Food storage for bears

General discussions on hiking in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest
querulous
Posts: 39
Joined: October 7th, 2020, 3:11 pm

Re: Food storage for bears

Post by querulous » May 27th, 2022, 8:34 pm

I would say:

Don't give bears any reason to visit you at night. Keep a clean camp, food- and odor-wise. Never, ever store food in your tent. Think of it this way: won't you sleep better at night knowing you're not within arm's reach of a potent bear attractant? Bears have an acute sense of smell. To me this is the most basic and essential protocol for camping in bear country, any bear country. Where feasible (in forested areas) hang your food. (bring ~15 meters of parachute cord for the purpose). Above treeline, you might find a ledge, or a rocky hole, a couple of hundred meters away from your campsite. As a last resort, just stash it somewhere in the brush. But *don't* put it in your tent. Like, never, ever.

Beyond that, I don't think you need to worry in Oregon or Washington, barring the Selkirks in NE Washington, and I certainly wouldn't bother with a bear can. As you say, heavy, bulky plus poor storage capacity.

in some high-use areas elsewhere with highly trained black bears (Sierra Nevada national parks, Adirondacks in NY, Great Smokies in NC/TN) you really do need a bear can, although I have read that in a few spots some bears have even mastered opening those. Thankfully I don't think any NW national park has reached bear-can level, much less NW national forests. Our bears haven't had enough practice, and/or have too much other stuff to eat.

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