Bears

[mbiraman]

Hang your food and other smellies (toothpaste, deodorant, etc.) 75+ feet from your camp and you should be fine...

Jamie

+1 with NFA. Bears have one of the best noses/scent abilities, in the world. It doesn't do random . They can smell food 5-10 miles away and you and your hammock are not and never have been on the food list unless you've got food. As long as you take some basic precautions, especially in parks, you'll be fine.

[fox10078]

Thanks for the responses guys, I really thought the same thing, I just wanted to make sure.

[lori]

In Yosemite or Sequoia/Kings Canyon all your hygiene products, trash and food needs to go in a bear canister, period. Most of the Sierras are going that direction - national forests are still requiring either/or - counterbalance OR canister - but around Whitney and in wilderness areas around Tahoe and in national parks canisters are the RULE, not an option.

Fortunately those jursidictions will also rent you one for a little cash - but getting your food in is definitely an art form.... pack food in ziplocs, don't take crushable stuff, and count on being good at tetris with food. those freeze dried meals that come in bricks? repackage in ziplocs! couscous, rice, instant taters, anything that will mold in with other bagged meals easily are the best.

[NFA]

An interesting article in the NYT recently-ish...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/ny...pagewanted=all

[lori]

Yellow yellow is old news - she's been breaking into the Bear Vaults for a few years now. But that's why we get up and chase off the bears when they are fiddling with the canisters - don't give them time to study. No bears in Yosemite get food from the canister users, but there are too many people who still hang their food, and the bears know how to defeat that.

[DavidWa]

On a motorcycle trip years ago I camping in a park in Vt. where they handed out a brochure on how to avoid confrontations with bears. The two big things were no food in the tent and also not to wear clothing in the tent you were wearing when cooking the food.

Ed Speer tells a story in his hammock book about being , I think on the AT at a shelter, hanging in his hammock outside the shelter while his hiking partner and others were inside the shelter when a bear decided to enter the shelter in search for food. Ed reports that the bear looked at him but never approached him in his hammock and his hiking partner asap ordered a hammock to pick up at the next trail town for use during the rest of their trip.

D

[tbone]

I kind of think that you would be more secure in a hammock anyways , its not like its going to drag a hammock away, most of the suspensions people are using are pretty strong , I`m not saying you don`t stand the chance of getting smacked around like a heavy bag IF a bear took an interest, I just think it might be a pretty frustrating experience for the bear. Of course this might be elaborate self deception.

[Ramblinrev]

If a bear decided to slap a hammock around there would not be much left of the hammock. Bear's claws do not retract so they would tear gaping holes in the hammock fabric. But if there is no food or food like scents coming from the hammock I am not convinced the bear would care. It's not like they have organized tetherball tournaments

[anthonysaudiojournal]

Here's about all you'll ever need to know about bears in the Sierra's

http://www.sierrawildbear.gov/

I've been backpacking all over the Sierra's and don't think its an issue as long as you cook away from camp and put all your food, toiletries and anything with a fragrance in the bear can. Some places have large bear boxes, http://www.climber.org/data/BearBoxes.html

[riverkeeper]

Yogi Bears recognize packs and tents for what they are ... possible sources of food for their constant appetite. Personal experience here with many other campers' follies and dealing with aggressive bears myself.... I worked as a wilderness ranger in the Sierras in the late 90's.

Most bears unless they're far down the pecking order are also somewhat curious which provides them the possibility of turning something new into food. I've also heard of bears playing, it appears, with springy bouncy tents which in some ways resemble hammocks.

Having dealt with aggressive bears in the Sierras and now a couple times in the Olympics ... my Hammock is stashed during the day.... no concerns at night.