Got a bear can, now what?

“I went and got me a bear cannister, which seems like a pretty good idea. What do I do with the thing at night. I don't bring it in my tent and use it for a pillow, do I hand it in a tree? Bury it? Use it for a bongo to send messages through the forest?
Where do you all keep yours when it is not in your pack.”

“You can put yer weed in it!”

“I love saying that!”

“Well if you have a stuff sack put it in it and sling it 10 feet above the ground.

If no trees around put it away from your tent about 100 to 200 feet.

The only thing that will happen is the bear will bat it around but he can't get in it and will give up after awhile.

Thats what I would do.

8|”

“The the NAt. Park Service recommends far enough away so that the bears don't come creeping around your tent but close enough so that if you hear them batting it around, you can get out and scare 'em away. Don't place it near a water source or near the top of a big drop off if you are camping on high as it could get knocked around by a bear and you could never see it again. I want to say their recommendation was 50 yards?”

“Gettin` the bear can`s the easy part,.. ever try gettin` a bear in the darn thing? You go to all that trouble to bring along that stupid thing and a bear won`t climb off in it for shucks. Heck next time I`ll just bring my bear traps, that pissy little bear can wasn`t much help. For all the good it did me I might as well stored my grub off in the fool thing. No bear in his right mind`ll get within fifty foot of it!LOL”

“find a bear and throw it at him.get in your bag and go to sleep.”

“Don't put it in a stuff bag ...the last thing you want is for the bear to be able to pick it up and carry it off. The whole point is the bear can't grip it and can't bite it!

If there are any brushy or rocky areas nearby that's where I leave mine so the bears can't roll it away so easy. So far mine has always been right where I left it when I get up.”

“If you are camped around bluffs than tie it up WELL!, and hang it over the side. I'll take mine away from camp and tie it to a tree real good. It's kinda heavy to hang. If you don't tie it to something then bears will play soccer with it and you'll never see it again.”

“Good point!

8)”

“Speakin` of bear cans,.. those trash bins they got at the trailheads and in the parks are great arent they? Sure are!!

We rigged one of `em us so the lid would come down when we pulled a string on it. The trap was set and long after camp got quiet and most right thinkin` fellows had called it a night,.. we slip out and go open the lid on one of those bins and haul back off to wait it out a bit.

Doesn`t take half a gallon of Jim Beam long for us to hear a bear off thrashin` through things in that bin and we up and put the sneak on the critter.

Worked like a charm, but now that we had a bear we didn`t know what to do with it,.. course none of us was thinking that good, what with the strong drink and weak minds, we come up with a plan.

Just a bit more drinking was what was needed to hatch up a real good plan and we got `er did and done. If nothing else it was starting to get light and we figured we had a pretty well pissed off bear to deal with.

Now to say that `ol bear was mad wouldn`t be half tellin` it right. The sucker was foaming at the mouth, tooth popin`, hoppin`, angry upset at us!

We set in tryin` to calm him down a bit, but it apeers he doesn`t speak a word of english and he just hisses at us through clenched teeth kindda liek the French folks did us, or sometimes our wives do. I`m thinkin` this would be one of those times my wife would so, I just wasn`t gonna to share it with her.

Tellin` that fool bear to hush, shuss, or quiet down a bit fell on deaf ears, well,.. partly cause the bear was making so much ruckus. For some reason we decide to go banging on the sides of that bin in hopes the bear`ll cower down a mite so we can let him go. That doesn`t work either and about that time the sanatation truck starts around the bend and we see it and haul off before we get caught.

Well,.. we get to laughing for all we`re worth thinking `bout those `ol boys opening up that hornet`s nest and we almost make ourselves sick laughing so hard. Well,.. till we see the truck pull right up along the bin and back up.

That pretty much sobered us all up and we go to screaming to them about a bear being off in there and they just kindda laugh at us like we`re a bunch of drunks. They start to open `er up and we scream at `em again, but they don`t listen to us so, we go to looking for a tree to haul up outta the way and so we can get a better look see.

We almost get up there too when we hear blood curdlin` screams and someone running and the sound of footsteps get closer and closer and sure enough, that fool sanatation dude`s at our tree and comin` up like the world`s afire and that bear right in after him,..







Then I woke up, it wasn`t that guy screaming it was our wives and them after us cause we all stayed up drinking all night long and fell asleep out by the fire.

I couldn`t help but laugh at that and it made it all the worse, those women really set in on me and their men then. `Bout then is when we see the trash truck comin` around the bend and I look over at one of my friends and ask him, did y`all let that bear out?

We go to screaming our fool heads off and haul off down there to keep the sanatation dudes from getting mauled, but we stop short when, we the mess out in front of the trash canasters and the lid of the thing tore off and laying ten feet from the bins.

You know what happened then,.. those dudes had the nerve to ask us if we knew anything about that mess and did we have anything to do with it!LOL”

“Tahoe,
You can leave the canister outside your tent. I usually wedge it between boulders, or put rocks around it so it doesn't roll away if a bear knocks it over. I usually put rocks on top too so I can hear it. You can use it as a chair or as a table. I've had bears walk thru camp, and not touch it. Probably should say this, but a lot of times I leave it outside the tent door.

Mike, I'm convinced bears go for the shape of a hanging bag. One of the guys hung a small stuff sack with trash and food he couldn't get in his canister. The bear got his stuff sack, then came over to our hanging water bag (the REI type) and was sniffing and slobbering all over it. We put our trash betwen a couple of logs, and the bear didn't touch it. The only time we see bears is when we're with others that hang or are careless.

Tahoe, Did you get the Bearikade or the Garcia?”

“Outside the tent!?!?!?!
Wow, your braver than me Snow Nymph!

You can also toss it in a sinkhole or the hole left when a big tree falls over. The outside is too slick for a bear to get a grip on it to get it out.”

“I'd suggest finding a depression in the area, 100 feet or so away. It'll roll around if moved, but if in the depression, it might not roll OUT.”

“I think the conventional wisdom is 50-100 ft. from your camp, possibly wedged between rocks and trees or in a depression. Avoid places where it could roll downhill.

It is designed to be difficult for the bear to bite or grasp, so I wouldn't tie anything to it or put it in a sack.

Eventually, bears will just ignore them...which is the goal. In some areas that is already happening.

I have the Garcia and it works fine--except for the 2.5 lbs of course. I kind of like not bear-bagging any more.”

“You might be right becuase in Michigan in the Porkies they say the same thing happens there.

The bears watch ya hang the bag and then they see the tie off on the tree and they bite it off and they get your food!

I just may have to get one of those can's.

8|”

“I think it's worth the weight during bear season. I don't use it in the winter cause I figure they should be asleep. If I got space left over in it, I just toss my first aid kit, headlight, extra film, socks, stove, fuel tabs or cartridge, ect. in it too.
Use them to sit on or as a table. Some one said they even used it to fetch water out of the creek to bring water back to camp.
They are handy not only against bears but also mice, skunks, & raccoons.”

“Snow, I got the Garcia from REI. I didn't see any other brands at the store, and didn't do any real comparison shopping. Are there any critical differences between the Garcia and the Bearikade?”

“Garcia: 600 ci / 2 lb 12 oz

Bearikade® Weekender: 650 ci / 1 lb 8 oz (Brown truck should be here soon)

Bearikade® Expedition: 900 ci / 2 lb 2 oz (been using this one for 2 seasons, holds 10 days food)

Bearikade® is a carbon fiber lightweight and has a airtight seal. You can leave it in the rain and it won't get wet inside. Downside is the cost.

The Garcia is cheaper from the Whitney Portal Store (Last I heard it was $59 incl s/h). Not too late to get it from them.”

“Bearikade® is a carbon fiber lightweight bear resistant canister and has a airtight seal.”

“How much is that weekender carbon fiber job, SN? Over $100?”

“http://www.wild-ideas.net/Bearikade.htm

I go enuf I've gotten my $$ worth.”

“I thought they were about 2 bills :) I paid $29.95 ea for my Garcias ...bought them used from Sierra Wilderness Store.
I would love to drop another 1 Lb 4 oz though :)”

“WW: Did you purchase them directly at the store? I can do $30!”

“Ordered them over the Internet...I'm not sure if they will have any used ones this year though. Just one of those deals I stumbled on to while cruising the net.
Sierra Wilderness”