I wonder if the cooking style should be examined. I boil water and dump it onto flavored potato or grits meal mostly. Not a whole lot of worry. I have also thought of taking a steak and frying it up in my pot/mug. Now THATs going to make everything smell like meat (including me, well I know I AM meat, but you know what I mean). So definitely get far away from the bed if you are doing that!
And change clothes afterwards?
No, really...met a guy who had a bear nudgin his hammock after cookin steaks -- eek!
- Loki my videos
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy,
while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn." — John Muir
In my past experiences those who go camping, especially like that, are a better caliber of people who are more likely to help you than hurt or steal from you. When I car camp, I frequently leave my camp for a couple of hours. Any longer than that, though, I'll lock it up. That is a risk, and one that I would consider more deeply if the population on the trail was higher. The trips I've been on so far have been during school in the middle of the week. When I did the Green Briar, I think I saw four others in a 30 mile stretch. I'll switch it up, eat before I stop on my next trip, and see how that works for me. Thank you for the inquiry.Originally Posted by nc_robin
Maturity makes the mind grow older.
Regardless of how close to your hammock you cook and eat a good thing to keep in mind is that you want to reduce the risk of any food spills on your bedding or clothes or the ground below. When you go to sleep or sit by the fire with your friends this spilt food or drink could attract pests such as: ants, scorpions that hunt ants, mice (that chew thru hammocks), snakes that hunt mice, skunks, raccoons that carry off things and many other critters. Once in NW Arkansas a raccoon detached a friend's WW helmet from his kayak and carried it off, must have like the guy's sweat or perhaps he spilt beer on it.
So if you eat a snack just before going to sleep to boost your metabolism for overnight heat, be sure not to leave any smell of it near you, a skunk kissing you at 3am is unpleasant.
I had two puma (aka mountain lion, cougar, panther etc) scream back and forth at each other about 30 and 100 yards from my campsite very early one morning. Not sure if they were attracted by the dog or just passing thru the area. It was really fun and a little un-nerving at the same time. Probably a mother and yearling. Best to be careful, but not paranoid. But if we had garbage scattered all over the place with raccoons and other varmints eating it other predators like bobcats and coyote may have been attracted. Some folks i have camped with don't keep a clean campsite, this bothers me.
Last edited by ntxkayakr; 05-17-2014 at 10:22. Reason: spelling, puma comment
Bears in California don't care about anything but your food. Injuries caused by bears are invariably due to someone keeping food in a tent. They leave you alone and know full well how to discriminate.
I can see that I'm going to have a steep learning curve once I get out in the woods :-). Ants, snakes, bears, scorpions, oh my! All good things to consider. Definitely got the no-food-in-the-tent/hammock thing! But never occurred to me that standing on the wrong side of a cooking pot could make me smell like food!
I am very new to hammock camping, but I have been tent camping for 30+ years. Just speaking from my own experiences with many trial and error outings. I have found that a 300ft+ triangle works best for an active bear area, 200ft several day base camp (no known bears), or 100ft if just passing thru (no known bears).
As mentioned early its the smaller animals that can and will cause the majority of the problems. With that I never bring anything that smells of food anywhere near my sleeping gear (including flavored drinks - water only). I know a lot of people like the fact that they can use their snake skins and have an instant cooking area in bad weather, but your just asking for trouble. The smell of food can and will get into your clothes and gear. Even if you are only boiling water to rehydrate your meal, the use of smaller and lighter cookware with uneven ground greatly increases the risk for spillage.
Anything that has a scent, cookware, food, empty Ziploc food baggies, toothpaste / brush, goes into a water-proof air-tight dry bag and is hung in a tree 12 to 14 feet in the air with a minimum of 100 ft away from my sleeping area. By using a dry bag you will also be able to keep the inside of your backpack free odor free.
Something else I do and teach heavily in Scouts is to have one set of sleeping only (polypro long johns) clothes in a separate waterproof dry bag. This does 2 things, 1) it guarantees a dry warm nights sleep. 2) there is zero food scent on them.
A-little trick that I use for my bear bag is to use 50ft of 550 cord with reflective strips in it, this way it is very easy to spot at low lite times with a flashlight. I cut the cord in half. Take 1 half at tie on a small marine pulley, the pulley acts as a weight to throw the line in the tree. Lower the pulley to the ground after it is over the branch, feed the 2nd line thru the pulley and tie on bear bag. Hoist and tie of the tag-end of the pulley rope to the tree. You now can raise and lower your bear bag as many times as you want without doing any damage to the tree branch. This really helps if you are at the same site for more then one meal... also remember to leave 3ft of space in between the branch and your bag. This way a raccoon can't reach your goodies from the branch above...
Also when I am looking to setup my cooking area I always walk away for my sleeping area with the wind to my back, and when leaving the cooking area going to the sleeping area the wind is in your face, making your sleeping area "upwind" from your cooking area...
Another little trick we use is to bring a note pad with you and write down what you packed and used / didn't use. What you really wish you had, after a few trips you will be dialed in... Don't try to over think it. It will drive you crazy... and remember everything looks good on paper, get out in the woods, do your best, and find what works for you and your comfort level... Happy Hanging...
For backpackers - I would worry a little (especially on long trails) about people that may make off with your food. Bad planning on their part and your food sitting there may make them think about helping themselves to some of it. You could always carry a laxative brownie, just in case...hahahaha.
But most of your gear should be near enough to you that someone couldn't make off with it. You food will be hung somewhere, but there's no reason to leave your pack and such far away from you. Besides, when backpacking, if someone steals anything, they have to carry it out. Which is why staying away from roads is generally considered a good thing.
I don't make an exception for breakfast.
If my gear smells like bacon when I pack it up, I reckon it will still smell like bacon when I set it back up at the next spot.
It is an interesting topic. You can count me in the folks who do not want the bear thinking I smell like I'm curled up with a bacon wrapped steak. ;-)
FWIW it seems every year or two the bears win:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._North_America
That is enough to keep me careful.
Last edited by nothermark; 05-17-2014 at 10:00.
YMMV
HYOH
Free advice worth what you paid for it. ;-)
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