Originally Posted by
andrewclaus
I hiked the Appalachian Trail through NJ and I saw a few black bears there. Frankly, they worry me more than grizz. They're more accustomed to people and there are a lot more of them (both bears and people). There have been more fatal bear attacks in the Eastern seaboard states than in the US Rockies.
There are definitely a good number along the AT in NJ, especially in the lower part through Worthington State Forest. The second one I encountered in the state was at the campground along the river there, only a couple of miles from the AT. Small cub walked up from the river and right across my path as I was riding back to my site from the bathhouse. Mom was nowhere to be seen. Maybe I had just missed her.
A few years ago, farther north in the state, a group of young people were hiking and encountered a bear. They followed it, taking pictures. That apparently made it feel threatened and it went after them. They split up. One of them was later found mauled to death. The article I read made them sound inexperienced with the outdoors. Judging from their behavior, that sounded accurate.
BTW...Amusing story in the AT in NJ. Was car camping at Worthington. A friend and I were doing the Sunfish Pond Loop hike from the campground. Got up to the AT and were making our way along when we heard rustling in a large group of bushes a bit off the trail. Worried that it was a bear. It was definitely something larger than a rodent making noise in the leaves. My friend stats speed walking away, leaving me to figure out things. About a minute later a guy stands up and was clearly pulling up his pants. When you gotta go, you gotta go.
And just last month a young girl was attacked in Great Smokey Mountains NP as she slept in her hammock at a backcountry campground. Her family claimed to have taken all the necessary precautions.