[pct-l] Food Bags

[Ate Tuna]

If they aren't just north of Warner Springs, there are bears by Whitewater.
 The ranger there told me that occasionally they'll spot a bear fishing
trout out of their pond.  A little past that, a hiker last year caught a
picture of a bear along Mission Creek.  I'm not worried about just bears and
little critters.  Last year I had a mountain lion chewing on my Ursack.
 Note to self: Put Ursack far more than 15 feet from bivy.

Let's just say that none of these animals pose any danger whatsoever.  I
still don't want to be thinking about my food.  I don't want to hear some
rustling or clanging and then decide if I need to get up and try to shoo an
animal away that might be nothing more than a figment of my imagination.
 I'd rather have it far far away and let the animals and bugaboos try to get
at it all night.  If I've done my job properly, I may never know anything
happened or see little more than slobber marks on my Ursack.  I sleep a LOT
better when I know there's nothing in my campsite but a stinky hiker.

I don't just want to protect my food, I also want to protect my sleep.

On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 3:52 PM, Devon Taig <devon.taig at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm not really sure if the various claims are true or not, but it seems
> like when you talk to locals, there's only just a handful of miles that *
> aren't* in bear country along the whole PCT.  Even the miles just north of
> Warner Springs apparently have bear.  I bear bag where I can and bring a
> bear canister where I must. For those tempted to not pack a canister due to
> weight concerns, I'd recommend against that.  (A) they work (B) I was asked
> twice last year by park rangers in Kings Canyon to show them I had one (C)
> they make a nice albeit heavy chair.
>
> When I'm uncomfortable with food in the tent and can't bear-bag, a
> technique I have used before is to place my pack or bear can outside of the
> tent at the foot of the tent (I'd rather have bears at the foot than the
> head) and balance my pot stove atop it such that *most *animal movement
> will cause it to fall and clang against rocks which I've piled below.  The
> sound will (hopefully) scare away skittish critters and also wake you up if
> there's something brown, big, and less skittish lurking outside.
>
> I'm definately looking into odor-hiding bags too. That sounds like ounces
> well spent.
>
> River
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 4:06 PM, Gerry Zamora <gerry0625 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> So if not in a area with bears is it relatively safe to just leave your
>> food
>> in your pack and leave your pack in your tent?  Sounds like a few people
>> use
>> this method with out any issues while out of bear country of course.
>> Gerry0625
>> On Mar 25, 2011 1:50 PM, "Ate Tuna" <atetuna at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > I have had a mouse not only try to get into my food in that exact
>> situation,
>> > but had it succeed even though I shooed it away multiple times during
>> the
>> > night...and I thought the rain and high winds that night would surely
>> blow
>> > that critter off the side of the mountain. I was wrong.
>> >
>> > Now I use a regular Ursack all the time. An Ursack was good enough to
>> > protect my food when I left it on Apache Peak when I left the trail for
>> a
>> > week to attend kickoff. I haven't use an Opsak, but I agree with those
>> that
>> > think I should.
>> >
>> > On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 8:02 AM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net>
>> wrote:
>> >
>> >> I’ve never had lil' critters try to get into my food when it’s lying on
>> the
>> >> ground at the head of my bed -- and that’s while sleeping under the
>> stars.
>> >>
>> >> On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 9:29 PM, <dnielsen at djmurphycompany.com> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> > Just curious what people are using for food bags to keep the critters
>> >> out,
>> >> > other than at bear vault areas. Ursack, wire mesh bag, just hang it
>> etc.
>> >> > ???
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
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