Moutcha Bay 2007 Derby

Then I'm pretty sure we'll be on that 5:45 to Nanaimo.
Fishin-T

Sweet. The wife, dog, and I will be on the 5:15 so I'm sure we'll meet somewhere on the road. We'll be the Black Honda CRV with the red yak and big Husky in the back.

Z

Z - if you're bringing the dog make sure you have a certificate of rabies vaccination so you can get him/her across the border.  I had my vet make me a copy yesterday as I never like road trippin without my furry friend.

For those of you bring dogs, please be aware that there are a lot of bear in this area, and they will come right into the camp.  Both Fishin-T and Danglin have told me stories to this effect.

-Allen

make sure you have a certificate of rabies vaccination so you can get him/her across the border.

Check!

bear in this area, and they will come right into the camp.

Crazy about the bears cruisin into the camp area. You may have just made my wife sleep in the car the entire time.

Serious question though. Is everyone bringing food to cook etc.? And where will our catches be stored? I ask because if we bring food and store fish then there will be a BIG problem with bears. In Yosemite the bears will rip through cars to get to food.

Z

Yes, bringing and eating food.  Stored in cooler in the van.  Charles is sleeping in the van so if the bears try to break in, well, he can fend them off.

Apparently Moutcha has a freezer we can store fish in.  T, can you confirm this?

-Allen

Zee,

For real, there are bears that came to the perimeter of the campgrounds in the night last year.  There was also a dog on hand that seemed to have the job of dealing with bears in the night.  Somebody told us that he was a breed that was bred to be unafraid of bears, again for real.  I don't know if he'll be there this year or not.  I'm pretty sure that what brings them close to camp is the smell of the cleaning station down on the boat dock, and the fact that the salmon are there in general.  On the plus side, the dogs were totally effective last year and no bear ever got into anyones food that I'm aware of.

We all know that guns aren't allowed to be carried across the border, but BEAR SPRAY is ALSO not allowed.  To be legal, you'll need to buy some up there if you feel like you really need it.  I'm certain that the tackle shop in Campbell River will have it for maybe $30 to $40.  Myself, I am not overly concerned about them because these are some truly wild bears and unlike at Yosemite etc, they are not used to confronting people except during hunting season.  I'm convinced that they have quite a different mind-set than their Nat. Park brothers, but I hear ya, and no... I don't like to push my luck either.  I'll leave the bacon in an ice chest outdoors overnight, and not under my pillow like at home, and if they get it they get it, but I'm really not worried that will happen.

As far as where the fish stay overnight... Moutcha Jim has a big chest style freezer that any guest can use.  I'm bringing my own big ice chest because Jim's got really full last year and we have even more people this year.

Fishin-T

Hmmm ... I think we may have decided to just leave really early in the morning ... like 2:30 or 3.  Something about sleeping on the ground next to your car vs. sleeping in your own bed and just dealing with waking up early.

Are you sure about the gun thing.  I've crossed the border (a long time ago) with a shotgun.  The I did declare it and they had no problems with that.  Handguns would be another issue.  Not that I want anyone running around camp taking shots at a bear ...

-Allen

Thanks T & Pole2 for the info. I'm not too concerned since these are "wild bears" and not the ones used to humans. I guess I envisioned a place that regularly puts out a lot of fish and the bears moseying into town for easy snacks. Glad to hear that's not the case. I ran into good sized Black Bears once in Oregon and they all took off the second we saw them.

Unfortunately my dog won't be the bear alarm. We adopted him just over 2 weeks ago from a shelter so is a bit of a chicken still. He's more a people dog.

Z

Putting reports from the derby here ... http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=533.msg3437 as this planning thread has gotten really long.

-Allen