To be worried about camping in America?

[3lionsonapoacher]

In August we're doing a road trip from San Francisco to Utah. Idea was we'd get hotels along the way but it's taking out expensive.
DH said he'd love to camp somebody of it and I agreed it sounded lovely, sleeping under the stars, next to lakes etc and we do a lot of camping in England so I agreed.

However after looking into it, all the areas we're going to a frequented by bears!! And I'm shitting myself that we'll end up in a situation. It just doesn't seem worth the risk to me.

AIBU to insist we just stick to hotels for this reason?

Lol at the US gun toters. I camp with girl guides. They are more than a match for a bear lol. The only time i’ve Camped with a gun was on ops in the military. I laugh endlessly at the sheer amount of Americans who can’t get their heads round the fact that despite being ex military and a more than competent shot, I don’t feel the need to own guns. They just can’t compute.
I have zero desire to share a campsite with guns. Given the propensity for Americans to let their toddlers shoot their parents/ each other, I’ll continue to take my chances with the bears. Much safer than an American with a gun.

@SalemBlackCat

I'm in the UK too. Nice to see that some people just can't wait to jump on any opportunity to bash Americans.

Nice to see Americans displaying such random stereotypes lol. Unless you are out actual hunting, I don’t know any real life Americans that take take guns camping. It always makes me laugh when people exhibit bizarre stereotypes though. It’s pretty hard to ignore on a family camping thread when someone pitches up advocating weaponry. Proof that stereotypes are alive and well.

Because the standard police 9mm bullet would only piss off a bear. It only jut manages to kill people. You need at least .45 for a bear.

You know the police don't want to kill the bears, right? Generally they just want to scare them away without injuring them. Which is how I feel too. Hence pepperballs or bear spray is the best deterrent. I'm not really one for marching into the wilderness and killing everything that gets in my way. I realise that is very unAmerican of me

"Much safer than an American with a gun!"

Like the woman in Texas who pulled out a gun on the intruder about to steal her car with her two small kids in the back? If that happened in Britain the car would have gone. That American was able to defend her family with a gun only. You'd be surprised about the amount of normal, law abiding "gun toting" Americans there are!

I’m American. Bear danger while camping is just like shark danger while swimming. Yes, it’s a real thing, but you can reduce the risk to practically zero if you’re reasonably responsible. It seems way more common than it is because you hear about most every incident. If you want to go camping, don’t be deterred by bear risk.

HOWEVER- I’m not sure you realize how freaking hot it gets out west, AND I feel like you haven’t ever priced out camping gear. People go because they love it, not to save money, and they don’t go to the SALT FLATS (just the words make me hot and thirsty) in August.

I second the Airbnb recommendation. It started here (actually in San Fran I think) so it’s quite popular, and from my experiences, Americans, especially those that would sign up for airbnb, have earned our “gregariously friendly but respect individual space” reputation. If you’re willing to sleep on a cot outside, you can find equal or better accommodations in someone’s spare room for a song. Just read reviews and book as early as possible. For safety, I do carry an “add a lock.” There are many other portable extra locks you can take along. I am a woman traveling alone though, and only do that in an abundance of caution. Have a great trip!

Like the woman in Texas who pulled out a gun on the intruder about to steal her car with her two small kids in the back?

Remind me again, how many Americans were shot by toddlers last year?

Remind me again, how many Americans were shot by toddlers last year?

23 I think, all of which were caused by poor gun safety.

www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/09/29/american-toddlers-are-still-shooting-people-on-a-weekly-basis-this-year/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.deeadb2dc760

compared with 27 people killed by bears since the 2000s.

Incomparable, really.

Bears avoid noise so as long as you're noisy you'll be fine :-) They are amazing animals- I'm always excited when I get to see one. They like easy pickings like food left out and fruit left to fall off trees, but that teaches them to be around people and they get in trouble from that.

I go camping with my kids I feel so safe, I'm sure grown adults can manage it. Interesting about the PP who said the weather might be far too hot for it, so I'd check into that!

So OP? Have you decided? Camping or not?

When we have camped, the only sign that there was a bear nearby was a earthy smell in the air. But we never saw them.

Great link @blackdoggotmytongueagain

@Kursk whenever and wherever there are guns, there is a risk. That is why people shouldn't have them. End of story.

I live in a country where for years, after every mass shooting in America, our media would ask the American interviewee whether this would be the thing that will change America's gun culture and change their laws. For years, even after Sandy Hook.

We no longer even bother to ask that question any more. And that is sad in itself - that we've capitulated to the idea that America will never become civilised.

SalemBlackCat

We live remotely, we hunt our meat. To us a gun is a tool, no different to the axe, chainsaw or winch. we taught our kids how to use them responsibly, just like the other tools. Without them ( or any of the tools we use) our life would be very difficult. As we wouldn’t have food, or heat.

I understand in populated areas, where people live on top of each other, where recreational space is limited, and the art of self reliance has been lost such as US cities and the UK. then guns are not required.

I agree Kursk - I have no problem with people having guns if they're using them to hunt.

What do you usually hunt and eat? Have you ever won a moose permit? I don't really like the taste of deer, I've never tried bear but haven't heard good things, but I do really like the taste of moose.

Semster

We hunt deer, turkey and duck primarily. We sometimes trade that for bear or moose meat. Last year we were unsuccessful on the deer hunt, however we were able to get 2 roadkill’s. Like the taste of some cuts of venison, others are too gamey for me,

We also keep meat rabbits.

We have entered the moose lottery but never won it.

I tend to forget you can hunt turkey - there are so many of those around I imagine that must be a fair amount of meat available to you.

I should try eating some different cuts of venison, see if there are some I like. TBF I've tried very few and just assumed I wouldn't like any others.

Yes there is a decent amount of meat on a Turkey.

The cuts of venison we don’t like we grind with bacon and spices and use in place of beef mince.

I’m in the US and we camp all the time, including in bear country. Follow the guidelines of the campground and you should be fine. Remember to never sleep in the clothes you cooked in and never have food in your tent.

Living remotely and hunting meat is a tad different to being shoulder to shoulder with a bajillion tourists at a Yellowstone campground
We mostly have elk. We aren’t allowed to hunt bear here. But the hunters I know don’t take their guns on a family trip to the provincial campground

blackdoggotmytongueagain

Are Elk hunted by Permit or a lottery?

Permit here.

I have friends that used to enter the bear lottery, but the rules changed last year and I don’t think it exists now. There was a big furore as we lost a breeding grizzly a week before the rule change. I live in an unusual place populated by both hunters and animal rights activists. Yoga usually wins out.