Almost every time I stay at Whitney Portal I see people in the campsite chasing bears away. As long as I am not covered in honey and use the posted bear rules, the bears do not seem like a big problem to me. A good friend of mine often would hike to remote parts of the Sierras. He went to get a drink from a nearby stream. As he was hunched over getting a drink a baby bear came up to him to get a drink on his right side. Right then mama bear also came up to get a drink on his left side. I asked him what did you do? He said all he could do is just smile. I guees it was a nice smile because the mama and baby bear just took off into the woods.
