just a few words about watching for bear sign and keeping a clean camp.
a couple years ago i was talking with my outfitter before leaving on a canoe trip about the bear sightings where i was going.
he pointed out a map that was marked with red dots where bears had been reported around but not always right in campsites.
there were only a couple dots.then he flipped the map back and went thru a series of them going back over ten years.as he went back in years the map filled up with red dots.
the change he said was,what he thought,due to the work the local outfitters in Ely MN had done to educate people on the importance of keeping a clean camp and hanging food bags where the bears could not get to them.after a few years the bears stopped coming around so much looking for a easy meal.


this is not the sort of thing i like to find in a camp but with no other bear signs i set up and stayed overnight.