animals (Bears) and food

[shawnbebout]

When I camp (car, dispersed) I usually put all my food back into the front of the truck at night. I also carry a firearm, so if I wake up to a bear getting into my truck, I can fire a warning shot. Plus if he does tear it up, maybe I will finally get a newer truck.
Coolers. What do you do with them? I use the 2 cooler system. One for food and one for drinks. Now, I know I am probably not gonna wake up to a bear, sitting in my chair, drinking my Mountain Dew. I am more curious about the food cooler. Do you put it back into the truck/car/suv? Or do you just close it and hope for the best? I am pretty sure a raccoon could get into a cooler and cause some havoc. Plus the containers for the dry goods, like chips, bread, graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate, you get the idea.
What exactly do you hang? I could see hanging your trash, that you didn't/couldn't burn. I guess I take some good food with me when I camp. Breakfast last time was fried apples and pancakes. Not just hot dogs over the fire.

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

HS, what type of bears live in the North Rim of the Grand Canyon? I guess if I camp in a truck tent, I ought not have any "attractions" in the truck..... Also, I wonder what folks do when they camp in RVs.. Don't they worry about a "home invasion"?

[elrodalonzo]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

I put my food in a regular Coleman Extreme cooler and then put a ratchet strap around in and leave it outside the truck. Yeti coolers are too expensive for my budget. If I could afford one of those I'd buy a motor home instead. If the bear is persistent I put some bear steaks in the freezer.

[renodesertfox]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

Here's a link to mammals at the north rim: http://www.nps.gov/grca/naturescience/mammals.htm. Whenever we have camped at the north rim or anywhere it is our policy to always keep a clean camp. We have never seen a black bear at the north rim, seen mountain lion, but no bears. They do exist but bear proof boxes aren't located there because the bears pose no threat. In Yosemite NP it's a different story. In the Sierra Nevada Mountains bears are more numerous so the NPS has taken extra steps to insure the safety of the visiting public. It's unwise to make a comparison between the north rim of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. They are two distinct separate places. That's my $0.02 for now.

[SilverMaggie]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

Funny, I was just thinking about this stuff last night. For the past 10 years I have mainly desert camped. No need to worry about bears. Now though, I am concerned. I can't afford a Yeti or a bear box so I will have to hang my food. I was also wondering about the drink cooler. Can't be letting the bears drink my beer!

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

This is certainly an interesting and informative conversation! I definitely hear you HS, I just don't know how to cook and eat far away from my truck... I'd have to shlep my 2 burner coleman stove, dishes and food far away and then return them to the truck after completely washing everything.. It sounds very cumbersome. I definitely don't want to attract bears to my truck tent, specially while I'm sleeping in it, but I don't know if I can keep the inside of my truck cab completely clean of crumbs and food particles since I might drink my coffee and eat snacks in it.
I can definitely hang my food, toiletries and trash from trees if I find them. I will take enough rope, rings and stuff to do it. I don't want to be argumentative, but keeping all that stuff even 1/4 mile away from the tent seems like a lot of work...

RD, thanks for the info about the North Rim vs Yosemite. There is a huge difference between the black bears and the brown bears. I know they are both wild animals and the black bears can be quite dangerous, but the brown bears are truly terrifying. I've seen video and photos of black bears raiding camps and cars right in the middle of huge crowds of (very stupid) people taking pictures and all. But I figure that a brown bear would be killing and eating as many of the spectators as it could....

[renodesertfox]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

sz, depending on where you camp; for example in the remote areas if Idaho, Montana, extreme eastern Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado and the length of the Sierra Nevada Mountains; Maine to Minnesotatoo, bears can be a problem only if one allows that to happen. Bear avoidance techniques are the best policy: Straping up a cooler, all food stuffs in air-tight containers, no snacking in your vehicle or tent. Good prevention goes a long way. When disperse camping it's always good to cook away from sleeping quarters...but sometimes that isn't practical. Also, a person should pack-out what they pack-in and if a person isn't willing to take the extra measure to do just that, including human waste, dirty dish water and empty food containers then one should stick to camping in a more secure environment that provide security such as garbage cans, pottys and a camp host.

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

sz, depending on where you camp; for example in the remote areas if Idaho, Montana, extreme eastern Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Colorado and the length of the Sierra Nevada Mountains; Maine to Minnesotatoo, bears can be a problem only if one allows that to happen. Bear avoidance techniques are the best policy: Straping up a cooler, all food stuffs in air-tight containers, no snacking in your vehicle or tent. Good prevention goes a long way. When disperse camping it's always good to cook away from sleeping quarters...but sometimes that isn't practical. Also, a person should pack-out what they pack-in and if a person isn't willing to take the extra measure to do just that, including human waste, dirty dish water and empty food containers then one should stick to camping in a more secure environment that provide security such as garbage cans, pottys and a camp host.

How about camping in such places as the Desert View campground in the South Rim, or other similar campgrounds? What is the procedure to follow there? Do they have secure places for trash or food? Those seem to be your typical but somewhat primitive campgrounds. I envision people sleeping and cooking/eating in the same area. I am wrong on this?


Oh yeah, I'm also looking for nets to hang the food off the ground. I don't know what sort to get or where to find them. Most of the stuff I see is those cargo nets for cars and trucks. I don't know if they can hold a load like a cooler with food and trash....
I did find this in the Mcmaster-Carr catalog http://www.mcmaster.com/#material-control-nets/=dn9mnb
Do you think one of those might work?

Thanks

Update: I stopped by REI today and purchased the bear spray and the holder. The stuff is pricey!

[renodesertfox]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

Here's the link for Desert View Campground and other's in the Grand Canyon: http://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/cg-sr.htm. Sure would be nice that after you return to pen a short story(report) on your stay there. That will make CF more informative and then you'll have all that experience under your belt and can help other's with their questions. Good luck.

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

Thanks! I will definitely post a report and any good photographs I take. It's pretty exciting to think about this trip. I'm a little afraid of doing it actually :o, I guess I'm just older now and I don't have the carefree recklessness of youth. I am actually thinking it through, imagine that. It's my first "real" camping experience too!

The trip sort of took a life of its own after I bought the truck tent. Now it's got it's own momentum and I've purchased or arranged to get the necessary things. My truck has been made as roadworthy as possible and my wife has given her (concerned) blessing. With all you people's help I feel much more confident about what I'm embarking into .

Thanks again for all the info and advise!

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

silverz51 I don't think you're going to find a tree limb that is both high up and big around enough to support a cooler and your dry food. Plus, hoisting a load that heavy will damage whichever limb you're using as the pulley since the rope will have so much tension it will rip the bark as it slides over the limb. Just get a stuff sack and hang your dry food. Keep your cooler on the ground and ratchet strap it or get a bear proof cooler.

I can do that with the cooler and the stuff sack. The Desert View campground seems to have the sites with picnic tables and fire grills right by the campsite itself. You think it would be better to just leave the cooler strapped with a ratchet right by the picnic table? I guess other folks are doing about the same thing... Or maybe I can get the proper guidance from the Host, when I arrive....

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

You might want to try to figure out a system where you leave your sleep camp and drive your truck a bit down the road at 6pm, cook, eat, clean your dishes, then drive back to your sleep camp. This is assuming you are dispersed camping.

If I was staying in an established campground, I'd cook right in my campsite and just keep a very very clean campsite. There will be 100 other people around who I know will be much sloppier than me so I don't worry so much about bears affecting me in the campgrounds.

As far as the crumbs and stuff in your truck... you should clean all of that out and try to keep it clean.

Not a bad idea... If I am doing a bit of dispersed camping, it would not be such a big deal to cook, eat and leave the food (secured) in one place and go back to setup the sleeping camp in another place. And yes, I can keep my truck pretty clean.

[Bigdog57]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

This is one reason I prefer 'minimalist food prep', like Mountain House FD meal packets and other easy-prep items. Just hot up some water, hydrate my meal, eat and burn the trash or put it in the dumpster well away from camp. FD foods are lighter for hanging too.

But I know some folks (like our buddy Fox) like to cook fancy..... :cool:

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

Going back to a safety precaution thought. Would it make sense to take my 12 GA pump loaded with slugs just in case? I don't want to sound like a Rambo or hard core gun guy, but I do have that gun and a 9mm Glock. I don't feel all that happy about carrying firearms to a peaceful camping trip, but all this talk about bears got me reading way too many horror stories about bear attacks and now I feel like I ought to be armed just in case....

[silverz51]

Re: animals (Bears) and food

Thanks HS, I did some research about the handgun, and basically I am allowed to possess and openly carry my legal 9mm in all the states I plan to travel through. The transport regulations very slightly from state to state but I can make sure I obey the rules. The shotgun (or other long guns) might fall under different rules since they might be considered "hunting" guns. Of course, it's ridiculous, I don't hunt anything and have not shot at a living thing since I killed my last black bird or snake over 40 years ago. Oh yeah, I did remove the dowel from the magazine and it's holding (5) slug shells..
BTW, my question about the viability of the 12 GA slug as a bear stopper is because while reading up on the subject in various websites, one gets the idea that hardly anything less than a 50mm cannon or RPG will serve the purpose :rolleyes:, specially since you only get one shot... (unless you are a dead accurate shot and can hit the bear in the eye).