Western CO bear season prep

[Trogon]

Any western Colorado folks getting ready for bear season? What are you doing to prepare? Thoughts on how this years likely food sources are shaping up?

I've been putting up a few cameras over the summer, plan to put out a few more this week and check on how the berries and acorns are doing.

Hoping to harvest my first bear. The plan is to sit on the one good spot I know, so far, and see what comes along. Caught this guy out in mid June:

 

[Poser]

I've been out scouting my usual bear hunting areas some and have done some shooting practice across canyons (even though my shots on bears always end up being like 40 yards...).

Big drought year and massive mast failure as a result: super spotty acorn development and 0 berries. I hiked by the location where I killed a bear on opening day last season. When I looked at the pics from last year, the spot was lush green with budding flowers at the beginning of Sept. This year, its all dried out and brown in early August.

My prediction: bears are going to hit what acorns there are asap and move into towns to hit apple trees and raid dumpsters.

 

[Trogon]

Still seems decently green in my area, been dry the past few weeks, but before that we were getting regular rain in the mountains.