Quote Originally Posted by shacked View Post
Have heard all the jokes about recognizing bear scat, that Grizzly scat has bells in it, but what do you guys and gals use. Will definately carry bear spray, heard udat was the best. But would a whistle around your neck to blow everyonce in a while work or perhaps sound like a dinner bell. Being from florida, alligators and sharks don't bother me, been around them all my life, but just not familiar with Grizzs.
Shacked -

Seems like most of the discussion centered on the ( controversial ) carrying and use of bear spray. For what it's worth, I certainly respect hap's comments, and I still carry it as a matter of course.

Getting back to your question - yes, be prepared to make noise, loudly and frequently, when you are in places in bear country where you do not have good line of sight for some distance in all directions. A loud whistle blown regularly is recommended by a lot of folks.

Personally, I prefer the bear bells. Maybe not loud enough for all situations, especially around water and with any wind, but they do serve another important purpose ( one made by some one discussing bear spray earlier in this discussion ). That is, they remind ME that I am in that kind of habitat, and I need to be mindful and observant and take precautions that I won't need to deal with a confrontation, with or without my bear spray at ready.

My wife and I were hiking to the Grinnel Glacier out of Many Glacier at Glacier National Park a few years ago. Bear scat, quite fresh, on the trail at regular intervals. On the way down, to make a longer story shorter, we became aware from some other folks that a grizzly had been on a course to cross the trail we were on just about the time we reached that intersecting point. It turned and headed back up the hill when it heard the bear bells we were using - at least that was their impression and what they told us. They were in position to have a pretty good impression of what had happened.

John