Bear Encounter on "Ididaride Trail"

[Tonichelle]

I found this on youtube today. It was taken by a guest of Ididaride Sled Dog Tours in Seward Alaska (Seavey Kennel, whom I work for) earlier this year. You can hear the musher/guide yell "bear, bear!" right before the -what looks like brown- bears cross in front of the dogs. SO AWESOME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6gxBP1B2X8&t=2m40s

and please ignore the hate spewed comment by a very hurtful person (no not me). It's not factual, it's slanted information at best, and has nothing to do with the video.

[Scrufflet]

I'm no expert on Iditarod or sled dogs. I didn't know that this kind of tourist thing is done. But I sure know idiot tourists when I experience them. It's just like Disneyworld? Awesome? Just set up for us? A healthy respect for nature might be more appropriate. I couldn't work in the tourist industry; I'd just want to clobber people.

[Olympia]

I'm no expert on Iditarod or sled dogs. I didn't know that this kind of tourist thing is done. But I sure know idiot tourists when I experience them. It's just like Disneyworld? Awesome? Just set up for us? A healthy respect for nature might be more appropriate. I couldn't work in the tourist industry; I'd just want to clobber people.

Years ago, Madeleine L'Engle wrote a book called The Moon by Night in which the Austins went on a cross-country road trip and stopped off in Yellowstone. In one scene an idiot tourist has an encounter with a bear, and L'Engle brings up a similar issue. People who live their lives secondhand through TV and the Web, as consumers of entertainment, often don't realize that real life is Real, and can come with teeth, and there's no pause button. (I being a worrywart and a city slicker, generally look for the teeth first.)

[Tonichelle]

I'm no expert on Iditarod or sled dogs. I didn't know that this kind of tourist thing is done. But I sure know idiot tourists when I experience them. It's just like Disneyworld? Awesome? Just set up for us? A healthy respect for nature might be more appropriate. I couldn't work in the tourist industry; I'd just want to clobber people.

yup it's a BIG industry in Alaska and in Canada - sled dog tourism - it's part of our state's history as well as present. It's another way to keep the Alaskan Husky from being taken out of existance - just like the Iditarod race brought the breed "back".

I was kinda annoyed with some of the responses too, but at teh same time, I've heard way worse (like how do the dogs run without snow... well, gee, I don't know how does your dog run without snow?!)

[Olympia]

I'm having a great laugh over that one, Toni.

[dorispulaski]

Re the Sled Dog coalition comment, I flagged it as spam and it disappeared. I also voted it thumbs down. After several thumbs down votes, the comment will disappear for everyone, and viewers will have to ask to see it for it to appear.

Which is what such a comment deserves.

The owners of the video could of course disable comments, but the above method works too.

[Tonichelle]

Re the Sled Dog coalition comment, I flagged it as spam and it disappeared. I also voted it thumbs down. After several thumbs down votes, the comment will disappear for everyone, and viewers will have to ask to see it for it to appear.

Which is what such a comment deserves.

The owners of the video could of course disable comments, but the above method works too.

Good to know, Doris! Thank you! The person that runs that organization is a piece of work... she emails me regularly to try to get me to "see the truth." She's another one of those that uses empty threats to get her way...