bears

[Glenn Hickman]

I am camping for the first time tomorrow in the national forrest in California. Never have camped outside of a camping ground. How do you handle your food and bears?

 

[slomatt]

Hi Glenn,

There are quite a few different options. In general bears are not a major issue when remote camping in California as long as you take some simple precautions. In fact, bears tend to be more of a problem near established campgrounds because they learn that human food is easy to get. Here are a few suggestions to get started.

- Don't take any food or other smelly items such as toothpaste into your tent. Leave them in the car or your food storage system (see below).

- Some bears have learned to recognize things like bags of chips and coolers, so it is a good idea to cover these up if you are storing them in your car.

- Personally I almost always just hide the food in the car and have never had a problem. If you want to take the next step of precaution you can get a bear canister (locate it away from camp) or hang your food between two trees (remember that bears can climb).

 

[RedRob]

I tend to agree with slomatt based on my experience as well as that of my many friends with whom I’ve spoken about this issue. However, one frequently hears that in established campgrounds bears will tear vehicles apart that have food in them, so I never leave food in the vehicle. I’d rather lose all my food and coolers than have my rig destroyed.

 

[Steve]

Here are some previous thoughts:

https://overlandbound.com/forums/threads/safe-encounters-with-bears-mammals-in-north-america.8835/

https://overlandbound.com/forums/threads/bear-country.8176/

https://overlandbound.com/forums/threads/where-do-you-store-your-food-is-it-safe-to-store-it-in-the-car.5722/

 

[Passe-Partout]

I tend to agree with slomatt based on my experience as well as that of my many friends with whom I’ve spoken about this issue. However, one frequently hears that in established campgrounds bears will tear vehicles apart that have food in them, so I never leave food in the vehicle. I’d rather lose all my food and coolers than have my rig destroyed.

I agree with RedRob - I wouldn't put food in a car. It invites a bear to try to break into it. As mentioned, hang it in a bear-proof container or lock it (with padlocks) into a bear proof cooler (Yeti claims to manufacture bear proof coolers) that is chained to a tree that is at least 50 yards from your camp. NEVER bring food into your tent.

 

[flyfisher117]

I agree with RedRob - I wouldn't put food in a car. It invites a bear to try to break into it. As mentioned, hang it in a bear-proof container or lock it (with padlocks) into a bear proof cooler (Yeti claims to manufacture bear proof coolers) that is chained to a tree that is at least 50 yards from your camp. NEVER bring food into your tent.

FWIW Montana fish and game does not see a "bear resistant" cooler chained to a tree as proper storage and you can still get up to a $5000 ticket for this. Yes I know CA is not the same as MT and grizzlys are a whole other issue compared to blackbears but it is worth noting for those that do get out to various states.

 

[Dilldog]

I used to backpack in bear country a lot. Always just did bear bags. Put your food in a stuff sack, and suspend it from a tree limb 20ish feet off the ground and make sure its well away from the trunk.
I would also highly recommend getting a can of bear spray.

 

[chuckoverland]

Wear bells, its a thing