Bears..

[VanLifeCrisis]

So..maybe im being dumb, but what is the protocol here?   I heard of people saying they put their food in a tree....so do they empty out the pantry in the RV/Van at every campsite in bear country?  Or is this just for hikers and opened items/trash?  I know this is probably common sense to some but despite living in bear prone areas I've never actually camped in wooded areas here.

Would a sealed pantry be enough? How about bucket with gamma lid?

 

[WriterMs]

I'm a bit confused (yes, not that hard to do) as I thought for some reason you were in the FL area (or in the south). Maybe I've missed something.. obviously I have.

When I was backpacking in MT, we'd hang our food for sure. Nowadays, they have the hiking bear canisters. But all of that is for a small amount of food you'd use just on that hike.

Bears can smell through pantries and gamma lids.

That being said, when I camped in my van in MT, I did not take out my food. I was primarily NOT in griz country, so I was a bit less worried. Also, in my rig, I can jump in the driver's seat and take off.

I'll be interested myself to see what other's are doing.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

im in the appalachian mountains, near new river gorge. I plan to head to florida eventually, then across the south. I got to wondering after i let this kid load his game cam photos from nearby on my laptop...and there was bears staring at me.

 

[Gary68]

yea,all bears are not created equal,I've never worried about black bears and am scared to death of brown bears,so common sense in black bear country and be scared for your life in brown country

 

[Almost There]

Inside the van is safe. Inside a car where the cooler or food containers are visible is not. Left outside on the picnic table is a downright invitation to the bears. Do not leave garbage out, keep an immaculately clean campsite at ALL times and you should be fine.

Just because the game cam revealed that there are bears in the area doesn't mean that they are after your food.

Bears generally become conditioned to eating human food when the area they live in has humans who leave out garbage either at campsites, around their homes or at the dump. Once attracted to human food they deliberately search it out again because - well, it's easier and tastier than foraging for their own food...

While out camping in the backcountry it's unusual for us to even see the hind end of a bear. In the organized campgrounds in the front country, it's common for bear warnings to be posted and the park staff are constantly checking on the campers to make sure that they are keeping clean campsites. The bears that share the area have learned that there are easy pickings with the citidiots thinking that leaving the cooler on the picnic table while they go swimming or for a shower is okay!!

You're more likely to be harassed by squirrels and chipmunks looking for a handout than by a bear!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Ask a ranger.  Go to a Forest Service or Park Service office in the area you are in and ask.  Different areas have different recommendations because they have different bear problems.  In very popular tourist areas (Yosemite, Yellowstone, Lake Louise, etc.) the bears have acclimated to humans and can be huge problems, in less popular areas, not so much.  Rangers can give you a lot of good advice on food handling to minimize problems.

In bear country, I would advise carrying at a minimum an air horn and bear spray.

-- Spiff

 

[eDJ_]

in the past I've dealt with Bears, Raccoons, Squirrels, and Field Mice.

I was back pack hiking then and if I knew that there was bears around
I'd hang any and all food items up in a tree. 

There are a couple of ways

Keeping the Bears away from YOU is a major concern.  They will try to tear their way into anything if they smell a food item and could do damage to a vehicle.   Raccoon to me are like Bear Cubs.  Squirrels and Field Mice are even more pesky.   I once went to open my Pack and no less than 14 little field mice came jumping out of it.  They found a Chocolate bar I had overlooked in the twilight and managed to devour it over night.

Today I would use the system at the right and carry a couple of used pie pan's with a small hole in the center
to thread the rope through on both sides.  This would put a pan by the trees on either end.  I'd lock them in place with a couple spring type clothes pins and that should foil the Squirrels and Mice. (who are natural tight rope walkers)

 

[mockturtle]

The food hanging technique is for tent campers. Most NFS campgrounds in bear country now have bear-proof storage vaults which are far safer. In an RV it is assumed you will keep your food inside. However, cooking food outside [I don't] will inevitably attract bears and other wildlife, as food smells will linger near the area. Most campgrounds in the NW have signs taped to the picnic tables with this information. So if you cook outdoors you must be very careful to clean up any food residue. Remember, 'A fed bear [intentionally or not] is a dead bear'.

 

[TMG51]

Da bears

 

[mockturtle]

Looks more like 'Da Cubs' to me! Congrats on shutting out the Pirates yesterday.

 

[highdesertranger]

just because your food is in your car doesn't make it safe. just do a search, I did and got pages of instances were the bears tear the car up to get the food inside. it's not just grizzly bears and it's just not out west there were several cases back east. keep a clean camp and keep the food smell down. it's pretty impossible I know. I have camped in both types of bear territory, most(not all) of the time you have bears going after human food it's where the bears have lost their fear of humans, or they are old or sick and simply cannot get their food in a bear type way. so it's a tough situation remember you are in their backyard, tread lightly. highdesertranger