eating in tent?

[Bear Cables]

There are discussion about hanging bear bags and not keeping ones food in the tent but what about eating/drinking in the tent? I have always understood and taught new hikers to never have food in the tent but I read of hikers saying they get in the tent and eat or drink. I even see ads where the hiker is in the tent with coffee. What do others think or do about this?

[Spot In The Sky]

Hey thanks for asking this- I was thinking the same thing cause I was taught to set up food "200 yards" from the sleeping area. But I have also read people talking about a tent-fly is good because you can cook under it sometimes yada yada yada.

[restlesss]

I too have seen people say they eat in their tents and even have food in their tents. I also saw a post from a future Darwin Award Winner saying a bear took his food from his tent only two inches from his head but also i think said he would continue doing it. Hey it probably will never be an issue with you and a large preditor but there is always a chance. I do not eat in my tent and I hang my food away from the tent. I don't know if I go far enough away but at least I am trying to be safe for me and future hikers. Remember if a preditor hurts or kills you because of your stupidity then that animals life is probably going to be forfeit and others too just because it did what it is supposed to do and that is hunt and gather food.

So long story short... I do not recommend eating in a tent or keeping food in a tent and advertisements are just that NOT REAL LIFE!!!

Do what you want just think of the consequences first.

[Mountain Wildman]

Never hiked the A.T. yet but I haved camped since 1984.
When I retire into my tent it is to sleep, I don't plan on bringing food with me, Just a water bottle for the dry throat in the middle of my slumber.
In the morning if it is cold I might do the hanging out of the tent door while I make coffee and breakfast thing, But since I will have to take my bear bag down I will probably just stay up. My tent cost too much to risk a bear or mouse chewing through it for food. Just my opinion.

[climber2377]

i try not to eat in the tent/hammock and do my best to keep food smells in the bear bag and not all over me. but such is life. if its pouring rain out and i can stay dry and cook under my tarp im game. i dont mind sitting on my hammock and eating. i try not to make a mess. and im pretty good about getting all food stuff and anything scented out of my pack and into the bear bag.

[jesse]

Small critters can be a nuisance. Never had a bear come into my tent, but I accidently left a snickers bar in a outside pocket in my pack, a damn mouse chewed a hole in my pack.

[Graywolf]

There are discussion about hanging bear bags and not keeping ones food in the tent but what about eating/drinking in the tent? I have always understood and taught new hikers to never have food in the tent but I read of hikers saying they get in the tent and eat or drink. I even see ads where the hiker is in the tent with coffee. What do others think or do about this?


Soooo????? Bears are hanging bags now?? Hmmmmm...Their getting smarter....

[10-K]

I confess... I usually have my stove setup in the vestibule so when I wake up I can roll over and fix my breakfast before I get out of my bag, usually just before dawn. Half the time I eat and roll back over and snooze for a few more minutes.

[fiddlehead]

If you don't eat in your tent, and it's raining or snowing? where do you eat?
I usually sit outside of my tent to eat. (Unless it's raining/snowing.)

[JAK]

Depends.

I mean that's what I like to wear in case the bears come knocking.

[Egads]

I have eaten trail bars in a tent during inclement weather; but never cooked in a tent. All food & trash stays outside.

[Hikes in Rain]

I confess... I usually have my stove setup in the vestibule so when I wake up I can roll over and fix my breakfast before I get out of my bag, usually just before dawn. Half the time I eat and roll back over and snooze for a few more minutes.

I love this idea, and I've tried it a number of times. Unfortunately, my bladder won't let me, and once I'm up anyway......

[Manwich]

I'm a case study of the princess and the pea. One single crumb inside my tent and I cannot sleep.

I don't poop where I eat, I don't eat where I poop .
I don't sleep where I poop, I don't poop where I sleep.
I don't eat where I sleep, I don't sleep where I eat.

Except for that time I was living out of that bathroom.

[Lone Wolf]

There are discussion about hanging bear bags and not keeping ones food in the tent but what about eating/drinking in the tent? I have always understood and taught new hikers to never have food in the tent but I read of hikers saying they get in the tent and eat or drink. I even see ads where the hiker is in the tent with coffee. What do others think or do about this?

i've been eating, drinking, cooking and sleeping with food in my tent for 25 years. never had a problem

[Gray Blazer]

My wife and I never ate in the tent and never even brought candy wrappers or gum in the tent. Yet we had a bear try to get in with us while we were sleeping in the middle of the night.

Now when I backpack, I keep my pack and food in the tent. The bears on the AT seem to be wary of humans, so far.

[Rockhound]

Bears shmears. The real hazard of eating in a tent is mice. They will chew holes through a tent to get to food. Would really suck if you are out there in a new Hubba Hubba HP. I have only found this to be a problem in shelter areas. This is the only reason I hang. Otherwise I would just take LWs advice and use my food bag as a pillow.

[Rockhound]

Another option is crumbling up a Pop Tart to leave outside your buddies tent so the mice leave you alone.

[Gray Blazer]

Another option is crumbling up a Pop Tart to leave outside your buddies tent so the mice leave you alone.
Yeah, that'll distract them about 30 secs.:D

[JustaTouron]

I think with all safety measures....be it keeping food out of your tent, size of first aid kit, bringing spot/cell phone etc. One must look at the particular situation and balance. Also bears/mice are not the only risk involved in cooking in vestibule. Fire is another risk.

Using all of your food as a pillow in your tent is one option. Put all of your food a bear bag is one option. But those are not the only two options. A third could be put all of your food except one teaspoon of instant coffee in your bear bag, which gets kept in the vestibule overnight.

Never bringing food into your tent is one option. Always bring food into your tent is one option. A third option could be to only bring food into your tent when hiking in areas with low/no bear risk, but bear bagging when the risk is higher.

Also cooking and eating in your tent is not the same as storing food in your tent. During a rain storm you might prepare dinner in your vestibule, eat, and then hang your bear bag. The next morning retrive the bear bag eat breakfast and then pack up. Of course in that case you want avoid spilling food and also avoid food with a high smell factor that might get into the fabric.

[fiddlehead]

I have an interesting story that happened to me in griz country on the next to last night of my '98 CDT hike, about 10 miles south of Waterton Lakes terminus of the CDT
You can read it here. (http://fiddlehead.wordpress.com/2008/07/26/my-russell-stover-candy-story-and-finish-of-my-98-thru-of-the-cdt/)

[mweinstone]

my tent dosnt have a floor(megamid) so mice can come and go without any trouble. and ive cooked about a bazillion steaks and bacon in my sealed tent . its covered with bacon right now. so? and i hang my food in my tent on the center pole. and i play bear mateing calls on an mp3 player at bedtime.and i sprinkle female bear fermones all around me. cause im scared of hikers. lol.

[Colter]

Personally I have to laugh at some of the rules I hear, like "NEVER sleep in the same clothes you wore while cooking."

Not eating in your tent in bear country is a good rule of thumb, but one I frequently break. In places where bears are habituated to people (as in used to getting people food,) food in a tent is a bad idea at any time in my opinion. In places with a lot of grizzlies I try not to cook in my tent and don't store food in my tent. On the AT I hung my food where required or where I had reason to believe there were bear problems, otherwise I think I ate breakfast in my tent about half the time, and frequently slept with my food.

One of the worst things to do is a poor job hanging your food, as in too low, too close to the tree, or on too small of a tree; or to store food on the ground away from your tent (other than in a bear canister or the like.) That teaches bears to look for people food.

Protect your food from bears, but other than that bears are a very minimal danger on the AT and not worth worrying about.

[sherrill]

Personally I have to laugh at some of the rules I hear, like "NEVER sleep in the same clothes you wore while cooking."

Yeah, I find humor in that one too. Gives me the image of somebody cooking up a mess of greasy hamburgers over a fire, getting spatter all over themselves. In that case you've already put out the invitation to all critters in the area, your clothes are the least of your worries. :)

[Blissful]

I ate in a tent twice in '07. I survived.

[stumpknocker]

I wouldn't think of getting out of my sleeping bag till I've finished breakfast. I wouldn't think of not sleeping with my food bag inside my tent. I eat dinner in my tent more than half the time....and I sleep in my tent every night I'm on the Trail.

I think that will all change when I'm in grizzly country this year. :)

[sherrill]

Yeah, when we hiked in Denali we always stopped to make dinner, then moved on at least a couple of more miles if not more to camp.

[garlic08]

Personally I have to laugh at some of the rules I hear, like "NEVER sleep in the same clothes you wore while cooking."

Not eating in your tent in bear country is a good rule of thumb, but one I frequently break. In places where bears are habituated to people (as in used to getting people food,) food in a tent is a bad idea at any time in my opinion. In places with a lot of grizzlies I try not to cook in my tent and don't store food in my tent. On the AT I hung my food where required or where I had reason to believe there were bear problems, otherwise I think I ate breakfast in my tent about half the time, and frequently slept with my food.

One of the worst things to do is a poor job hanging your food, as in too low, too close to the tree, or on too small of a tree; or to store food on the ground away from your tent (other than in a bear canister or the like.) That teaches bears to look for people food.

Protect your food from bears, but other than that bears are a very minimal danger on the AT and not worth worrying about.

Exactly how I see it.

I think some of the "rules" stemmed from the "Night of the Grizzlies", the horrible night back in 1967 when two backpackers were eaten by separate bears in or near Glacier NP. One of them had stealth-camped next to the dumpster by the resort, where the local grizzlies regularly fed, to the delight of the tourists. Since then, much has been done to "un-habituate" bears and it's been largely successful.

I'm old enough to remember those attacks, and when I hike in Glacier I admit to a certain pucker-factor. I obey all the rules then. It's funny I don't feel afraid of the black bears at all on the AT, yet when you look at bear-human incidents in the last ten years, about half of the fatalities in the continental U.S. have occurred in the Eastern States. So they do need to be understood and respected.

[Manwich]

If a mouse finds my hammock hidden in the middle of the woods, walks across the tightrope, leaps over miniature barded wire fence I made out of wire-wool, gets past the ADT Security System and doesn't disturb the 25 year old with hypersensory to things in the night, he deserves the crumbs in my hammock.

[Gray Blazer]

Exactly how I see it.

I think some of the "rules" stemmed from the "Night of the Grizzlies", the horrible night back in 1967 when two backpackers were eaten by separate bears in or near Glacier NP. One of them had stealth-camped next to the dumpster by the resort, where the local grizzlies regularly fed, to the delight of the tourists. Since then, much has been done to "un-habituate" bears and it's been largely successful.

I'm old enough to remember those attacks, and when I hike in Glacier I admit to a certain pucker-factor. I obey all the rules then. It's funny I don't feel afraid of the black bears at all on the AT, yet when you look at bear-human incidents in the last ten years, about half of the fatalities in the continental U.S. have occurred in the Eastern States. So they do need to be understood and respected.

As I understand it, it was a grizzly and his mate who did the attacks. One of the hikers was Russian and the other Czhekoslavakian. The female grizz ate the Russian, but, the Czhek was in the male.

[kanga]

i've been eating, drinking, cooking and sleeping with food in my tent for 25 years. never had a problem
me too but for 20 years.

[sherrill]

The female grizz ate the Russian, but, the Czhek was in the male.

Ladies and gentleman, he's here all week. Two shows on Sunday! :D

[beakerman]

well down here in Tx we don't care so much about bears--I personally have fear of the beasties and want nothing to do with them--its the fire ants that will get you down here.

There is nothing quite like having a swarm of the little bastards crawling and biting on you becasue you left a granola bar wrapper in your tent. They chew through anything they want and bite with out cause.

I actaully had this happen to one of my first year scouts when he failed to listen to me when I said: "Absolutely NO food in the tents..." I guess he figured granola bars were not food. He woke up in the middle of the night crawing with ants.

[Wise Old Owl]

If a mouse finds my hammock hidden in the middle of the woods, walks across the tightrope, leaps over miniature barded wire fence I made out of wire-wool, gets past the ADT Security System and doesn't disturb the 25 year old with hypersensory to things in the night, he deserves the crumbs in my hammock.

Unbelivably well said... I worked at ADT for five years, How is that solar powered security system working for you?:rolleyes:

[Wise Old Owl]

Honest, If you want to eat in your tent like a cub scout thats fine. It's your tent, your hike, your equipment. Realize the least used sensory organ on your head is the same thing animals and insects treasure. Odor will attract ants, roaches, and other larger animals like skunks and raccoons. All I can say its a great way to meet nature in an awkward way. A cup of coffee or tea just doesn't do that. Peanut butters, white breads, sweets, chocolate, flour, bacon, and grease/lard does.

This is from experience, feel free to learn from my "youthful" mistakes.

[Wise Old Owl]

I love this idea, and I've tried it a number of times. Unfortunately, my bladder won't let me, and once I'm up anyway......

That's what the second yellow Nagalene is for.:eek: My TMI

[Toolshed]

I don't think there is anything wrong with eating/drinking in your tent, if you are careful - I have done it numerous times over the years.

Having critters come into your tent or chew a hole in your gear is due more to your location and their familiarity with humans.

That is, set up a tent near a shelter where critters have associated people and possessions with food and you are more likely to have a problem, whether there is food in your tent or not.

Set up a tent away from shelters and overused camp sites and you will likely not experience a problem, since the critters are likely to steer clear of you and your unfamiliar odors. Logically, I am speaking of the East and this does not apply in Griz country.

[Wise Old Owl]

Yes I see your point as well, I see more skunks around campsites then I do in deep woods. But my gear & pets are my world and I don't want any damage or harm.

[Panzer1]

I would not eat in my tent if I was in grisly bear country.

Panzer

[Lone Wolf]

Honest, If you want to eat in your tent like a cub scout thats fine. It's your tent, your hike, your equipment. Realize the least used sensory organ on your head is the same thing animals and insects treasure. Odor will attract ants, roaches, and other larger animals like skunks and raccoons. All I can say its a great way to meet nature in an awkward way. A cup of coffee or tea just doesn't do that. Peanut butters, white breads, sweets, chocolate, flour, bacon, and grease/lard does.

This is from experience, feel free to learn from my "youthful" mistakes.

i got way more experience than you. you're F o s.

[Wise Old Owl]

i got way more experience than you. you're F o s.


Doesn't take much to get a rise out of you does it?

Peanut butters, white breads, sweets, chocolate, flour, bacon, and grease/lard does.

is everything used in pest control to attract insects & rodents into traps...

[stumpknocker]

Peanut butters, white breads, sweets, chocolate, flour, bacon, and grease/lard does.

is everything used in pest control to attract insects & rodents into traps...

.........it's everything that attracts hikers too!!

Dang...I'd be gettin' hungry after reading this post if I was in my tent. :)

Wise Old Owl....I have nothing against you hanging your food and not eating in your tent. I've found through my experience that it's my preferred way....to sleep with my food, have breakfast before I get out of my sleeping bag and sometimes eat my dinner in my tent....especially if I've walked late. It may seem strange to you, but the only problems I've ever had with food on the Trail were when I used to hang it.

[GeneralLee10]

Most animal, like humans, know where the Grocery store is in there community.

[Lone Wolf]

Doesn't take much to get a rise out of you does it?

Peanut butters, white breads, sweets, chocolate, flour, bacon, and grease/lard does.

is everything used in pest control to attract insects & rodents into traps...

like i said, you're pretty much fos. you have no experience sleeping in a tent with food

[GGS2]

The trick is to urinate in a circle around your tent before retiring inside. Then growl a bit.

Never had any trouble when I did this. Of course, I never did this, either. Sounds like it should work, though, doesn't it?

[Wise Old Owl]

like i said, you're pretty much fos. you have no experience sleeping in a tent with food

That's due to the fact I choose not to, and I had 25 years as you had sleeping in a tent. I have retired three tents over the years and although well used they are now being used by others. I hike my own hike LW, and although I have poked fun at you in the past, I haven't called you out or told you that you are FOS. IMO that it's just a rookie idea. It was never directed to you personally at all.

Here's why someone can learn from other's mistakes:


Ap 2007
WHITE HAVEN, Pa. —A Boy Scouthttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21304524/#) played dead when attacked by a bear during a camping trip, avoiding serious injury.
Chris Malasics, 14, curled up in the fetal position in his sleeping bag after the bear ripped down his tent at Hickory Run State Parkhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21304524/#) around 11:30 p.m. Friday.
"I was just trying to figure out what to do to not get hurt," he told the Daily Local News of West Chester.
As the bear started tossing Malasics around, a Scout leader tried to create a disturbance by banging pots and panshttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2_bing.gif (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21304524/#) and flashing car headlights. The bear eventually wandered off.

What is left out of the article was Chris was storing candy and snacks in the bottom of his sleeping bag! A clear Attractant.

[Lone Wolf]

That's due to the fact I choose not to, and I had 25 years as you had sleeping in a tent. I have retired three tents over the years and although well used they are now being used by others. I hike my own hike LW, and although I have poked fun at you in the past, I haven't called you out or told you that you are FOS. IMO that it's just a rookie idea. It was never directed to you personally at all.


OK. i'm sorry. been a little cranky lately. actually i was born cranky. the FOS comment was wrong. you continue to hang your food and i'll continue to sleep in my tent with my food. if i ever hike again :)

[Wise Old Owl]

If? come on in spite of your surgury, you cannot give up what you like to do best. Get out there, even if its a short one.

[Lone Wolf]

If? come on in spite of your surgury, you cannot give up what you like to do best. Get out there, even if its a short one.

oh i've been out backpacking since the heart thing. it's just not what i like to do best anymore

[Bear Cables]

If you don't eat in your tent, and it's raining or snowing? where do you eat?
I usually sit outside of my tent to eat. (Unless it's raining/snowing.)

This is the reason I carry a small sil tarp, very light wt. in addition to my tent.

[Graywolf]

Another silly post, (to me any way), come on people..Its a no brainer..yes, you can store food in your tent, but why risk it? just because it hasnt happened doesnt mean it wont. You do put yourself at a risk everytime you have food in your tent and/or bag.. I think I remember a story of the hiker who waked up in the middle of the night at a shelter with a bear straddleing him..I dont know about you, but even though I love bears, this would have scarred the@#$% out of me..It just isnt worth it...

When we are out there, safty is of prime importance not only for us but for the wildlife..Once an animal does harm even if no one is hurt, that animal will likely be shot, just because the ignorance of a hiker..be safe people, thats all I have to say..

www.bebearawaresw.org (http://www.bebearawaresw.org)

Hope that link gives useful info to some of you..

Graywolf

[Graywolf]

This story came to my mind after I posted the last post..

I was backpacking in the Ouachita Mountains in Oklahoma, when I sat up camp then decided to go for a stroll up a mountain..I left my food inside the tent, as I thought it would be safe from the ants..(from the ants, yeah, right) When I came back I saw the screen door was not closed, but I remember closing it when I left..Oh, wait, it was closed, but now, peices were dangling in the air..what happened>??When I looked inside the little picnicers were still inside parting down on my food for the next three days...Raccoons...Now those guys are smart....I hope they enjoyed my dehydrated chili....Dang thieves!!!!

Oh, this happened in my early days of hiking when I was naive nothing would ever happen...

Graywolf

[Tinker]

There are discussion about hanging bear bags and not keeping ones food in the tent but what about eating/drinking in the tent? I have always understood and taught new hikers to never have food in the tent but I read of hikers saying they get in the tent and eat or drink. I even see ads where the hiker is in the tent with coffee. What do others think or do about this?
IMO it's fine to eat in the vestibule area of your tent before you head out in the morning. If you do it in the evening and drop crumbs, any animal with a working nose will know that there's food in there somewhere. How much and exactly where is to be determined after getting IN. Mice will be the biggest problem, but skunks are very good at nosing out food smells and can leave one of their OWN! They are also less afraid of humans than many wild animals.
Bears are most folks' concern, but they aren't as brave as a lot of folks think (that's why some people have gotten away with sleeping with their food. Despite what they think or say, they've just been lucky.

[stumpknocker]

Okay, I've been posting WAY too much on WB again. I've probably posted 20 times already this year!!

I do want to respond to this one thread, one more time, then I've got to log off this site for another year or so. It's fun to log on here once in a while, but it's also enough to drive a person crazy....and I'm already much too close to that point now. :)

Animals are creatures of habit. Where I tent at most nights are places that don't get used much, and in some cases, maybe never. I like sleeping on soft ground....leaves and duff. If an animal happens to come across my tent, they know something is out of place. They may be curious, but they are wary. I've only had a couple bears come nosing around my tent when I was stealthing and as soon as they realized I was there, they took off fast.

I started sleeping with my food (and eating breakfast and sometimes dinner) in my tent probably 13,000 or 14,000 trail miles ago. That's a lot of nights in my tent since I ALWAYS sleep in my tent when I'm on Trail. I have had zero problems with animals since I started doing this...ZERO!! Not a hole in my tent from a mouse, a raccoon, a skunk, ants, squirrels or bears.

Before I started sleeping like this, I would stay mostly at shelters areas.

Remember the beginning of this post when I said animals are creatures of habit?? Guess what happens at shelters when you have maybe ten people a night sitting there cooking, eating, dropping food crumbs, washing out their pots and throwing the water next to the shelter, hanging their food in the shelter or bear cables. I've even seen people that couldn't finish all the food they cooked and they would toss it out in the woods.

Animals get accustomed to an easy meal.

My food bag from back then had quite a few holes chewed into it. That's never happened since I started sleeping with my food.

As for those who worry about bears...the bears I've had come around my tent when I was in a shelter area were not afraid one bit. They acted like I wasn't even there. They were making their rounds looking for the food that they had become accustomed to in those areas. That doesn't happen to me now.

As with a lot of things, it might look good on paper when you write of the dangers of sleeping with your food, but in my experience, it doesn't work that way in a real situation.

Loggin' out till late next autumn....gotta keep my sanity. :sun

[Lone Wolf]

bears aren't a problem on the AT. sleep with your food

[Lone Wolf]

Another silly post, (to me any way), come on people..Its a no brainer..yes, you can store food in your tent, but why risk it? just because it hasnt happened doesnt mean it wont.

same can be said for being murdered on the AT. and it's happened quite a few times. there's been 0 maulings or deaths from bears

so for you worry type, hang your food and pack a gun :cool:

[scottdennis]

People scare me far more than wildlife.

What really bothers me is that people get wild animals accustomed to getting people food, then those animals have to be put down or relocated because THEY are a nuisance.

With that said, I like to hang food as more of a precaution from scavengers not predators. I teach my son that wildlife is more afraid of you than you are of it. But when they smell food, sometimes they go Bat Crap crazy.

[Graywolf]

same can be said for being murdered on the AT. and it's happened quite a few times. there's been 0 maulings or deaths from bears

so for you worry type, hang your food and pack a gun :cool:

Lone Wolf, it amazes me with all your AT knowledge that you say there has never been a bear attack/mauling on the AT.. Where do you get your history from??

And it isnt worry, its common sense..I love being around bears, love being around wolves, and other wildlife too..But I also know when to use common sense..

And also, tell your statement to the ones who have been attacked and see if they share your beliefs...

On the other hand, bear attacks/maulings are rare on the AT..Dont get me wrong about that...but they do happen..

FWIW, hike and enjoy being out there..Dont worry about the other stuff, just use common sense when your out, thats all..

Graywolf

[Lone Wolf]

Lone Wolf, it amazes me with all your AT knowledge that you say there has never been a bear attack/mauling on the AT.. Where do you get your history from??

And it isnt worry, its common sense..I love being around bears, love being around wolves, and other wildlife too..But I also know when to use common sense..

And also, tell your statement to the ones who have been attacked and see if they share your beliefs...

On the other hand, bear attacks/maulings are rare on the AT..Dont get me wrong about that...but they do happen..

FWIW, hike and enjoy being out there..Dont worry about the other stuff, just use common sense when your out, thats all..

Graywolf

show me some documented proof of an attack/mauling and i'll shut up

[berkshirebirder]

Googling "bear attack Appalachian Trail" brings up several news items about attacks over the past 20 years or so. Some may have taken place "near" rather than on the Trail.

[Graywolf]

show me some documented proof of an attack/mauling and i'll shut up

I dont need to..Google it.. Its all there for you to read...

[Graywolf]

Besides a google search, I also did a search here on White Blaze alone and came up with several articles/posts/topics on attacks/maulings..I even found one where Chaco Taco describes his food being taken from his tent with him right beside it..Its on this very forum under, "Bear Warning in the South"..

Very interseting to me..Now I really want to go out hiking...

[Panzer1]

so some people have gotten into trouble for eating in their tents, but I think that the animal usually senses that there is a human in the tent and usually stays away, ... usually...

Panzer

[Lone Wolf]

Besides a google search, I also did a search here on White Blaze alone and came up with several articles/posts/topics on attacks/maulings..I even found one where Chaco Taco describes his food being taken from his tent with him right beside it..Its on this very forum under, "Bear Warning in the South"..

Very interseting to me..Now I really want to go out hiking...

nope. no attacks/maulings. a bear stealing food is neither

[saimyoji]

Besides a google search, I also did a search here on White Blaze alone and came up with several articles/posts/topics on attacks/maulings..I even found one where Chaco Taco describes his food being taken from his tent with him right beside it..Its on this very forum under, "Bear Warning in the South"..

Very interseting to me..Now I really want to go out hiking...


so some people have gotten into trouble for eating in their tents, but I think that the animal usually senses that there is a human in the tent and usually stays away, ... usually...

Panzer

and we all know that Chaco doesn't qualify as human. :D

[Graywolf]

nope. no attacks/maulings. a bear stealing food is neither


Lone Wolf, Your blind...Im not going to do your homework for you..It is there...Several topics here on the forum too...Nimbilwell Nomad even discribes a couple in his book...How can you be so blind???

Ok, Ok,, So there are mo such things as maulings/attacks...Go ahead and eat in your tent..The bears are just gigantic stuffed animals so go headand play with them and have fun..As for me, im going to enjoy them in the wild, but also respect them...

But given poor advice here like, its ok to eat in your tent is giving bad information..I hope the bear comes into your tent and licks your tummy..You may like it...

[Lone Wolf]

Lone Wolf, Your blind...Im not going to do your homework for you..It is there...Several topics here on the forum too...Nimbilwell Nomad even discribes a couple in his book...How can you be so blind???

Ok, Ok,, So there are mo such things as maulings/attacks...Go ahead and eat in your tent..The bears are just gigantic stuffed animals so go headand play with them and have fun..As for me, im going to enjoy them in the wild, but also respect them...

But given poor advice here like, its ok to eat in your tent is giving bad information..I hope the bear comes into your tent and licks your tummy..You may like it...

you're still wrong. post a link to an AT hiker being attacked or mauled while in a tent.

[Chaco Taco]

I think with all safety measures....be it keeping food out of your tent, size of first aid kit, bringing spot/cell phone etc. One must look at the particular situation and balance. Also bears/mice are not the only risk involved in cooking in vestibule. Fire is another risk.

Using all of your food as a pillow in your tent is one option. Put all of your food a bear bag is one option. But those are not the only two options. A third could be put all of your food except one teaspoon of instant coffee in your bear bag, which gets kept in the vestibule overnight.

Never bringing food into your tent is one option. Always bring food into your tent is one option. A third option could be to only bring food into your tent when hiking in areas with low/no bear risk, but bear bagging when the risk is higher.

Also cooking and eating in your tent is not the same as storing food in your tent. During a rain storm you might prepare dinner in your vestibule, eat, and then hang your bear bag. The next morning retrive the bear bag eat breakfast and then pack up. Of course in that case you want avoid spilling food and also avoid food with a high smell factor that might get into the fabric.

You are overanalyzing this. I have had a bear take my food bag out from under my head as I sleep, I have had mice chew through pack liners. Hang it or dont hang it, either way, if the bear wants it, he will get it!

[Chaco Taco]

Lone Wolf, Your blind...Im not going to do your homework for you..It is there...Several topics here on the forum too...Nimbilwell Nomad even discribes a couple in his book...How can you be so blind???

Ok, Ok,, So there are mo such things as maulings/attacks...Go ahead and eat in your tent..The bears are just gigantic stuffed animals so go headand play with them and have fun..As for me, im going to enjoy them in the wild, but also respect them...

But given poor advice here like, its ok to eat in your tent is giving bad information..I hope the bear comes into your tent and licks your tummy..You may like it...

Telling someone its ok to eat in their tent isnt bad info. I do it allllll the time and will continue to do it. I also see tons of other hikers do it also. If you are that worried about bears take some pepper spray. Aint like we have Grizzlies on the AT.

[ASUGrad]

Bears are scared of humans. Raccoons, mice and skunks are not.

[Chaco Taco]

Besides a google search, I also did a search here on White Blaze alone and came up with several articles/posts/topics on attacks/maulings..I even found one where Chaco Taco describes his food being taken from his tent with him right beside it..Its on this very forum under, "Bear Warning in the South"..

Very interseting to me..Now I really want to go out hiking...

Taken, not mauled, not attacked. We were at Watuaga and there was trash everywhere. As an animal, that bear was just stayin where the food was plentiful. Isolated incident

[Panzer1]

Taken, not mauled, not attacked.

I would think that "taken" would be bad enough. :eek:

Panzer

[Chaco Taco]

I would think that "taken" would be bad enough. :eek:

Panzer

I had my vestibule open, he sniffed around for a long time before he took it. He knew exactly where to go for. He wasnt trying to hurt me. I feel bad because the condition of that campsite was really bad. He was just scared and hungry. Just hope he got relocated somewhere away from all of the litter. It was worse than I could have imagined a campsite to ever be on the AT.

[leaftye]

You are overanalyzing this. I have had a bear take my food bag out from under my head as I sleep, I have had mice chew through pack liners. Hang it or dont hang it, either way, if the bear wants it, he will get it!

But, but, but, it'll never happen to me!

[Wheeler]

i've been eating, drinking, cooking and sleeping with food in my tent for 25 years. never had a problem

Yep, I like my coffee and breakfast from the warmth of my sleeping bag.
If a mugger has the nerve to mug you, then he will, but only the bravest will, and even then, he just wants yer wallet. But leaving my wallet around the corner somewhere? Then any punk can spend all night trying to figure out how to get at it. I'll keep sleeping with my food right next to me.

[Gray Blazer]

I'm more afraid of someone deleting my posts than a bear in my tent!