Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
Link
Trad climber
Yosemite, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - May 30, 2005 - 01:52pm PT
|
For those who weren’t here this weekend (all seven of you), Yosemite Valley was a crowded place. Parking in the Valley quickly filled up completely on Saturday and Sunday, and in order to prevent a complete dead lock of cars the NPS closed access to the east valley for brief periods throughout the day. Through constant traffic control and temporary detours, we managed to keep things under control, barely. Huge thanks to all those who put in long hours directing traffic, and another huge thanks to those who were considerate and understanding while waiting in that traffic.
The weekend isn’t quite over, but so far things have been thankfully relaxed on the emergency front. A variety of tweaked knees, dehydrated hikers, and other off road injuries have kept us running in circles, but so far everyone (visitors and rescuers) are holding up.
Camp 4 Coffee:
The biggest topic at this week’s coffee was bears, specifically those at the base of El Cap. Spread the word, tell your friends, forward this message ten times and get lucky… this is a huge deal and we need your help. Everyone (weekend warriors and locals alike) DON’T LEAVE FOOD AT THE BASE OF THE WALL!
All food in Yosemite Valley must be in one of six places at all times (for visitors and employees alike):
With you
In a locked bear locker
In a locked bear canister (available for rent at the Valley Wilderness Center for $5)
Out of site in your car DURING THE DAY
Inside a closed building
Well off the ground on a climbing route
IF YOU CAN GET TO YOUR FOOD WITHOUT AID GEAR OR JUMARS IT IS NOT STORED CORRECTLY (or legally). Do not hang your food in a tree; doing so is useless (and illegal). We’ve already had to kill one bear this year after it became conditioned to human food and showed aggressive behavior toward visitors. Climbers: this one is on our shoulders, let’s step up to the plate and save this animal.
Thanks for the help,
-Link
(Climbing Ranger in Yosemite)
|
|
Weenis
Trad climber
Shastafaria
|
|
|
May 30, 2005 - 01:55pm PT
|
Sounds like the animals are stepping up to the plate.
|
|
ikellen
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
|
|
|
May 30, 2005 - 03:31pm PT
|
Literally :) Link, when I was in Tuolumne last summer the rangers were expirementing with non-lethal pellet guns and air horns to ward off bears in the main campground. Are the same techniques being employed in the valley?
|
|
Link
Trad climber
Yosemite, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - May 30, 2005 - 05:09pm PT
|
Ikellen,
Yup, we're still using every technique we can to get bears away from human food. As you can imagine, this work is very man-hour intensive and often quite frustrating. This summer, for the first time we (the NPS) are going to be concentrating on individual bears for an extended period to see if these scare tactics (air horns, non-lethal rounds, etc) are having any lasting effect.
We can do a certain amount to try and re-condition bears once they've become used to human food, but this is not a long term solution. The real fix is in keeping our food away from bears in the first place.
break the cycle!
Climb fast and avoid the haul bag all together :)
-Link
|
|
thebleeder
climber
moab
|
|
|
May 30, 2005 - 07:14pm PT
|
when are the bears going to start eating the tourons?
that's all i wanna know.
|
|
WBraun
climber
|
|
|
May 30, 2005 - 07:44pm PT
|
Me and link will train one up to eat you, "thebleeder", and only you, for having no mercy.
|
|
thebleeder
climber
moab
|
|
|
May 30, 2005 - 07:53pm PT
|
i taste just like a chicken without mercy
|
|
Link
Trad climber
Yosemite, CA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - May 31, 2005 - 01:48pm PT
|
I'll be gone the next few days but wanted to bounce this back to the top so as many people read it as possible. Spread the word!
Cheers,
-Link
|
|
Crag
climber
Parkesburg, PA
|
|
>Out of site in your car DURING THE DAY <
I'd say keep nothing edible in your car at all, including chapstick, toothpaste, gum etc etc. or anything else that might exude an odor. Out of sight doesn't even work.
|
|
capndick4
Boulder climber
A place beyond reasoning
|
|
A grizzly in California? Dude! if you really did see one that's pretty incredible since all the Cali. Grizz supposedly went extinct like a hundred years ago. okay maybe not that long ago....but it's been at least half a century
|
|
Greg Barnes
climber
|
|
Some black bears get to be a whole lot bigger than the published size range. Saw one near some garbage bins in Mammoth that was a minimum of 30% larger than the "largest" (and probably pushing 50%). I've also measured tracks that came in at about 10% larger than the largest tracks supposedly made by black bears.
Still, never say never, who knows maybe a grizzly escaped some exotic animal hunting preserve in Texas, heard the word on the street from its cousins, and headed to the Valley...
|
|
Lg
Trad climber
NorCaL
|
|
That's it. The call went something like this: "Get up here Joe and bring the wife and kids, the season's in full swing now and there's enough for everyone!" ;p
|
|
leezus
climber
|
|
anything's possible regarding what type of bears are around Yosemite. I will say that animals that live on diet's influenced by FAT AMERICA are just as prone to the same side effects this food has on humans. Let's just say I've never seen so many fat squirrels, racoons and bears than I have in Yosemite. Steller Jay poking their beaks through the foil top on pancake syrup and guzzling it. I've been climbing in the valley for 14 years, and it's easy to see the effects that our food has on all wildlife in the valley. I too, have seen the 600lb, brown, dreadlocked big mutha bear lurking around those woods. My 2 cents is that it's just another shining example of what Fast Food America can do to a mammal. It's like saying there is some new species of extra large, robust human living in the strip malls and WalMarts througout America. No, same species, just a big, fat, mess of one. that's all.
Help the bears! If we humans don't have the will power to keep from getting fat as hell, then what chance do the bear's have? Maybe they have more sense than us, but I doubt it.
I wish the valley had more bear boxes that weren't designated to particular campsites, etc. Like having boxes somewhere near the road in the meadow, more public boxes at Curry, etc. The only way to get people to not leave food in the cars is to make it incredibly easy to not do so. I know a lot of effort goes into education, but I've def. been at a loss on where to store food and ended up poaching boxes in Camp4. There should be some boxes in Camp4 parking lot just so people didn't have to drag everything to the campsite. The only times I've ever risked leaving food in my rig was b/c the facilities weren't there for me.
|
|
up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
|
|
So, I suppose if we all bring tofu and granola it will make the situation at least a little bit heathier for the food-poaching bears. I'll do my part -- no lil Debbie snack cakes for my wall this year. Instead, I'm packing bean sprouts and couscous just in case my sh#t gets raided. Thanks for the heads-up, bro. You're really on to something there.
Ed
|
|
leezus
Trad climber
Salt Lake City
|
|
however you want to read it, Ed. whatever.
I was just addressing the fact that it probably wasn't a grizzly in the valley, but a fat f*#king black bear....bro.
schmuck.
|
|
Manjusri
climber
|
|
Yeah, I've seen an enormous brown colored bear in the vicinity of Merced lake some years past. Chased him off of someones food bag, so for dang sure he wasn't a grizzly.
They really should reintroduce the grizzly to Yosemite, that would curb the overpopulation problem I think...
|
|
up2top
Big Wall climber
Phoenix, AZ
|
|
Yeah, and I'm trying to point out that bears around the Valley were fat f*#ks long before us suburban weekend warriors started bringing in junk food. Your insulting tirade blaming those of us with a body fat percentage higher than 10% for the bloat of the local animal population is ridiculous.
Have a donut...you know you want to. It sounds like you could use the sugar buzz.
Ed
|
|
Stackman
Trad climber
Michigan
|
|
About a week ago, there was a large brown colored bear roaming the base of El Cap in the area of Tangerine Trip. We had to constanly throw rocks at it to keep it away. This bear just kept comming back, then we found in the weeds a foil of tuna someone had droped from Tangerine Trip or Lost in America. The tuna pouch was open and full, so someone lost there dinner and the bear wanted it badly. This is a very large bear.
|
|
briand
Trad climber
bay area
|
|
Dude, black bears can take on a variety of colors. I've seen a few with brown fur. But none had the distinct "look" a griz. has(face and shoulders).
|
|
golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
|
|
Perhaps leezus is onto something! Healthy bear food drops around the place, keep them from snackin on my fat food and keep the bears healthy and away...Sure beats those ginger snaps we used to feed them in Yellowstone in the 60's....
|
|
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!