The Bear Bell

If you are new to the outdoors and have not hiked in the mountains away from the mainstream highways, one of the things a novice back country hiker fears is the possibility of encountering a bear on the trail.  What will you do?  What will the bear do? How can I escape?  How can I scare it away?    Are there cubs nearby?  These and other questions plant seeds of fear in the novice hiker’s mind.

When I was a teenager in the 1950’s, the National Park Service said there were only 300 black bears in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  On a day hike last summer to the Walker Sister’s Cabin, the ranger said he thought the number was now between 1,500 – 1,800 bears or about two per square mile.  Looks like the bears are doing pretty good; maybe because of a steady diet of hikers.  Just kidding!

Although it is a possibility you’ll encounter a bear in the GSMNP and most other mountains of the southern Appalachians, it is not a common occurrence.  I can remember back in my childhood driving from Gatlinburg up to Newfound Gap with my family.  It was not uncommon to see a dozen or more bears foraging through the open top garbage cans that were routinely used back in the 1950’s.  Today, with bear-proof garbage containers such spotting of bears seldom happens, but bears still prowl around cabins and businesses in Gatlinburg looking for human food scraps.   The truth of the matter is that wild bear would rather avoid humans than encounter them.  Of the hundreds of miles of trail I’ve hiked in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia I can only remember about ten times that I’ve actually encountered a bear on the trail and only a couple where I was fearful.

When I began backpacking, someone told me that nobody likes surprises, especially bears.  They suggested that one of the best things to do is make noise as you hike along the trail; whistling a happy tune, singing a song or talking loudly were all suggested as options.  Another suggestion was to attach a small high pitched bell to my pack frame so that it would ring as the rhythm of my steps jostled the pack back and forth.  Since I did a lot of solo backpacking back in those days, I did as suggested and found a small brass bell that became my “bear bell” and remained attached to my pack frame for many years. 

It seemed to work very well because there was only one time when I was backpacking solo that I encountered a bear fact-to-face on the trail.  All my other encounters were at a campsite or on a day hike without the “bear bell” on my pack frame.  As I hiked alone, the “bear bell” was constantly ringing out a different sound, one not common to the woods and one that might be saying to the bears, “Hey bear, better watch out for someone different is coming your way.”

I think the principle of the “bear bell” is also true of the Christian walk.  If the Christian lives by the teachings of Christ in his everyday walk it sends out a signal that others can see and hear.  It’s message to non-believers as well as to other Christians that you are walking down life’s trail in obedience to Jesus Christ and his teachings.  Your actions ring out “clear as a bell” that you live by a different standard than most of the world.  
 

Yes, there are real bears in the woods of the southern mountains and if you venture into the woods you might encounter one.  But I can assure you that you won’t have to go into the woods to meet “bears of temptation, bears of anger, bears of doubt, and many other bears that can cause you trouble.” You’ll most likely encounter one just about every day of your earthly life.  The challenge is to commit your life daily to Jesus Christ and live for Him.  Let your actions and words ring out like a “bear bell”…….. “Hey world watch out, because someone different is on this trail!”

Now, let's ramble!

 

PS  The only bear I every met head-to-head on the trail was down in north Georgia.  I was hiking on a smooth, sandy, flat ridge , headed south at  a fast clip, taking advantage of the easy terrain.  The trail was carved through a laurel thicket.  The bear (unknown to me) was headed north toward me at a good rate of speed through the same thicket.  We met at a curve in the trail.  The curvature of the trail and the thick laurel prevented either of us hearing or seeing each other until we met in the curve. We were just a few feet apart when we spotted each other.  I immediately threw up my hands and shouted “HEY BEAR!” The startled bear immediately plunged off the trail, crashing head-long into the laurel thicket and soon disappeared.  I could hear him crashing through the brush for a minute or two. My heart was pounding and no doubt it probably scared him as badly as it scared me.