I'm going to Alaska at the end of May til early June. Please share some effective ways to keep bears and mosquitoes (bugs, etc.) away from me?

I'll be in Southeast Alaska, Anchorage and Denali NP.

I'm planning to do some hikes (a few hours max). Very apprehensive about bears and mosquitoes. I'm planning to get a mosquito net for the head and cover myself everywhere w/ clothes. For bears, I'm planning to carry a little AM/FM radio and play it while hiking. Could I get any signal inside Denali?

Also, in Denali NP, do they give you bear-proof canisters to put your food in during the long bus ride? I'm planning to get off the bus and hike around a bit. Also, where can I temporary store gallons of water on that day? Are there lockers or some kind of storage at the trail heads in Denali?

Thanks!

I can't help with any specifics about food/water storage, etc. but was wondering if you're travelling/hiking alone? I've seen data that would indicate your chances of being attacked are much greater if you hike by yourself. It seems groups (or even just 2 people) are a more intimidating target for a bear, so if you are alone, try to hook up with someone or a group to hike, or at least stay reasonably close to other people. I would think if you're alone and very apprehensive, you're not going to enjoy the hike very much.

bears: noise, esp. airhorns (like the boat ones).
bugs: best repellent you can buy. be more wary of no-see-ums and chiggers, which can cause misery. spray/coat skin, then socks, then next layer.

If you make some kind of "human" noise while you are hiking you should be okay. Usually if bears know you are coming, they will move away because they don't want to see you either. I've heard of people putting a few stones in a can and shaking them as they hike. Also, are you camping? Because if so, make sure you don't sleep in the clothes you cook in. My fiance and I camped in Algonquin last summer and put our coolers in our car every night but our last night and, of course, the last night, a bear came crashing into our campsite and thank god we had changed out of our clothes because he sniffed at our tent while we were in it and then lost interest. It is funny now but it wasn't funny when it was happening.

We buy big packages of cayenne pepper at Sam's or Costco when we go wilderness camping. At night we make a ring around the tent with the pepper. Not sure if it works but we're okay so far!

The MOST important thing is for nothing to smell like food. Lock everything up in your car, including the clothes you cooked dinner in.

Bears - Be alert, make noise, best to travel in a group if possible. A lot of hikes in Denali are on tundra or above treeline, so visibility is good (unless you get down low in the brushy stuff.) Might want to carry pepper spray if that will make you more comfortable (know how to use it). Talk to the rangers about bears & how to avoid them & what to do if you come across one - they will give you the best & most current information on the subject. I don't know if a radio will work in Denali...we can't even get reception on anything decent between Anchorage & Girdwood in our car most times, so it might be doubtful.

Bugs - mosquito net, long sleeves, and DEET. And, you may or may not need those - depending on the day and the weather and where in the state you are, there may be many mosquitos or none at all.

Bear-proof cannisters. You really only need those if you are backpacking. The park does give those out with a backcountry permit, but I don't know if they would give them to a day hiker. I don't know why you would want one as a day-hiker; they are heavy & cumbersome and for use when you have to store the food off of your person & need to make sure a bear cannot access it. Carry the food & water you need for the day in a daypack. When you get off the bus to hike, no, there are no places at trailheads to store anything - in fact, there really are no trailheads. You just get off the bus & hike in what looks like a promising direction. There are numerous guidebooks that give you ideas on where to get off & hike, and you could also stop in and chat with the rangers for suggestions before your bus trip.

AustinTravel, your cayenne pepper suggestion plain scares me - are you seasoning yourself for the wildlife? Is there something I don't know about this - some research that suggests a reason this would have any positive impact? You do know that pepper spray works only because it burns the bear's eyes - NOT because the taste is any sort of deterrent. People have erroneously sprayed pepper spray on their tents to deter bears, that is NOT how it is used & biologists fear that incorrect use such as this may actually attract wildlife.

Spray the deet on your hat and clothes but remember to wash your hands before eating since you will touch your clothes.

Eat plenty of garlic, even garlic pills for a couple days before you travel, moskeets don't like it.

Dry all your clothes with BOUNCE, the bugs don't like it.

When hiking, keep moving...you will notice the moskeets swarm around when you stop to rest but really they can't keep up with you when you're moving.

Even if it's locked inside a car, food should be tupperwared or Ziploc bags, a bear can smell a sandwich like 3 miles away.

The park's website answers most of your questions-they have at least 5 pages devoted to bear safety alone.

Buzz Off clothes are great for misquito protection. I own them and have used them in Alaska.

http://www.buzzoffoutdoorwear.com/

"Bears - Be alert, make noise, best to travel in a group if possible. A lot of hikes in Denali are on tundra or above treeline, so visibility is good (unless you get down low in the brushy stuff.)"

This is good advice, but I think the point has to be made that the reason to make noise is to avoid surprising a bear, in which case it may instinctively attack - sort of a fear response where they lash out and then run away. If you're hiking out on the open tundra with good visibility, it's pretty pointless to walk around making noise. Noise making is good and recommended for hiking in brushy areas, trails where you have blind corners, and just in general areas where you could potentially encounter and suprise a bear at close range.

I guess what I'm saying is: don't overreact and walk around making a bunch of noise when there's really no chance of surprising a bear (like hiking on the wide open tundra). It does nothing (except maybe annoy your fellow hikers).

Their website has lots of info:
http://www.nps.gov/dena/home/visitor...fety/home.html

From that page: 3. Avoid surprising bears. Travel in the open when possible. Make noise when visibility is limited.

As for camping (even though the OP is not talking about that), the best way to keep a bear out of your camp is a portable electric fence. It's actually quite effective (I've read 100% effective), and is used by some researchers to stay safe. Of course, they also use the other standard precautions with food and toiletries storage.

Thanks for all your advice.

About mosquito repellent spray. Would it be effective if I apply it on my hat and clothes but not on my skin? Last year I used it in Hawaii but it kinda made me dizzy. And I'm not sure if that stuff is good for you if it gets absorbed into your blood stream.

Also, thanks for the advice about nothing making needless noises when hiking in the open. I was planning to blast music during my hike. We just upgraded out cellphone to include an MP3 player but it turns out the phone speaker was pretty weak, and were thinking of maybe hooking it up to a boombox. Ok, ok, maybe not.

I think that the rangers at Denali NP have a "class" that is required for anyone camping in the park. It covers bear proofing, etc. I don't recall if the "class" is required for day hikers, but it would be wise to speak to rangers before venturing out.

I would never advise anyone to store their food in their car! Last time I went to Yosemite every car in the parking lot that had food in it was torn into--doors torn off, the back of a pickup opened like a tin can, etc. One person only had half a granola bar in the car--the bear still sniffed it out. Use the bear food lockers that are with your camping space!

Besides bears and mosquitos, any other dangers I should be wary of during a day hike, esp. in the tundra (Denali NP)? Snakes? This is for the end of May and early June.

Thanks

Snow snakes hibernate during the summer -- they burrow into the permafrost.

Seriously, though, too many tourists think moose are harmless and need to take better care.

I agree that mosquitoes don't like garlic, but better check and make sure that bears don't like it either! Wouldn't want them thinking you're a delicious batch of "people scampi".

There are no snakes in Alaska.

Jc98: to avoid dancing the Mosquito Mazurka, go to a sporting goods store like REI.

They sell a product which contains permethrin. This product is to be applied to the CLOTHES, so do this at least a couple of days before you leave. The effects of permethrin last about a week before you have to spray your clothes again. Permethrin is hard to come by, since the US Government has been buying a lot of it to ship to Iraq for our troops. Shop around if you don't find it in the first sporting goods store. I use it when hiking in the tropics and it's very effective. Doesn't affect people very much. Bugs hate it.

REI also has a potent DEET-laden product called Jungle Juice.

Another REI/sporting goods store product that you can take along on your hikes is AFTERBITE. If you get bitten and apply Afterbite, it'll stop the itching. I've used it in Thailand after walking into a cave filled with mosquitoes - thank God there was Afterbite!

REI also carries such things as hats with mosquito netting and a type of anklet that you wrap around the bottom legs of your pants to prevent anything from entering from an open pant leg.

The other posters have given you excellent advice and very good links. Read as much as you can and be prepared.

Personally I wouldn't go hiking in Alaska without a guide. There are plants there, such as the devil's club, which shouldn't be touched at any cost. You need someone who is knowledgeable to tell you what to avoid.

Consumer Reports (June 2006) just had an article on insect repellents. By actual impartial testing, eliminating personal anecdotes and prejudices, their conclusion was that the best way to prevent insect bites was to apply DEET.

OFF Deep Woods, Ultrathon, Cutter, and Ben's were the best products.

We take Ultrathon on trips, which is the only one which is a cream, so we don't worry about leaking liquid or breathing in the sprays. And it works.

Bring a Zagnut.