We did a portion of the AT through Shenandoah park a couple of years ago. We saw quite a few bears and even though we hung our bear bags on the provided pole at the shelter they came through our camp to investigate. I have also been seeing more and more stories of bear encounters on the AT over the last few years. I will always hang a bag in bear country.
"If animals could speak the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow, but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much."
- Mark Twain
"FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! NO MORE WOOD!"
- Mancat
As others have stated. Bear bag it, primarily for the mice.
Bear bag it PCT style mostly for mice.
In NJ, hang it for bears.
In the 100 Mile Wilderness, I hang it. It's all I have for sustenance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AT '12. AT '14. FT '15. CA '15.
If I'm anywhere near a shelter or often used camp site I use a bear bag. Also mostly for raccoon and mice. When winter camping I try to stay especially vigilant as the cold seems to make them more creative. I had a friend that left his pack in a restroom, at a campground, thinking no bear would bother it there. The next morning, the corners were chewed through and the food was suspect. His through hike ended early.
Between bears, raccoons, fishers, mice, and all the others, it's just become habit for me. All my food and toilet kit goes in a Zpacks cuben fiber drybag and up a tree, PCT-style.
I'm not very vigilant about cooking away from my campsite and usually hang the bag much closer than the recommended 200' downwind (within sight of the campsite; I've lost the food bag a couple times!).
Last summer I ran into a group who dithced thier big packs by the side of the trail before going up and back on Owls Head in NH and were very surprised when they came back a couple hours later to find their bags torn apart and food all over the place. Bummer.
Last edited by Scubahhh; 03-10-2014 at 14:53.
Add life to your years!
We have bears on the AT? Strange never saw a single one, they were too busy rummaging through garbage cans in peoples yards. I have an Ursack now, I used a cheap bright yellow Walmart Dry Bag for NJ, NY and CT. Hung the bag PCT Style when I could, otherwise I tied it to a tree a couple hundred feet from where I was sleeping and hoped nothing bothered it. The only critter to bother anything was the one that crawled into my hiking boot. It was the loudest screech of disapproval I ever heardOriginally Posted by Dos
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I'm camping with you. I ALWAYS hang bag when I'm in the woods. Getting back to civilization with a shredded pack, and missing food is not a situation I ever want to deal with again. Granted, I was in NM, but all bears are opportunistic, whether in east, west, or north woods.
looks like common practice is to be safe and hang the food away from camp....
during my hike I suspended my food bag from my hammock suspension or left it on the ground below hammock with an "alarm"(metal spoon with carabiner makes noise when moved) on top of it. Slept with food in tent when I ditched the hammock due to cold weather.
I did hang it a couple times when others were freaking out about it.
Main reason was due to having an ursack and rain....I did not want to be dealing with a wet food bag daily.
In my quest to see a bear outside of a car campground/in the wilderness I baited them by leaving my food trash under my hammock at night and having my camera ready(genius, I know)....but never did I get the chance to see a bear, get attacked, or have my food stolen.
Some people I was with mentioned the bear/racoon/etc may have known it was a "trap"....also, I slept with my flashlight on pointing directly at the the trash/food to get a better video lighting WHEN the animals came-they never came....maybe the light scared them off.
Later this year in WY/MO, I WILL BE FOLLOWING ALL safety guidelines regarding bears(grizzlies scare the ___ out of me).... I just didn't feel threatened on the AT.
*disclaimer*- always hang your food bag properly or use a bear can...my results are probably not typical nor do I endorse them for others to try.
Well, duh... so do I.
"A bore is a man who deprives you of solitude without providing you with company." Gian Vincenzo Gravina (1664 - 1718)
Shelter bears (mice) are adept at raiding food bags hung on the bear proof cables at AT shelters.
If you prepare for failure you will probably succeed.
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