bear country (arctic trip)

[Michael F. Hagen]

Ride to work, who's got work to ride to? Oh well... Mike eBay Red - A18 Crestline, Ca.

[gw42@comcast.net]

Hello ... sorry for the late post, this has been bantered about for some time, but I thought I'd just chime in a couple of pennies worth. We just returned home last week from 5,300 miles in Canada and Alaska on 3 KLRs. The ride was awesome, the scenery incredible, the weather was everything you could imagine. We took a pistol-gripped shotgun into Canada without a hitch (just the $50 permit), and I never saw it displayed. We saw elk, bears, moose, Arctic fox, caribou, musk ox, eagles and rabbits. Not once was there a concern that we were in danger though. The campgrounds were all nicely kept, and the campers needed only practice bear-safe camping to take prevent any worries. I too was very worried about not being able to pack in my handgun for personal proection, but it just wasn;t needed. The animals we spotted were out in their own environs, and although we did have a ranger tell us there were 4 bear sightings near the campground we stayed in (near Lake Louise), we saw no signs of any kind during our 3 day stay. Camping was a pretty easy thing to do, and the trip as a whole was pretty trouble free. I'll be happy to relate some more story if you want to send me an email. All in all, it was an amazing adventure. If you planning '07, I only say "sweet!" ... it'll be a great adventure. gw ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 25 Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2005 19:21:26 -0700 From: "WEST HOVLAND" Subject: Re: Re: Bear Country? Actually Pepper Spray is illegal to bring into Canada as well... I had mine taken away from me in Nighthawk a few years ago. West

----- Original Message ----- From: matteeanne@... To: WEST HOVLAND ; DSN_klr650DSN_klr650@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Monday, July 11, 2005 12:00 AM Subject: Re: [DSN_KLR650] Re: Bear Country? I am still planning my Arctic trip in 07'. I have felt I need to bypass Canada, as they will not allow me to pass through with my hand gun, and I really cannot imagine camping in Alaska without a big gun. The ferry ride to bypass Canada is hella expensive, and I started wondering, What would happen if you sprayed a bear down with Pepper Spray and tazered him? I dont relish the thought of letting a Bear get close enough to either Tazer or Spray, but if it would in fact stop the Bear? Any thoughts/experiences? [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]