>>3190504The goal is just go by the best bear safety practices. Store your food away from the tent either in a locker or in a tree, don't eat in your tent, etc. Hiking solo is the most likely time you'll run into a bear on the trail, but I've found it to be such a rare occasion. I carry bear spray but haven't yet had to use it. The few times I have run into a bear they are typically very uninterested in me and they just continue foraging as if I wasn't there.
That said, shit could always go down. But the risks of being in bear country are far more exaggerated than anything. It's a much safer activity than driving to work, but being mauled by a bear makes a far better news story than a fatal car crash so it's become a part of our modern culture that leaves a large percentage of people literally afraid to go outside.
Now I have heard some stories about flying squirrels destroying your hanging food in Canada. That would suck to wake up and have all your food torn to shreds.
Another shot on Provia, I possibly posted this the last time I made a thread.
