I faced a huge black bear at about 25’ while leaving camp in NW PA. It had raided the dumpsters earlier. Thought he had left the area. I was wrong. Not the way I wanted to start the morning. I estimate he was over 600 lbs. It was mid-September, so he was fattening up for the winter. He had obviously walked close to my tent on his way to the dumpsters because there was a fresh pile of scat about 15’ from the tent.
Here is the dumpster after the bear went about his business. Speaking of business, you can see a large pile of scat on the ground on the left near the plastic plate. The campground literally abuts the Allegheny National Forest, a place that is known to have a bear or many. (Interestingly, it also about FCI McKean which is where actor Wesley Snipes served his sentence for tax evasion.) As you can see from the dumpster on the left, they know they have bear "issues," but they apparently won't invest in proper receptacles. I have done a lot of touring out west, where this kind of situation could get people injured or killed. I will never stay at that place again.
