The color of your food hanging bag

“So we have a bear problem in the Northeast that is worse this year due to drought, famine and the failure of the NRA.

What are our options?

a)Garcia canister
b)Bearikade canister
c)Hang a food bag
d)Use your food bag as a pillow
e)Expect your dog to ward off wildlife

So what do you think?”

“Cannister is the only foolproof way. Counter-balance hanging is next best bet.”

“I hang, but would like a Bearikade. My bag is red.”

“Mine is red too, but I am terrible at hanging it. I throw like a girl.

I want a bearikade too. I eat bottom roast rather than filet mignon, but I really like good gear!”

“I've started using a caribiner toss my line, then hook it to the bag. works pretty good.”

“I let AmyG sleep with the food. That way I get a head start running.”

“In all my years hiking in the east, I have never been raided by a bear. I hang the food on a limb too weak to support a bear but strong enough to support the food. It hangs low enough from the limb that it can't be reached from there if a bear does succeed in getting out there, and high enough off the ground that a bear can't reach it stretched out on its hind legs. I tie it off to another tree.

If any bear can get it down, it's welcome to it. None ever has. I've used this method in Shenandoah National Park and in the Daks.

Counter-balance sounds good. You need a very long stick or pole to put it up and take it down. I have never used it, but I think Artex used it in the Daks.

Pennsy swears by his Bearikade, which costs about $200. I posed the question about how much food I would have to lose to equal $200. There are cheaper containers on the market.

I plan to stick to my method. It has never failed me. It requires at least 50 feet of parachute cord.

Incidentally, we used that method at Kirkridge, which Gizmo said has a bear problem. Of course, I've since been advised that some in the party might have been emitting toxic fumes. Thankfully they were downwind of me.”

“And here she was thinking that you were there to keep the wildlife at bay!

j/k..”

“bears eating your food is only one problem. Preventing bears from seeing humans as a source of food is another problem.

Denali NP has had no bear attacks since they mandated bear cannisters. How about Glacier?”

“Geobeet, I think the idea of cleaning up after a bear foodfest is more nauseating than the idea of being without food for a day.”

“Griz country is a whole other question. In griz country the rules change dramatically. Yeah, $200 to save the old carcass is a fair trade.”

“I am the wildlife. She uses the food to keep me at bay....j/k


We just use a stuff sack and hang it in a tree a little ways out of camp. Never had any problems that way. We always make sure we dont have any food or wrappers in our pockets just to be safe though.”

“Mine is red too.

Whodathunk?”

“Black.”

“I chose red so I could find it again after hanging it 50 or 100 yards from my tent.”

“bacpac; the man with the black bag...

I use an OR bag, and the size just happens to be red. Are bears color blind or does the red help them find your bag easier? Inquiring minds, you know....

For some reason, I have this bear fixation. The neighbors now send the newly arrived homeowners to me to talk about bears. Everyone is so amazed that there is wildlife in New Jersey. I always tell them that the tinfoil hats are great for protecting their toddlers from the roving bands of suburban black bears.”

“Navy blue (waterproof), carabiner, lightweight cord (not quite parachute-like) and a small Harken block off an old catamaran.”

“on my Wheeler trip, stumped poo-pooed hanging food. Too many bears up there for me. I put my tent 100 yards from his the first night.”

“Mine was white. Course it all depends on which bag I want to bring with me. I've used a stuff sack before, and then on my solo trip, I used the white Kelty bag my sleeping bag came in. I simply hung it up in a tree, high enough off the ground that it wasn't a punching bag for a racoon. Nothing bothered it all night long.

I understand your fear of bears, LyndyS. I too, am just as skairt of those big ugly things as you are. Never really realized just how many of them are out there, until I began reading up on it. Thoughts like those, aren't exactly the ones that I like in my head, as I'm trying to sleep. 'Ya know?”

“Red sounds like a good color. Mine is a black OR bag and I have a hard time finding it in the mornings!

I also use a Bearikade when I think I might need it.”

“http://pasty.com/discuss/messages/994/1552.html#PN

Saw this pic this morning (I check that website every day). Kind of appropriate pic for today based on this discussion.”

“So Coyote, is that why you read Stephen King while in the woods all alone? Because thoughts of IT are better than thoughts of the Great Furry One? I was pretty impressed that you could read that author while on your first solo trip.”

“I use a green Granite Gear compression sack, medium. It has enough room to hang my clothes, food, kitchen and other misc. smelly stuff. I carry a ball of twine and throw it up and hang. Seriously concidering getting a cannister if I am to expand my hiking areas.....”

“Smiley Girl, that bear looks a little too comfortable standing up like that!”

“Mine's whatever color of stuffsack I grab out of the box.”

“Bright yellow, so I can find the d@mn thing....”

“That's kinda what I thought, LyndyS! I'm not quite convinced that its real.”

“Woodland colors are less impacting of the viewshed.

<GRIN>”

“Yah but you have to balance that with the ecological impact of lost food bags hanging in trees.....”

“LyndyS....in answer to your question....yes! LOL! He's my favorite author. I don't get scared with his books, ..... just intrigued. But bears.....now THEY'RE a whole different issue! (yikes!)

I looked at that picture too, and I don't think that he's all that real either.....I think! LOL!”

“A fed bear is a dead bear, so $200 isn't a lot to pay for it. Look at it like one less chore to do when you get to camp.

We used counterbalancing for a few days when we were in the Wind River Range in July. We could only get 10 days of food in the Bearikade, and we were carrying for 12 days. SnowDude did a great job counterbalancing our extra food!

Before we used canisters, we hung the bags with a caribiner hooked on to the bag. Tie a loop to the bottom of the bag, and use a extended trekking pole to grab the loop to pull down, or to push the lower bag higher. This is easier for you tall guys. SnowDude and I are both short, so this was a lot of effort for us.”

“Used to counter-balance with a black bag. Just bought the Garcia canister. Too much $$ for the Bearikade.”

“At least you found a tree with a great hanging branch like that. Usually I can't find anything less than 40 feet in the air, and I'm lucky if I can hit a branch with my rope tied to a rock, fifteen feet up. I've tried to throw my carabiner but usually it gets stuck and I'm throwing rocks to try to get it unstuck, so I stopped doing that.”

“I used to use my homemade ripstop nylon water resistant food bag but ever since I got the black canister, Garcia, I really like the ease of it. Years back I remember hiding the food bag stuffed in rock crevices with rocks atop it and noisy stuff to alert us if they did try because we were above treeline. Lucky for us no bears came that night. Any similar situation makes the canister look really good. I think in Yosemite they require them because the bears there have learned how to get poorly hung food bags. Right on folks, we all need to inform others that a fed bear is a dead bear.”

“I gotta nice yellow ursack I tie to my wifes foot er... tree”

“SN
Looks like a mexican party to me. Pinyata, stick and all.


I hang with a green bag so as not to be occularly distainful.”

“Click here for regulations

Sierra ReQ for Bearproofness”

“Wow, good info, nuppy.”

“There aren't really that many bears in NW NJ, LyndyS. Today's Star-Ledger said it was only 2 per square mile in that area.

I still haven't seen anyone with a canister in the east.”

“Sheesh, Violin, doesn't 2 per square mile sound like a patio home development in bear density?”

“And yes, the cannisters are not common, since Pennsy is the only one on this site in the east that has one, that we know of.”

“I use a Gregory Bear Bag and its black in color!

8)”

“Mine's red.. I strongly agree with Snow Nymph's rational, and I'm going to get a bearikade sometime in the near future.. I looked at the backpacker's cache canisters and they were cheaper but just way too heavy, IMHO. I'm spoiled after seeing Pennsy's Bearikade, and curse his name under my breath every time I'm searching for a tree to hang my grub in and all he has to do is toss his canister a safe distance from camp. :-)”

“green to hang, but im hoping for a bear canister for my birthday!”

“I need a hiking partner bag, not a bear bag. My partner likes the cookies my wife sends along and keeps eating them. Does anyone have a suggestion? Or should I start eating his home made jerky!!

Keep in mind, it is hard to trick a hungry human!! LOL!!”

“Is Pennsy's Bearikade retrofitted or au natural?

See, there are lots of east coasters who covet a bear cannister. And a digital camera. And a Feathered Friends sleeping bag. And And And

Oh well, I'll just hang the darn food bag and have another cup of coffee....mmmmm coffee”

“My Bearikade is au natural Lyndy. I debated between it and the Garcia, and rented one for a weekend. There was a mixup somehow and the gentleman from wild-ideas overnighted it to me from California at his cost, which was more than the rental. That impressed me, plus it's lighter than the Garcia and holds more food. I have no regrets whatsover about spending the $195 for it.”

“I agree Pennsy, that if you are going to get one, to get the lighter weight one, but the website that nuppy posted mentioned that there was a problem with one end coming apart and they needed to be retrofitted. That was why I asked.”

“There was food
In the trees
But I never saw it swinging
No I never saw it at all
'Til there was you...”

“Ahhhh, a singer. *kisses*”