Food Bag & Protection (Unwanted Friends)

[mbqhappy]

Subject: Food Bag & Protection (Unwanted Friends)

Hello Everyone, I am new to all of this. On March 2018, I will be attempting to Thru Hike NOBO the AT.

The more I read, the more I get confused...LOL I really need your feedback on the following questions:

1) Food Bag: Basically, What will suffice to use? Would greatly appreciate knowing Brand Name and Construction Material // FYI Because of the weight, I am not interested in Bear Canisters.
2) Bag Liter Capacity size needed for 5-6 days (2Lbs per day)?

Last and most important. If I hang my food bag always....

3) Other than Bears, What animals will still be able to reach the bag?
4) What can I do to prevent the animals from getting to my food bag?

Thanks everyone for your time and consideration in providing your information.

Happy Holidays to all

[Christoph]

Well, there's only 1 spot (to my knowledge) that requires a bear canister on the AT. So in all actuality, you won't need one, like you stated.
This year I made it all the way to Maine with nothing but one of those rope and nylon type bags they always give out at events and it did very well for me. Most of the time I slept with my bag but when I flet like I "should" hang it, I used the rope straps, a carabiner, and some rope (if there was no pole or bear box nearby). Everything inside the bag was put in gallon sized ziplock bags and that kept everything dry. Very simple and effective, but if I did it again I might look into those Ursck (sp?) bear bags. They're supposed to be pretty tough and a lot of people had them. Not sure on the size though.

[Christoph]

Like this...

[Slo-go'en]

The two critters you need to watch out for are bears and mice. Squirrels can be a problem too. No stopping these guys. I suppose a raccoon could be a problem, but I've yet to see one on the AT.

Many shelters in areas where bears are a concern now have a bear proof food storage system for you to use. It can be a steel cable between trees, a tall pole or a steel box. The box is easiest to use, the cables are okay, the pole can be a real pain if you need to hook a heavy bag onto it, as you have 10 foot pole with a 10 pound sack on the end you need to hook onto the pole 10 feet up. This can be amusing to watch.

In areas where bears are not a concern (most mid Atlantic states) you'll find mice proof food hangers strung from the rafter along the front edge of the shelter. This is simply a cord strung through a hole in a tuna tin or plastic bottle. This works by putting an obstacle on the cord the mouse tries to climb down. They get to the obstruction and slide off.

Lacking the above options, you then hang the food from a tree branch. To be bear proof it needs to be about 8 feet high and 8 feet from the trunk of the tree. I try to pick a tree which is too small for a bear to climb, but big enough it can't knock it down. Or you can be brave and sleep with your food. This mostly works, but a mouse can smell nuts through just about anything and few pieces of nylon isn't going to stop it. So, if your food bag is right up against the side of your tent, a mouse can chew through in no time.

As to what to use for a bag, I use a the large dry bag from the 3 piece Walmart dry bag bundle. I think it's about 10L. It's big enough for 4 days of food for me. If I need to go 5, it spills over into another small bag, with I generally use for snacks and keep near the top of the pack during the day.

[moldy]

1.I got my food bag in the camping gear isle in Wal-mart, I got the 3 bag set, the larger green one is my food bag.
2. a gallon size zip lock bag works well for trash. I burn my paper trash in the fire.
3. If you hang your food bag no other animals can get it, it's too high for mice and squirrels don't come out at night.
4. Except in bear country I keep my food in the tent with me.

[Coffee]

I like the zPacks blast food bag. It is waterproof, lightweight and durable. I've had mine for several years and it has had a lot of use. http://zpacks.com/accessories/bear_bag.shtml

[egilbe]

I use an Ursack S29. Tried using it for a pillow once, but the mice chewing through my net tent to get to my food killed that idea. Mice crawling ip your back to get to your pillow is not conducive to a restful night’s sleep. I keep it tied to a tree and watch the squirrels try to get into it. Its fun!

[egilbe]

I use an Ursack S29. Tried using it for a pillow once, but the mice chewing through my net tent to get to my food killed that idea. Mice crawling ip your back to get to your pillow is not conducive to a restful night’s sleep. I keep it tied to a tree and watch the squirrels try to get into it. Its fun!

[HooKooDooKu]

I use a water-proof stuff sack for those nights you have to do a bear hang in the rain. But because I still get moisture inside even a water-proof stuff stack in the right conditions, I still organize my food in ziplock bags. I currently use something like a 17L and it's been good enough for me and my son for 4 days/nights.

For trash, I use a 2nd smaller water-proof stuff sack lined with a small waste basket trash liner. Of course most of my camping is just weekend trips, and I like being able to simply pull out the trash liner and be left with a clean garbage sack. But even for my JMT thru hike, I still used the small water-proof stuff sack with trash liner inside my bear canister. Simply included new trash liners in my resupplies.

[DownEaster]

Here's my plan for the AT, also starting in March.

Everything with an odor goes in a 20L dry bag (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Waterproof-Bag-10L-20L-Storage-Dry-Camping-Travel-Kit-Equipment-Portable/331824806764?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.S EED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160727114228%26meid%3D12424 3e446e64e98992b032582dfd92a%26pid%3D100290%26rk%3D 1%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D331824806764&_trksid=p2060778.c100290.m3507), with odor barrier liners (https://www.sunnysports.com/p-clnopsb12/coghlans-odor-proof-storage-bag-12-x-16-inch-3-pcs).

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If there's a bear box or other provided storage, use that. If not, hang the bag in a medium-small tree as follows:

Attach a carabiner to one end of a 50' piece of cord. (I use reflective cord to make it hard to lose in dim light.) This can be done once and kept ready in your backpack.
Attach another carabiner to the 20L dry bag.
With a weight (locally-found rock and a mesh sack) clipped to the carabiner on the cord, toss that over the branch on the tree and pick it up off the ground. Unclip the weight and put the rock back where you found it.
Run the free end of the cord through the carabiner on the food bag, then through the carabiner on the other end of the cord, then back through the carabiner on the food bag. This makes a double pulley system.
Grab a small (6"-8" long) stick from the ground.
While holding the stick, pull the free end of the cord until the food bag is all the way up at the branch.
Holding the cord in place (one foot on the ground works if your fingers aren't spry) reach as high up the cord as you can and make a clove hitch in it. Center the stick in the hitch and draw the cord tight to hold the stick in place.
Let go of the cord. The bag will drop (a bit) until the stick can't rise any more (at the bag carabiner).
You can toss the free end of the cord over a bush or lower branch if you don't like it dangling on the ground.
To retrieve the food bag, pull the cord until you can reach the stick and remove it. Then just let go and the food bag will drop to the ground.


You only need one knot (clove hitch) for this. Follow the pictures:

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[jjozgrunt]

+1 for Zpacks Bear Bag kit. Everything you need in the bundle and easy to use with practice. Never had to use one till the AT this year so it was an experience as well as providing hours of entertainment to those observing.

[Hatchet_1697]

+ 1.1 for ZPacks Bear bag kit with an OpSak odor proof bag inside. Ultralight, waterproof, holds 4-5 days food. Add a locking carabiner and use the PCT method to hang it. B4 leaving practice finding a good limb and hanging it with a full load.


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[mbqhappy]

Wow...Thanks everyone for the amazing and very informative feedback sent so quickly....Did not realize how big the food bag in loading capacity had to be....glad I did this forum inquiry because I was way off on the bag size. As for what to purchase, I am relax now on what to go choose.

Happy Holidays to everyone....

[hikermiker]

If you are going to hang your food at night it must be in a waterproof bag. This can be anything from a sturdy grocery bag to an Opsak to a cuben stuff sack. You should hang your food when there is no bear box or other device available. Other than bears squirrels, mice, raccoons and chipmunks all will try to get your food. Squirrels and chipmunks are not active at night. Two basic bear hangs are 1) throw a line over a tree limb at least 15 feet high and 10 feet out from the trunk. A rock sack makes this easier. Tie or carabiner the food bag to one end and tie the other to a tree. The other is the PCT method ad Youtube will show you better than I can describe it.

[peakbagger]

One critter that is quite active at night are flying squirrels. I haven't seen the issue lately but they used to be a problem in the whites down low in the hardwoods. They could glide over and land on a hanging food bag in a heartbeat. The other critter in the ADKs are pine martins, they are closely related to a ferret but tend to hang out in trees, they can also defeat most hanging techniques. There is something called a Rat Sack that will protect food from critters like this.

[JC13]

1.I got my food bag in the camping gear isle in Wal-mart, I got the 3 bag set, the larger green one is my food bag.
2. a gallon size zip lock bag works well for trash. I burn my paper trash in the fire.
3. If you hang your food bag no other animals can get it, it's too high for mice and squirrels don't come out at night.
4. Except in bear country I keep my food in the tent with me.Only time my food was bothered was at night on the bear cables in GA. Squirrels/Mice got into the almonds and that was with a torrential downpour for 75% of the night.

[Uncle Joe]

Ursack outer and Opsack inner.

[DrL]

I'd definitely recommend some sort of odor proof liner.

I use these relatively cheap ones...
https://www.amazon.com/CampSource-F232310-BaseCamp-Odor-Barrier-Medium/dp/B00GHF7X16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511990185&sr=8-1&keywords=CampSource&th=1&psc=1

[KDogg]

Not sure why folks think an odor-proof liner will do anything. Maybe your stuff won't smell like food up until you cook your first meal but I don't know how you could possibly keep food odors off of all your stuff after a few days. While not common, I saw mice get into hung foodbags several times on the trail. They will open a small hole in the sack and then get into whatever they get to first. Towards the end of my hike folks were even eating what the mice got into (cooking it). One big joy will be those evil little red squirrels in Maine. Those things are aggressive as heck and will take every opportunity to get your stuff. Don't get sloppy about storing your food towards the end of your hike if you are a NoBo.