Cowboy,
All joking and poking aside, the first key to avoiding bear encounters is realizing that their senses are as follows:
1. Excellent Smell
2. Very good hearing
3. very poor eyesight
In addition to the usual Bear Smart literture, there are 3 things that youcan do to avoid any unwanted encounters, especially on an extended stay trip in the back country
1. Camp in open spaces whenever possible, find a natural field, valley floor, meadow etc. This will give you good lines of sight and prevent a close encounter in the bush where you or the bear may feel cornered.
2. Keep your dogs on a leash - you do not need a 6 foot walking type leash - I use a 20 foot 3/8inch rope. My dogs walk behind me and the 20 foot lead drags behind them on the ground. If they do see something they want to chase, I have the opportuntiy to get them under control with either my foot or hand. A bear will usually run when the dogs bark, however my grandfather has a large bearskin rug on the wall, when he was deer hunting, his dog went after a large blackbear, (this is in northern ontario where you are allowed to hunt deer with hounds), the bear didn't run but rather chased the dog right back to my grandfather.
3. If you are cooking fish or other odourous foods, put those clothes in your pack, hanging in a tree, rather then wearing them in the tent to bed. Your clothes hold odours well, and a strong fishy smell in your tent means a meal to a bear and nothing else.
Enjoy your trip, stay alert, use common sense and you will have a great time and probably not give the bears a second thought
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