[pct-l] Fw: Ursaks

Tue Feb 15 20:31:37 CST 2011

Hi Kevin,

Opsaks are available in three sizes:  9 x 10,  12 x 20,  and 28 x 20.  I presume 
that you were looking at the little ones.  I think that REI only offers the 9 x 
10's , but I'm not sure of that.  It seems like in 2007 I bought some 12x 20's 
there.  I also bought them on line.  That is the size that I find most useful 
and I have several that I have used over and over again both in my food caches 
and in camp.  I also have one of the big ones ( 28 x 20) that I might sometimes 
use for my processed horse feed next summer.  You would probably find that one 
unnecessarily large and bulky for your 7 to 8 days of food.  Probably better to 
use two of the 12 x 20's.  Next summer I will also bring three of the smallest 
ones.  One for used TP, one for trash, and one for mothballs.

Mothballs.  Over 20 years ago I learned of using mothballs to discourage bears.  
A couple of my customers who were avid canoeists and who had taken three 
extended canoe trips in Alaska and in the Yukon told me about "bear charms".  In 
parts of the Yukon, to discourage bears, they put 2 or 3 mothballs in each 
cotton tobacco sack and call them "bear charms".  I carry 20 of these and 
surround my tent and my saddle, pack, and food pile (covered with a tarp and 
staked).  Each morning I routinely pick up all of these, by count, and store 
them in an Opsak while in the pack. I also use a few individual mothballs in my 
caches to be recovered and reused. For my ride this summer I will be caching at 
four locations.

MendoRider/Ed Anderson

________________________________
From: Kevin <hikelite at gmail.com>
To: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>
Cc: "pct-l at backcountry.net" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Mon, February 14, 2011 10:07:28 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Fw: Ursaks

Ed

What about surrounding a campsite with mothballs?

Honestly, I probably won't be carrying opsacks. I looked, and thy don't appear 
to be very big. How many would I need to hold 7 or 8 days food? I've never used 
a bear can either though. The times I've been in bear areas, I've had dogs with 
me. No way a bear would get within 1/4 mile without them alerting me. The time I 
spent in bear country without a dog was before the bear can rules. We hung our 
food and never had trouble. 

I'm planning to use a bear can from KM to Echo Lakes, so I'm not real worried 
about bears for my thru hike, but moth balls are light and might add some extra 
insurance north of Tahoe. 

Do they work? I saw some people using them in the Rockies. I wasnt sure if they 
were for bears or rodents. My suspicion is both ;)

Misspellings and typos brought to you by iPhone.

On Feb 14, 2011, at 7:55 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Forwarded Message ----
> From: Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com>
> To: Melanie Clarke <melaniekclarke at gmail.com>
> Cc: pct-l at backcounrty.net
> Sent: Sun, February 13, 2011 8:11:08 AM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Ursaks
> 
> 
> Rodents never got into my OpSaks.  They navigate by smell.  No food smells, no 

> rodents. Just be careful that you don't get food smells from your fingers on 
>the 
>
> outside of the sack. And, of course, seal it properly.  These saks worked with 

> bears too.  In the Cascades of Washington, where concerned hikers were hanging 

> their food sacks high in trees. At night  I just stored my food and my horse's 

> food in OpSaks at ground level along with my saddle and packs and covered all 
> with a tarp. I also surrounded that pile and my tent with bear charms (moth 
> balls - bears don't like that smell).  I had no problems with either bears or 
> rodents. 
> 
> If you put your food inside an OpSak and that inside your Ursak, you would 
>solve 
>
> the rodent problem.
> 
> MendoRider
> 
> 
> ________________________________
> From: Melanie Clarke <melaniekclarke at gmail.com>
> To: dvsteven at hotmail.com
> Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net; esmith11 at my.whitworth.edu
> Sent: Thu, February 10, 2011 7:57:41 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] Ursaks
> 
> Dear PCT,
> 
> When I left my Ursak on the ground (once), the rodents got into it.  When I
> tie it up to a tree it always stays safe.
> 
> Melanie
> 
> On Thu, Feb 10, 2011 at 7:21 PM, Steven dvsteven <dvsteven at hotmail.com>wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Hi Ethan,
>> 
>> I use Ursacks, I believe that they are around 650 cubic inches and I used 2
>> for 10 days of food (lots of food) on my Wonderland hike, so 5 days per
>> sack.
>> 
>> I hang mine upside down inside another waterproof bag that holds my food
>> and anything else with fragrance.
>> 
>> Hope that helps,
>> 
>> Flying Tortoise
>> 
>> -Forwarded Message Attachment--
>> From: esmith11 at my.whitworth.edu
>> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
>> Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:02:39 +0000
>> Subject: [pct-l] Food Rehydration Strategy
>> 
>> For those of you who do decide to go stoveless/cookless, but choose to
>> rehydrate food that ordinarily would be cooked, what kinds of
>> dishware/rehydration containers do you use?
>> 
>> Also, in regions where bears are not a concern so much as rodends, does
>> everybody use opsaks/ursaks? If so, how many are needed for 4 - 5 days worth
>> of food. Where are they placed at night relative to your tent/tarp? I have
>> always hung my pack, but that does not appear to be the favored method for
>> even rodents, so I am trying to learn some things!
>> Thanks!
>> 
>> Ethan
>> 
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