While I’ve been looking here and there I don’t see much mention of people hanging their food along the LT…I realize this may be a bit of a personal preference but I’m wondering how frequently people do, especially while in shelters…any thoughts
Barry
No matter where I can, I always take my food bag out of my pack at night. Even in a shelter, there are mice that will quickly chew through you pack in search of food. It doesn’t take much effort to put the food bag up on a hanger at a shelter. May not work all the time, but is certainly better than leaving it on the ground or shelter floor for the mice to get at it.
Peaks
I hiked the LT this past summer, started out w/ a bear canister, ended up sending it home, most people hang there food in the shelters ( AT hikers) i never had a problem w/ mice or bears, you hear mice at night in the shelters but never saw a bear but did see alot of scat on the trail, so i would recomend hanging your food in a tree like your supposed to , VT has a population of over 4000 bears.
good luck and have a safe hike.
BackTrack
Bears are really a non-issue along the LT. I hiked in 2005 and never saw any sign - plenty of moose and deer sign though. I’m from VT and have never heard of any hiker run-ins with bears. Unlike the Adirondacks, you do not need to spend a lot of time thinking about keeping your food from the bears.
On the LT, the mice are the issue. They are all over the shelters and will do their best to get into your food. Most shelters already have hangers left from previous thru-hikers for hanging your food. I kept all food in an extra stuff sack and just hung that every night - this was a common approach and worked well. I saw other hikers using plastic grocery bags and this appeared to work just as well.
Tumblina
I don’t have any real concerns about bears.
First, at shelters where there have been frequent bear problems, there is a bear line, bear box, or something else to keep your food out of harms way.
Second, bears are only problem in isolated areas where they are protected such as New Jersey (no more), Shenandoah National Park, and Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Elsewhere, they are tend to stay away.
Third, bears are creatures of habit. They know where to find food. Sleep away from the established sites and you will seldom have a problem.
Peaks
Barry - As others have mentioned, you can safely hang your food on the “mice” hangers in the shelters/lodges/cabins along the Long Trail. As Tumblina mentioned, there are very few bear sightings along the trail, although i have seen 2 bears on & near the LT in the last three weeks (one near Peru peak and one on the summit of Baker Peak).
If you plan on camping, you might want to hang your food. However, I have never hung my food on 5 thru-hikes (2 AT, 2 PCT, 1LT) & have never had a problem.
While on the subject of camping, opportunities for camping are few and far between on the northern half of the LT. You have to be very creative at times, if you want to camp on a regualar basis.
freebird
trash compactor bags!..2 of 'em! (one inside the other…one is always the “innie” and one is always the “outie”[this we learned from hatman and happy feet])…never any problems…mice will, however, go after VITAMINS in a ziplock tucked in a side pouch of your pack!..(found this out the hard way!)…always make sure you store away your garbage, too!..the one time we didn’t, a huge rat came into our tarp and stole one of my gaiters! (you dirty rat!)…we never had any visiting critters at any other time…i don’t think they can smell stuff in the compactor bags…
maw-ee
i used the mouse-trap hangers when they were in the shelters, but that was just because they were there. some nights i was hungry, lazy, or boozy and din’t bother, and i have slept on the LT with food in my vestibule. it was never a problem, but i also hike with a dog. my theory is that most animals will smell the dog (who basically sleeps on top of me) and go after someone else’s stuff. never had a problem, but i do leave the stuff sacks with food smells slightly open… a mouse will get in if determined to do so, and if there is no easy way in they will chew an opening. i learned this from my friends mistakes. whatever helps you get to sleep, that’s the important part.
a hiker
Brought 2 hard bear containers back from AK and still use them on the LT and AT. Mice, squirrels, raccoons, etc, do more damage to food storage than bears. They can eat thru a bag in a short time. I’ve even had a released Sugar Glider (gliding nocturnal marsupial) eat thru a bag on the AT near the CT/MA line.
Extra weight is a concern, but they are pretty indestructible.
LTGhost