Quite what they thought the hulla hoops would achieve I never did quite grasp. Other than to imagine the rather remote possibility of the bears being deterred by the necessity of treading gingerly through them. On tip-toe.
I’d met with a group of teenagers from Wales, spending a night in the Bent Prop Inn Hostel before returning once more to the wilds of Alaska. One of their tents being hastily repaired with duct tape. Ripped by a bear eager to take a candy bar inadvertently left behind, the occupants fortunately elsewhere.
The hoops, and a couple of kayaks, had been placed around the damaged tent to deter further foraging. Ineffective this might have been, but at least it suggested spirits had not been dampened. Rather, the story seemed to get further embellished with every telling. Surely it must have been a family of bears, I hinted.
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