I know that these are probably stupid questions, but I have never camped in bear country…
What do you do with your clothes that you cook in? I have read that you shouldn’t sleep in the clothes that you cook in, but there is no way that I will be able to put any clothes in my bear canister…
Also, do you just leave your backpack on the ground, or do you hang it up to keep it away from little critters?
Thanks.
Crimson
Crimson
Crimson,
I always slept in my longjohns, which MOST of the time I wasn’t wearing when I was cooking, or at least not as a top layer. I wouldn’t worry about this too much, as long as you aren’t in grizzly country.
Please don’t try to put your clothes in the bear cannister. If they fit, you have too much bear cannister capacity. I think you will find the biggest problem is getting all the food and sundries into the cannister.
We just left our backpacks on the ground. Some people leave the zippers open so the little critters can go in and out (to find nothing) without chewing a hole.
I did carry an extra stuff sack dedicated to food. We only had one bear cannister for two people, so in the day time, we could divide the food up to even out the weight. At night, everything went into the bear cannister.
I was on the trail for 28 days last summer and never saw a bear. Back when we used to hang our food, we saw them more often. They say the bears are not spending as much time hitting people’s camps, now that most people have bear cannisters and it isn’t as lucrative as it once was.
Sue
sssssue
Since this is the JMT forum, I’ll respond with what I do in the Sierras which is not necessarily what I would do in Alaska. I’ve talked several times to NPS and NFS “bear” experts in the Sierras and what they say doesn’t always match what other “bear” experts say elsewhere. But since I figure they know their own bear population I go with what they say.
I don’t worry about food odors on my clothing (well if I spilt my entire dinner on my shirt, I might try to rinse it out). My clothing goes into my clothing stuff sack and is used for a pillow while I sleep in long johns.
My backpack is usually under my feet or my head for insulation/support since I use a torso sleeping pad instead of a full length one. In the past, I use to leave it on the ground nearby fully open so rodents wouldn’t chew through the fabric.
In my cannistor I put all food, trash, and tolietries with odors. I wash my pot out and lay it on top the cannister so the bear will make noise when he plays with it (that noise may even scare him off). Make sure you leave you cannistor well away from camp so the bears don’t bother you; seeing a bear walk by your tent at night seems to disturb some people’s sleep for some strange reason.
Everytime I go to the Sierras, I have always seen bears. I’ve even had several encounters with big mama and her cubs. I have never been bothered or felt threaten. When I use to hang food, they use to bother it during the night waking me up where I then had to chase them off, but that is about it. Haven’t had any issues since I switched to a cannister.
Miner
, plus i make some vague effort to be sitting upwind while cooking, just in case it makes a difference. In the Sierra, it seems the bears are too people-smart to mistakenly bite into you because they think your clothes are food. In some other places, i have cooked in my rain gear, and then put it in a garbage bag away from camp, but that may have been a bit paranoid.
markv
Thanks for the help. I wasn’t sure how concerned I should be about attracting attention from the animal population to the clothes that I cooked in…
Thanks.
Crimson