Does anyone pack along a couple of cloves?

Not only does it taste good, and is good for you, it supposedly
helps to keep the bugs away.
What about the bears?

a couple of cloves won't take you very far....try garlic powder. Fine for the flavor but I don't know if it has the same health properties as raw garlic... As for bears....who wouldn't like a little garlic with their hiker!!!

Don

The powder just isn't the same.

Actually I was wondering how bear was with garlic :)

It's also very good for the good bugs in your stomach. It's called a probiotic. It feeds the good mycobacteria, and if they are strong enough they can fight of Gardia, even if you drink some spores. The key word here is "some". Drink enough and the bad mycobacteria win and more than cover the point spread. So it is still a good idea to filter or treat.

.....

Towards the end of my trip last year, I had garlic cloves and an onion in my food bag. It makes the Lipton meals more edible.