Results of Denali bear shooting.

[Cosmoline]

I am not sure I want my first trip to Alaska to be in remote area, with no one knowing where I am.

Then use your common sense, start out with the Chugach instead of the remote interior, and tell people where you're going. No "backcountry pass" required.

 

[LHRGunslinger]

HOLY CRAP! Santa shot a bear!

 

[pacerdude]

I am glad that the couple made it out safe and sound, and that they will not be charged as criminals for defending themselves.

 

[cassandrasdaddy]

the permits are just to make money thats it, i am very curious too see how many times the bear was hit.
__________________

permits are free here do they charge in alaska?

 

[wyocarp]

Don't you think thats a good idea for the average person not familiar with Alaska?

It sounds like there is plenty of wild land still left in Alaska for people who are experienced to use and have fun on, but a group of people from the east with no Alaska experience probably would be better to stick to areas where the NPS rangers know where to find them. No?

I am from Georgia, and have never been to Alaska, but would like to go some day. I have camped a lot in the lower 48, but I am not sure I want my first trip to Alaska to be in remote area, with no one knowing where I am.

Don't a lot of large cities have zoos with rain forests and jungles?

 

[Tacbandit]

Quote:
from KodiakBeer
"I can't help but wonder if he chose a .45 acp for concealment so as not to offend the sensibilities of tree-huggers? Note: The bear charged the woman and the man fired seven to nine rounds at the right side of the bar. The bear stopped several feet from the woman and then moved back into the brush.
The gun didn't "stop" the bear, it was more of a discouragement - the bear walked off and bled out. This was an elderly 400 pound inland grizzly."

Yeh, Kodiak...you have to wonder about his choice...regardless, I'd be interested in how proficient he really is with it, and I'd like to see the "autopsy"report on the bear...# of hits, locations, etc. It's obvious he (the shooter) was pumping some adrenaline, and that'll mess up the best of us...especially not being familiar with those critters in their habitat.

 

[bearcreek]

It's possible the guy was carrying a .45 for defense from people, not bears. I carry my .38 snubby when i'm camping just like I do everywhere else. It's not for bears but I guess I'd use it for one if I had to and had nothing else. Concerning the permits, I have mixed feelings about that. Permits are often used in places that are very popular so it doesn't feel like Time Square instead of wilderness when you visit. Also, if people are going to expect the Park Service to rescue them when they do something stupid or even just unlucky then the Park Service should have the right to know who's going into the backcountry. Not saying that's the way it should be, it's just that if they're going to run rescue ops that cost 10,000+/day of taxpayer $, anything they can do to make their job easier, they're going to do.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Not saying that's the way it should be, it's just that if they're going to run rescue ops that cost 10,000+/day of taxpayer $, anything they can do to make their job easier, they're going to do.

You may have a point... I wonder if a diet of sausages and beer makes a German more attractive to bears?

http://www.adn.com/2010/08/02/1392168/german-hiker-reported-missing.html

German hiker reported missing in Katmai National Park


Anchorage Daily News / adn.com

(08/02/10 12:31:16)

A search is under way for a 48-year-old hiker from Germany missing since Saturday in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes region of Katmai National Park in Southwest Alaska.

Here's a statement put out this morning by the National Park Service:

"An air and ground search for a hiker missing in Katmai National Park in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes entered its third day this morning.

"At 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 31, Katmai National Park received a call from an emergency radio at the Three Forks Trailhead. The caller reported that a member of his party had disappeared along the Lethe River while trying to recover his boots, which had fallen into the river at a crossing approximately nine miles up the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes from the trailhead.

"The remaining group of four had spent several hours looking for their 48-year-old companion, an experienced hiker, before hiking out to the trailhead and calling in the incident. The group of five Germans had planned to spend the last night of their 4-day trip at Six-mile Camp (about six miles from the trailhead) before heading out to be picked up by a concessioner's tour bus on August 1.

"This morning efforts were still under way to notify the missing man's family.

"A hasty search by two National Park Service ground crews and the park airplane was initiated on Saturday evening but poor visibility and the onset of darkness ended the search with no signs of the missing hiker.

"The search resumed on Sunday morning with three ground crews and two fixed-winged aircraft and one helicopter. Air support is being provided by Katmai National Park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Alaska State Troopers.

"The Lethe River drains out of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, which is a large ash-filled area resulting from the 1912 eruption of Novarupta Volcano. The river has frequently swift water, limited numbers of fords for hikers, and many areas with steep banks cut through the ash layers. The trailhead to the area is reached by a 23-mile road from Brooks Camp, the park's main developed area. Katmai is a 4 million acre park and preserve located about 300 miles southwest of Anchorage."

 

[KBintheSLC]

So? You want officials to know where you are for your own safety?

In this context, yes. If the SHTF, it makes it a lot easier for them to know who is still inside the park. However, I doubt they need to sell permits to do this. In the mtns of Northern Utah where I grew up, the national forest service folks just have you sign a visitor logbook. You just tell them who you are, how many are in your party, where you will be hiking, and when you intend to return. This saves a ton of time and money when they inevitably have to rescue numerous idiots every summer.

 

[wyocarp]

Personally, I think we could do away with most of this. If you go into the forests anywhere in the world and you would like to be rescued if something goes wrong, then you need to purchase the proper equipment. We don't live in the dark ages any longer!

Buy a gps and a SPOT. Why should my tax money go to save someone who doesn't want to invest a dime his own money into saving his own life? A SPOT isn't that expensive especially if we are talking about someone who is already spending a lot of money to travel to a place he doesn't belong, like Alaska.