Food Storage

[maryburns]

I'm sure this has been addressed many times before, but how do AT thru hikers generally store food away from wildlife at night? I've seen a few people say that they never hung food.

Also... how have you folks stored food in your packs in the past? I feel like on all my previous trips I packed in a large stuff sack, probably too heavy and bulky. Did you divvy up meals into ziplock bags? I'm trying to figure out the lightest possible food arrangements.

Finally, do you suggest buying food as you go, or having boxes shipped to locations for you to pick up? I'm slightly stressed about the idea of not being able to get into a town, etc. Are the towns generally within walking distance of the trail, or do you hitchhike? I've never heard anyone say this is an issue, but the unknown concerns me.

Sorry for the newbie questions... I've been eagerly awaiting my guidebook I ordered! Just couldn't wait to start getting some ideas. Planning a trip SOBO in 2017... far off, but I'm excited.

Thanks in advance! xx

[Feral Bill]

Welcome! You can use the search function to find specific answers. People with recent experience will chime in when you ask. Ignore the most grumpy.

[maryburns]

Ooh la la. The search button: a new discovery for me. Thank you thank you!

[Old Hiker]

Welcome ! 2017 is just past tomorrow - trust me.

I ALWAYS hung my food. I've seen posts where hikers can't find a decent branch, but I had no problem the first 500 miles of my 2012 attempt. Maybe further north it's a problem.

I had a large stuff sack - probably the largest and heaviest in my pack, but I always packed way too much food. My stove, etc. went in another bag inside the sleeping bag compartment of my pack with my tent.

[maryburns]

Thanks for the response! Good to know. The accounts I have seen where people don't hang their food made me very very skeptical, as I have that ingrained in my head as a very bad thing...

Good luck on your thru hike! Yours is coming up quicker than mine :)

[Hikes in Rain]

Many (but not all) of the shelters have bear cables. You don't have to use the shelters to use the cables. You can camp nearby if you prefer.

[Tipi Walter]

When I was on the AT I always hung my food although I did not bear line it but just found a tree stob (branch stub) and hung my single food bag, mainly to avoid rodent patrols and a mouse festival near or on my face. I've had dozens of food sac chew holes over the years, maybe 30.

Now when I hike the AT, I sleep with my food which is left in the tent vestibule. The only exception to this is in the GSMNP where the bears are numerous, jaded, hungry, "whitemanized" and hypnotized by the unholy Twinkie.

All my trips now whether on the AT or not include 3 food bags totaling around 40-45 lbs of food. I used to try and get this weight up on a bear line but it's impossible to go any higher than about 5 feet from the ground due to cord friction on the tree branch. So, I sleep with the stuff. Not actually "sleep with it" and it's in the vestibule.

Another perk of keeping it closeby is its stays un-encrusted with sleet and ice and snow in a storm and the food inside stays dry in a downpour as most food bags end up leaking and what inevitably gets wet?? Your nice ziplock bag of oatmeal.

No thruhikers whether sobo or nobo will be carrying much weight in food and so they should have no problem hanging their food away from camp, even if it's on a tree stub.

[Coffee]

Over two weeks this spring in VA/MD/PA I hung food about half the nights and slept with it the other half. No animal issues.

[Tipi Walter]

Over two weeks this spring in VA/MD/PA I hung food about half the nights and slept with it the other half. No animal issues.

Some bears defend their kill, so maybe when I defend my food they will take note. Or not.

[MuddyWaters]

If you stay in a shelter with others, there is usually a group consensus. If there is a pole or cable, people usually hang it on that. Otherwise, it may be just on a mouse trapeze in the shelter , or might have to go find a tree. Point is, you dont sleep with your food in a shelter or put it on the trapeze, if everyone else is hanging theirs out of respect for their desire to not wake up to a bear in the shelter. (yes, it happens)

Away from shelter, do what you like. I hang if I can find a really good tree and have time. I dont hesitate to sleep with it otherwise. Not having food in tent keeps rodents and critters from chewing their way into your tent.

Although heavy, I personally have no issues with carrying a bear cannister. The day will come where that will be the norm in the east as well as the west, as hikers become slooowly more educated. Im not sure why the resistance, culture mostly I guess. It solves a lot of issues, as many other areas of the US have proven. It is the best thing to do for the BEARS.

[CarlZ993]

On the AT, I carried my food in a food stuff sack from Zpacks.com. Around shelters, if there were bear cables or poles, I'd hang my food bag there. If bears weren't a problem in the area (read the shelter journals & you'll quickly discern whether or not that is a problem), I'd typically hang my food in the shelter in a mouse-resistant manner. Otherwise, I'd hang it over a limb in either a standard bear hang or PCT method. I've never intentionally slept with my food (or food wrappers) on the AT.

The absence of a bad result from back-country food storage does not necessarily mean it was a safe & prudent way to secure your food. I know I got lazy more than a few times on the trail. Only once did a critter get some of my food (mouse in a cabin @ Harrison's Pierce Pond Camp).

My $0.02 = when in doubt, use more food storage precaution vs. less food storage precaution.

Good luck on your hike.

[Tipi Walter]

Speaking of rodents and the rat-box shelters, here's a little photo essay on the subject (taken on a trip in 2009)---

http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2009/Rick-Harris-and-the-Crosscut/i-F2wx8rT/0/M/trip%2098%20254-M.jpg
This guy likes to explore my pack.

http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2009/Rick-Harris-and-the-Crosscut/i-GgSVtd3/0/M/trip%2098%20259-M.jpg
Little rodent falls asleep on my smartwool sock. Loves the merino.

[Connie]

Cute! I don't have a photo of the hole chewed in the corner of my lovely backpack! I put my backpack up, PCT style or on a bear cable.

[Odd Man Out]

I have a Zpacks Blast Food bag to store things in. It comes with a kit that includes everything you need to hang your food. If you choose to hang and you don't know what PCT method is, it would be good to learn (just Google it, there will be tons of videos).

As for organizing, I tend to organized in plastic grocery sacks (free and almost weightless). I'll have one for breakfast foods, one for lunch, one for supper, and one for snacks. Others I think like to organized by day (one bag for today's food, one for tomorrrow's, etc...). It's up to you.

The debate about hanging food vs sleeping with it is old and often contentious. I would say that both sides have valid arguments and that anyone who says that they are right and the others are wrong are overstating their case. I would also say that you should not reject sleeping with food just because it goes against conventional wisdom. When it comes to bears, the more you study, the more you will find that conventional wisdom is often not very accurate. However, I would advise that you understand the logic behind sleeping with food or otherwise you could run into trouble (but then you also run into trouble if you hang your food incorrectly). The principle is that bears will not generally take food away from a person. Instead they will take food that has been left unattended (which includes food hanging from a tree).

I read an account of a bear that went into someone's tent and got their food. Many people when reading that story would conclude that sleeping with food is a bad idea. But then it was disclosed that the group was sleeping in one tent and kept their food in another tent so all this really indicates is that it is a bad idea to leave your food unattended where a bear can get to it. They did not understand that it is not the tent that keeps the bear away, but it is the smell of humans, which brings up another potential mistake. In another account, a bear went after a woman's head through the tent wall. In this case, the woman had been using heavily scented shampoo so she smelled like a fruit basket. The best bear deterrent is to smell like a person. So if you choose to sleep with your food, it is important to 1) make sure you smell like a human (not hard for a thru hiker) and 2) always always always keep your food in your possession (i.e. within arms reach).

[Connie]

I read about a woman kilked in her tent, the other woman mauled. Maybe both killed for food in their tent. I think it was a candy bar.

Banff, Alberta, Canada.

[TNhiker]

I read an account of a bear that went into someone's tent and got their food




This has happened a few times in the Smokies........

Not sure how much food was in the tent, and the most recent one i can think of, along hazel creek (site 86), the bear tore through the tent to get to the food, with a person inside of it.........

[Tipi Walter]

It's all about knowing your locale. Like I said, I would never keep food in my vestibule in the GSMNP. How about on the Kenai Peninsula? Heck no. In a perfect world we would all carry 5 gallon bear vaults which weigh 4 oz each and pack down to nothing. No worries, no raccoons, no hanta-laced mice, no bears, no intoxicated Katahdin pilferers, no lurking wombats, no black mambas with thumbs, no non-rated hungry dayhikers, no biting lizards, no snapping hyenas etc etc.

Odd Man Out has a good post. And here's the thing---Let's say you eat a big dinner and then go hang your food bag. You still have a food bag in YOUR STOMACH and you're taking that bag right into the tent with you. The bear will find THAT food bag sort of like a twinkie---the chewy outer with the creamy center. It's not a joking matter but it's Christmas Eve so let's laugh.

[MuddyWaters]

Most bears want nothing to do with humans.

Most. Not all. There is always the small fraction that dont behave like they are "supposed" to.

For these guys, any unusual residual smell can be enough to provoke curiosity. Food odors on body or clothing, chapstick, shampoo, deodorant, scented toilet paper, detergent perfume or fabric softener on clothing, soap residue on body,scented garbage bag used as pack liner, etc.

problems are fewer in the east, than in the west and canada.

[Deadeye]

I'm one of the rare ones that use a bear canister. Yes, the weight sucks, but it's nice to have a crush-proof, waterproof, critter-proof container. If you absolutely must have a second or third purpose for every item you carry, you can use the can as a stool, a bath, or even do your laundry in it.

[Odd Man Out]

I should have pointed out that my previous post was meant to apply specifically to east coast Black Bears. Grizzlies are a completely different animal. And as Tipi points out, even in the east, from one place to another the equation changes. Knowledge is your best defense. Here is a great resource.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pages/black-bear/bears-a-humans.html

[Cadenza]

In areas where hunting is prohibited, GSMNP, etc. bears learn to view humans as a food source.
That's when they become dangerous.

Hunting is legal in the Cherokee and Nantahala National Forests and bears that do not fear people don't last long.
If you see a bear here it is usually from the rear end as it is making tracks away from you.

Troublesome animals that don't seem to be mentioned as often are raccoons and otters.
The most frustrating experience I ever had in the woods involved otters.

While eating grilled trout and roasted corn-on-the cob by the fire we had otters literally come into camp from the shadows to snatch food and run. While one otter drew our attention,....we were shining flashlights and seeing reflective eyes and trying to figure what kind of animal this was,....other otters were working in concert to sneak in from the backside and steal more stuff. They had us surrounded! Their system was to draw our attention while others made off with the loot. They toyed with us for 15 minutes until they had stolen almost all our food, one item at a time.

Looking back on it now,.....it was comical. At the time,....not so much.

[TNhiker]

Now that's funny...

i haven't seen any of the smokies otters....

and what hat ive noticed, in the more remote areas, the Bears will typically run away......

in the more popular sites---that's when they become a nuisance...

and by way of the hunting in the national forest, and those trails being less traveled ---the Bears in the national forest near the GSMNP are much more skittish.....:

[Sarcasm the elf]

Ooh la la. The search button: a new discovery for me. Thank you thank you!

The search function can be a bit unreliable, a better way is to go to Google, type in your search terms and then type in "site:whiteblaze.net" without the quotation marks. Google will then only show results from this site.