Comments on: Bear and Critter Concerns : What to do?

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 18:08:36 +0000

In reply to Adrian. "I am condor table back aping in black bear territory" ? I think you may have typed wrong... There are no grizzly bears in Colorado.

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 22 Feb 2016 14:48:17 +0000

Hi
I am condor table back aping in black bear territory.
I normally sleep with the food in my tent.
My question is “. There is grizzly bear in the CT? Or just black bears.”?
Thanks
Adrian

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 06:08:56 +0000

In reply to “PSB”.

The phrase “lucky rather than good” comes to mind… 🙂 Again, the fact that WMI has a scenario where people get clocked in the head with a rock while trying to hang a bear bag is telling… And most people do a piss-poor job of hanging a bear bag. I’ll stick to unused sites and the other methods I suggested rather than bear bagging. Then again, I may be more lucky than good as well. 😉

By: "PSB"

"PSB" — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 05:50:43 +0000

I’ve yet to come close to doing damage to myself throwing a rock with a line attached to it over a tree branch. So, I’ll keep using the PCT method – the true PCT method, I have seen other “methods” labeled as PCT method on YouTube that made me chuckle – after having a bear visit my camp one dark and stormy night in the Trinity Alps of Northern California. There was plenty of evidence of bear activity in the area (ahem, scat), and I had a close encounter my second night out. It was pitch black du to the cloud cover and I heard something crashing through the brush between my camp site and Emerald Lake. I stuck my head out of my tent with my headlamp on and looked towards the sound to see two eyes and a snout about 20 feet from my tent. I was happy to have my food properly hung rather than on the ground in a bear canister for the bruin to play with. I didn’t get a lot of sleep that night. I have never had problems with mice, but maybe I don’t camp in the right places.

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 16:22:25 +0000

In reply to Doug K. On the hike out we saw a camp with a beautifully text-book hung bear bag, a complex rigging of lines strung between the trees – except that it was 5 ft above the ground. Another proponent of the Bear Pinata Method I guess. Ha! I see that a lot myself... I call it "Marmot Bagging" :) Either that..the world's shortest bears!

By: Doug K

Doug K — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 16:13:57 +0000

never injured myself bear-bagging, but did put a hole in the tent oncet..

was out last week with a pack of Boy Scouts in the Weminuche, bear sightings and tracks, scat etc all around.. We would have needed half-a-dozen Ursacks for all our food. My plan is two large nylon waterproof bags, trash compactor plastic bags inside that, all bags knotted tightly then hidden in the woods a good hike from camp. So far (last 10 years) this has worked, but I may just have been lucky.

On the hike out we saw a camp with a beautifully text-book hung bear bag, a complex rigging of lines strung between the trees – except that it was 5 ft above the ground. Another proponent of the Bear Pinata Method I guess.

My wife’s backpack has a couple of patches where the Grand Canyon critters gnawed through it to get at stray peanuts..

By: LAZERDEATHKILL

LAZERDEATHKILL — Thu, 18 Jun 2015 12:59:55 +0000

Every since a microbear (marmot) runoft with 3 days food in a giant sack next to my head on the Colorado Trail I’ve opted for a more conservative approach. I use the BPM also known as Bear Piñata Method.

My food is secured safely in carbon fiber neon green tiny horse festooned with purple ribbons. The proper method is to hang it about 5 feet from the ground so the bears may pick at it.

On the AT I’d only do bear measures if it was posted, if they had hangs or boxes set up. I do believe this to be overkill as it is well known that all the bears on the AT are too busy partying in the suburbs. The only ones I saw had fallen into a concrete lined pit just south of the Hudson River and looked unable to escape. My efforts to secure their release from the zookeepers proved fruitless.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 02:22:44 +0000

I have used Ursacks backpacking in the Grand Canyon where the mice leap from branches and chew through thick stuff sacks. I am happy to say they could not chew through an Ursack!

By: Andrea

Andrea — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 15:40:01 +0000

In reply to Andrea. that would be "mountain-ash-berry-infused scat"...

By: Andrea

Andrea — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 15:39:27 +0000

We didn’t have any run-ins with bears when we hiked the CT many long years ago (though we did see some mighty impressive piles of mountain-ash-berry-infused along the trail at one point), but mice ate our chocolate and our oatmeal and nibbled holes in our food bag and our underwear and anything else tasty or salty. I’d be interested to see if an Ospack fools the rodents.