Bear Cannisters & tp

“Alright, this may be kinda gross, but...

I've been wondering whether when using bear cannisters to put all your odiferous things into (especially in very active bear areas like Yosemite), does this mean that one is forced to put ones...ulp...bagged used tp in there too at night?? This is a particularly unsavory thought regardless of the number of baggies you've got...but anyone have any rules of thumb? Would such an unhappy smell (even in the sealed baggie) actually attract a bear to one's site?

Also, is there anyone else who makes a bear cannister other than Garcia Machine? Not the Ursack, which I wouldn't trust, despite some testing...”

“IF you are inclined to pack-out tp, it hangs with the rest of your stuff.
Don't you hang all your trash anyway? Don't you keep used tp in with the rest of your trash?

Trash, food, toiletries... it ALL hangs in my bag.”

“Two other bear canisters - the Bearikade at www.wild-ideas.net (VERY expensive) and another at www.purplemountainengineer.com.”

“I was going to start a thread and ask about other places to find Bear Cannisters.
Campmor has them but I was looking for a less expensive place to get one. REI doesn't have them.”

“REI does have 'em, at least in our neck of the woods. Although they are a tad more expensive than Campmor. Also have seen ads in the back of Backpacker Mag.”

“I have "Backpackers Cache". Seems to be fairly popular around Southern California anyway. 2.7 lbs. and seems indestructable. It will hold quite a bit.

I haven't put my tp in there yet. I would interested in finding out some other opinions.”

“I traded the one I had Back to Jerbear and wanted to find another one. I just can't justify spending $70 for one. It seams somebody out there would have something less expensive. And I don't want a Ursack.”

“This is of interest to me. My husband and I are goin to CA this summer. I have been looking at bear canisters what about the rentals? I was thinking of buying one then if someone wants to purchase it from me great deal. I would only need it the one time.
Also looking at what kind.
Any suggestions great.”

“Walkindude, I think the only thing out there you'll find that's cheaper are USED Garcia cans, available from the Forest Service.

There are a few variations of bear cans out there, (Garcia can, Aluminum cans at higher $140, and the Bearikade($250). These prices are approximate, of course, but aside from the Ursack - something I woldn't trust MY food with in Bear country - there aren't any other options that I'm aware of, especially at lower prices.

The Bearikade, by the way, comes in two sizes - 1# 10 oz., and 2# 2 oz., if I remember corectly. The focus, of course, is on weight. My understanding is that the Bearikade is the product of 3 NASA engineers who designed and used space-age materials to come up with the lighter result.”

“Why not use a ursack for the tp and trash and the can for the food & toiletries. Who cares is a bear smashes your trash. They still hunt black bears in Idaho, they did it with dog until a few years ago, so bear tend to keep there distance from humans hear.”

“Sh*t eating bears!”

“Good lord, burry the used tp well and ya won't have a problem! Or if your so worried about LNT then burn the stuff in someone's old campfire ring.

Barb, you can rent bear canasters from pretty much any Yosemite Ranger Station or Wilderness Permit Station for like 2 or 3 bucks. Do that if your not intrested in buying one.”

“Are there any other uses for bear canasters? If I'm ever going to carry that kind of weight I've got to have some sort of multi use for it. I still don't think I'll ever go as far as buying one.
I'll be hanging food and if I buy anything maybe URSAC will do.”

“I bought two used Garcia Backpackers Cache cannisters from
www.sierrawilderness.com for $29.95 each and they were in great shape. they make nice
camp stools,TV trays, end tables and footstools around the campfire.
I carried mine for the first time, a couple of weeks ago, hardly noticed the weight.”

“Thanks Wind Walker.

I didn't see any used ones for sale but I did order a new one. With Shipping included it was $71.50. That's cheaper than Campmor.”

“Thin Air - I revived a thread about other uses of bear cannisters.

I must admit I was reluctant to switch to a bear cannister. Now I like them. I still don't like the extra weight, but I do like protecting bears from being destroyed.”

“I always put extra stuff in the other one I had. Stove, Fuel cannister, film, headlamp, TP, ect. Never "used" TP though.
I don't mind taking a cannister in non-bear country either. Even raccoons & skunks love to get into stuff.”

“Tentbound they make great toilets! No sh%t!, line it and it works perfect. Big wall climbers have been using tubes for waste for years.”

“Gojo, I have had it beaten into my skull that hanging stuff in bear country is not effective (especially in high activity areas like Yosemite) and that if one has been successful with counter-hanging, versus a cannister, you've just been lucky. Everywhere else but bear country, stuff does get hung...just not nearly as high for obvious reasons. Nice thread on cannisters though...good to have discount tips.”

“Hanging is NOT protection, but more a method to slow down the time it takes the bear to GET your stash!! Gives you a little time to get woke up enough to chase it off.
I've seen some amazing stunts done by bears, to get hung food.
Some places sell off the rental canisters at the end of a few seasons.”

“Regarding storing used TP with,near or close to your food....Even dogs have sense enough not to poop near where they eat.

By no means should one store used TP anywhere near ones food. That is just plain nasty. Pack the TP in ziplocs and stash it away(if necessary) in the far off hinder regions of your pack, where you will not encounter it till you unpack.

BTW do bears really like human poop? I guess I overrated their tastes.”

“Unless your underground on a lond caving expedition, I see no reason to tote around your sh!t. I bring one of those little BPing shovles to bury it with. just leave it in the outdoors. It's biodegradable!
I can't believe that issue even came up.”

“TP is not as biodegradable as you may think. I burn it mostly. Critters dig it up otherwise.”

“Do bears love human poop?! One of their favorite treats at the local state park dumpster are disposal diapers that campers throw in. It's a regular spectacle of Darwin Award nominees at the daily bear scavenging times - mothers and fathers and little kids all hanging around ten feet from the bears while they eat. Even had a couple there a few years ago that was bringing a bear INSIDE their large tent to feed it! Needless to say, they were politely asked by the rangers to leave and stay out of the woods.”

“Bears would rather eat poop than other food scrap!? Egads they are dumber than a 'possum...”

“Another reason to keep poop out of your bear cannister.”

“Walkindude...your welcome!
They make the Garcia can 27 miles from my house in Visalia, Ca .
But it's 75.00 if you pick one up there.”

“I used my Garcia cannister as a washing machine for my clothes. The lip kept the water from sloshing out and it was easy to carry it away from the water source. The bearikade is the lightest of all cannisters, but VERY expensive.”

“HAHAHA!
I like that idea. You need to put that on the "other uses for a bear cannister" thread.”

“Yes, I am somewhat embarassed to admit that I was the one to raise the disgusting issue, walkindude. It's just that the idea of putting everything that smells into the cannister sort of, well, begged the question. I was always taught it was dumber not to ask than possibly toss out a "dumb" question. Some of the last responses made me laugh out loud! I'm glad it is not just me that was...ahem...balking at the idea of putting EVERYTHING into the cannister. That said, I'd hate to think (based on some of the input above) that a bear might actually be drawn to my pack or camp by used tp in a zippie! Wa. I'll just hope that I don't come across any of those "poop-eating" bears...bleah!”

“I use a compound bucket, and hang it very high in a tree, no problems so far. The rangers in the Olympics are fine with that.”

“On patrol over the weakend some campers told us of their bear adventure at the campground down the trail from us. A bear watched the guy as he was putting up his bear bags. However, there was an orange in his backpack. The bear went after his backpack to get the orange. They had to wait 15 minutes for the bear to leave because he wasn't scared by noise. The girl freaked. They packed up and came to our camp because they knew there were more people there.”

“a4naught
Your absolutly correct. No question is dumb if it's in any way serious. My apoligies. It is strange to find out that bears are attracted to poop. Who woulda thought?”

“lipstick,

you use a COMPOUND BUCKET???

who the hell carries that thing out there?”

“I carry a port-a-pot. Lemme tell ya that is one tough mother to get into a tree, but the view.....ahhhhh the view.”

“Burn or eat used tp.”

“Violin, very funny...”

“walkindude,
no sweat. I knew I had to ask and just endure possible ramifications. But, the second half of this thread has made laugh and laugh about the poop-eating bears. And yet...hehe I guess if they want it that bad, they can have it. Would they shoot a bear that became a nuisance because he...ulp...got into too much poop?! Egads.”

“rad, It's a 5 gallon compound can or pickle container. Lookingglass puts it in his pack and fills it with his gear. I don't think it's too heavy. The last store you hit before you reach the coast of the Olympics rents them out.”

“lipstick--is that one of those big white plastic things with a snap on lid? How the heck does he get it in his pack?

I'm a believer in packin out the paper--I just put it in it's own snack baggie and then right in with the rest of my trash.”

“You know, I'm finally learning not to drink my coffee while reading TT posts. The baby potty would be a lot easier to hoist up high for a view. A potty swing! My husband could strap it to the back of his pack. He wouldn't mind that, would he. He could wear a T-Shirt with "Serial Killers Anon" on one side, "No Littering" on the other and then no literate person that he met would laugh, or litter. Bonus! I think I want to cut back on the coffee.”

“omigawd!

a pickle bucket would NOT be a good idea. there is always that suble pickle smell.”

“What is a subtle pickle smell to us probably smells irresistible to a bear a mile away.

”

“that's my point. plus, that's a damned big bucket.

but hey, if you want to lug that big damned 5 gallon pickle bucket out there, have at it.”

“and that bucket would not keep a bear out, at all, once he got it down. a bag would be just as useful.”

“I can't imagine someone would need a 5 gallon pail just for used tp!

”

“I've been sh!tting in the woods for yeeeeeeears and I've never once thought, I need a big freekin jar to keep all my used TP in{}. Did you know that for a couple of $$ you can get a little BPing shovel and bury everything. If a bear comes along and eats it, (ackkkkk Gag) so what. I promise you the bear ain't gonna make a deposit in a jar. Jeeeeeeeze!”

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

You are so funny, walkindude! ROFLAO”

“I have a related question....what do you do if you meet a bear on the trail?

I was hiking in Baxter State Park last weekend and saw my first bear. It was quite exciting until I realized two things: the bear was not full grown (was mom around?) and I had lunch leftovers in my backpack. The bear was off to my right and just kept on his way, but I wondered what I was supposed to do if he had shown interest in me.”