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Bears in the Wind River Range

Original Post
mark felber · · Wheat Ridge, CO · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 41

I'm considering a trip to the Wind River Range, this July, my plan is to spend a few days in the Cirque of the Towers. I've heard stories about bears stealing people's food in that area, can anyone tell me if this is a problem?

JML · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 30

I would say skeeters would be a bigger problem.:) Last time I was in the Winds in July was in the Squaretop area and the skeeters were huge and plentiful.

Bryan Gall · · New Castle, CO · Joined Sep 2002 · Points: 260

Been there a few times. Never had problems with bears, but we always strung up our food in bags and had dogs at camp. You know a good size lab can carry at least a fifth of whiskey along with his own food for a week. I think the varmit marmots are more of a problem.

Avery N · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 650

Been there a few times, and no bear sightings. However, carrying some thin cord to hang food away from all wildlife is the norm. Despite being an 'alpine' area, there are plenty of trees and boulders for this. Have fun.

AJS · · Boulder, CO · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 25

A ranger I know out of Pineville saw a griz up near gunsight pass a few years ago. I'm sure the bears are there, just not as habituated to humans as other places...

James Otey · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 785

I've seen grizzly bears in the WWR before. Not all that common, but its definitely a good idea to bring about 30 ft of thin static cord to hang your food from every night. Being that they rarely come into contact with humans you'd be hard pressed to get close to one. I'd recommend both cooking and hanging your grub at least 50-70 feet away from where you sleep though- can't be too safe.

It's really easy to avoid trouble so don't loose any sleep over it. Have a blast!

bob branscomb · · Lander, WY · Joined Feb 2009 · Points: 1,198

There was a problem with bears at Big Sandy Lake for a while...the USFS put in two bear food boxes there and that relieved the problem...Still plenty of bears everywhere in the Winds.
Suggest do the standard bear drill...take a long length of parachute cord and hang your food high in a tree away from the tent. Preferably 60ft or more from your tent. Cook away from the tent and don't eat inside it. Avoid cooking big juicy steaks and fish.

bognish · · Sandy, UT · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 0

I'll second the comment that mosquitos will be the biggest problem in July. Wait until August.

If you do go in July I would stongly recommend not bringing your dog. Our friends lab had its paws, ears, nose & eyes constantly swarmed by skeeters. It was miserable and did not want to leave the tent.

J. Albers · · Colorado · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 1,926

Dogs....I actually think that dogs in grizzly country are kind of a bad idea. A dog isn't going to scare off a grizzly, but it sure might tick one off enough to cause you some unwanted attention. This sentiment has been communicated to me by locals and USFS folks alike. Though Bryan is right, a fifth of whiskey is enticing.

As others have mentioned, there are bear boxes around pretty much all the way until you get over Jackass Pass. At that point you will most likely be above tree line. At that point, grizzlies are probably less of a problem than marmots. Those guys WILL destroy your food bag if you don't put it where they can't get it. We usually suspend our food in a sack from the ends of hiking poles (a strong branch will work) off of the top of the biggest boulder we can find. Never had any problems.

Have fun.

Matthew Kennedy · · boulder, co · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 45

Was there last summer. No bear sightings, but as most everyone has mentioned, we hung our food and did not cook next to our tents. Talking to a local, he said that the bears know hunting season and know to stay clear of humans during and around that time.

grizzlies aside, I'm jealous and you're going to have an amazing time!!!

"...You know a good size lab can carry at least a fifth of whiskey along with his own food for a week..."

Did you know that if your partner doesn't notice, he/she can carry 5 liters of bushmills? :)

Avery N · · Boulder, CO · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 650

5 liters???

Evan S · · Denver, Co · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 510

I wouldn't worry too much about bears, but the herds of man-eating sheep let loose by disgruntled old-time local farmers can be treacherous. --- Invalid image id: 106429514 ---

yeah!

Dirty Gri Gri, or is it GiGi? · · Vegas · Joined May 2005 · Points: 4,115

When we were camping, and climbing in the Winds, at Cirque Of The Towers in August 2008, we didn't see, or hear any bears.

We did take precautions, and hung our food; note our perfect bear stick. (Pingora, and Wolf's Head in the background)

Our cool Bear stick at our campsite and beautiful views of Pingora, and Wolf's Head. The Winds; Cirque Of The Towers, Wy.

I'm paranoid of bears (My desert rat ass will take a snake infested area over bear country any day!) I was startled one night in my backpacking tent when I rolled over onto an old cheezit cracker. I heard that bears will even smell a small crumb in your tent, so I quickly ate the cracker, and licked up the crumbs; seriously, and as much as I wanted to, I didn't bring my coconut lime verbena lotion, as to not attract more bugs, men(just kidding), and bears.

One thing that's a reality is don't underestimate the bugs!! It's like 10 times worse than any rainforest I've been in. Bring your deet, and full on mosquito net to cover your face, and neck at camp. I never had so many bug bites in my life!

Have fun!

James Crump · · Canyon Lake, TX · Joined Dec 2008 · Points: 200

If you want beer in the Winds you need to use horses... or Llamas... dogs just can't carry enough beer...

Oh, you were talking about bears... sorry...

Yes there are bears in them there hills, hang your food... me I typically have 2-3 big dogs, German Shepherds... big enough and in a pack... enough that the bears give you space... and well enough trained to be able to control in a bear situation.

Me and my dogs have had 3 different interactions with bears in the East Fork and on the east side also, but no problems if you do basic bear management... I have done several multi-day solo hikes in the Winds and have always been happy to have my dogs with me.. Never seen a bear in the Cirque

And even with 3 dogs... they just can't carry enough whiskey... got to carry some myself and make my partners carry also... I have spent more than 60 nights in various parts of the Winds and each was a special time. I just love the place and basic good back country behavior works just fine.

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235

We had no problem with bears 3 years ago, didn't see a single one. But, the Marmot's are another story. They were super-aggresive trying to get our food.

Andrew May · · Westminster, CO · Joined May 2006 · Points: 435

Perhaps we just got lucky, but we were in the Cirque in august of 2007 and I dont remember slapping a single mosquito...

As far as bears were concerned we used canisters to deal with the wildlife. We didnt have any dogs, and we really didnt encounter any wildlife for the 5 days we were there. I had heard that elk and moose are a bigger danger than bears were.

Have fun though, that place is beautiful, and the climbing is outstanding!

Evan S · · Denver, Co · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 510

Seriously, there are a lot of sheep, especially on the pass between the cirque and the lakes south of there, I guess it's free range for the farmers. They weren't really a problem though, but they were all over the trails.

Eric D · · Gnarnia · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 235
Andrew May wrote:Perhaps we just got lucky, but we were in the Cirque in august of 2007 and I dont remember slapping a single mosquito...
Are you joking??! Lucky!
mark felber · · Wheat Ridge, CO · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 41
JLP wrote:Funny how it seems just a couple years ago it was well known that bears were in the Cirque regularly raping everyone's food bags and people were posting all over the internet about their ruined trips - and now everyone here claims there are no problems. Hanging your food from a 3 ft pole or dwarfed alpine tree or whatever isn't going to do anything but waste your time. If you can reach it, climb for it, etc, so can they. Buy or rent a bear container. No BS flying trapese to set up, no special trees to find that don't exist, no dicking around every time you want a cookie, marmot proof, rat proof, etc. - just stick your food in there and let it sit. These containers are generally 100% mandatory in active bear areas that require a permit, and the reason is that it is well known that nothing else actually works.
I remember those stories too, that's why I posted this. I've been looking into canisters, it looks like a canister would be cheap insurance against a bear or marmot ruining my trip. I don't remember any trees big enough to hang my food from on my last trip (1995), and I'm well aware that bears can eventually figure out away to get food down from any tree that I can hang it from. Thanks to all who replied.
John Hegyes · · Las Vegas, NV · Joined Feb 2002 · Points: 5,676
Mark Felber wrote: I remember those stories too, that's why I posted this. I've been looking into canisters, it looks like a canister would be cheap insurance against a bear or marmot ruining my trip. I don't remember any trees big enough to hang my food from on my last trip (1995), and I'm well aware that bears can eventually figure out away to get food down from any tree that I can hang it from. Thanks to all who replied.
I never liked using the bear canisters - too heavy for a nine mile hike. In the Cirque, many people before you have set up numerous rigs for hanging bear bags. We saw at least ten whie we were there.
JML · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 30

I tie my food up tight in my sleeping bag stuff sack, put it right outside my tent with a few rocks on it, then put a couple pots or pans on that. The pots and pans make a great alarm if a bear decides to bother it and I scare them off. A lot lighter than a bear cansiter too. :)

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
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