CADES COVE, TENNESSEE – The beloved native wildlife of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has camper Findlay Blundell spitting mad after his Yeti Tundra 160 cooler, valued at $679.99, was torn to pieces by a hungry brown bear. Mr. Blundell left his cooler out overnight, only to find its pieces scattered throughout the campsite. “That dadgum bear done ruined my $600 cooler!” he fumed.
Mr. Blundell reports that he would have to venture all the way up to Walmart in Sevierville to get more food, as the bear consumed 9 pounds of bacon, three Miller Lights, 4 pounds of butter, two jars of mayonnaise, two dozen eggs, and a can of whipped cream. He presented a bill for the replacement value of the cooler to park ranger Kit Hartley. The bill was promptly withdrawn when Mr. Hartley threatened to write out a citation for improper food storage, and a much-deserved lecture on how easily available food led to habituation of wildlife was dutifully “uh-huh”ed through and promptly forgotten by the irate camper.
Mr. Blundell was able to find a silver lining, though. “At least that doggone bear didn’t hurt the Yeti sticker in my truck window.”
The Hiking Times 