Backcountry Bear Basics: The Definitive Guide to Avoiding Unpleasant Encounters (Mountaineers Outdoor Basics) - Softcover

Smith, Dave

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1594850283 ISBN 13: 9781594850288

Publisher: Mountaineers Books, 2006

Synopsis

* Practical strategies for avoiding dangerous bear encounters
* Debunks commonly held myths about people and bears
* Provides tested strategies to help you avoid conflict with black bears and grizzlies

Bear expert Dave Smith gives you the basics -- like how to choose a good campsite and properly store your food so that you don't have to worry whether that pepper spray you brought will work on the bear that wanders into camp. He debunks commonly held myths about people and bears. For instance, menstruating women don't have to stay out of bear country, he says. And no, don't roll up in a ball when faced with a charging bear. So much of conventional wisdom about bears is often just plain bad advice; Smith tells you what you should do instead and why. He also reviews specific outdoor activities -- from fishing to mountain biking to hiking with young children to trail running -- assessing the likelihood of bear encounters and suggesting tactics for coping in different settings and situations.

This second edition incorporates new research (Do bear bells work? Does tent color or shape make a difference in attracting bears?) and adds more charts and sidebars to make material accessible at a glance. Smith provides key information on bear behavior and biology to help you understand, rather than fear, this most misunderstood animal.

This book is in the Mountaineers Outdoor Basics series.

About this title

About the Author

Naturalist DAVE SMITH has worked in Yellowstone, Glacier, Denali and Glacier Bay National Parks, including a six-year stint as a winter keeper in the snowbound heart of Yellowstone. He now guides for an Alaskan adventure travel company during the summer. He resides in Arizona.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mountaineers Books
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1594850283
• ISBN 13: 9781594850288
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 157