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Keep a clean campsite. Thoroughly burn or safely bury all food scraps and leftover grease, or seal your garbage in an airtight plastic bag and carry it with your food pack. Do not dispose of leftovers in the latrine. Bears will find them and destroy the latrine in the process.

Never get between a mother bear and her cub(s). If you see a cub, its mother is probably nearby. Female bears are extremely protective of their young.

If a bear does wander into your campsite, don’t panic. Bears are usually frightened off by loud noises; Try yelling or banging some pots together. Don’t charge the bear; it may become defensive. If a stubborn bear does not back off or acts strangely, move to another campsite.

Finally, don’t let a fear of black bears detract from your enjoyment of the wilderness. Use good common sense, observe the tips above, and you should have no problem with bears—or any other wild animal.

Climate

For paddlers planning a trip to the BWCA, the season lasts just five short months—May through September—and each month can offer a very different travel experience along the same route. Northern lakes are usually free of ice by the beginning of May (always check before heading up) but the forest isn’t completely green for a few more weeks. June can be wet, cool, and plagued by the mind-numbing buzz of a billion hungry mosquitoes. Fisherman often pay the insects little heed and enjoy good fishing conditions in June, knowing that by July and August, when the temperatures are fine for paddlers and campers, the fishing may turn sluggish. Deeper into the summer months, streams that had been gushing with spring snow melt early in the season may not have enough flow to transport a loaded canoe. A shortcut discovered by close scrutiny of a map may be impassible if the streams prove too shallow.