Bear Canister vs Bear Bag on the CT

[Hikerj53]

All,

An AT friend of mine, who has also posted in this forum, went without a bear canister for his thru hike of the CT this summer. I'm leading a small group for a July start and was wondering which option to go with for the hike. The canister weights in at about 2 pounds but you don't have to worry about hanging your bag in the rain or not having trees to use above the tree line. Still, 2 pounds lighter would be very nice. I generally hang a bag but have also had to set up above tree line more than a few times.

I sure would like to hear your thoughts.

LoneStar

[HeartFire]

I hiked the CT this past summer. I didn't use one, I slept with my food every night. We never saw a bear. We did see 2 cougar, some moose, elk, and fox, but no bear.

[Coffee]

I have a Bearikade canister but I plan to go without it on the CT next summer. I have a zPacks bear bag system but I might try putting the food in an odor resistant loksak and sleeping with it. The thing about a canister that I might miss the most is just being able to lock it up and take walks away from camp anytime without worrying about food storage.

[bearcreek]

There are typically several bear incidents on the CT every year. Bears are extremely opportunistic animals, and if you provide an opportunity they may take it. I could care less about you losing your food or getting mauled in your tent, but the one who eventually pays for these misadventures is usually the bear, which is inevitably destroyed. Show a little respect and secure your food, either by hanging, using a canister, or using something like a Ursack. IMO, sleeping with your food is irresponsible.

[Coffee]

There are typically a several bear incidents on the CT every year. Bears are extremely opportunistic animals, and if you provide an opportunity they may take it. I could care less about you losing your food or getting mauled in your tent, but the one who eventually pays for these misadventures is usually the bear, which is inevitably destroyed. Show a little respect and secure your food, either by hanging, using a canister, or using something like a Ursack. IMO, sleeping with your food is irresponsible.
I agree that it is irresponsible to allow a bear to get to food but from what I've read sleeping with food appears to be enough of a deterrent on the CT. If that is not the case, I'll have to reconsider hanging food. No bear has ever obtained my food in the past.

[Wuff]

I totally agree with Bearcreek, but if I'm honest I slept with my food about 1/2 the time on my CT thru last summer. No incidents at all. But I think its better for the bears if the opportunity isn't even there. Its easy enough to find decent trees for hanging your food.

[colorado_rob]

I "got religion" w.r.t bears along the CT corridor a few years ago when my buddy's tent was ripped open by a bear. He was physically fine, but scared s*&%less, of course. Sure, very very rare event, but it does happen. Still, I never carry my canister (I do own one) in CO, I just religiously hang, using the "proper" technique, and well away from camp (100+ yards). I always consider carrying my canister though, nice and handy for storage, fits well into my pack, works well for a chair around the campfire, etc. The 2.5 pounds of weight though always wins out and I simply hang. I do occasionally camp well above treeline, then I bury the food bag in a stack of rocks. Not really sufficient to deter a bear, but I like to pretend!

[Coffee]

The Ursack might be a good middle ground especially since camping above treeline is likely at times. At 7.3 ounces, there is a large weight savings over a canister while keeping most of the convenience with the exception of food being possibly crushed by animals.

[Colter]

I suspect it would be tough to find cases of bears getting food when someone is sleeping with it in their tent along the CT. I'll bet there have been many cases of food being stolen because it was hung improperly. I see it all the time: way too low, too close to the tree trunk, barely below a huge branch a bear can crawl out on, etc. Food also gets stolen when people "hide it" on the ground because they are afraid of a bear coming into their tent and killing them. What has there been, ONE fatal backcountry bear attack in the history of Colorado?

Safest option of all is to have a bear canister. On the CT I'd sleep with my food or do a good job hanging it if I knew a problem bear was around.

[Cookerhiker]

I suspect it would be tough to find cases of bears getting food when someone is sleeping with it in their tent along the CT. I'll bet there have been many cases of food being stolen because it was hung improperly. I see it all the time: way too low, too close to the tree trunk, barely below a huge branch a bear can crawl out on, etc. Food also gets stolen when people "hide it" on the ground because they are afraid of a bear coming into their tent and killing them. What has there been, ONE fatal backcountry bear attack in the history of Colorado?

Safest option of all is to have a bear canister. On the CT I'd sleep with my food or do a good job hanging it if I knew a problem bear was around.

On our CT thruhike, we did it both ways in that I slept with my food in the tent whereas my hiking partner left his outside every night, not suspended high from a limb, but hanging from an entirely reachable branch. I was astounded that his food was undisturbed every night. I wouldn't recommend it, just stating what our experience was.

[Coffee]

After reading bearcreek and Colorado Rob's accounts of bear incidents along the CT, I doubt that I'll be sleeping with my food although so many seem to do so without incident. I'm personally leaning toward the Ursack as a solution that imposes just a few ounces of weight penalty over my bear bag and will be functional above treeline. Other than the cost, which is reasonable, I can't see any reason not to use the Ursack.

[Mags]

Not an issue on the CT at all, but the only issue with the ursack is that most (all?) National Park units do not recognize the ursack as an alternative for a bear canister.

So, if you plan on backpacking in national parks in the future and hoping to use the ursack there, just a heads up.

If you plan on just using the ursack for the CT and backpacking in general, that above caveat is not an issue.

[colorado_rob]

After reading bearcreek and Colorado Rob's accounts of bear incidents along the CT, I doubt that I'll be sleeping with my food although so many seem to do so without incident.. As Coulter points out, such incidences are extremely rare. Still, because of my pals experience, I hang (properly) and just forget about it. I've heard a saying, maybe on whiteblaze: Sleep with your food, safer for the food. Hang your food, safer for you. But really, if you just hang properly, this is completely safe for both of you. I do agree though, most people do NOT hang properly.

[Coffee]

Is the PCT method considered appropriate in Colorado or is counterbalancing recommended? I need to practice hanging in general (whether I get an Ursack or not) just to be more confident in my skillset. PCT method is the only approach I have used so far.

[colorado_rob]

I use the PCT method, works great, easy to rig, just need a slight higher branch than for a simple hang/tie-off.

[ChinMusic]

Of all the methods of protecting your food, by far the method that kills the most bears is poorly hung food.

If you are going to hang food, do it right.

[lonehiker]

"Hanging" your food above treeline may not be as difficult as it may at first appear. On several occasions in the Wind River Range of Wyoming I have camped above treeline. You can hang your bag from a huge boulder or an overhang/cliff. Lower bag 4-5 feet off of the edge and tie off to a rock or scrub. I personally don't sleep well with food in my tent so I hang my food in some manner 100% of the time.

[Son Driven]

On the AT I double bagged my food in trash compactor bags. Then wrapped my sweaty hiker clothes around the bagged food. Placed under my hammock, slept like a baby. Did not have a single problem, not even a mouse.