Dealing with bears and people

About to leave for Moab Colorado and Arizona. We bought a roof top tent and will be camping in remote places. Biggest fear are bears and people who may want to do harm to us. I bought motion detectors and will bring up to the tent bear spray, gun and night vision. The motion detectors are wireless and trigger a loud alarm. Previously I did trip wires but it took forever to setup. Any thoughts or anything else I should consider? The gun is a Glock 9mm. I know that won’t do anything to a bear. The gun is for non bears.

 

Man. You're overthinking this. Grew up in and live in those areas and never had a problem with bears. Having a sidearm isn't a bad idea, but the rest? I dunno. Overkill. Maybe don't go out if you're that worried about it? Going out into the wilderness is supposed to be relaxing.

 

Consider a 2/way radio if family has safety concerns.
GMRS is very capable as walki-talki plus the ancient CB.
Your 9 mm should be plenty-but get a CCW before you travel with it. Also explore Lehigh Defence penetrator bullets. A couple ammo brands load them. Deep penetration if you need it.

 

Derek I’ve never had a rooftop tent but I’ve spent time camping with those who do. I saw the photo you posted of your rooftop tent on another thread (congratulations!) but the type of tent you chose means you’re always blind on one side.

 

“Hey Boo Boo, let's go get us a pic-a-nic basket”!



Hope you have fun! Relax when you can.

 

Bears are not going to go anywhere near your tent unless you have food in it

 

The only threat you will have will come from your wife when you annoy her with your non-stop worrying.

It's a vacation/get-a-way. You're suppose to be relaxing.

 

I know. I know. Yeah it’s a clam shell.

 

lol. I hear ya. I have zero experience with wildlife. ZERO.

 

LmFao. That was good

 

Just don’t leave food in your tent or truck and the bears won’t bother you. Bring some rope and a stuff sack and hang your food from a tree limb (away from the trunk of the tree, bears climb well). If you were going to grizzly bear country (montana/glacier NP), that’d be a different story.

As for people, most camping folk I’ve met are like-minded nice people. Most climb well too. Lol

 

The greatest danger in the wilds can be one’s own imagination. Once in mid fall my girlfriend and I went camping near Mammoth Lakes. It was the tail end of the season and we were the only ones at the campground. It was chilly and the leaves were turning. The campground was beautiful. A river surrounded it on three sides in a horseshoe shape and we were enchanted by the stereo babbling sound of the surrounding water on the stones. Then it got dark. Really dark. And as we lay in our tent the sounds of the water became anything but enchanting. Within the babbling we began to imagine animals — voices — hooves in the water. We talked ourselves into a frenzy. At one point my girlfriend said “Someone could sneak up on us in the night and beat us to death with a baseball bat right through the walls of the tent and we wouldn’t hear it coming.” That was followed closely by a level-2 freak out and within 45 minutes we had broken camp and scampered off to a cozy motel.

This has been another folksy anecdote by yours truly.

Because someone will ask:
Level 3 Freak Out: she can hear reason and be talked down.
Level 2 Freak Out: some action must be taken to stabilize the situation.
Level 1 Freak Out: the tipping point has been reached. Even after action has been taken, the passage of an undetermined amount of time is required before rationality will return.

 

Bears are attracted to food, sweet smells,(think flavored chapstick), and women's times of the month. I've heard multiple stories of each. Black bears would rather run than attack unless they've lost their fear of people. And that's usually garbage/ landfill bears you need to worry about. Out in the wild I think you'll be OK. Just don't get between a Momma bear and her cubs. Have fun!!!

 

Lol… i got my daily belly laugh reading the defcon levels! Lol

 

Nice thing about people out in nature is they don't want to be near you either.

 

Good luck finding a tree around Moab/Canyonlands tall enough....if the bear stands up it will be taller than the tree!

 

Get one of those "Student Driver Please Be Patient" signs and hang it over the entrance to your tent. The wildlife will see that and leave you alone.

 

To put it in perspective, try to remember that there are literally millions of the most unprepared people/ families/ city slickers that the world can provide who go to those exact three places every year to get out in nature, who all seem to survive somehow. The only exceptions are the people you see on youtube, who try to hand-feed a grizzly a box of crackers. Don't be the youtube guy, and you will have an awesome trip along with the millions of other people doing the same thing without roof top tents and Glocks.

 

Be sure you understand all gun laws for each state you will be traveling in. They vary tremendously. CC permits are not always reciprocal. Bears should be no biggie. Keep a clean camp and rig. Store food away from camp. No food in tent. Personally, I'd keep the tent flat and lay on top of it under the stars. If you've never seen stars from a dark location it will blow your mind. Buy a cheap planisphere and take along a pair of binoculars.

 

Welcome from Wisconsin! Take the pistol and leave the Claymore mines home this time. Tripwires? Really? That's rad, but whatever ya think.

 

Mushrooms will do that to ya .

 

Lol motion detectors! None of that is necessary. Don't leave stinky food in your car if you are away from it for a long time. There are no more grizz in Colorado, last one was killed in the 60s they say. Your loud ass motion detectors going off might get your camping neighbors to come over with their guns.

 

Hotels can be very nice to stay in but, I'd rather sleep under the stars.
One time many many years ago, I was in the Yosemite/Sequoia/Sherman Pass area in my old TLC, sleeping on the roof of the L/C, when I heard some foot steps and the next morning saw what looked to be Cougar tracks. I got down the dirt road about a mile and a Cougar crossed my path and I thought, what a beautiful animal that is. I never thought that it could have attacked me while I slept but I wasn't doing anything to provoke it either. And to this day I remain unarmed with the exception of a pocket knife, hatchet, shovel and bear spray.

 

You've apparently never had a mountain lion (cougar) stalk you. That will change your opinion of kitty cat really quick. It's the reason I always carry a sidearm. Bears ain't shit.

 

No, not that I've known of. But the foot prints were all the way around the Cruiser.

 

I’ve read a few accounts of mountain lion encounters. It changes your mental calculations when you realize they aren’t interested in your food. You’re the food!!!

And then there’s the issue about guarding from three-dimensional ambush attacks.

Sorry, @morfdq , don’t mean to bring up more concerns to poke the bear…argh, sorry man did it again.

Seriously though, mountain lions are loners, and individuals cover huge ranges. The chances of ever seeing one are rare.

My strategy is to go to bed late, sleep inside the 4runner with a path to the drivers seat, and stay quiet till the sun rises.

 

Life is too short for that level of paranoia. Enjoy your vacation and focus on having fun.

 

troll post or OP is insane and shouldn't be allowed to own a firewall. Motion detectors? Is this Aliens? what a out claymores? You could always just start a forest fire and burn down everything around you so you have line of sight. You seriously are bringing night vision? what do you have?

I'm picturing you just not sleeping at all freaking out at every gust of wind.

Troll post right?