&gt; It really sours the outdoor experience.<p>Man, this is going to come off as snarky, but that <i>is</i> the outdoor experience. Put your food up, if not for the bears you&#x27;re more than likely not going to see, then for the raccoons you most likely will. Bear spray? Not unless I&#x27;m somewhere that might have grizzlies, and even then the stuff is a last resort when all other precautions have failed (read the label about the usage range: close enough that you&#x27;re about to be mauled). I&#x27;ve never looked up reports of bear activity; I assume they&#x27;re always out there.<p>&quot;Might encounter a predator&quot;, but overwhelming odds are you wont. Fifteen years of tromping around the woods of WA, trail running and hiking, I&#x27;ve seen one brown bear that wanted nothing to do with me. I&#x27;m sure I have more to worry about from my fellow drivers on the way to the trailhead than I do from bears and wolves.<p>We all have our personal worries, and one should pack accordingly. Non-human predators are low in my list of things I pack for. YMMV.