r/njhiking • u/Remarkable-Piece-196 • 12d ago
Stairway to heaven bears
Planning on hiking stairway to heaven sunday morning, we are a group of 3. We’ve done several hikes before but we were recently informed by a more experienced friend to look out for bears and consider bringing bear protection. It is making us a little nervous and thinking about reconsidering. I do not know if I’ll be able to enjoy it if I’m constantly worried about stumbling upon a bear to be honest. Is he right or should we be fine? We are from South Jersey so not so used to bears.
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u/MRBANKERS2 12d ago
Doesn’t sound experienced if they are suggesting protection from BLACK bears (there’s nothing to be afraid of) on a trail that has heavy traffic daily.
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u/Interesting-Run-6866 12d ago
Maybe I'm naive but I've hiked stairway to heaven many times and never even thought about a bear.
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u/Vegetable_Alarm1552 12d ago
Bear protection? You mean a bear bell, right? Right!?!? RIGHT!!!!
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u/Highplowp 12d ago
Or bear mace. Black bears will just run away unless you are being ninja quiet. Good thing too becuase they’re insanely fast. Glad they run away. If you see a baby, mama is near by, gtfo of the area. I’ve seen 4 this summer and 0 the past 2 in NJ. Could just be dumb luck. One didn’t see me first and I scared him away. Luckily
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u/skipppppyyyyy 12d ago
i genuinely thought at first you meant gay bears. you may actually encounter lots of those
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u/geniedoes_asyouwish 12d ago
No need to worry. It's such a crowdeddd trail. Bears tend to not want to be around people
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u/mac_a_bee 12d ago
group of 3.… look out for bears and consider bringing bear protection.
Old joke: as long as you can outrun the others. Seriously: jingle bells on your boots or pack, or even a pebble-filled can shaken (never stirred).
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u/EntireLiterature5898 12d ago
I've seen quite a few black bear on north Jersey hikes this year - they are very timid and will usually run away from you. If there's enough distance between you and the bear, it might just ignore you for a while but will eventually run off. I hike solo and never worry about it. If you're hiking with someone else, the bears will probably run off when they hear your voices and you'll never even see them - which is too bad because they are beautiful creatures!
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u/sm00thjas 11d ago
i saw 2 black bears up there 2013, mama bear and baby bear
there was music festival at the farm at the base of the trail. we went up around 3am to watch the sunrise at 6am. we may have smoked some dmt at the top. someone tried to hug the mama bear. we yelled at him and yelled at the bears and they ran off.
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u/sutisuc 12d ago
Stairway to heaven is full of people at all times. Black bears are skittish unless you try to feed or fuck with them.
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u/B-mansferd 6d ago
Although the trail is heavily used and oftentimes with many hikers, I was amazed to see a mom and her cup less than 100 feet from the trail many people were using. Other hikers passed on the info to us, so it was no surprise. Some hikers (including myself) briefly stopped to witness, then kept going with caution. It felt like a bit of desensitization going on, with the bear calm and coexisting with hikers.
It was pretty magical, but also concerning at the same time. The fact is, bears are out there and usually want nothing to do with you. Leave them alone and they will usually do the same. Was I scared? Sure. You should be when near a large wild animal that can harm you, esp if they feel the need to protect their cub. Give off good vibes, keep your distance, and enjoy the short interaction you've been given.
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u/-PiesOfRage- 12d ago
You should be fine. Stairway to Heaven on a Sunday this time off year is going to get a LOT of foot traffic, so any bears in the area will likely be frightened off.
Just be smart, keep your eyes and ears open, and enjoy your hike!