a single wall cup. OK, I'm glad I got that settled.

Now that all the wall confusion is over with, can I heat the mug on a backpacking stove or will it explode or get deformed? It is fairly thin, but titanium is so heat resistant that I can't see anything happening to it from a small butane-propane stove. Tomorrow I am going to test it out and boil some water in the mug on my MSR Pocket Rocket Stove to test it out. I'll upload some photos so we can see what, if anything, happened to the titanium single-wall mug.

P.O.D. - Picture of the Day

My son.

How to Avoid Encounters With Wild Bears

At the end of this month I am planning to go on a 7-day, 6-night backpacking trip in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Eastern Kentucky. I'll be hiking a 52.5 mile loop around the Red River gorge. The scenery promises to be absolutely beautiful as the trail follows the ridgeline of the cliffs along the Red River and includes some steep, difficult terrain. However, in researching the area I have discovered that black bears are making a comeback in large numbers in the area.

This guide is the results of my research into black bears and how to survive when in bear country. In the first installment of this series I concentrated on how to survive an encounter with a bear in the wild. In this installment I will describe how to avoid bear confrontations altogether.

Most of the advice in this article also pertains to large cats such as pumas, mountain lions, cougars, and panthers.


Picture Credit: US Forest Service North Central Research Station

Most hostile encounters with bears in the wild are caused by bears who are surprised by humans. They don't like to be startled, especially when there are young cubs around. Attaching a "bear bell" to your pack or clothing is a great way to alert bears to your presence. A bear bell is a large "jingle bell" type bell that will jingle when you move so wildlife can hear you coming and leave before you get around.

Bears have a highly tuned sense of smell and are very curious. This will lead them into your campsite if you aren't careful. When you set up a campsite, bears should be taken into consideration if you are camping in bear country. Taking a few precautions can prevent unnecessary run-ins with bears and other wild animals that you don't want to share your tent with.

When choosing a campsite, search the area and look for any bear tracks, droppings, or trees that have had bark clawed from them. Any of these signs indicate recent bear activity and a new campsite should be chosen.

When setting up camp make sure you keep your tent far away from your cooking fire, anywhere from 30-100 feet away. Make sure your thoroughly burn all combustible trash and pack and unburned remnants out with you. Immediately wash any dishes or cooking items and dump the dishwater away from the camp. You must reduce as much food odor as possible from the camp. Keeping a clean camp is the best way to keep bears from calling in the night.

Do not bring any food or strong-smelling items (like toothpaste) into your tent at night. Wash your face and hands thoroughly after meals and before bed to remove any food smells or residue. Remove your clothing, especially if you wore it while cooking or eating, and store it outside at night in your bear bag (more on bear bags in a minute). Cologne or perfume may help mask any human scents or other odors from inside a tent, but do not use any musk-scented products. Do not cook in your tent and don't store food in your tent.

Take everything that you do not need to sleep with (basically everything but your sleepwear, a flashlight, your tent, and sleeping bag) and put it back in your pack at night. Put a large garbage bag over your pack and tie it shut so that it is airtight. Next, using rope, hang the bag from a tree branch so the bag is at least 12 feet from the ground and 10 feet from the trunk of the tree. Choose a tree that is at least 30 feet from your tent. You will want to select a branch that is at least 12 feet up, and at least 4 inches in diameter where the branch meets the trunk of the tree. If the branch is smaller than this a bear will climb the tree and break the branch to get to the bag. If the branch is larger than 4 inches in diameter it may be strong enough for the bear to climb out on.

You will want to attempt to counterbalance the bag with some large rocks so the bag and rocks hang together above the ground. If you throw your rope over a branch, hoist up your pack, and then tie off the rope to something the bears will chew through the rope to get the pack to drop. To retrieve the pack in the morning use a long stick to push the rocks up and lower the pack until you can reach it.


Picture Credit: US Forest Service North Central Research Station

You can also purchase special airtight containers made specifically for keeping items safe from bears, such as the Garcia Backpacker's Cache Bear Canister Model 812. These canisters are unbreakable and can only be opened if the bear has a screwdriver or small coin.

If a bear does wander into your campsite you can scare it away by yelling, banging pots together, or waving your arms and running at it, stopping within 15 feet of the bear. Don't overtly threaten the bear, just let it know that it isn't supposed to be there. If a bear has settled in and began to eat you will likely not get it to leave until it has eaten it's fill. You might want to pile some rocks just outside your tent so you can throw them near (not at) a visiting bear at night to scare it away.

Bear attacks are rare and deaths from attacks are rarer still. Most bears flee humans before the bear is even seen. You are 180 times more likely to be killed by a bee than a black bear and are 160,000 times more likely to die in a traffic accident than in a bear attack. So be "bear-aware" when you set up your campsite and be extra careful driving to the wilderness and back home.

P.O.D. - Picture of the Day

Here is a turkey vulture carrying a carp that I saw at the Loch Raven Reservoir while my son and I were fishing this afternoon. I was finally able to get my camera out today. It was the first time I used my new Canon 200EG photo backpack and I love it. The bag holds everything I need, more than I could carry with me previously. I'll have a full review of the bag coming up soon.

How to Survive in Bear Country

At the end of March I am planning to go on a 7-day, 6-night backpacking trip in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Eastern Kentucky. I'll be hiking a 52.5 mile loop around the Red River gorge. The scenery promises to be absolutely beautiful as the trail follows the ridgeline of the cliffs along the red river and includes some steep, difficult terrain. However, in researching the area I have discovered that black bears are making a comeback in large numbers in the area.

This guide is the results of my research into black bears and how to survive when in bear country.



Black bears grow to be 4 to 6 feet tall and range from about 250 to 600 pounds. They can be black or brown in color and are smaller than grizzly bears. Apart from being larger, grizzlies have a large hump between the shoulder blades and their face is concave-shaped. It is important to properly identify a bear that is encountered in the wild because grizzlies and black bears behave completely different and what will save you from one type of bear will surely get you killed by the other.

By nature bears shy away from humans. Bears realize that while a human can be a meal, most humans can defend themselves and the fight is generally not worth it for a bear. Most bears prefer to avoid encounters with humans. Bears don't like to be surprised by humans and mother bears don't like anything to come between them and their cubs. Bears also ferociously defend animal carcasses that they have been feeding on. These are three instances which may provoke a bear to attack.

Since bears prefer to avoid humans whenever possible, attaching a "bear bell" to your pack may be all that is required to avoid bear confrontations. A bear bell is a bell in a small mesh bag that is attached to your pack so it rings when you walk on the trail. Bears, and other predatory animals like large cats, will hear the noise and often leave, realizing that the sound is not natural and means there is a man around.

If you happen to spot a bear while on a trail the distance at which you see the bear is indicative of the type of encounter that will ensue. If you are around 50-100 yards from the bear make noise so the bear will hear you. Metallic noises work best, so ring your bear bell, bang pots or canteens together, and talk in a loud, deep voice. Getting upwind of the bear, if possible, is also recommended so the bear can smell your presence. Your goal is to let the bear know you are there so you don't surprise it. In such situations the bear will most likely leave.

If you encounter a bear that is less than 50 yards from you, additional measures may be necessary. Stand up tall, slowly wave your arms out to your sides, and talk in a loud, deep voice. Help the bear identify you as a human. Do not shout. Hold out a jacket above you to make yourself look even larger. Avoid direct eye contact with the bear. Keep an eye on it with your peripheral vision but do not look directly at it. Eye contact can provoke a bear to attack. Begin to slowly walk diagonally backwards away from the bear.

The bears reaction is critical so watch it very closely. If the bear stands up on it's hind legs it is curious and is getting up high to get a better sniff of you; this is not aggressive behavior. If the bear moves it's head from side to side and makes short "woofing" sounds it is reluctant to approach you and is looking for a way out of the situation. If the bear has it's ears back near it's neck, the hairs on the back of it's neck are standing, and/or the bear is making gutteral, growling type noises the bear is aggressive and will likely charge you.

If the bear is standing it's ground, growling with ears back but has not yet charged, you may be able to scare it by throwing sticks or rocks near it. Don't hit the bear directly as this may provoke an attack. Just let the bear know you are not afraid and that you will fight back. Bears prefer food that doesn't struggle and this may cause them to turn and run.

When bears charge they will usually make one or more false charges, running forward and stopping about 10 feet from you. Stand your ground and let the bear know you are not frightened by it. By all means, DO NOT RUN. A grown bear is as fast as a race horse and can reach 30mph in an instant. If you are confronted by a grizzly bear and there is a large tree that you can climb, drop your backpack or other large item to distract the grizzly and walk backwards to the tree and climb it. Grizzlies can reach about 10 feet up into a tree so you must climb at least that high. And please, make sure your feet are at least 10 feet up and not just your head. If you are confronted by an aggressive black bear DO NOT climb a tree since black bears are adept climbers and will go climb after you.

If you are carrying a Bear Spray, a strong pepper spray made for bears, spray the bear directly in the face when it charges you. The bear sprays normally reach out to 20 feet but may only be accurate within 10 feet. Only spray when you are sure you can get the spray into the bears eyes and nose. The spray is documented to have a catnip-like effect on bears if sprayed anywhere other than the eyes and nose. Bears will lick the spray off themselves or other items that have been sprayed. There have been many reports of foolish people who believe the Bear Deterrent spray is a "bear repellent" and spray down their tent at night. This attracts bears from miles around and will cause them to eat the tent and ultimately it's inhabitants.

If the bear fails to retreat and attacks you must know what type of bear it is. If you are attacked by a grizzly bear you should play dead by laying on your stomach in a fetal position and using your hands to cover your neck and face. A grizzly will normally leave you alone if you play dead. A black bear, on the other hand, will begin to eat you if you play dead in front of it. This is because black bears that attack humans are normally hungry, adolescent males who don't yet know that humans aren't the best food source available.

If the bear attacking you is a black bear, fight back as aggressively as possible. Hit the bear with anything you can get your hands on, like a rock, a stick, even your fists. Use your thumbs to gouge out the bears eyes. Make as much noise as you can and continue to fight. The black bear will quickly realize you aren't worth the struggle and will run away. I read one story of a 10 year old girl who hit a bear with an ax and then threw boiling water on it, driving it away after it wandered into the family's camp site. Bears don't like pain and if you fight back aggressively the bear will leave.

Recommended Reading:
Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance

Living With Bears: A Practical Guide to Bear Country


In the next segment I'll write about how to bear-proof your campsite and yourself when camping in bear country.