Tips for solo backpacking

[Nick]

I agree with everything you say, @DrNed, unless we're talking about Alaska of course.

 

[The Splitter]

Ive been reading through some of the posts and it looks like a few people here carry firearms when they hike. For those who carry a gun while backpacking/hiking, the S&W 329PD is an excellent woods gun. It's light enough to carry comfortably all day and it's a 44 Mag so it's suitable for grizzly bear. The 629 Mountain gun is another great option.


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[Aldaron]

I have a gun for Alaska:

http://www.ruger.com/products/superRedhawkAlaskan/specSheets/5301.html

It's great as a last resort gun because it hurts so bad to shoot that you only want to use it when all else fails!

 

[steve]

Both of those seem brutal to shoot.

 

[The Splitter]

I've never shot the Ruger but I have shot both the Mountain Gun and the 329PD and with full house .44 MAG I only shot five shots before I put them down. I'm looking at picking up the 329PD, but I plan to load it with a heavy .44 SPL load from Buffalo Bore. The SPL loads are very easy to shoot out of either gun. My primary concern on the trails are sketchy people and down here in florida, wild pigs. The heavy .44 SPL loads are suitable for anything up to about 500 lbs so it makes for a very versatile gun.

Going out west and grizzly is a concern? Load it up with a 255 GR Keith, it hurts but it beats the heck out of being dinner. The big problem with the Scandium frame guns is that they seem to crack frames if you shoot a lot of magnum loads. General consensus seems to be that it's a "shoot little, carry a lot" kind of gun. You also can't shoot the extremely stout loads out of the 329. If Grizzly bear is the primary concern I would get the Mountain Gun as it can handle the full house loads. Better yet, if Grizzly is the primary concern, see if taking a 45-70 Guide Gun is an option. Obviously I'd rather not shoot anything but, I like to avoid becoming a statistic as much as possible. The best weapon is knowing your environment and how to deal with it.

 

[steve]

Those sound like some of the better grizzly guns out there. I think I'd still rather use bear spray. The recoil is more manageable.

 

[slc_dan]

Those sound like some of the better grizzly guns out there. I think I'd still rather use bear spray. The recoil is more manageable.

That, and it works better.

 

[Bob]

Spray over a gun...... lots of studies on this.
http://www.udap.com/bearnews.pdf

 

[Riggs]

Yeah, living right in Grizzly country, I'd agree bear spray is the way to go. We have a rustic cabin right next to the Bob Marshall Wilderness, have taken our kids there a ton since they were babies, and still are confident about that. That's all we take there. Even the grizzly management guy here who is constantly right around the bruins uses it. I can't imagine backpacking with a gun and ammo either.

 

[Rakaposhi]

I also want to do solo backpacking but I am always afraid of bears. I would backpacking in white mountains NH where bears has never been an issue but I am still scared. I have met many people on AT who hike and backpack by themselves and its just amazing. Do you guys think if backpack frequently with others will get me over my phobia? I don't want to carry a firearm and people might laugh at me if I carry bear spray in the whites. Does a bigger knife helps boosting morale?

 

[steve]

Don't worry about other people laughing at you. If carrying bear spray (make sure it's legal to use in your state) makes you comfortable and allows you to get out more, go for it.

 

[Aldaron]

I agree: carry the bear spray to help yourself feel better, and eventually you'll feel confident enough not to worry about bears. Try wearing cargo pants and keeping the bear spray in a cargo pocket...it'll be accessible and no one will know you're carrying it!

 

[andyjaggy]

There is nothing to be embarrassed about when carrying bear spray, especially if you are by yourself. Frankly I am more worried about moose, but I figure bear spray would work on a moose as well. I wouldn't worry about a gun, unless you carry it just to make yourself feel better, I doubt 99% of the people carrying one are a good enough shot to hit a bear in the right spot charging them at full speed.

 

[Hurakan]

I keep bear spray on me at all times and have a 40 w/ a tac light in my pack/hammock for quick access. I used to carry it open but it freaks people out and conceled its a pain with a pack. So much more effective and less of a hassle to use bear spray vs killing something or someone. But, spray only lasts about 9 seconds, so its nice to have a backup.

 

[Rakaposhi]

I am not too too scared from Moose firstly because it is vegetarian and more like a big cow. Once I came across it face to face while hiking in Maine. It was a giant, I thought at least 8 feet tall and was standing in our way. We stood for a while looking at each other than we backed out. After a minute or two we came back on the trail (that was the only way to go) and the moose had magically disappeared. I will think about bear spray seriously, it will definitely boost my morale. Thanks!

 

[WasatchWill]

I too am trying to get into more solo trips, mostly because it's hard to round up anyone who can get enough free time when I can get it. While I too get nervous about bears, the only kinds of bears we have to worry about are black bears, and I don't even know if bear spray is worth the weight for those. If I encounter a black bear I'll try to calmly talk to it and back away and if it still wants to come at me, I figure I'll try to be brave enough to see if it bluffs. If it attacks, I figure I can start whacking it across the head with a trekking pole aiming for its nose and eyes. I've also wondered if keeping a pole in my left hand while throwing my right pole at it then pulling my knife with my right hand would be a good plan. Perhaps not and maybe I should just invest in a can of spray. Still, you gotta admire Andrew Skurka's success against a Grizzly with his trekking poles.

I should probably be more nervous about crossing a mother moose and her calf or a male moose in rut season or being attacked by a Cougar from behind. Cougars can usually be fought and scared off as well though.

 

[andyjaggy]

I've never really worried much about Cougars, but maybe that's just because I have never seen one. I am sure they have seen me though. I seem to cross paths with moose more than anything else, and as such with their abundance and unpredictability definitely top my list. After that it is probably bears, then rattlesnakes.

 

[Bob]

Skurka is a fool to not carry ACCESSIBLE Bear Spray

 

[Rakaposhi]

Female black bears are small but male are big. I once went car camping and checked in the campground. The ranger told me 'oh btw there are three bears that visit the campsite and one of them is rather big 300 lbs, just make sure you don't store food in the tent'. I end up sleeping in the car.

I have a question though, sort of a theory of mine. Do you guys think a bear or other animal can detect a scared soul? I think so too and that is sort of my internal worry. Like when lion chase a heard it picks up the weakest one..the law of nature is that weakest gets eliminated! Seriously, I think there is some truth in it and it needs research. A colleague of mine was biking and he saw three mountain lions together, he even took picture of it But since he was never scared they never attacked him. What do you guys say? If my theory is correct, we only need to change out attitude and not carry weapons. It will not eliminate the risk but I think reduce it substantially.

 

[DAA]

I have a question though, sort of a theory of mine. Do you guys think a bear or other animal can detect a scared soul?

Obviously, yes. Hell, I can detect a scared soul in about a tenth of a second. And my life doesn't depend on it in the least (not anymore, not for a long, long time now). A predator, that needs to kill to live, probably has a much better sense of the "easy prey" than any human. So, my opinion, not just yes but hell yes.

But...

. What do you guys say? If my theory is correct, we only need to change out attitude and not carry weapons. It will not eliminate the risk but I think reduce it substantially.

Ehhhh... Just my opinion, can't be proved, but, I think not. A predator is usually going to take the easiest route to calories. Period. Meaning, it will take a slow, fat, brave guy over a skinny, fast, cowardly one most of the time.

The thing with predators though, and I know not everyone believes this but I've seen so much of it first hand that I believe it with all my heart - the thing is - predators frequently kill just for the fun of it. Not out of hunger or need or anything but the pure thrill of the kill. I've seen where a pair of coyotes have gone through a pasture and killed dozens of sheep in one night and not fed on any of them. I've found many lion kills with only a couple of the choicest bites taken out and the rest left to rot. Wolves are notorious for killing anything they can just because they can and not eating the kills. I've known a hand full of domestic dogs that killed every cat they could ever get ahold of and never ate a single mouthful of any of them. I've seen cats kill mice by the hundreds and never take a bite. Etc., etc., etc....

Knowing that, I don't think it is too awful far fetched to think that a predator "might" go after a human it could sense was weak and scared, just for fun, where it "might not" go after a human it sensed was keenly interested in killing it first.

Maybe?

- DAA