June 6, 2007
ARMED AND READY TO RUN … er, WRITE
Among my personal backcountry running arsenal — bear bangers, cell phone, and pepper spray — to deal with problems such as the one in post below. Or whatever else may arise.
I tested one of these puppies yesterday, and oy ….it makes a gal feel good to be in control of so much rocket-power 
Amazing what you can shoot out of a pen-size flare launcher.
But fear not friends — I’m not out to terrorize the local wildlife. My test-firing yesterday was two-fold. My hero uses these cartridges in my WIP, and I needed to know what it felt …. and sounded … like.
Posted by Loreth @ 2:37 pm | Uncategorized
Toni Anderson Says:
Sheesh!!
Be careful!!! Did I ever tell you my bear banger story? I bet I did
My banger shot out of a gun thing that looked like a revolver. I’d rather meet a bear than a cougar too.
Loreth Says:
LOL — much easier to run with a pencil flare and rockets in your bum bag than with a gun and rockets
You’ll have to refresh us on your banger story??
Jessica Raymond Says:
I think that’s a perfectly valid reason
Jess x
Toni Anderson Says:
I was at a small waterfall in deepest northern Labrador. Been there every day for six weeks. Suddenly (the first time in six weeks I’d needed the facilities) a black bear saunters down to the falls. The next day I arrange to get one of those revolver things complete with a two second lesson from some guy on how to use them.
Next day, same time, the bear comes back, so we head up to the rocks on top of the falls (3 of us in waders and stinking of Arctic charr) and watch this bear approach from a long way down the valley–I load my firework and thread the cap. Caroline forgets her camera and nips down the rocks to the coolers holding the equipment below. Starts shouting, ‘A bear, a bear!’ Well we already know there’s a bear, except she means another one that must have been watching us the whole time and came out to explore when we moved fifteen feet away. And THEN, I turn around and there’s another black bear strolling down the river towards us.
I got on the radio but my pilot (23) just sniggered and said he was refueling and it would be at least 7 minutes before he come come…seven minutes??? We were within twenty feet of three hungry black bears wearing waders (me not the bears). I fired a rocket straight between the bear’s ears, very impressive shot considering my hands were shaking and then this big helicopter, the type they used in ‘Nam roared overhead and the pilot saved the day. I saw this massive black bear run up a scree hill as fast as any racehorse I’ve ever seen. I have a serious respect for bear power.
Long story LOL. Happy memories, mainly because I didn’t jump in and drown in my waders