GEAR GUY: Ken Berg
Animal encounters can be certainly be a highlight of a trip into the outdoors or (in rare cases) it can lead to disaster for you and/or the animal. Here is some gear that you can bring with you to make the most of the encounters that you have.
FOOD STORAGE
Common sense precautions to keep animals from becoming habituated to humans and prevent an unwanted visitor to your tent include never feeding a wild animal, keeping your campsite/wild areas clean and adhering to proper food storage. Food should be about 100m from your campsite and downwind where possible. Use a sturdy stuff sack and a scent-proof bag to further dissuade bears and rodents from finding your goodies. Take about 30m of rope to suspend the bag 3-5m off the ground, 2m from the trunk and 1m below any branches. The quickest method is to tie one end of the cord to a small stick or a bag with a rock in it, and toss it over a thick branch. Haul up the food bag and tie it off to the tree. Where there are no trees it may be possible to suspend the bag over a steep cliff.
ENCOUNTERS Scent-proof bags like Loksak Odour Proof Barrier Bags, Bear Vault’s Bear Resistant Food Containers, Garcia Machine Backpacker’s Cache and Ursack’s bear resistant bags also help out rodents and other animals.
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
Many times when you see animals you only have a few moments to get a shot before they run off or fly away. So be ready. If you’re using a DSLR, have your telephoto lens on and your camera set up for an action shot (either pick an appropriate shutter speed or have as low a number in aperture priority mode, set ISO at around 800). Most people don’t have lenses goes beyond a focal length of 200mm, so a solution is to get a lens extender; you’ll likely lose some sharpness, but they’ll double your focal length at a fraction of the cost.
BINOCULARS
When looking at binoculars, the first number represents the magnification and
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Ken grew up on the doorstep of the Canadian wilderness, backpacking, paddling and rock climb-ing in this rugged land. Armed with a degree in recreational studies, he has been working at Canada's premier outdoor retailer for the last 10 years, putting gear to the test whether it's cycling in -35ºC winters, running marathons or travelling to the far reaches of the planet.
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the second represents the objective lens diameter. You’ll want a magnification of around 8 or 9 for wildlife viewing (going higher than that will usually require a monopod or tripod to stay steady). In general, the higher the objective lens number, the brighter and sharper the image but will also make it bigger, heavier and more expensive. You’re better off going into a store where you try a few out and see what the differences are for yourself.
BEAR SPRAY
A few things can help you make your decision as to whether to carry a bear spray when going into bear country: how prevalent are bears in the area that you’re headed to, and how common bear encounters are. If you’re going to polar bear territory, don’t even bother. If you’re going to take bear spray with you, it’d make sense to get a holster for it – if it’s in your pack, it’s useless to you.
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