It appears that there are quite a few bears in this part of the country, although I have yet to see one, I have seen bear tracks and bear scat. One responsibility of the AT hiker is to maintain a campsite that does not attract bears. At the end of each day, I place all scented items in a waterproof bag and hang it from a tree as described below:
I’ve hung my bag in this manner about 40 times so far without event (note the orange bag in the tree):
I met a fellow at my parent’s place in NC. He had hiked the southern Appalachian trail in 1969 and described the shelter scene in those days as much less tidy, with open garbage piles and regular bear visits.
It seems like we’ve made some progress since those days.
Although I wouldn’t mind seeing a bear from a distance, if I don’t see one, that would be just fine…
A few more flowers:
kevin hikes 
Uncle Bill and I still use flip phones. Some of the smart phones apps make them really tempting, but neither one of us wants to go through that learning curve. Now this. Who would have guessed you’ve been taking these beautiful photos with a cell phone?!
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Might be time to go high tech!! Bill could get a golfing app on his phone that could track some of tee shots that get away 🙂
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Does “scented” include dirty socks?
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Nope, those are more toxic than bear spray so I use them for protection
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