[pct-l] Where do you put it?

[Edward Anderson]

Critters, bears and rodents, etc will be attracted to food smells.  I rode a horse on the PCT for over five months.  I always  put my saddle, saddle bags, cantle bag and pommel bags, piled up and covered with a tarp, at least 15' from my tent ( I usually set up just the insect netting part of my tent unless my barometer indicated that it might rain - then I also set up the rain fly.  Sometimes, when insects were not a problem and little likelihood of rain I didn't set up the tent).  I discovered that ZipLock bags did not contain food smells from the super-noses of rodents so I switched to using OpSaks for all food. I have never had a rodent problem using those sacks.  In areas where bear visits were a possibility I also used "bear charms" (cotton tobacco sacks with mothballs inside) to surround the food and also my sleeping spot.  Bears dislike the smell of mothballs - they don't consider that smell to be something to eat. Think of it as a
 bear repellent.  If I have any food inside my tent it will be stored in OpSaks.  I also surround my tent with a circle of bear charms - about 15' away and spaced about 15' apart.  I would like to mention that while bears dislike the smell of mothballs, rodents are not repelled by it. That has been my experience.  The OpSaks, properly sealed and if you are careful not to get food smells outside the sack, effectively eliminate rodent problems. I have done experiments in my rodent-infested S. California barn to prove this. When riding through parts of the Sierra where Bear Canisters are required by law I used them.  I brought two.
 
MendoRider

From: Brenda And Jim Johnson <jdjohnson at accesscomm.ca>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 6:39 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Where do you put it?

Curious ... at the end of the day ... after the camp chores have been 
taken care of ...
the journal's been updated ... what do thru-hikers and long section 
hikers do with the pack
and the food just before "hiker midnight" arrives?
Does everything stay outside the tent? Or inside with you? Hanging from 
a tree branch?

On our 4 or 5-day hikes in the Canadian Rockies, and (lately) in Glacier 
National Park Montana,
we take all food, scented items, and cooking gear out of our packs and 
place them in a waterproof food bag
and haul it up a cable to hang from a bear pole. Our packs are placed 
outside the tents,
wrapped under our pack covers. Usually there's 4 of us, in two Lunar Duo 
tents - so not a lot of room left for packs.
We've done this for several years with no night-time visitors (that we 
know of).

Just curious what is usually done with your pack, and your food, on a 
long hike.

~ jiffypop
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
All content is copyrighted by the respective authors. 
Reproduction is is prohibited without express permission.
Park Montana,
we take all food, scented items, and cooking gear out of our packs and 
place them in a waterproof food bag
and haul it up a cable to hang from a bear pole. Our packs are placed 
outside the tents,
wrapped under our pack covers. Usually there's 4 of us, in two Lunar Duo 
tents - so not a lot of room left for packs.
We've done this for several years with no night-time visitors (that we 
know of).

Just curious what is usually done with your pack, and your food, on a 
long hike.

~ jiffypop
_______________________________________________
Pct-L mailing list
Pct-L at backcountry.net
To unsubcribe, or change options visit:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l

List Archives:
http://mailman.backcountry.net/pipermail/pct-l/
All content is copyrighted by the respective authors. 
Reproduction is is prohibited without express permission.