39 replies to this topic

[Cpt Davenport]

So even when you have your rig (not down river in a canoe, which sounds dreamy by the way!) you still hang trash/food?

I have been evaluating each campsite individually. If it is crawling with activity and I’m the only meal in town, I hang it. In campgrounds there always seems to be other less cautious campers that serve as the low hanging fruit. In this situation I feel ok about storing everything in the cab when no bear box is available.

[ckent323]

Vic, et. al,

Black bears are very intelligent and nimble.  Hanging food (or trash), even from a tree limb, has been defeated by Bears numerous times. 

 I have posted elsewhere the techniques they use to defeat food (or trash) hangs.   It may work for awhile but once they figure it out then it won't work anymore and how do you know if they have or haven't in the place you are camping?

The sad thing is once a bear iis successful (rewarded) getting food they will likely do it again.   That is how problem Bears are created.  Keeping food away from Bears is our responsibility.  They are just doing what they have evolved to do, which in this context is finding food and they are very good at it.

California State Parks (and other agencies recommend that campers always place trash in bear-resistant dumpsters in campgrounds or in bear-resistant containers at campsites (storage lockers/bear boxes), and close and lock after each use. Never leave scented items unattended in campsites, tents, or vehicles. This includes but is not limited to all sealed or packaged food, sunscreen, soap, mosquito repellent, lip balm, deodorant, medications, and feminine products. The bear canister only works if it is closed and locked.

Many established campgrounds in Bear country have secure trash cans or Bear resistant lockers.   They may not be conveniently near but they should still be used, say before going to bed make a trip to the trash cans or bear lockers.

When boondocking in Bear country it may be appropriate to carry a Bear resistant trash container or to put trash items in a separate bag and store it in the Bear resistant container or put the sealed bag inside a vehicle in a container like an ice chest that is placed out of sight.  That will depend on if Bears in the area are already habituated or not.

It is always a good idea to check with the local rangers ahead of time for their recommendations about food and trash storage in that particular locale.

Bears are typically most active during the late evening and early morning.  You may not see them and if they get into your stuff it will often be at a really inconvenient hour.

 

By the way I reread what I wrote in a previous comment about putting trash in a bear canister and I revised that comment.



I hope this is helpful.

 

Edited by ckent323, 22 August 2023 - 09:50 AM.

[Vic Harder]

So even when you have your rig (not down river in a canoe, which sounds dreamy by the way!) you still hang trash/food?

 

It was dreamy!  in Campgrounds we used the supplied bear boxes.  We have not camped/backpacked/or canoe'd in the last few decades where we could not find bear boxes at approved campsites. 

 

When boondocking in the west we keep all garbage and food and cosmetics in containers and covered in the cab of the truck.

 

Parks Canada has removed (all?) of the food hangers in recent years.

[Dipodomys]

Do locked steel ammo cans count as bear resistant? I’ve been thinking that the seal on those cans should be pretty good (though not perfect) at keeping odors in. I’d really rather not entice bears into breaking into the camper or the cab of the truck, so I’m thinking about food and trash storage outside, maybe 50-100’ from the truck.

[Cpt Davenport]

Do locked steel ammo cans count as bear resistant? I’ve been thinking that the seal on those cans should be pretty good (though not perfect) at keeping odors in. I’d really rather not entice bears into breaking into the camper or the cab of the truck, so I’m thinking about food and trash storage outside, maybe 50-100’ from the truck.

My thought is that the bear can still smell the contents of the ammo box. I too, am not a big fan of storing things inside the cab. I only do that if the threat is low in the area I'm camping. 

 

Just last weekend my daughter was visiting the in laws up in Humbolt. They spent the night in the house and parked their FWC Hawk out front with the top DOWN. They had a small ziplock bag of dog food left in the little shelf/cubby cabinet on the passenger side of the camper. A black bear gently opened the door, climbed in, ripped the cabinet off the wall, took the food and walked away. The nerve! He didn't even close the door behind him! Good thing the door was unlocked. Only damage was the cabinet.

[Dipodomys]

Oh my. That’s exactly the sort of thing we’d like to avoid. Besides ammo cans. We’ve also thought about using a Yeti cooler, since we already have one and they’ve passed live bear testing (when locked). Now I’m wondering about having food in the camper’s fridge! I guess we could transfer refrigerated foods to a cooler for storage outside the camper overnight. Hmm. I’ve lived and camped in the Colorado Rockies most of my life, but never had bear problems, because I’ve been reasonably careful and haven’t been camping in places where bears have learned to associate humans with food, i.e. most of my camping has been boondocks that get relatively little human traffic. We’d like to check out some of the famous places where bears are more of an issue, however, so planning ahead is definitely a priority.

[teledork]

Highland Lakes campground. We were awakened at 5 am - the camper rocking and rolling. Looked out, bear had a paw through the wing window in the cab of the truck and was trying to get something done. I yelled, bear ran off, came back - this went on for an hour or so. At some point in time I shut the jalousie window in the camper and the wing windows in the truck.   

I no longer have wing windows but I keep that jalousie window closed at night or when I am away from the camper. I also lock the camper and especially the truck after seeing video of a bear opening the door of a Tacoma. I also travel with dogs. 

 

 

[teledork]

 Now I’m wondering about having food in the camper’s fridge! I guess we could transfer refrigerated foods to a cooler for storage outside the camper overnight. 

Are you taking about putting the food outside while you are asleep? I don't think that would be necessary but (most) campgrounds in heavy bear areas have food storage boxes in each site. 

[Dipodomys]

I’ll definitely use bear lockers and dumpsters if they’re available, but yes I’m talking about keeping food and trash outside and away fro the truck/camper in the boondocks. Like my wife said, we’d rather have a bear damage a Yeti cooler than our truck or camper. My thinking is informed by years of tent camping, and now thinking that a bear might have a little more trouble getting into a vehicle, but even an unsuccessful effort could be highly inconvenient and expensive.

[rubberlegs]

ckent323, what an interesting product you've been involved with. I've used canisters out backpacking a few times and they are a bit difficult to fit in a pack, due to the cylindrical shape. Did you test other shapes, or were you trying to keep the weight as light as possible? As a former aerospace engineer, I understand that cylinders are very strong (unless you are going for the Titanic).