We are about to launch this morning but the itinerary and tasks have changed somewhat. We received word of black bear bluff charging at our intended first campsite, Pot Creek, on the Green River We'll be closing the two campsites there until further notice necessitating shifting raft party campsites up and down the river to safer locations. It seems the bear was not easily deferred by throwing rocks at it. This is the second straight year with problems at the site.
Is a fed bear a dead bear? The answer is complicated by variable protocols in state and national parks and how wildlife managers interpret the circumstances and regulations. My experience is likely different than yours with bears. I’ve had bears succeed at getting food out of food caches I've carefully elevated along the Appalachian Trail where I’ve hiked. I’ve also walked up to a dozen wild black bears with a five-gallon bucket of their favorite food and poured it on the ground right at their feet where they sat waiting. I did that at the Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary in Orr, Minnesota.
The accompanying link below from the Wildlife Research Institute in Ely, MN addresses this issue of feeding bears and is worth a read.
The accompanying link below from the Wildlife Research Institute in Ely, MN addresses this issue of feeding bears and is worth a read.
We’ve also received word of another raft being stuck in the rocks downstream at Hell’s Half Mile rapids. The rafters were unable to extract the raft from the powerful hydraulic forces that hold it fast to the rocks. This may be posing a safety/navigational issue that we will likely try to address.
So, it’s looking like I’ll have an interesting adventure this week. News at 11 (in July when I return).
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