View Full Version : Hanging a backpack ???
I recently ran into a fellow hiking friend and told him that one of the few things I still had to buy for my upcoming section hike was a bear bag. He then told me that he doesn't use a bear bag, instead, he hangs his entire backpack. Are there a lot of people who actually do that? Other than the obvious weight difference, what would be the pros and cons of doing that? Personnaly, I'm still thinking of getting the bear bag but I am curious to see if others hang their packs.
I can think of a pretty big con: if the bear manages to grab your food bag, you're out of food, if it gets your whole pack, you may be SOL.
...and for what it's worth, I use a bear can 90% of the time.
I have seen it done, not very often just 3 times. I saw one on a bear pole and once on a bear cable and the one time it made sense to me was once in a tree in the daytime while the owner was swimming/bathing in a stream with the bag out of sight and hopefully out of mind of both the bears and overly curious hikers.
Many shelters have separate hangs for backpacks and for food bags.
MuddyWaters
05-29-2017, 11:55
Depends on how and the pack
Bear cables....like gsmnp...not a problem
Bear pole? Well, its hard enough to hang a 7 lb foodbag on a high hook using a 10' pole, its too unwieldy. A heavier pack just that much harder
Cord? Depends on total weight.
I have tried to be nice and hang other hikers foodbag on my hang before. With thin cord, what works with a 7 lb foodbag dont work with 20...at all. Literally cant raise it. Need rope.
I can think of a pretty big con: if the bear manages to grab your food bag, you're out of food, if it gets your whole pack, you may be SOL.
Heck yeah!
Here we go again.
Redundant question and answers.
The answers:
Yes. No. Maybe. It depends.
Y'all have fun.
Wayne
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Lone Wolf
05-29-2017, 15:48
i've never hung a pack or a food bag. both go in my tent
Heliotrope
05-29-2017, 16:16
The pack can be too heavy. Thin and light dyneema cord is hard on the hands if the bag is heavy. Bear bag. Not pack. I hiked with a couple last summer that hung all of their food in one back pack. The thing must have weighed 30 lbs. it was quite comical helping them hoist that thing in the dark!
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saltysack
05-29-2017, 17:46
Also can harm tree with the thin cord...if you must hoist a heavy load try pushing up with trekking pole handle while ya pull.....
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cmoulder
05-29-2017, 18:09
There is an interesting thread HERE (https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/112951-New-safer-amp-easier-bear-bag-hanging-method) about a modification to the PCT hang which I have tried, and it works very well. I used the 7mm Antal rings (http://www.apsltd.com/antal-7mm-low-friction-ring.html) as recommended by Kaptainkriz (https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/112951-New-safer-amp-easier-bear-bag-hanging-method?p=2038092&viewfull=1#post2038092) later in the thread, with video detailing how to use it. I used the bear bag line from Lawson (http://lawsonequipment.com/Ultraglide-Bear-Line-Reflective-p1073.html) and some 1" webbing I had on hand for the part that wraps over the tree branch.
I recently hoisted food for 3 people on a 3-day, 2-night trip and with food weight of about 14-15 lbs it was super easy since the pulley setup provides a 2:1 mechanical advantage. There is a bit of a learning curve to it, but after a couple of times working through the process you realize it isn't all that complicated. I think Kaptainkriz's recommended Antal rings are the perfect choice for the 2 pulley points.
Yes, the cost is a bit steep for a bear bagging setup, but this is pretty much the ultimate solution to the problem of hoisting a hefty load.
No, it doesn't make it any easier to sling that damn rock over the branch, lol! :)
saltysack
05-29-2017, 19:08
There is an interesting thread HERE (https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/112951-New-safer-amp-easier-bear-bag-hanging-method) about a modification to the PCT hang which I have tried, and it works very well. I used the 7mm Antal rings (http://www.apsltd.com/antal-7mm-low-friction-ring.html) as recommended by Kaptainkriz (https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/112951-New-safer-amp-easier-bear-bag-hanging-method?p=2038092&viewfull=1#post2038092) later in the thread, with video detailing how to use it. I used the bear bag line from Lawson (http://lawsonequipment.com/Ultraglide-Bear-Line-Reflective-p1073.html) and some 1" webbing I had on hand for the part that wraps over the tree branch.
I recently hoisted food for 3 people on a 3-day, 2-night trip and with food weight of about 14-15 lbs it was super easy since the pulley setup provides a 2:1 mechanical advantage. There is a bit of a learning curve to it, but after a couple of times working through the process you realize it isn't all that complicated. I think Kaptainkriz's recommended Antal rings are the perfect choice for the 2 pulley points.
Yes, the cost is a bit steep for a bear bagging setup, but this is pretty much the ultimate solution to the problem of hoisting a hefty load.
No, it doesn't make it any easier to sling that damn rock over the branch, lol! :)
Ive found my 20oz Gatorade bottle is easier to throw over branch than a rock....lil water in it obviously....
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Here we go again.
Redundant question and answers.
The answers:
Yes. No. Maybe. It depends.
Y'all have fun.
Wayne
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And yet you read it! Presumably for the entertainment value.
I never saw the need to hang my pack. Just don't leave any food in it.
Some backcountry sites in British Columbia provide a sturdy pole arrangement with 5 gallon paint cans on ropes. My daughter's pack on one side and mine on the other for balance. Food and a few odds and ends not needed for sleeping in the packs.
As many have pointed out during myriad hanging discussions, there isn't much left in your pack by the time you go to sleep.
Wayne
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English Stu
05-30-2017, 11:55
I saw and used a bear hang method with a piece of plastic pipe with two holes through it for the cord, return cord goes through it and a half hitch around it to secure it. To be used instead of searching for a piece of branch. I feel sure I saw it on Youtube but never found when I looked again. Easy to see than explain.
I have hoisted a backpack off the ground at a campground when getting ready to cook and the place was alive with chipmunks. Heavy to do but it kept the chipmunks amused.
MuddyWaters
05-30-2017, 12:05
As many have pointed out during myriad hanging discussions, there isn't much left in your pack by the time you go to sleep.
Wayne
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Not true for a great many people, particularly when shelter sleeping.
LittleRock
05-30-2017, 12:42
Once I saw one of those expensive REI trip groups all hang their packs on the bear cables at one of the shelters in the Smokies. The one thru-hiker and I just kind of laughed to ourselves.
Once I saw one of those expensive REI trip groups all hang their packs on the bear cables at one of the shelters in the Smokies. The one thru-hiker and I just kind of laughed to ourselves.
At least they were out there, hopefully picking up some pointers from you and others, even if just seeing how you did things.
MuddyWaters
05-30-2017, 12:57
Once I saw one of those expensive REI trip groups all hang their packs on the bear cables at one of the shelters in the Smokies. The one thru-hiker and I just kind of laughed to ourselves.
Why?
Have to hang food anyway
Keeps mice out your pack
Keeps peoples crap from being strewn around a crowded shelter
Better than hanging on a peg, out of everyones way
Farr Away
05-30-2017, 15:46
We've done a lot of hammock camping in the Smokies. Just as easy to hang the backpack on the bear cable as to figure out where else to put it to keep the raccoons, etc. out of it.
-FA
ggreaves
05-30-2017, 15:55
i've never hung a pack or a food bag. both go in my tent
I put my pack and food bag in the tent then hang myself from a tree.
bamboo bob
05-30-2017, 19:12
"No, it doesn't make it any easier to sling that damn rock over the branch, lol! https://whiteblaze.net/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif
I put the rock in a bandana and tie the line to the bandana. Works great.
Lone Wolf
05-30-2017, 19:25
I put my pack and food bag in the tent then hang myself from a tree.
good for you. that's great
Heliotrope
05-30-2017, 20:46
I put my pack and food bag in the tent then hang myself from a tree.
TMI [emoji3]
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SWODaddy
05-30-2017, 21:48
Why?
Have to hang food anyway
Keeps mice out your pack
Keeps peoples crap from being strewn around a crowded shelter
Better than hanging on a peg, out of everyones way
I've seen someone get their pack bored into by a mouse while hung on a bear cable in the smokes.
"Life finds a way"
i agree with Lone Wolf, i sleep with my food!
MuddyWaters
05-31-2017, 14:22
I've seen someone get their pack bored into by a mouse while hung on a bear cable in the smokes.
"Life finds a way"
Betcha 1000x more have had packs nibbled on hanging on pegs or nails in shelters
Whack-a-mole
06-05-2017, 12:29
I've had mice in my pack in shelters, and I've had mice eat through my food bags that were properly hung in a tree. The critters are pretty resourceful when it comes to getting food. It's all just part of the hiking. Take your precautions however you see fit, but there isn't too much that is foolproof. My friend was down near Springer a couple years ago. The campsite had bear cables, and a bear climbed the tree, and then jumped on the cable system. Brought the whole thing to the ground. He laid there and ate everyone's food. They tried to run him off, banging pots and pans, throwing rocks at him etc...he didn't care, he just laid there and ate and occasionally growled at them. Go hiking, enjoy the woods, you may come back with a good story that will grow over time....
AngryGerman
06-19-2017, 21:43
Here we go again.
Redundant question and answers.
The answers:
Yes. No. Maybe. It depends.
Y'all have fun.
Wayne
Now that is funny right there!
[QUOTE=Lone Wolf;2152479]i've never hung a pack or a food bag. both go in my tent
Roger that! My preferred method.
And yet you read it! Presumably for the entertainment value.
Almost always my method!
I never saw the need to hang my pack. Just don't leave any food in it.
Or... sleep with it!
Not true for a great many people, particularly when shelter sleeping.
How does shelter sleeping and what is left in the pack defer to when one sleeps in the shelter they carry?
[QUOTE=Farr Away;2152645]We've done a lot of hammock camping in the Smokies. Just as easy to hang the backpack on the bear cable as to figure out where else to put it to keep the raccoons, etc. out of it.
Hang that baby at the foot of your hammock. You will feel the critters walking the line. I've hung my food bag there many times; on the rare occasion I hang my bag
[QUOTE=ggreaves;2152647]I put my pack and food bag in the tent then hang myself from a tree.[/QUOTE
Or is it hang the tent then put the pack; food bag and self inside the tent! Too funny!
BuckeyeBill
06-19-2017, 23:14
Tonight live on the Campfire Channel, the Bear Bag Hanging Championship. Seven individuals will compete to throw the perfect hang line for a Bear Bag. While at times it is comical, the winner receives his Bear Bag/Food Bag back at breakfast time and can eat. The losers, well lets just say that they will still be hungry the next day. Bonus points are given for hanging their packs and/or the biggest studio audience laugh track. Be sure to arrive early as all the front row seats go fast. Our judges for tonight's Championship are all veteran hikers that have no fear of bears who sleep with their food bag. So joint us tonight at 8 PM - 7 Central, only on the Campfire Channel.
HooKooDooKu
06-20-2017, 02:24
I've seen someone get their pack bored into by a mouse while hung on a bear cable in the smokes.
On more than one occasion, either I or a fellow camper have experienced mouse damage to food bags while the food hung on the GSMNP bear cables.
Had a family member camping in GSMNP who said they saw the mice simply climbing the cables (diagonal cable clipped to tree).
At least once the park service had a sign at a GSMNP shelter instructing that your entire pack be hung because there was a bear in the area that had learned to associate packs with food and would attack unsupervised packs even if there wasn't any food in it.
On more than one occasion, either I or a fellow camper have experienced mouse damage to food bags while the food hung on the GSMNP bear cables.
Had a family member camping in GSMNP who said they saw the mice simply climbing the cables (diagonal cable clipped to tree).
At least once the park service had a sign at a GSMNP shelter instructing that your entire pack be hung because there was a bear in the area that had learned to associate packs with food and would attack unsupervised packs even if there wasn't any food in it.
Two years ago at Rock Spring Shelter in the Shenandoah, an industrious raccoon rummaged through five or six food bags hanging on top of the bear pole behind the shelter. We could not figure out how he accomplished that feat.
A young hiker who stayed the previous night told us about this but none of us believed him. We figure the raccoon dropped from a branch above.
No hang is safe.
Ive found my 20oz Gatorade bottle is easier to throw over branch than a rock....lil water in it obviously....
While I like to think of myself as a practical person, I obviously am not practical enough. I did the whole damn trail throwing rocks over tree branches while carrying a 22 oz. Gatorade bottle the whole time. I almost clocked myself in the head a few times when the rock came swinging back down. Not to mention the fact that although you encounter appropriately sized tossing rocks all day long while hiking, they always seem to be non-existent when it's time to hang the bear bag. A Gatorade bottle would have been perfect since the narrowing by the neck makes a great tie-on point.
I've been schooled.
I've seen this practice recommended to me by a guide that was guiding in the GSMNP.
I just hang my food.
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Hanging packs in the smokies keeps the mice from chewing thru. This happens more often than you'd think. I have seen other food-bag-only hangers in GSMNP get their packs holed by mice. In other areas, I just hang the food bag.
BuckeyeBill
06-21-2017, 12:02
I put my pack in my hammock under my feet.
At least once the park service had a sign at a GSMNP shelter instructing that your entire pack be hung because there was a bear in the area that had learned to associate packs with food and would attack unsupervised packs even if there wasn't any food in it.
this happens quite a bit---especially at Cosby and Russell field shelters .....
Berserker
06-21-2017, 12:10
I put my pack and food bag in the tent then hang myself from a tree.
You better make sure you are using the PCT method or else a bear could still get you. :D
Berserker
06-21-2017, 12:33
I've never hung a pack, but I have hung my food a bunch of times. Sometimes I carry a bear can. If near a shelter with some type of "food storage" solution (cables, box, ext.) then I'll use that. I have also slept with my food in my tent a bunch of times.