[pct-l] Food in tents

[Edward Anderson]

Hello Mary,
 
While I greatly respect you and all your experience, I have to disagree with you on your advice to hang a food bag. I used to do that in bear country in the Sierra. The incident that I will describe happened about 30 years ago, when bears in the Sierra were a real problem. Having been trained by Rangers that human food is good (Park Rangers used to feed the bears garbage so the park visitors could watch!), they followed hikers to places close to timberline, knowing that there would be food.
 
Here is the incident that I want to describe:  I had taken my son and three of his friends on a fishing-backpack trip starting at Roads End in Sequoia. We hiked up Bubbs Creek to the JMT and then went south over Forester Pass to fish the lakes in the upper Kern. Since bears were known to be a problem, I decided to make our first camp high along Bubbs Creek at a place where others had not camped - a place where bears, I thought, were less likely to be. I did a good job of hanging our food bag at least 15 feet above the ground and had the rope over a small horizontal branch about seven or eight feet from the tree trunk. The last thing I saw before falling asleep was the food bag silhouetted against the star-studded night sky. Something awakened me during the night. When I looked up the food bag was gone. As I scrambled to exit my bag the bears left. They had gotten about a third of our food - and that's a lot when you have three hungry boys along. We
 were to eat lots of trout. Fortunately the fishing was great.
 
When we returned to Roads End I reported it to the Ranger. He told me that there was a mother bear and her cub(s) who were working Bubbs Creek. She had apparently taught the cub to climb the trees and then go out on the limbs to release the food bags. Bears are REALLY smart. 
 
I no longer hang food. In riding the PCT through N. California, Oregon, and Washington I saw a lot of hanging bags. 
I suppose that must work for most hikers. I just used OPSaks and my bear charms. To be extra cautious, I also camouflaged the OPSaks - since they are transparent, while I realize that bears have poor eyesight, if they just happen to SEE the food inside, they would tear open the sack.

I brought two Garcias during my ride through the Sierra between Horseshoe Meadows and Sierra City. In them I stored my food and the processed horse feed. I carried them in knapsacks that took the place of the jumbo pommel bags that I used on all the rest of the PCT. And they held a greater volume of food.

Regarding Ursacks - realize that they do not contain food smells. They are not odor-proof. While bears can't get the food inside, they might be attracted to the smell and your camp location. The same is true of bear canisters. That's why you are required to place them so far away from where you sleep. I have tested various food packaging, double Ziploks, and OPSaks in my rodent-infested barn in Agua Dulce. They have never gotten into an OPSak. They walk all around them and even over them. If they were as intelligent as bears they would get in.

MendoRider-Hiker 

________________________________
 From: Mary Kwart <mkwart at gci.net>
To: pct-l at backcountry.net; douglastow at gmail.com 
Sent: Thursday, February 7, 2013 12:48 PM
Subject: [pct-l] Food in tents
  
This is a controversial  topic so what I tell the people in a
backpacking strategies for success class is:

1. Always carry food in a bear canister in the places it is
required--there is a good reason. I have worked for the Park Service
at Yosemite and regale people with stories of how smart and
resourceful the bears are in the Sierra. By the way, bears there know
people use canisters and have learned diversion tactics to get to food
before it is in the canister at night--like when you are preparing
dinner. I have experienced bears batting around my bear canister at
night, but that has only been in popular campsites when camping with a
group. Using bear canisters in these areas saves bears lives.

2. When in doubt, in places other than where you have to carry a bear
canister by law, carry a lightweight rope to hang your food and hang
it as often as you feel you must--That may be every night. Be aware
 of
indications of bear activity--bear scat, bear paw prints and talk to
others on the trail to get information and let that and common sense
guide you. When camping near a popular area like by a lake a short
distance from a trailhead, take extra precautions or camp miles away
from these areas. If you are caching food for any length of time or
leaving your camp for a day hike, it also makes sense to hang your
food or use an Ursack.

3. The longer you hike in the areas where bear canisters are not
required by law, the more your decision to protect your food from
critters will be informed by your experience, hence the need to hang
your food will diminish because you have learned to be more aware of
bear indicators. That is why people with a lot of hiking experience
keep their food in their tents at night with no problem for
years.Until you reach that level of knowledge, by all means hang your
food, or use an
 Ursack.

It is hard to convince new hikers that in 99% of all long distance
hiking areas, the animals have better things to do than target you and
the small amount of food you carry. Once again, I impress on people
the need to carry bear canisters where required by law and to hang
their food if they have the least bit of anxiety. or will be leaving
their food unattended. 

--Fireweed


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