Sat, Apr 6 2019 - Intro to Backpacking - Panthertown Valley (View Original Event Details)
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Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you… Yes, we had a bear in camp! A crafty, LARGE Black Bear found a wonderful assortment of chow Saturday night/Sunday morning. We did a proper PCT method of bear bag hanging, but it proved to be easy pickin’s for said bear! It even took the food from the neighboring Boy Scout Troup about ¼ mile away. I imagine the bear is still in a sugar coma from eating the “food” teenage boy’s packed.
You might want to use BEAR CANISTERS on your next backpacking trip… especially if you’re planning to have breakfast the next morning in Panthertown Valley!
This was a perfect lesson for a Beginner Backpacking event… and even a lesson for seasoned BP’ers. There were plenty of signs of bear activity, but the local rangers assured us it was NOT required to use canisters.
This didn’t distract from the sheer beauty of Panthertown Valley. A sun soaked Saturday welcomed us with majestic views and photo ops. Although it was a beginner’s event it wasn’t short of some elevation. We climbed our way to the overlook of Big Green Mountain, which was directly over our campsite. What a view! Sunday morning, we had to make a slight change of plans, since we had nothing to eat. After coffee, it turns out bears don’t seem to like instant coffee, in between rain showers we broke down camp. On the way out we took in a couple of side trails to waterfalls. We then headed directly to Clayton, where we had great lunch at one of AOC’s regular haunts.
In the end, it was great experience! We learned a lot about backpacking. Tried out everyone’s gear. Enjoyed wonderful camaraderie around the campfire. And, managed to get a firsthand bear lesson without out having to actually meet the bear…
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