Forest Service closes trail because of crafty bear

You know that bringing food inside your tent in bear country is a big no-no and since you're so responsible, BACKPACKER reader, you also are well-versed in the skills necessary to hang a bear bag, right? Well, if you're hiking sections of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, all this outdoor know-how may not be enough to deter a certain hungry bear. Numerous AT hikers have reported a black bear that will stop at nothing to get a good ol' human meal, including chewing through ropes suspending bear bags and stealing backpacks full of tasty treats. It's become such a problem that the Forest Service has closed a 6-mile stretch of the AT between Neels Gap and Tesnatee Gap to overnight camping in order to discourage the bear. Rangers hope that by taking away the bear's food supply, it'll eventually get hungry and move on to getting dinner the old fashioned way, leaving hikers and their grub alone. Two years ago, rangers had to resort to euthanasia for a bear that was approaching hikers on the AT and trying to scare them into dropping their treat-laden packs. In order to assure this doesn't happen to the current hungry bear, hikers should keep in mind several things about hiking in bear country...Backpacker