Green Mountain Club

Maintaining & Protecting Vermont's Long Trail Since 1910

  • About
    • The Green Mountain Club
      • Bylaws
      • Annual Reports
      • Strategic Plan
    • Visitor Center
    • Barnes Camp Visitor Center
    • GMC Rental Cabins
    • Board of Directors
    • GMC Staff
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Corporate Sponsors
    • Our Business Partners
    • Contact Us
  • Hiking
    • Trail Updates
    • Winter Hiking
      • Hiking 101
    • Trail Systems
      • The Long Trail
      • Appalachian Trail in Vermont
      • Kingdom Heritage Trails in the Northeast Kingdom
    • HikeVT
    • Accessible Trails around Vermont
    • Thru-Hike the Long Trail
    • Hiking in Groups
    • Trip Planning
    • Mud Season
    • Fall Hiking
    • Guidebooks, Maps & Gear
  • Conservation
    • Protecting the Long Trail
    • Land Conservation
    • Field Programs
    • Burrows Trail Project
    • Regional Partnerships
  • Education & Events
    • Events & Workshops
    • Service Learning & Group Outings
    • Calendar of Events & Outings
    • Leave No Trace
    • Wildlife along the Trails
  • News
    • Trail Updates
    • Blog
    • Long Trail News
    • Press Releases
  • Volunteer
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Reports
    • Application
  • Donate
    • Ways to Give
    • Long Trail Legacy Campaign
    • Donate Now
  • Members
    • Become a Member
    • Your Membership Benefits
    • Join a Section
    • Business Membership
    • Annual Meeting
  • Shop

Be Bear Aware

May 5, 2016 by Alicia DiCocco 8 Comments

The mountains and forests that make for great hiking and camping also serve as prime bear habitat. While living and recreating with bears is nothing new in Vermont and negative incidents in the backcountry are rare, it is important to remember that they do occur. This is the time of year in Vermont where you start to hear about bear activity in the mountains.

Black bearThe Green Mountain Club worked with agency partners from Vermont Fish & Wildlife, Vermont Department of Public Safety, and Forests, Parks and Recreation to install bear-safe food storage containers and signs educating hikers about proper food preparation and storage in the backcountry.

Bears are opportunists; they are attracted to food and smells found at campsites and if rewarded with successful foraging, can become habituated to human food. Following Leave No Trace Principles and keeping food secure will allow hikers to be able to continue to camp in bear active areas.

These simple guidelines will ensure the safety of you, hikers following in your footsteps, and bears who inhabit the area around you:

  • Cook meals away from your tent or shelter.
  • Do not eat in your tent or shelter.
  • Do not leave food scraps when preparing your meal or cleaning up.
  • Secure food and other smellables (toothpaste, soap, deodorant, bug spray, etc.) in a bear-proof container or hang it in a tree at least 100 feet away from camp.
  • Pack out and properly dispose of all garbage and waste.
  • Do not store or leave food in shelters or at tent sites. (Cans hanging in shelters should not be used for food storage.)
  • If a bear enters your campsite, yell and make noise to scare it away.

While bears can be dangerous and have the capacity to hurt humans, they are typically shy and elusive. More often than not, they will sense your presence in the woods and move away without you ever knowing they were there.

In rare cases, when you do see a bear, you can do the following to keep yourself and the bear safe:

  • Remain calm.
  • Back away slowly and maintain eye contact.
  • If a bear approaches you, make noise, wave your arms above your head, and try to scare it away.
  • Do not turn and run, as this may trigger the bear’s instinct to chase you.
  • If attacked, fight back with all means available and do not play dead.

Hikers on Vermont’s trails have coexisted safely with bears and other wildlife for generations. This is one of the reasons that many of us enjoy spending time in Vermont’s woods. It is our responsibility to be bear aware and to keep food secure in order to protect ourselves and keep the bears safe and wild.

For more information on living and recreating with black bears, please visit the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department website.

Filed Under: News

Comments

  1. Patricia Wells says

    October 14, 2018 at 8:12 am

    Thanks for the information on Black Bears. I have a camp in Corinth and hike with my dog on numerous occasions. I am aware that I may very well meet a bear one of these times, so information I can get will be helpful.

    Reply
  2. Katie says

    March 25, 2019 at 10:38 am

    I know in the Adirondacks the BearVault canisters are not allowed since the black bears seek them out. Is this the case along the LT, particularly in the southern section in the Green Mountains? Or are BearVaults ok?

    Reply
    • Kristin McLane says

      March 25, 2019 at 10:52 am

      Bear canisters are not required in the Green Mountains so there are no rules around which containers to use.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Protecting Your Food From Bears - Green Mountain Club says:
    June 23, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    […] In order to protect yourself and other hikers, and to protect the bears, please secure all your food and other scented items while camping.  Non-food scented items include trash, toiletries like lip balm or sunscreen, your cookpot, etc.  The harder we make it for bears to get our food, the less they will associate food with humans and seek them out. […]

    Reply
  2. Being a Good Hiking Citizen - Green Mountain Club says:
    June 14, 2018 at 11:52 am

    […] Bears are becoming more numerous and more active. Though usually shy and unaggressive, bears that have sampled human food can become dangerous, putting their lives at risk. Help bears stay safe: […]

    Reply
  3. A Questionnaire for the Bear - Green Mountain Club says:
    June 28, 2018 at 8:15 am

    […] you’re not sure of correct human behavior around bears, please check out our previous blogs: Be Bear Aware and Protecting Your Food From […]

    Reply
  4. BEARS ON THE TRAILS - Linda Freeman Fitness says:
    August 12, 2018 at 1:18 pm

    […] GMC post says this: Bears are becoming more numerous and more active. Though usually shy and unaggressive, bears that have sampled human food can become dangerous, […]

    Reply
  5. 30 Practical Tips for Hiking the Long Trail VT » Roaming Nanny says:
    September 10, 2020 at 9:33 am

    […] For more information about bears and what to do refer to this short post from the Green Mountain Club. […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave No Trace, Then and Now: a Timeline of Trail Etiquette Language

March 1, 2023

This article previously appeared in the Winter 2022 Long Trail News, under the headline “Leave No Trace: Then and Now.” It was written by Sasha Weilbaker. To celebrate 100 years of the Long Trail News, we read back issues to learn what they said about trail stewardship and etiquette. The seven … Read more

About Mud Season HikeVT Trail Recommendations Become a Member Trip Planning Trail Maps Volunteer Opportunities

Mission

The Green Mountain Club is the founder and maintainer of the Long Trail - the oldest long distance hiking trail in America. Established in 1910 to build this trail stretching the length of Vermont, the club now also maintains the Appalachian Trail in Vermont and trails in the Northeast Kingdom in its mission to "make the Vermont mountains play a larger part in the life of the people." Read more...

Featured Sponsors

jfghr-lohgo-topo OG
jfghr-lohgo-topo OG
Lenny's Shoe & Apparel logo
Lennys-Logo
Athletic_Primary_WhiteBG
Athletic_Primary_WhiteBG
Sunsoil logo
SUNSOIL_black_Large
Sunset Lake CBD logo
sunset lake cbd web logo
bbco
concept2

Connect

4711 Waterbury-Stowe Road
Waterbury Center, Vermont 05677
802.244.7037 | Email GMC

Click here for current hours.
Email us for hiking advice. 

Copyright © 2023 Green Mountain Club · All Rights Reserved. · Site by Earthlogic.