Westies and bear safety

[Patricia Dowcett]

Hi everyone:  My family and I are about to embark on a cross-country trip from CT to CO in our Westy.  Husband and I did this same trip and more 8 years ago in another Westy van, and we have the same question now as we did then: are we relatively safe from bears (Yellowstone incident notwithstanding) sleeping in a camper van stocked with food?  Should food be kept in bins inside the cupboards and fridge?  I know there is probably no "right" answer, but wondered about others' thoughts on the matter.  Thanks!

[whc03grady]

I'd like to reply to this as a Westy camper who's been camping in bear country for several years, not as a bear expert.
In my opinion, you'll be as safe from bears in your Vanagon as anyone else as long as you do what you already said--no food outside, including the luggage rack. Keep the windows and doors closed and locked. I never have worried about the top because bears in high-traffic parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, and (less-so) Glacier who are bold enough to stomp around big campgrounds for food are either lazy enough that they won't go for your buttoned-up stuff, or have something wrong with them (like that undernourished bear that killed that guy in Yellowstone) in which case they're going to do what they want no matter what you do.

The somber fact is that, conservatively, there have been maybe a hundred, a hundred fifty people killed by bears in the last hundred or so years in North America. Compare that to the 40,000 or so that get killed driving each year in this country. Ceteribus paribus, the most dangerous part of your Yellowstone adventure is the drive there. Far and away.