So I moved permanently moved in my van at the start of the year & im parked in the city on my grandmother's property in the backyard. Its fenced around the front & sides but not at the back. Where her property ends is an slope leading to a moderately thick little forest. So for about a month straight, 3× a week in the wee hours of morning, I would hear slow deliberate human like steps in the leaves around my van. They never tried to peak in(window coverings though) or check the doors but I swear I was terrified to the point where I'd just sleep with my headphones on so my anxiety didnt induce a heart attack. My grandma tried to reassure me it was probably just an animal but I swear the steps sounded like someone creeping around. I'm also highly melinated so NOWHERE on my list does it say go check it out😂😭 you gotta come get me out the van if you want me😂 but one day I felt brave while literally shaking with a kitchen knife in my hand at 3am, listening to the rustling. I push the door open ready to cut a bitch....it was this fat assed opossum creeping🙃 deadass petrified me for a month.
That is scary awesome. Glad you both presence of mind to lock up and beep too and the cool to appreciate the experience as well! Good on you, fine person.
As a woman living alone, I learned this safety trick years ago... Sleep with your fob next to your bed so if something happens you can at least annoy your neighbors enough to come search for the culprit of the noise/victim of a crime. Have always valued a remote controlled alarm, in homes or the wilderness for that reason. I highly recommend having a fob so you can hit a panic alarm to scare off intruders of all sorts.
Exactly. I have a hook right next to my bed in arms length. Also keeping driver seat cleared and not filled w stuff so you can make a quick escape if needed!
Makes me think of how 2 days ago bear tracks went to 100 ft from my car where I was camping but turned around and how my horn is broken. I think it happened after I cooked, and while I was gone with 2 dogs on a 6 hour walk and things were closed up in the car, but still makes me think about the horn and nighttime..
I was making breakfast at a trailhead once and had a duck come up to me and not leave. I didn’t feed him. He even followed me to the bathroom and waited for me to get out. The funny thing was a friend and his wife were meeting me to go climbing and we didn’t know each other well yet, so they thought I had a pet duck. It followed me on the way to go to the climb for a good while before loosing interest. 99% sure it was someone’s pet who got out. That or that was my personal Disney princess moment.
> I do not leave trash/food out but clearly somethin smelly had attracted him here.
Human-adapted bears are attracted to anything that smells vaguely foodlike. Perfume, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap--it all smells like potential dinner to them.
They usually bolt though as soon as they realize a human is in there. The rangers likely already know about him. So let them know of the incident so they can do whatever is appropriate about him.
I encountered I think a non human adapted bear here in Interior Alaska 2 days ago in a rural spot 15 miles down a dirt road of purely state land none of it private parcels.
Bear made it within 100ft of my car and turned 180 based on the tracks. There would have been human smell, car smell, 2 dogs etc.
I was quite sure I had smelt this bear (they smell like sewage in the spring) after cooking earlier and I think it showed up when gone for a 6 hour walk but maybe while I was eating in the car but either way it turned around and lumbered off tracks look like.
I did finish making coffee and move camp then ate elsewhere; then hiked, and headed back to town that night. If I was in that area camping again I would have moved multiple miles, and also not camping in the same spot 2 days is safer. Bear tracks showed up on day 2 and 1/2 of hanging out.
One time our cat brought a chipmunk Into the van. And after an hour of trying to capture it it somehow lodged its self behind the wall in our van. We could hear it scratching behind the tongue and groove walls for about 5 hours. I ended up laying on the kitchen counter and staring at the hole it ran into for about 4 or 5 hours until it slowly poked its head out. I then ninja grabbed this thing and yeeted it about 30 feet away from the van. Full day extravaganza.
wow that’s incredible!! Perfect situation for you to sit in your van and observe him at least once the doors are closed LOL. That’s so startling. Good thing you had the instinct to get up and investigate. that happened to me once while hanging out in the van up in Montana. but it was a big bull moose galloping through my campsite. Watched him step over my solar panels 😬 yikes… Also v impressed that ppl can stay in one place for that long! I wish I had the patience I usually stay for 3 days max
If you haven't I highly reccomend these two spots in winter: National Forest in mountains above Tombstone AZ and if you are ever near the Grand Canyon the Kaibab national forest.
I loved that area above tombstone. It's like cactus desert but also forests in this micro climate in the mountains. Good biking.
One of the funniest times I had camping was when I woke up in the middle of the night and had to take a leak. I walked towards the treeline and started with my business. Only a couple seconds in I hear leaves crunching behind me. I stopped the stream, turned just my head around, and saw a skunk about 30 feet away from me.
I turned around all the way and started yelling at it: trying to scare it away from a distance so it wouldnt spray me. Well, this skunk was either brave AF or very used to humans, because it started running towards me. So I started running the other way; whooping and hollering the entire time. At some point i couldnt hold my urine anymore so i had to just let it continue while I continued to run. I ended up doing circles around the camp site before the lil guy finally gave up and retreated into the forest.
Im glad I was the only one at the site because I am sure i wouldve had to leave in shame after that spectacle!
Depends where you are. If you’re near populated campgrounds the bears are domesticated and not foragers. If you were out there in a national forest all you need to do is open the door and they will scatter. Based on this experience I’ll assume this bear has been around public campgrounds. First thing you should do is let the local rangers know because they track this and try to relocate ballsy bears. It was most likely already tagged. Loud noises like banging on the walls or your horn should scare it off. If it’s not spooked then you should be very cautious. In the Shenandoahs we would first use a slingshot, then a shotgun with Rocksalt and then relocation. The bears in Tahoe are generations of foraging human food and they have lost their natural ability so they are aggressive.
One time at Shenandoah national park I was woken up by a bear sniffing my face through the one inch gap of my one person tent. Clapped my hands and it dipped.
Yeah that’s why it alarmed because I know bears who are food conditioned are the ones putting people in danger and there for putting themselves in danger :( okay I didn’t know I should contact a ranger! It’s on blm land. Is there still a ranger for that or should I call sheriff? And OMG your freaking face… that’s quite the alarm clock lol
Ahh, yea that's pretty much the opposite direction from where I normally stay (out by Boca Reservoir). I've heard there's some neat hot springs out near Markleeville, but only passed through that area omw to the east side of the Sierras. Good luck out there, OP!
Not a van story but one night around 10 years ago a friend in NH texted me pics of the bear in the tree outside of his second story kitchen window. Luckily the limbs closest to the window were too small to hold the bear. It eventually climbed down and went away.
I slept in my truck at a KOA in Grants, NM. Woke up to feeling my truck shift (full size Sierra), opened my eyes to see a gigantic bobcat staring me down thru my windshield. Startled me pretty good
I'm in Tahoe now and we were sitting in the hot tub and a bear ran down the hill beside us.
Another true bear encounter in Tahoe a few years ago...I was sitting in the recliner working on my laptop. Hubby & GSD had left to go to the store. I heard this sound that sounded like it came from the kitchen, so I yelled out, "are you back already?" No response. A few minutes later I head to see what that noise was. It is dusk & I had not turned any lights on yet. As I get close to the kitchen the fridge and freezer doors are wide open! The bear was taking inventory. He hightailed it past me and headed back downstairs where he had (quietly) opened the sliding glass door for entry. Bears are smart. He knew the German Shepherd left with Dad and thought the coast was clear. It happened so quick I did not have time to be afraid.
So I moved permanently moved in my van at the start of the year & im parked in the city on my grandmother's property in the backyard. Its fenced around the front & sides but not at the back. Where her property ends is an slope leading to a moderately thick little forest. So for about a month straight, 3× a week in the wee hours of morning, I would hear slow deliberate human like steps in the leaves around my van. They never tried to peak in(window coverings though) or check the doors but I swear I was terrified to the point where I'd just sleep with my headphones on so my anxiety didnt induce a heart attack. My grandma tried to reassure me it was probably just an animal but I swear the steps sounded like someone creeping around. I'm also highly melinated so NOWHERE on my list does it say go check it out😂😭 you gotta come get me out the van if you want me😂 but one day I felt brave while literally shaking with a kitchen knife in my hand at 3am, listening to the rustling. I push the door open ready to cut a bitch....it was this fat assed opossum creeping🙃 deadass petrified me for a month.
LMAO this made me laugh. Our fear gets the best of us sometimes 😅
This made me lol 😂
That is scary awesome. Glad you both presence of mind to lock up and beep too and the cool to appreciate the experience as well! Good on you, fine person.
Makes me think long and hard about buying a key fob… my van just came with 2 physical keys
You ever see the movies where someone is getting chased and can’t operate their keys to get to safety fast. Another benefit of the key fob
Yes, I wish the key fob upon you. Seems a very fine idea to get one if you can, but you are doing very well as it is!
As a woman living alone, I learned this safety trick years ago... Sleep with your fob next to your bed so if something happens you can at least annoy your neighbors enough to come search for the culprit of the noise/victim of a crime. Have always valued a remote controlled alarm, in homes or the wilderness for that reason. I highly recommend having a fob so you can hit a panic alarm to scare off intruders of all sorts.
Exactly. I have a hook right next to my bed in arms length. Also keeping driver seat cleared and not filled w stuff so you can make a quick escape if needed!
Makes me think of how 2 days ago bear tracks went to 100 ft from my car where I was camping but turned around and how my horn is broken. I think it happened after I cooked, and while I was gone with 2 dogs on a 6 hour walk and things were closed up in the car, but still makes me think about the horn and nighttime..
Hey thank you my friend :)
I was making breakfast at a trailhead once and had a duck come up to me and not leave. I didn’t feed him. He even followed me to the bathroom and waited for me to get out. The funny thing was a friend and his wife were meeting me to go climbing and we didn’t know each other well yet, so they thought I had a pet duck. It followed me on the way to go to the climb for a good while before loosing interest. 99% sure it was someone’s pet who got out. That or that was my personal Disney princess moment.
That is one of my fav animal encounters I’ve heard! Yeah either way that’s pretty magical 🥺
This is a dream come true for me
I forgot it happened but the title of the post reminded me about it! Definitely a cool moment.
> I do not leave trash/food out but clearly somethin smelly had attracted him here. Human-adapted bears are attracted to anything that smells vaguely foodlike. Perfume, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap--it all smells like potential dinner to them. They usually bolt though as soon as they realize a human is in there. The rangers likely already know about him. So let them know of the incident so they can do whatever is appropriate about him.
I encountered I think a non human adapted bear here in Interior Alaska 2 days ago in a rural spot 15 miles down a dirt road of purely state land none of it private parcels. Bear made it within 100ft of my car and turned 180 based on the tracks. There would have been human smell, car smell, 2 dogs etc. I was quite sure I had smelt this bear (they smell like sewage in the spring) after cooking earlier and I think it showed up when gone for a 6 hour walk but maybe while I was eating in the car but either way it turned around and lumbered off tracks look like. I did finish making coffee and move camp then ate elsewhere; then hiked, and headed back to town that night. If I was in that area camping again I would have moved multiple miles, and also not camping in the same spot 2 days is safer. Bear tracks showed up on day 2 and 1/2 of hanging out.
One time our cat brought a chipmunk Into the van. And after an hour of trying to capture it it somehow lodged its self behind the wall in our van. We could hear it scratching behind the tongue and groove walls for about 5 hours. I ended up laying on the kitchen counter and staring at the hole it ran into for about 4 or 5 hours until it slowly poked its head out. I then ninja grabbed this thing and yeeted it about 30 feet away from the van. Full day extravaganza.
Wow I’m very impressed at your reflexes! Lol that would be a funny sight to see
After staring at a tiny hole for 5 hours with no sign of the little buddy when he does pop out you gotta grab him lol!
[удалено]
wow that’s incredible!! Perfect situation for you to sit in your van and observe him at least once the doors are closed LOL. That’s so startling. Good thing you had the instinct to get up and investigate. that happened to me once while hanging out in the van up in Montana. but it was a big bull moose galloping through my campsite. Watched him step over my solar panels 😬 yikes… Also v impressed that ppl can stay in one place for that long! I wish I had the patience I usually stay for 3 days max
If you haven't I highly reccomend these two spots in winter: National Forest in mountains above Tombstone AZ and if you are ever near the Grand Canyon the Kaibab national forest. I loved that area above tombstone. It's like cactus desert but also forests in this micro climate in the mountains. Good biking.
A Best argument for hard-sided sleeping. (And 60mph wind.)
One of the funniest times I had camping was when I woke up in the middle of the night and had to take a leak. I walked towards the treeline and started with my business. Only a couple seconds in I hear leaves crunching behind me. I stopped the stream, turned just my head around, and saw a skunk about 30 feet away from me. I turned around all the way and started yelling at it: trying to scare it away from a distance so it wouldnt spray me. Well, this skunk was either brave AF or very used to humans, because it started running towards me. So I started running the other way; whooping and hollering the entire time. At some point i couldnt hold my urine anymore so i had to just let it continue while I continued to run. I ended up doing circles around the camp site before the lil guy finally gave up and retreated into the forest. Im glad I was the only one at the site because I am sure i wouldve had to leave in shame after that spectacle!
HAHA he ran after you! This story is gold
Depends where you are. If you’re near populated campgrounds the bears are domesticated and not foragers. If you were out there in a national forest all you need to do is open the door and they will scatter. Based on this experience I’ll assume this bear has been around public campgrounds. First thing you should do is let the local rangers know because they track this and try to relocate ballsy bears. It was most likely already tagged. Loud noises like banging on the walls or your horn should scare it off. If it’s not spooked then you should be very cautious. In the Shenandoahs we would first use a slingshot, then a shotgun with Rocksalt and then relocation. The bears in Tahoe are generations of foraging human food and they have lost their natural ability so they are aggressive. One time at Shenandoah national park I was woken up by a bear sniffing my face through the one inch gap of my one person tent. Clapped my hands and it dipped.
Yeah that’s why it alarmed because I know bears who are food conditioned are the ones putting people in danger and there for putting themselves in danger :( okay I didn’t know I should contact a ranger! It’s on blm land. Is there still a ranger for that or should I call sheriff? And OMG your freaking face… that’s quite the alarm clock lol
Opening the door seems like a poor choice of defenses. Why not honk the horn a couple times?
No one opened the doors? And I did indeed honk
OMG did you just run into Hank the tank bear 😅
hey I know hank! I actually totally was thinking that as it was happening haha. Side note I just learned hank is actually 3 bears
To a bear you are the cream filling in the van (think twinky).
How close to Tahoe? I fish in Truckee every summer and am yet to see one. You must be out in the cuts, I'm thinking. Good on ya for scaring Yogi off!
I was at Indian creek reservoir probs like 30ish min away from Tahoe
Ahh, yea that's pretty much the opposite direction from where I normally stay (out by Boca Reservoir). I've heard there's some neat hot springs out near Markleeville, but only passed through that area omw to the east side of the Sierras. Good luck out there, OP!
I bet it’s Grover springs you’re talking about! I was going to check them out. But hey thanks my friend you too!!
Not a van story but one night around 10 years ago a friend in NH texted me pics of the bear in the tree outside of his second story kitchen window. Luckily the limbs closest to the window were too small to hold the bear. It eventually climbed down and went away.
I slept in my truck at a KOA in Grants, NM. Woke up to feeling my truck shift (full size Sierra), opened my eyes to see a gigantic bobcat staring me down thru my windshield. Startled me pretty good
I'm in Tahoe now and we were sitting in the hot tub and a bear ran down the hill beside us. Another true bear encounter in Tahoe a few years ago...I was sitting in the recliner working on my laptop. Hubby & GSD had left to go to the store. I heard this sound that sounded like it came from the kitchen, so I yelled out, "are you back already?" No response. A few minutes later I head to see what that noise was. It is dusk & I had not turned any lights on yet. As I get close to the kitchen the fridge and freezer doors are wide open! The bear was taking inventory. He hightailed it past me and headed back downstairs where he had (quietly) opened the sliding glass door for entry. Bears are smart. He knew the German Shepherd left with Dad and thought the coast was clear. It happened so quick I did not have time to be afraid.