Help Settle an Argument: Food Storage

[fishy]

Or rather just a heated discussion between my husband and I

We're headed out on a backpacking trip in the Gorge next weekend and we were discussing logistics last night. I've never been backpacking before, but DH is experienced (really, I swear he is, despite what I'm about to say).

He casually mentioned that we would be storing our food in the tent and I stopped like a deer in the headlights. Now, I don't know a whole lot about backpacking, but aren't you supposed to NOT store food in your tent (unless you want to be sleeping with a bear or raccoon in the morning)? It seems to me you should always hang it or use a bear canister no matter where you are. We discussed this for awhile and he finally said "okay, if it makes you feel better, we'll hang it" (you guys know, the "fine, I'll give into the wife's suggestion but she's crazy" kind of tone).

So, now I'm curious, what is food storage protocol for the Gorge area? From what I understand, it's not exactly bear country....but there are plenty of hungry wild animals. So, who's right?

[chameleon]

Well, I'll be ambiguous and take both of your sides. In the Gorge, I have had little trouble keeping my food in my tent - as this keeps it away from your main nemesis - rodents. Mice love to chew holes in your pack to get at it, but often don't when it's in the tent with you. However...it is ALWAYS a good idea to hang your food away from your camp, and situate your kitchen away from your camp as well. This is the best advice. If you hang it, it will not be a problem in any way. It is also a good practice to get into, especially if you ever venture into true bear country, where clean camping practices are crucial!! (where you should even store the shirt you cooked in away from your camp)
So I believe your husband's idea would be fine, but your stance is certainly the more careful one, and will serve you well on future trips.

[fishy]

Thanks for the info. I could kind of see his side, as the Gorge isn't known (as far as I know) for a real wild animal problem. But at the same time, I was VERY surprised with his suggestion, because he spent years down in Yosemite (he worked for the park), some of those years practically living in the backcountry....and you don't go anywhere in Yosemite without a bear canister!

[BCJ]

If I'm in the tent I have no problem keeping the food in there with me. If I'm going out and leaving the tent and food behind then I don't leave it in because the rodents will chew through the tent. I wouldn't hang it at night in the Gorge, though, so I'm voting with your husband.

[backcountryhunter]

Please hang the food and toothpaste and deodorant and any other nice smelling things you take along.

We would not want to habituate any wildlife to humans. All it takes is one time for a bear to get grub in a tent and he will continue to get the easy snacks by entering other tents. If this happens there is gonna be a dead bear.

Thank you

[fishy]

If I'm in the tent I have no problem keeping the food in there with me. If I'm going out and leaving the tent and food behind then I don't leave it in because the rodents will chew through the tent. I wouldn't hang it at night in the Gorge, though, so I'm voting with your husband.

I'm just curious what your reasoning is behind not hanging it?

[sarbar]

The ONLY time I sleep with food is in the dead of winter, in minus temps, on fields of snow 15 ft or more deep. (And that is only so I can eat at midnight. And even then my food is in an Ursack.)

I use an Ursack bag (www.ursack.com) or a Bear Vault canister. I have been using the Ursack since around 2002. One of the few places where I have had an animal test one of my two Ursacks was on Eagle Creek and it was a small bear. So yes, animals do exist out there. The Gorge is highly used and by those who don't practice clean camps.

Sure there are people who use their food as a pillow. No thanks. Worse than a bear is mice dancing on you, chewing holes in your tent - or worse? Raccoons! They will rip anything to get to food.

[raven]

I've been sleeping with my food for more than 40 years without a problem. I would not do it in most National Parks where bears are hiker-conditioned, and would avoid standard camping sites when hiking on trails by going off-trail if plausible. I do one thing not mentioned or common: I mostly do cold food trips with no cooking, and at other times (except winter) I tend to cook dinner a half mile or more from where I make camp. That's often easy, because I like to hike at twilight.

That being said, a friend and I have started talking about a possible mini-expedition, destination open, but into grizzly country. We have been discussing the need for bear spray, and we will probably decide to carry an Ursack with odor-proof inner bags, since we would be vulnerable while sleeping. On the other side of the equation are (1) the seriousness of losing food on a multiweek trip with no opportunity for resupply and (2) the likelihood that the dangerous bears where we would be are not after *our* food. The matter needs and will receive more thought and discussion before long.

If I were camping in the Columbia Gorge this month, I would sleep with my food, not sleep in a much-used location, and cook elsewhere. In a frequent campground or if I were to cook in camp, I would protect my food from the little guys, and not be too concerned about the big ones.

Steve

[Wyeast pal]

Here is a publication from the Leave No Trace web site. Go to page 21 with regards to "respecting wildlife". http://www.lnt.org/training/PDFs/NA.pdf

Leave No Trace is the offical "outdoor ethics" program for the Forest Service, Park Service and BLM. It is not a set of regulations, but an ethic. Prevention of problems so that the resources are not impacted is the focus.

Bear/human encounter problems have not been significant in the Mt Hood area other than in the local communities. Let's keep from developing problems bears. Once a bear has a bad encounter with a human (like the bear that ate the sunflower seeds from a back porch of a home near the Sandy River the other night and left the homeowner with a major leg scratch), the bear will likely be trapped and put down. "A fed bear is a dead bear" so goes the saying. Respecting wildlife is not giving it an opportunity - not just bears but all wildlife. Hang or cannister your food, toothpaste and trash. Carry all food waste out.

[Paul]

Please hang the food and toothpaste and deodorant and any other nice smelling things you take along.

We would not want to habituate any wildlife to humans. All it takes is one time for a bear to get grub in a tent and he will continue to get the easy snacks by entering other tents. If this happens there is gonna be a dead bear.

Thank you

I agree very much with this one. We don;t have this problem yet, but as population grows in the PDX area and these areas are becoming more frequently visited, we do NOT want animals getting habituated to the campsites. They do that with a frequent existence of food in the area.