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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2019 4:10:46 GMT -8
Not certain if I picked the proper category here. Camp Cooking seemed to be the best fit.
I've noticed what I think might be an interesting, if not alarming, trend the past few months. It appears some people are deciding to forego the hanging of food bags. Instead opting to keep everything in their tent.
Just after an AT section hike in Georgia with a college buddy of mine, back in September, I was reading a feed on a FB group (Appalachian Trail Section Hikers). It was in response to the proper hanging of bear bags, I think. This person stated something to the tune of; "black bears are afraid of us. I keep everything in my tent and they don't bother me."
I discounted his comment, and noticed that no one responded. Then, later in September a person came to my coffee shop. He was fresh off a through hike, finishing in Maine on 21 September. We talked backpacking for about an hour. In that discussion, he said he did the same thing! He camped away from the popular areas, and kept his food bag inside his tent for the entire 6 month trip!
I am NOT planning to try this. That's not the point of this post (I'd be sleeping with one eye open). I'm just curious if anyone else has heard of this. Perhaps these two people are isolated in their opinion? Though I find if two people are willing to share this publicly they are quite possibly not alone.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 27, 2019 7:29:34 GMT -8
I’ve read that before. Too many people are lazy and stupid so some percentage will chance an encounter with a creature that can casually peel open a steel car door like a Pringle’s can just to save an insignificant amount of effort. The “it hadn’t happened to me yet so its impossible” that leads people to not wear seatbelts or pfds. It’s why in more and more places from the Adirondack High Peaks to all of Yosemite National Park the sole legal overnight food storage method is hard sided bear resistant containers. Is it more common now? Well there does seem to be an influx of new hikers, largely thruhikers of less overall experience so I could see an upsurge driven by “ultralight”... www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/bears.htm |
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Nov 27, 2019 7:54:24 GMT -8
In RJ Secor's "The High Sierra" in one of the first sections of the book, he described a hiker camping along the JMT (middle Vidette, I believe) and using his food bag as a pillow. He had to bail off the trail to Roads End and head in to a hospital to get his ear re-attached, after a bear tore it off trying to get his food.
People need to research a little more before making assumptions. What you're describing is very common, even here in California where the bears are so bad that it drives an industry that makes bear resistant containers, and some regions ban hanging food because the bears are able to get it too easily. Injuries here that are bear related are because people leave food in tents, not because the bears attack them.
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tomas
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Post by tomas on Nov 27, 2019 8:54:23 GMT -8
I've seen plenty of people here in the mid-Atlantic and up in New England with the same philosophy. Which I do not understand because I've also seen the damage that rodents can do to a pack or a tent trying to get at food. Bears aren't the only reason to hang (or otherwise contain) your food.
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Post by bobcat on Nov 27, 2019 9:28:46 GMT -8
The original post has a point that I want to highlight. One of the hikers said that they “camped away from the popular areas” and that is one piece of a good risk-management strategy. Bears tend to make the rounds of spots where they know campers have food. If you’re not in that area , you are probably at lower risk. I would still hang my food or use a bearcan, keep the food away from my tent, etc.
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sarbar
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Post by sarbar on Nov 27, 2019 16:52:48 GMT -8
It is common on the PCT for this to happen. However...it isn't a good thing to do. It's not hard to at least use an Ursack to keep your food safe. And not in your tent.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2019 16:58:32 GMT -8
I don't have personal experience witnessing anyone taking food bags into their tents. I would probably pick up and move. I'm also aware I chose a topic which would garner universal agreement in a backpacking forum. It was a non-issue for me until an AT thru-hiker informed me how he kept his food bags in this tent. It intrigued me.
I enjoy reading stories from out west. Not that I don't respect black bear behavior here on the east coast, but my impression of bears out west is one of being a bit more aggressive?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2019 17:15:21 GMT -8
On a similar note.
On a trip in mid-October I noticed a group of 3, camped next to us, who had all of their food in a cloth grocery bag. It was apparent they had no plan to hang that bag. They weren't going to bring it in their tent. I think they were going to leave it leaning against a tree. They were camped about 40 feet away from us. I formulated a strategy to address this.
I approached them and asked a question. "Hey, I plan to hang our bear bags just over there, about 100 feet across the trail. Do you think that's a good idea?"
I received a "deer in the headlights" look.
After some gentle education they agreed to allow me to hang their bags with us, while I taught them the PCT method.
I averted a potential issue, and hopefully educated some new backcountry hikers in the process.
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almostthere
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Post by almostthere on Nov 27, 2019 19:36:13 GMT -8
I don't have personal experience witnessing anyone taking food bags into their tents. I would probably pick up and move. I'm also aware I chose a topic which would garner universal agreement in a backpacking forum. It was a non-issue for me until an AT thru-hiker informed me how he kept his food bags in this tent. It intrigued me. I enjoy reading stories from out west. Not that I don't respect black bear behavior here on the east coast, but my impression of bears out west is one of being a bit more aggressive?
If a bear gets too aggressive to the point that it starts to get close to people so often it gets shot. They tag and track and monitor the problem bears. Bears you can drive away survive. I've had some encounters with habituated bears in our camp - they hang out and linger, and in some places they'll dart in and snatch food from behind your back if you turn away for a second. Unfortunately there are enough people that let them have food that they still pursue it. It's gotten better in Yosemite, though one time I was in line for a permit and the person in front of me was arguing to beat the band that they would eat all their food the first day, walk out the next day without leaving food out at night - they had to rent a bear can to store trash and hygiene items for the night just the same. There is a bear that learned to pitch cans off a cliff, so there's a camping ban in that area.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Nov 28, 2019 9:28:21 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Nov 29, 2019 12:02:37 GMT -8
In RJ Secor's "The High Sierra" in one of the first sections of the book, I did a 5 night backpacking trip with RJ Secor and Julie R. We got lost Good times. |
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 4, 2019 19:59:32 GMT -8
I enjoy reading stories from out west. Not that I don't respect black bear behavior here on the east coast, but my impression of bears out west is one of being a bit more aggressive? Here's a couple from NJ in recent years. I still can't find the one were a bear dragged a hiker from a tent near an AT shelter.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2019 2:01:22 GMT -8
BigLoad, from reading this story, it appears they did what I've read you should NEVER do. They ran. The black bear then gave chase. Of course, I do realize it is easier said than done. But I also know of stories where a group of hikers stood their ground, waved arms and shouted, and the bear walks away.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Dec 5, 2019 7:56:39 GMT -8
BigLoad , from reading this story, it appears they did what I've read you should NEVER do. They ran. The black bear then gave chase. Of course, I do realize it is easier said than done. But I also know of stories where a group of hikers stood their ground, waved arms and shouted, and the bear walks away. The guy who was dragged from his tent didn't run. He might have snored, though. |
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Post by cweston on Dec 5, 2019 13:33:39 GMT -8
Yeah, it amazes me that anyone would be cavalier about food storage. I've had many encounters with bears over the years (none of them up close and personal, thankfully). I can say without hesitation that I do not fear black bears, but you better believe that I respect them. To keep food in your tent in bear country just seems extremely foolish to me. And, as tomas mentioned, there are plenty of little critters that might wreck havoc trying to get to your food, too. The only animal I've ever had successfully breach my food (in a well-hung bear bag at a camp on the PCT) was mice. In high mountain camps, I often half-joke that we're really protecting the food from marmots moreso than from bears. |
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