getting a little tired of the crack/meth heads

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Yes, I do this every time.

Usually let my kids take turns shooting them off. It's a fun little tradition to start a hike and I like letting wildlife know we're coming through so they can sort themselves out. Like...maybe blame Canadian Tire and all the other outdoorsy places that sell them? It's not like I designed these things in my garage. They're literally sold in stores everywhere so you can scare bears away haha. How am I the #######?

Immediately followed by:

Originally Posted by Sliver

I also have some flares in my backpack that shoot coloured smoke or something. I'm dying to blast one of those off, but I don't want to have a helicopter show up or for somebody to think we're in need of rescue. Maybe I'll shoot one off from Invermere at the lake when I'm there this winter. I always blast some fireworks on Family Day weekend there and that's probably my best time to try out the flare.

So you DO understand that you can/are abusing/misusing emergency situation response items, but choose to do it anyhow? That is why/how YTA.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

First instance of: Water - tree - mountain - traffic pullout - other people doing it!

Yup it's this.

It's the first pull out space with a view, the giant plant be damned.

I do the equivalent of that all the time on hikes where I snap a picture of the first angle/view I get when there are way better viewpoints ahead and it ends up being wasteful.

I don't blame people from Sask or Ontario driving the 1 to banff for the first time stopping there. If it keeps those suckers off the road and out of the way for me, then all the better!

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Yup it's this.

It's the first pull out space with a view, the giant plant be damned.

I do the equivalent of that all the time on hikes where I snap a picture of the first angle/view I get when there are way better viewpoints ahead and it ends up being wasteful.

I don't blame people from Sask or Ontario driving the 1 to banff for the first time stopping there.

I love it because it guarantees that the struggling tourist drivers I'm stuck behind are getting out of my way.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

What does this have to do with crackheads though?

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

I love it because it guarantees that the struggling tourist drivers I'm stuck behind are getting out of my way.

Precisely!

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

What does this have to do with crackheads though?

c-train station - crime - bear spray - Sliver ...

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

c-train station - crime - bear spray - Sliver ...

Got it.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by 2Stonedbirds

Bells work too. Or fat kids.

I don't have to out-run the bear, I just have to out-run you.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

Yup it's this.

It's the first pull out space with a view, the giant plant be damned.

I do the equivalent of that all the time on hikes where I snap a picture of the first angle/view I get when there are way better viewpoints ahead and it ends up being wasteful.

I don't blame people from Sask or Ontario driving the 1 to banff for the first time stopping there. If it keeps those suckers off the road and out of the way for me, then all the better!

I think taking a pic on a hike is quite a bit different, you just stop walking, pull out the phone for a second, and then keep it moving. And I feel like you probably wouldn't do that if there was a giant industrial plant in the middle of the pic... unless you're sightseeing for some industrial plants.

I never stop at pullouts, so I guess I just consider it a massive inconvenience, and doing that + rolling the whole family out for a picture in front of this industrial eyesore just seems... funny.

I'm also not someone that returns from a vacation with 1000 pictures, so maybe I'm not meant to understand.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

I've yet to come across an aggressive bear that was threatening in its behaviour, and I'm at probably over a dozen encounters.

Find it amusing when people have this murder machine/boogeyman perception of them. As if their sole purpose for being in the forest is being there to "get" you lol.

Obviously you don't want to be stupid when they do appear, and use recommended practices to not place yourself in a situation where the bear will be taken off guard by your presence, but..

Seems like another instance of the Jaws effect, where Hollywood has negatively impacted people's perceptions of a particular animal.

At this point I'm more wary of elk than bears.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

I've yet to come across an aggressive bear that was threatening in its behaviour, and I'm at probably over a dozen encounters.

Find it amusing when people have this murder machine/boogeyman perception of them. As if their sole purpose for being in the forest is being there to "get" you lol.

Obviously you don't want to be stupid when they do appear, and use recommended practices to not place yourself in a situation where the bear will be taken off guard by your presence, but..

Seems like another instance of the Jaws effect, where Hollywood has negatively impacted people's perceptions of a particular animal.

At this point I'm more wary of elk than bears.

It's not just bears to be worried about anymore, it's bears on cocaine.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

I think taking a pic on a hike is quite a bit different, you just stop walking, pull out the phone for a second, and then keep it moving. And I feel like you probably wouldn't do that if there was a giant industrial plant in the middle of the pic... unless you're sightseeing for some industrial plants.

I never stop at pullouts, so I guess I just consider it a massive inconvenience, and doing that + rolling the whole family out for a picture in front of this industrial eyesore just seems... funny.

I'm also not someone that returns from a vacation with 1000 pictures, so maybe I'm not meant to understand.

Oh don't get me wrong, it's funny every time to watch tourists posing with their groups in front of an industrial plant and imagining the nature captions/hashtags that they're throwing in the captions.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Immediately followed by:

So you DO understand that you can/are abusing/misusing emergency situation response items, but choose to do it anyhow? That is why/how YTA.

Not everything needs to be viewed through a 911 call centre emergency bootlicker lens.

I'm not "abusing" anything. I'm blasting off a bear banger because it's fun and they're meant to be used to scare away bears. Guess what I'm using it for? To scare away bears. Would most people use one only if a bear was right in front of them? Sure, but most people are lame.

I've blasted them off in the parking lot at trail heads. I've blasted them off in that big canyon at Grotto. People always fkn love it. They're hilariously awesome and you're totally allowed to do it. Is it against the recommendation of Parks Canada? Sure, they don't want everyone doing that crap. But I'm literally the only guy I've ever known or heard of that does this, so it's really not an issue you need to worry about. In fact, I've never even met another human being who has even shot off a bear banger. If they did, they'd realize how rad they are.

Know how I know you're a total no-fun nerd? Because you #### on everything that is fun unless it explicitly states in the nerd rulebook that you're allowed to do it. Grey area? You flap around like I just beat up your sister.

I do like your car, though, so I know we have some common ground.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

c-train station - crime - bear spray - Sliver ...

What kind of cognitive test is this?

[timun]

Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica ?

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by topfiverecords

c-train station - crime - bear spray - Sliver ...

Originally Posted by Wormius

What kind of cognitive test is this?

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Not everything needs to be viewed through a 911 call centre emergency bootlicker lens.

I'm not "abusing" anything. I'm blasting off a bear banger because it's fun and they're meant to be used to scare away bears. Guess what I'm using it for? To scare away bears. Would most people use one only if a bear was right in front of them? Sure, but most people are lame.

I've blasted them off in the parking lot at trail heads. I've blasted them off in that big canyon at Grotto. People always fkn love it. They're hilariously awesome and you're totally allowed to do it. Is it against the recommendation of Parks Canada? Sure, they don't want everyone doing that crap. But I'm literally the only guy I've ever known or heard of that does this, so it's really not an issue you need to worry about. In fact, I've never even met another human being who has even shot off a bear banger. If they did, they'd realize how rad they are.

Know how I know you're a total no-fun nerd? Because you #### on everything that is fun unless it explicitly states in the nerd rulebook that you're allowed to do it. Grey area? You flap around like I just beat up your sister.

I do like your car, though, so I know we have some common ground.

You said you got a dirty look, so not everyone loves it.

The reason you are doing this has nbothing to do with bears, it's obvious.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

You said you got a dirty look, so not everyone loves it.

The reason you are doing this has nbothing to do with bears, it's obvious.

I don't consider losers to be people, so I wasn't counting him.

It's to scare away bears. And it's fun. Both things can be true.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Slava

So we can never warn a bear (using a bear banger or anything else), lest it might run away and into someone else hiking that we're not aware of? What kind of logic is this?

If you see the bear you know where it is and where it likely came from so you know it's not running back to anyone.

If you just set off a noisemaker you aren't accomplishing anything.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by TrentCrimmIndependent

I've yet to come across an aggressive bear that was threatening in its behaviour, and I'm at probably over a dozen encounters.

Find it amusing when people have this murder machine/boogeyman perception of them. As if their sole purpose for being in the forest is being there to "get" you lol.

Obviously you don't want to be stupid when they do appear, and use recommended practices to not place yourself in a situation where the bear will be taken off guard by your presence, but..

Seems like another instance of the Jaws effect, where Hollywood has negatively impacted people's perceptions of a particular animal.

At this point I'm more wary of elk than bears.

Yeah, I've seen hundreds of bears, some face to face. They just ain't interested in me.

IIRC mountain bikers are inordinately attacked by bears because they are relatively quiet in approach and come up to the more suddenly.