Bears don't know their own strength - so we should never underestimate
what it may be. A griz carried off a 1400 lb moose for me one time. And
in McKinley one time I saw a Griz throwing rocks and boulders like ping
pong balls when digging out a ground squirrel. That bear had that
squirrel in a heart beat. Bears - whatever their subspecies - I don't
want to tangle with.

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com

On 6/27/2010 4:15 PM, BenT Syncro wrote:
> On the theme of distracting the bears, why not keep a bunch of
> squirrels with strips of bacon tied to their waist? Put them in a cage
> with a remotely operated latch just outside your Westy. When a bear
> approaches release the latch and scream, "RUN like Forrest to the
> forest, Rocky. RUN!" ;-)
>
> And on the subject of the Westy as a  hardside camper: I've gotten as
> close to bears as I ever want to be through the TV. I was watching a
> program where this bear tore off the doors in this car to get at food
> stored inside. Last time I checked, Westies and even hardtop Vanagons
> are not much different from regular cars. They have glass windows. The
> bear probably sees a Vanagon like a deli case. Goodies can be viewed
> from outside. Break the glass, then pry door off through the opening.
> "Look BooBoo. It's just like a picky-nic basket."
>
> I'll stick with my first plan
>
>
> BenT
>
> Sent from my bacon wrapped squirrel
> ;-)
>
> On Jun 27, 2010, at 1:36 PM, Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA> wrote:
>>  up the van. BTW at those times
>> the bears seem to take very little notice of us camping, so much
>> other food around.
>>
>> cheers
>>
>> alistair
>
>