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flatsqwerl
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PostMon Apr 17, 2023 10:32 am 
I love these bear boxes ( like at Ross lake etc. ). You can put a ton of stuff in there...way more than just food. When I used them 2 years ago at Ross lake, I shoved my sleeping bag and other stuff in there ( with all food). I figured a bear could easily 'explore' my tent and destroy my gear while searching for food. Also, no holes/cracks looked big enough to allow mouse entry - bonus!

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Navy salad
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PostMon Apr 17, 2023 11:22 am 
RumiDude wrote:
After witnessing hundreds of supposed bear hangs, I can only remember a handful which actually fulfilled the required 10' clearance off the ground and 4' horizontal clearance from trees and branches. And in many places in Western Washington it is almost impossible to find a suitable tree near enough camp.
Yup, it's tough when the trees look like this:

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Kim Brown
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PostMon Apr 17, 2023 2:59 pm 
^^^ I see some in the distance that can be hung using two trees, if one is inclined to do so and has 631 ft of rope. Yeah, it's a hassle. So I'll go the Ursack route.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert

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Randito
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PostMon Apr 17, 2023 3:51 pm 
Ursack is way more convenient than doing a hang and not as unwieldy as a canister. My ursack is pretty old now. It's bear worthiness has never been tested, but it does have quite a few worn areas where mice have attempted to gnaw through unsuccessfully. I may have to resort to carrying my ursack inside a ratsack.

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The Ghost of Bear 380
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The Ghost of Bear 380
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PostTue Apr 18, 2023 12:27 pm 
+1 on Ursacks. Although, I always pair it with Opsak odor proof bags. Sure, Ursacks (as long as you know how to tie them off right) work great, but without the odor proof bags, bears will still be drawn to it. Just wish Olympic National Park allowed them. curse.gif This is a great move by the MBSNF, but it will probably only be enforced in the front country.

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hbb
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PostTue Apr 18, 2023 4:10 pm 
I'd love to see MBSNF install some bear wires in popular backcountry camp locations. That's always struck me as a simple, low-cost and easy to install solution to improper food storage.

Navy salad
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RumiDude
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PostTue Apr 18, 2023 7:39 pm 
hbb wrote:
I'd love to see MBSNF install some bear wires in popular backcountry camp locations. That's always struck me as a simple, low-cost and easy to install solution to improper food storage.
Bear wires are great, until something happens and then they are difficult to repair. When I worked in ONP they were often abused by people that would foul the pullies with their own rope or by hanging too much stuff on the wires. The latter often happened when groups would try to hang all their equipment, not just food from the wires. And again, repairing them required being able to climb the trees to work on the wires, i.e. climbing spikes and harness like loggers. Rumi

"This is my Indian summer ... I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all."

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huron
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PostTue Apr 18, 2023 8:01 pm 
Last fall after getting annoyed by some rodents, I decided to try carrying a can next trip. A Bearvault 500 sat in the garage for several years and never carried it because it was far too huge for a weekend and was just insane to strap on a pack. Also saw that Ursack and Bearvault are going off approved lists in some parks. Looked at the ONP approved cans list and found the Bare Boxer. Its 1.6lbs, 8" diameter tube 10" long which fits nicely inside a pack rather than strapped outside and holds a weekend's worth of food for two if re-packaged carefully. I used that as an excuse to make some other changes like bag to quilt to make some room for it in the pack so now I'm pretty much at the same volume but have safe food storage.

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BigBrunyon
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PostTue Apr 18, 2023 11:28 pm 
When it comes to the bear canisters these days, it's another one of these NOTIFY situations. No matter what bear canister I own I just walk in there and NOTIFY them of what I'll be doing. No regard for their authority!!!! I just go in there and NOTIFY them.

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Gil
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PostWed Apr 19, 2023 4:22 am 
Hey, we could just carry food that bears don't like! Such as coconut macaroons -- bears hate those! Or freeze-dried sweet and sour teriyaki chicken -- bears totally turn up their noses at such fare.

Friends help the miles go easier. Klahini

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Kim Brown
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PostWed Apr 19, 2023 8:19 am 
Do they like hasenpfeffer? Or roasted roadrunner covered in poinsettia sauce, served on a roulette wheel? Those are my favorite backpacking meals.

"..living on the east side of the Sierra world be ideal - except for harsher winters and the chance of apocalyptic fires burning the whole area." Bosterson, NWHiker's marketing expert

Navy salad
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Malachai Constant
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PostWed Apr 19, 2023 11:22 am 
There were bear wires on the coast until the racoon figured them out. I saw one doing a Walenda tight rope act to get packs hanging on them.

"You do not laugh when you look at the mountains, or when you look at the sea." Lafcadio Hearn
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peter707
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PostWed Apr 19, 2023 12:10 pm 
I observed that spots that large numbers of people eat lunch are particularly prone to pikas / mice. The top of Aasgard Pass, and any viewpoint at MRNP that has some sort of stone embankment will get raided in <20 minutes, Mt. Si birds, etc. Therefore, if i'm ever bagging a peak and want to leave my pack for an hour, I have good luck leaving my bag about 200 meters away from any popular trail. Rodents are super lazy and won't travel that far, rats about 100 meter max and mice about 30 meter maximum. I do not know what the maximum nighttime range of a pika is, but I read online they stay within 2km (making it all the more crazy that they live at camp muir @ 10,000ft!) There is some tension here between LNT and safe food storage. LNT wants everyone in the exact same established campsite and exact same established trail but the animals learn easier that way in my opinion.

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bccarlso
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PostWed Apr 19, 2023 12:24 pm 
peter707 wrote:
I observed that spots that large numbers of people eat lunch are particularly prone to pikas / mice.
Ugh, had an awful night of sleep last summer at Grand Pass in the ONP due to one of these little buggers. I think a pika, but I only caught a glimpse of it the fourth or fifth time it was scurrying away from my tent. Food was in a bear can and 50' or so away from camp, but it must have been after the sweat in my backpack, which was in the tent vestibule. The next night I put my pack away from camp and it seemed to have mostly solved the issue, though I still heard a little scurrying around my tent. Nothing better at keeping me up at night! I think pack + bear can + poles away from the tent, and probably bringing ear plugs, is my current plan of action next time I'm out.

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klar
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PostWed Apr 19, 2023 4:43 pm 
I usually use a bear can for one or two days as I like to bring fresh veggies and I find they stay protected better in the crush proof container. It is also dead simple when you get to camp. On longer trips I always just hang as I tend to go heavy. This is a picture of one weeks worth of food. Do you think it would fit into two cans? :]

I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat. Edgar Allan Poe
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