FYI..received this info from the USFS this morning...

As far as we knew the bears were happily munching berries until recently. Here are a few reports we've received this week:
• active and curious bear around the Wood and Hula Lake area.
• NE side of Ensign--bear came into camp and ate a cooler (hopefully the food in the cooler and not too much of the cooler itself)
• bear was scared out of campsite on Ensign--SE portion near Boot portage
• Disappointment--bear took food barrels--east side on north side of big peninsula
• Parent L.--bear ripped apart a bear barrel, there were packs in the woods behind the site--site closest to portage into Disappointment

Are the USFS reports on-line or do they send them to you as an outfitter?

were those the "blue" barrels? :)

quote kanoes: "were those the "blue" barrels? :)"

Ripped apart would imply blue barrel and not something really bear proof. In addition I would submit that unless you provide a handle (pack) a Bear Vault, or other similar container, is not going to be carried off.

i should have added.....(he asks knowingly, nudge nudge, wink wink)

btw...thanks for these updates moosetrack.

Too much bear concentration this summer in the Disappointment/Parent area for my comfort. Had planned 4 days on Disappointment beginning this Saturday, but just now cancelled it and booked a Lake One entry that just came available. If it were just me and my wife, I'd have been okay, but we'll have the four kids (teens) with us this year, and I don't want them to freak out.

These updates are sent to cooperators for the USFS and I am not sure if they are online. You can always call the district ranger station for updates.

So in other words, don't waste your money on the blue barrels, they apparently do not do any good. Bears have come to associate them with food (smell-proof or not) and can easily rip them open. Spend the money and get something approved by the national or international organizations for being "bear proof" or whatever label they give them. The following are the canisters allowed by the National Park Service in Yosemite (apparently every park can be different)

* Backpacker Model 812 (Garcia)
www.backpackerscache.com
* BearVault 110b, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500
www.bearvault.com
* Bearikade Weekender MKII (1766 and higher) and Expedition MKII (1766 and higher)
www.wild-ideas.net
* The Bear Keg (Counter Assault)
www.counterassault.com
* The Bare Boxer Contender (101) and Champ (202)
www.bareboxer.com
* Purple Mountain Engineering Tahoe
(This canister is no longer in production or available for purchase)

Thanks Moose Tracks. I'm just wondering if those were only bear incidents reported by vistors, and how many others go unreported?

So much for the Blue Barrels. Thanks serenity for the web info on bear proof containers.

Any more info on the wood lake bear?

quote MooseTrack: "FYI..received this info from the USFS this morning...
...
• Disappointment--bear took food barrels--east side on north side of big peninsula
• Parent L.--bear ripped apart a bear barrel, there were packs in the woods behind the site--site closest to portage into Disappointment
"

I'm seeing an assumption about these 'food' barrels being blue barrels. The first one? sure, probably was. But the last entry says clearly 'bear barrel' which implies to me that it is NOT a blue barrel -tho I have seen people call blue barrels bear barrels which is not correct... even tho I own 3 and have no qualms using them instead of hanging.

Also, I read somewhere that 'bearproof' means that it takes a bear longer than 10 minutes to break into it. That is all. Nothing is truely bear proof.

Just returned from Disappointment (campsite on left just past the island site...coming from Snowbank). Had sow and her two cubs 'stalk' us around the perimeter of our site for about an hour. They wanted our food pack and even pulled the rope down where we hung our food(pack wasn't hung at the time). There was no aggression. They basically were trying to see if they could get our food. They weren't afraid of us, more like shy. All six of us banged pots and pans and yelled. They eventually moved on without any incident and never returned. My advice is to do just what we did however consider hanging your food pack somewhere besides the two perfect trees about 50 yds from the camp. The bears went right to that spot cause I'm sure most campers hang their pack there.

quote SANS PEUR: "Just returned from Disappointment (campsite on left just past the island site...coming from Snowbank). Had sow and her two cubs 'stalk' us around the perimeter of our site for about an hour. They wanted our food pack and even pulled the rope down where we hung our food(pack wasn't hung at the time). There was no aggression. They basically were trying to see if they could get our food. They weren't afraid of us, more like shy. All six of us banged pots and pans and yelled. They eventually moved on without any incident and never returned. My advice is to do just what we did however consider hanging your food pack somewhere besides the two perfect trees about 50 yds from the camp. The bears went right to that spot cause I'm sure most campers hang their pack there. "

Was your food pack on the ground at the time then?

quote BWPaddler: "

quote SANS PEUR: "Just returned from Disappointment (campsite on left just past the island site...coming from Snowbank). Had sow and her two cubs 'stalk' us around the perimeter of our site for about an hour. They wanted our food pack and even pulled the rope down where we hung our food(pack wasn't hung at the time). There was no aggression. They basically were trying to see if they could get our food. They weren't afraid of us, more like shy. All six of us banged pots and pans and yelled. They eventually moved on without any incident and never returned. My advice is to do just what we did however consider hanging your food pack somewhere besides the two perfect trees about 50 yds from the camp. The bears went right to that spot cause I'm sure most campers hang their pack there. "

Was your food pack on the ground at the time then?"

It was, but it was at the site with us. For some reason they went to the rope and swung at it even though there was no food pack hanging...Pavlov's bears I guess.

quote fishguts: " "

That is not the hard plastic 60 Liter Blue Barrel that we use on our trips.

quote SANS PEUR: "

quote BWPaddler: "

quote SANS PEUR: "Just returned from Disappointment (campsite on left just past the island site...coming from Snowbank). Had sow and her two cubs 'stalk' us around the perimeter of our site for about an hour. They wanted our food pack and even pulled the rope down where we hung our food(pack wasn't hung at the time). There was no aggression. They basically were trying to see if they could get our food. They weren't afraid of us, more like shy. All six of us banged pots and pans and yelled. They eventually moved on without any incident and never returned. My advice is to do just what we did however consider hanging your food pack somewhere besides the two perfect trees about 50 yds from the camp. The bears went right to that spot cause I'm sure most campers hang their pack there. "

Was your food pack on the ground at the time then?"

It was, but it was at the site with us. For some reason they went to the rope and swung at it even though there was no food pack hanging...Pavlov's bears I guess."

I think it goes to show that while the blue barrels may not be bear proof, neither is hanging a pack. In fact most bear stories Ive heard start with "I heard a thud when he got the food pack out of the tree"

I use the blue barrels and have never had issues. Whether by luck or success I don't know. I know they are not bear proof and I hide them away from camp. I certainly don't believe they are any worse than hanging at preventing bear encounters.

Most people that hang packs never have a problem. Most people that use blue barrels or bear proof canisters never have a problem. Keep your camp, and your pack and your barrel clean and you may never have a problem.

quote oldgentleman: "Most people that hang packs never have a problem. Most people that use blue barrels or bear proof canisters never have a problem. Keep your camp, and your pack and your barrel clean and you may never have a problem. "

well said og.

What do all of the bear problem sites have in common? They are in areas that are packed with people all summer. The scent of food is nearly constant. Bears are not stupid critters; if they can get an easy meal, they will.

quote arctic: "What do all of the bear problem sites have in common? They are in areas that are packed with people all summer. The scent of food is nearly constant. Bears are not stupid critters; if they can get an easy meal, they will."

That is why Yogi and Boo Boo always went for the Pic a nic Basket.
SunCatcher

quote oldgentleman: "Most people that hang packs never have a problem. Most people that use blue barrels or bear proof canisters never have a problem. Keep your camp, and your pack and your barrel clean and you may never have a problem. "

sorry but that's entirely too logical

Just a data point: Yesterday (8/25/10) we had a mom and 2-3 cubs come trough our site on Ahsub (N of Disappointment), scared the mom away once, then she doubled back along the shore and grabbed our hung food pack, all the while I was standing 15-20 feet away yelling and banging on a pot.... Very persistent bear. Once she got it she took off, but totally SOL for us. Our camp was pretty clean, and no it wasn't a barrel but was hung pretty high. First direct bear encounter in BWCA in 6 years for me, and absolutely the first time I wasn't able to drive a bear away with noise.

Saw a bear on SE Ensign/Ashington in late May. Same week, saw where one had torn and scattered a box of flour/pancake mix and dried food on Splash. Being creatures of habit and conditioning, and considering the amount of traffic on Ensign I wasn't overly surprised. Been lucky so far.

Just an idea and maybe a stupid one but if you're using an airtight barrel could you not anchor it offshore rather than hang it? You could paddle out to it, get what you need and leave the barrel there.

Also, are the bear problems mainly happening out of Ely? The group I go with have been going up the Gunflint for 20+ years and have never seen a bear. I'm on my 5th trip and have seen tracks, once and that was far from any camp. The only problem we ever have in camp is mice.

The sows with cubs would worry me. They are raising generations of bears that are habituated with using humans to get food. Sounds like a case where rubber bullets and bear dogs would do some good.

Like the floating idea, but bear do swim. Sinking maybe better ;)

PEPPER SPRAY.

quote nonamesleft47: "Just an idea and maybe a stupid one but if you're using an airtight barrel could you not anchor it offshore rather than hang it? You could paddle out to it, get what you need and leave the barrel there.
"

That would probably work, but it sounds like alot of monkey business. Unless you're heading into a known problem area, the standard practices and precautions should suffice. Bears just are not that wide spread of an issue to warrant all the hype IMHO.