Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting solo trips and remaining calm

So what's the cure for getting over the heebee geebees on solo pack in trips? My one fear is bear attacks but outside of that I don't get bothered much by anything else. Ok summer time I worry about rattlers but that's only on scouting trips. So does time in the woods do it or what?

Seems childish now that I typed it but what the hey... something I'd guess us rookies got mulling around in our minds.

I remind myself that as the top predator it is me that gives everything else the heebee geebees. I guess not having any grizzly etc helps. The .357 adds to the self confidence. Generally I fear ticks more than anything else..

If your in an area pretty thick w/ bears you could try one of the ultralight electric bear fences for your sleeping area.

http://www.udap.com/bearshock.htm

That set-up would give you some piece of mind while away from camp for the day too...

There IS no "cure" for this and everyone gets frigthtened, sometimes lonely and even depressed on these trips and while living solo in wilderness. Anyone who denies this is commenting on their lack of personal experience in this endeavour.

First, start with trips to areas that you know well ands simple over-nights, gradually increasing the length and "remoteness"of your trip(s) as you gain field experience. DO NOT worry about what someone else may have done or claim to have done, this is not about competition.

Try to extend your field trips slowly, carefully and be cautious no matter where you are, there was another Black Bear on an urban trail here in Vancouver, this week, but, they usually don't attack, although it does happen.

Planning, careful behaviour and going a bit at a time will make you confident and capable in your pursuits and also will help to ensure that you come home alive and happy.

I second the electric bear fence, these are getting a fine reputation here in BC, where the Grizzly/Black Bear population is increasing and now numbers about 200,000+. I intend to buy one fairly soon to protect my investment in a base camp, a fairly costly setup.

DO learn basic navigation by map and ordinary compass and simple survival skills, carry a decent emerg. kit and enjoy that little thrill of fear as you move away from your access vehicle, horse or aircraft, that is what keeps us human and THAT is what this entire sport/art is REALLY all about! Have fun!

Well when you put it like that, there really isnt anything else to say.

first off, a certain amount of properly dealt with fear is what keeps us alive.... in every sense.....

and i'd not worry about bear attacks until they occurred...
most of the trouble that we get into in back country excursions is stuff that we do to ourselves... falls, broken bones, etc...
i try to prepare intelligently and travel alertly... no need to get a head rush, though, and/or hyperventilate over every rustle of brush, although i'm pretty sure that's not what you were talking about, anyway...

remember, that a few generations back, bears outnumbered white men on this continent... the fact that the reverse is true today speaks volumes about who's more dangerous, us or the bears...

men were meant to sometimes travel lonesome country...
there's little enough left....

I prefer to go solo, and I don't recall ever having the heebe jeebies. Getting away from everyone and everything IS what calms me.
I have been doing this for over 45 years, I have the equipment and gear I know I will need, the water, food, and other items necessary.
My outdoor skills are more than adequate for where I go. If I were to find myself in some remote location, where the terrain and weather is totally different, I probably would have some momentary concern, but I think I can handle most anything that comes up.

I brought this topic up sometime in the past, and remember that most posters had experienced this and were sympathetic. I'll go over my story again if you would like.
Don

I agree with kutenay. After doing this for almost thirty years, the one that I never get past is the fear of the elements. The way I attempt to overcome this is through experience and being prepared. Even though I do things right (at least I think so) and am prepared appropriately (once again, I think so), when camping in cold and snow I still have a concern/fear every night when I go to bed that I will freeze to death during the night. I've obviously never not awakened in the morning; but, it is still a prevailing concern.

Just prepare and gather experience. Be willing to learn and prove yourself right or wrong and then improve your tactics/techniques.

Yeah it can be intimidating, Bears and Lions,if you can't keep your mind off them it'll drive you batty. I usually try to think of something else (ladies usually works for me but that causes other problems, winning the lotto, stalking the big bull) any thing but the Bears. Elements never bother me have always been prepared for them, might if I ever find myself in the wilderness unprepared. Ran into this one in montana.

just a comment on bear fences, if you use one, be absolutely meticulous about how you set one up.

a two man fly-in exploration camp in N BC had one and from the sounds of it, they had it threaded sloppily through some brush. A bear got through, and you guessed it, spent a few noisy minutes (probably a lot less) inside trapped by the electric fence in the middle of the night. It was kind of a funny story when relayed to me, as I know one of the characters involved, and luckily the bear let himself out and no one was hurt.

I hear ya!

On past solo hunts I've had two primary concerns/problems.
1- injuring myself. answer-satellite phone rental

2- during the afternoons, evenings i do get a bit lonely for company answer- take comfort in a nap, a book, or a fire.

With good gear I've never had concerns about the weather (Kifaru P-tipe with wood stove). Never had bear problems that couldn't be prevented or be resolved.

My take on doing a solo remote hunting trip is this:

You want to go do a remote solo hunt. And you know that if you don't go and do it, it'll never happen, which will leave you second guessing not doing it for perhaps the rest of your life. Why live out that mental head game for the rest of your life?

Case in point - a few years ago, I saw another guy post about asking members if they thought he should go on a solo moose hunt in Alaska. Seems he wanted a bull moose bad, but had no friends willing to go along, due to lack of funds and/or their lack of a obtaining kitchen pass. Anyways, one reply he got in this quandry said it all - That reply was - 1) A guy will never kill a moose while sitting on his couch in the 48, and 2) We are all gonna die.
I have never forgoten that reply. It DO make sense without a doubt.

I've since made a solo hunting trip on the Yukon river in Alaska, in a canoe, starting and ending hundreds of miles fron the nearest road. Not quite a "backpacking" hunt per se, but you get the idea.

No regrets on doing it either. 'Course I came out alive obviously...grin

Bears are so far down the list of worries, it don't even rate mention. IMHO

I was the guy who started that post that 379 is talking about, going back for my second solo in AK on the 7th, 2 weeks in moose camp . Brown bears yeah I am concerned about them and them only, everthing else I can handle.

Yeah, the old OOD about 3 years back. I remember that one well.

Hey good luck this year Dean! This is your year. Mine too I hope.

I agree with woodswalker, a .357 with stout ammo. does wonders for the old self confidence in all but grizzly country.

Yup. Works wonders.

same to you Mike.

I'm good for about 3-4 days solo in the backcountry. And I do get nervous if I hear a bear at night while in my sleeping bag especially if I'm alone. I usually yell a bit and wait/listen. So far so good.

I do own an electric fence unit that I might pre pack in and stash for the actual hunt.

If I'm hunting solo from a truck camp then I can go over a week easily probably due to the extra comforts.

MtnHtr

I'll be real honest with you and aint scared to say it. I have done solo hunts and its actually strange, I never truly fear anything about the trip as far as the elements go, or my being able to take care of myself afield, but the bears is something I worry about. Lots of guys come up with the old I got a .357 or a .44 Mag and I sleep like a baby. Well this Alaskan will tell you that if it happens when your sleeping your probably done for. There might be a hairs chance that you wake up prior to it and have a gun at the ready and maybe, just maybe you can defend yourself with your pistol but the odds aint good IMHO. Obviously i try to put these thoughts out of my mind while afield and go to sleep pretty good with a MP3 player singing a little Pink Floyd in my ears but when you hear chitt and you roll over and hit the Illum button your watch and its 2 am your mind starts racing. The biggest thing that gets me is when you hear the stories of those that are mauled and killed in their tents, had a firearm in the tent and never got a shot off! That'll surely get you thinking. One of the things that I have had to overcome in order to love being in Alaskas' backcountry is that you cant let fear control you or hinder your ability to truly be alive. Sometimes its that fear that elevates your heart rate from a rested 60 bpm while sleeping to 140 bpm when you hear that sound that wakes you up. When its all over and done with you realize that you are truly alive. When the big guy decides its your time, its your time. Whether its on the way to work in a car wreck or being eaten by bear, in some ways i dont think we have a choice. Live it, do it, experience it, while you can!