Teresa and Neal Taylor, the Barr Camp caretakers wrote Sunday to say "Barr Camp was “Bear” Camp for a while today. With hundreds of hikers on Barr Trail on any given day, a bear is a rare sight. There is the occasional early morning sighting on the lower section near Manitou Springs. Here at the camp we have had one visit per year in the last two years. Today we had a reminder that we are indeed in bear country and people should not be complacent with food storage. A large cinnamon colored black bear dined for about an hour at a camp site about 100 yards from Barr Camp. The host that offered up his food could only watch and wait along with the rest of us, for no noise makers, yelling, or whistling was going to detract this bruin from his lunch. When he was finished he ambled off into the forest."Trail users and hikers should be aware of this recent sighting in the area of Barr Camp. If you are camping in the area please take precautions with your food storage and cleanup.
8 comments:
Calm as could be and methodical. Unfortunately these are the kinds of bears that end up on the receiving end of a DOW gun too.
Now that it has had this easy meal it will be back for more. Zen is right poor bear might be heading straight to the problem bear list.
Especially since the bear doesn't have to come down into town for the meal. This bear seems a real worry.
A real worry especially considering the remote location of the camp. The only way DOW could set up a bear trap would be by helicopter and that ain't cheap.
But they definitely need to be proactive here. For the rest of the summer Barr Camp should implement strict food storage policies in the camp vicinity.
Do they have bear-resistant canisters or lockboxes available for use? These kinds of situations can turn ugly quick.
I just shot a note to Teresa and Neal asking about bear canisters / options.
I think I'll pop over to the trailhead tonight/tomorrow morning to see if there's a notice of any kind. Seems hikers should know about this before they head out.
Neal says it's up to backpackers to secure their food - as it is elsewhere in the forest. I sure hope folks are paying attention.
Wow, great picture. My wife and I are planning on hiking barr trail this weekend and camping overnight at barr camp so I guess we need to rethink our food storage options.
It's always a good idea to be aware of the possibilities. You can drop Neal Taylor up at Barr Camp an email and ask about bears this spring.
barrcamp@hughes.net
-Dena, OutThereColorado.com
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