Canadian Rockies and Vancouver road trip gear

koweb wrote:

BobsYourUncle wrote:

Not being a native but having visited Canada, mostly in the Rockies and BC, probably 20 times in the last 30 years, these are solid gold recommendations. I can't add much more other than of all the times we've been in the Rockies we have come across very little wildlife.... and that was a very good thing because my wife and I spent many vacations on long hikes. We spotted evidence of bear activity, paw prints, broken brush, tree scratches, etc. One of the few bears we did see was on one of our early trips to Banff. After checking into the Tunnel Mountain Chalet in the evening we went to a convenience store and met a Canadian Park Ranger and asked about bears. His comment was, and this is true, "there are no bears in Banff." Okay, with that reassurance we bought some food and drove back to our chalet. Just as we got out of the car what greeted us was a massive black bear the size of a small compact car within probably 10 feet! We, including the bear, froze as we looked at each other. I immediately told my wife to get back into the car but the door was locked. Just then the bear luckily ran away. After a brief sigh of relief, we were elated. And we adopted our favorite slogan for every future trip...... "There are no bears in Banff!"

Moral of the story..... though we haven't seen much wildlife, you never know when a beast will pop up. Keep that cam handy!

And for Lettermanian... one of our great trips was on the east coast. In Cape Breton, we happened upon a Ceilidh. My wife used to be a competitive Highland Dancer and I volunteered her to do the sword dance. Even have it on an old DV tape.

So you can see, a guy from SoCal really likes Canada. Have a great trip. You are following Jerry Astro who, today is on his way from Jasper to Banff.

Bob

As a native of western Canada who has gone to the Banff/Jasper area more times than I can count, but always willing to go again at the drop of a hat, I wanted to share some tips on encountering bears...

First, as others have mentioned it is wise, when hiking, to carry pepper spray and to have bells attached to your clothing or backpack to make noises as you walk.

Second, it is important to know the difference between black bears and grizzly bears. A park ranger once gave us these tips on knowing the difference by the feces...

-Black bear feces contains berry seeds and smells slightly sweet.

-Grizzly bear feces contains little bells and smells like pepper.

Now you know!

That's good.  In Mt. Revelstoke many many years ago I recall watching a Park Service info video about bears.  One "serious" suggestion was when hiking, do so with 5 or more people.  I thought it odd at the time but some studies "at the time" seemed to indicate parties of 5 or more didn't draw a bear's attention for an attack.

As far as your last comment I've always referred to the wearing of bells when hiking as a "dinner bell" for the bears.  🤣🤣

Bob

PS.... With every hike in the rockies my wife was the one wearing the bells and I carried the pepper spray (Bear spray).  AND I am told one of the best ways to avoid a bear attack is to make sure there is always someone with you who is the slower runner. 😁