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- 4 Jan 2013
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What would you have done if you had come face to face with a bear?
Hiking, backpacking, trekking, mountaineering...
- Thread starter Col_M
- Start date
made a mess in my pants....
well, I don't really know but I have seen a few bears in the wild and they are mostly busy looking for food and are also scared of humans. The more remote the area the more scared they are in general, the dangerous bears are the ones that live near towns and cities and go in at night to raid garbage bins.
In summer when hiking bear country I carry pepper/bear spray. In winter spring I trust the bears are hibernating, this one must have woken up recently so was probably in a bad mood but not wanting to make a fuss.
Best advice if you come across a bear is to act calm and let it figure you out and walk away on its own terms. If I was in downhill mode skiing (when uphill I have skins attached so any movement is very slow) and the bear ran to attack I might have been foolish enough to try to ski away fast enough.
On the steep slopes this would likely work but bears can run very fast and a lot of the time they will charge as a kind of bluff just to scare you, but if you do start running away then they will give chase. So the best advise is normally to stand your ground and do nothing. Which is easier said than done.
I think I am more afraid of mountain lions than bears though.
only shows 1:50000 from what i can see. bing maps shows 1:25000 which does indeed show footpaths etc.
if you have an iphone/android phone then Viewranger is the way to go. the maps arent free but worth the cost if you're in any way serious about the outdoors
only shows 1:50000 from what i can see. bing maps shows 1:25000 which does indeed show footpaths etc.
if you have an iphone/android phone then Viewranger is the way to go. the maps arent free but worth the cost if you're in any way serious about the outdoors
I haven't paid for anything on Viewranger and use it all the time. Plan my route online then follow it on my phone, its a great app and website.
my sister told me about this, she uses it for horse riding. £20 a year isn't bad, you can plot routes on there and it tells you distant and elevation.
http://www.getamap.ordnancesurveyleisure.co.uk/?
http://www.getamap.ordnancesurveyleisure.co.uk/?
Yup there are plenty of free maps available but the OS explorer (1:25k scale) maps arent
Fair enough, the OpenStreet map has done me well everywhere i have been so far.
I still cant decide on a light backpacking tent, is the Banshee 200 really the best value, once i have that i just need a Kestrel 48 litre and that should do me for camping.
I still cant decide on a light backpacking tent, is the Banshee 200 really the best value, once i have that i just need a Kestrel 48 litre and that should do me for camping.
Soldato
It is indeed excellent value that tent.
The Wild Country Zephyros 2 can be had for about the same price. It has been received pretty well in reviews and walking forums. I've not read anything about the Banshee so couldn't say how they compare.
One thing I noticed is a few people who bought the Zephyros 1 (one man version) for solo camping wished they got the 2 for the additional space.
/edit: I'd pay close attention to size if you want to put two people inside. I've got a 2 man tent from a few years back that I doubt would fit two mats next to each other. Perfect for one though
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Soldato
Yup, if he wants it for two people he really ought to go for the banshee 300.
Tent sorted went for the Banshee 200, got a NeoAir Xlite as well.
Now for the rucksack, need help deciding, im stuck between the Osprey Kestrel and Exos, also the size, is 48 litres big enough for 1 night camping during summer, i would have thought so but if i went for the Exos the 58 L is still lighter than a Kestrel 46 L.
Now for the rucksack, need help deciding, im stuck between the Osprey Kestrel and Exos, also the size, is 48 litres big enough for 1 night camping during summer, i would have thought so but if i went for the Exos the 58 L is still lighter than a Kestrel 46 L.
Soldato
For a weekender I use 40L but for an overnighter I would take 30L max. I used to make the mistake of taking a lot more but I just use better lighter kit and carry the bare essentials. It's always tempting to pack loads of stuff and you end up not using half of it and regret lugging a great weight around with you.
I now pack:
Compact stove (but not always even bother with that if I know I can make fire.
No tinned or heavy food. Just a boil in bag.
Wet layer.
Tent.
Sleeping bag.
First aid kit.
Head torch.
Camelback of water.
That's it. No more clothes, no crazy expensive kit and it fits easy in 30L.
I now pack:
Compact stove (but not always even bother with that if I know I can make fire.
No tinned or heavy food. Just a boil in bag.
Wet layer.
Tent.
Sleeping bag.
First aid kit.
Head torch.
Camelback of water.
That's it. No more clothes, no crazy expensive kit and it fits easy in 30L.
Soldato
Having just given you that advice however I'm now thinking, if you're just starting out you should perhaps get a bigger bag, or even better get one that collapses down so you can fit more/less in. A common tip is to buy all your kit first and your rucksack last. Take your kit to the shop and test which bags fit your kit 
I took a look at the Exos today in go outdoors. It's quite a nice bag, but I'm still not decided on the size yet. The 48L should be enough but it would be nice to have the next size up and then be able to compress it.
The nice thing is that it has a couple of thin straps along the bottom that could quite easily be used to carry your tent freeing up space in the bag. Inside as well, the slot for the hydration pack runs right across the width of the bag meaning you're not really limited in what you can put in there like some other models.
Hopefully I can find somewhere that stocks both models, then I can compare both. Let us know what you go for in the end, I'd be interested to know.
I was also looking at the OMM Adventure and the GoLite Jam packs, I've always like the fit of the Osprey bags though and as they are framed they should be capable of holding a bit more weight (although I am looking to try and lighten my pack as much as possible!)
Diamond PeaK, Oregon April 28th.
After the mishap a few weeks ago (ski crampons failed and sent me on a harmless but surprising 200ft vert slide) I decided on a second attempt given the fine conditions, although it started cloudy it cleared through the morning.
The road was snow clear to around 4650ft. From there I skinned along a patch and when that ended I took a right at a small dead-end forest road that had deep snow but abruptly stops (shown on topo maps). I bushwhacked uphill to 5000ft (easy open forest) where I thought I had found continuous snow but it was very patchy and forced lots of meanders and a few transitions to ski boots. I think my issue was I had a very slight southerly exposure. Lots of snow loss in lats 2 weeks down here. At 5500ft snow was more continuous and very good by 6000ft.
By 7300ft the ridge had become quite hard and icy. At 7500ft I came to the narrower steeper crux where I had the choice of the traverse across SW face where I had the prior incident or going straight up ridge. This time I had boot crampons with me so I made the conservative choice to go up towards false summit. Easy but glad I had crampons, that north side was very solid and although passable without crampons would have been trickier than the simple stroll I enjoyed.
Wind picked up on this ridge and with the hard snow I went slow leaving time for the sun to do its magic. Below false summit I swapped to skis with ski crampons and easy traverse to the saddle and climbed up the ridge to the true summit. Very sunny but distant views block by clouds, stiff breeze but easy to shelter on SW ridge.
Given the hard snow I waited on the summit having a long lunch and trying to enjoy the sun but I was slowly getting cold and it looked like the clouds were building. So I dropped down straight from the summit. Unfortunately the wind had prevent too much Corning and the slope was very firm but easily edge-able, smooth and very enjoyable. Lower down transitioned to corn and in the sheltered trees without the help of the wind was mushy but not too deep.
Keeping closer to pioneer gulch and with very athletic log jumping, dirt skiing and general combat skiing I linked patches all the way down to 4800ft but from around 5400ft was very broken and barely skiing. A 10 minute walk straight downhill took me to the car.
Excellent tour, thought about lapping the top bowl since it was not too soft yet, but decided to reserve energy for the return bushwhack and enjoy an hour in the sun on the drive home.
After the mishap a few weeks ago (ski crampons failed and sent me on a harmless but surprising 200ft vert slide) I decided on a second attempt given the fine conditions, although it started cloudy it cleared through the morning.
The road was snow clear to around 4650ft. From there I skinned along a patch and when that ended I took a right at a small dead-end forest road that had deep snow but abruptly stops (shown on topo maps). I bushwhacked uphill to 5000ft (easy open forest) where I thought I had found continuous snow but it was very patchy and forced lots of meanders and a few transitions to ski boots. I think my issue was I had a very slight southerly exposure. Lots of snow loss in lats 2 weeks down here. At 5500ft snow was more continuous and very good by 6000ft.
By 7300ft the ridge had become quite hard and icy. At 7500ft I came to the narrower steeper crux where I had the choice of the traverse across SW face where I had the prior incident or going straight up ridge. This time I had boot crampons with me so I made the conservative choice to go up towards false summit. Easy but glad I had crampons, that north side was very solid and although passable without crampons would have been trickier than the simple stroll I enjoyed.
Wind picked up on this ridge and with the hard snow I went slow leaving time for the sun to do its magic. Below false summit I swapped to skis with ski crampons and easy traverse to the saddle and climbed up the ridge to the true summit. Very sunny but distant views block by clouds, stiff breeze but easy to shelter on SW ridge.
Given the hard snow I waited on the summit having a long lunch and trying to enjoy the sun but I was slowly getting cold and it looked like the clouds were building. So I dropped down straight from the summit. Unfortunately the wind had prevent too much Corning and the slope was very firm but easily edge-able, smooth and very enjoyable. Lower down transitioned to corn and in the sheltered trees without the help of the wind was mushy but not too deep.
Keeping closer to pioneer gulch and with very athletic log jumping, dirt skiing and general combat skiing I linked patches all the way down to 4800ft but from around 5400ft was very broken and barely skiing. A 10 minute walk straight downhill took me to the car.
Excellent tour, thought about lapping the top bowl since it was not too soft yet, but decided to reserve energy for the return bushwhack and enjoy an hour in the sun on the drive home.
Associate
Wow nice place!
Soldato
That looks awesome!
My girlfriend and I have just bought some proper walking shoes, we're starting our hiking adventures this weekend, we're going to start easy with trails that are accessible from downtown Vancouver by public transport. Just short 1-3 hour ones at the weekends to get our fitness up.
We really want to do an overnight hike later in the summer when all the snow has properly cleared, I'm just a bit worried that at the moment we have no clue about what we're doing. The plan is to hike to Garibaldi Lake, camp overnight at the lake, then possibly head up to a bit called Panorama Ridge. We have no gear though so will need to buy it all!
My girlfriend and I have just bought some proper walking shoes, we're starting our hiking adventures this weekend, we're going to start easy with trails that are accessible from downtown Vancouver by public transport. Just short 1-3 hour ones at the weekends to get our fitness up.
We really want to do an overnight hike later in the summer when all the snow has properly cleared, I'm just a bit worried that at the moment we have no clue about what we're doing. The plan is to hike to Garibaldi Lake, camp overnight at the lake, then possibly head up to a bit called Panorama Ridge. We have no gear though so will need to buy it all!
Associate
Just mates for me who enjoy the same thing.
I thought it might be, not really what I wanted to hear though. Somehow I need to find peeps.