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jerseydave
01-01-2011, 22:25
What is your cooking practice when in bear country?

LoneRidgeRunner
01-01-2011, 22:35
What is your cooking practice when in bear country?

Outside and away from my tent with all food not actively being prepared or eaten hanging from a tree 8 to 10 feet off the ground at least 4 or 5 feet below the limb and 4 or 5 feet from the nearest trees or limbs.
I've never had problems with bears but I really don't wanta have to fight one over my food.
They're usually much stronger than us...lol..

sheepdog
01-01-2011, 22:58
black bear country (unless there are reports of a bothersome bear) I cook in camp. Grizzly country I always cook on the trail an hour or so before camp.

Sarcasm the elf
01-02-2011, 01:04
I always cook in camp, but I've only hiked in black bear country. Then again, I've never even seen a black bear, the presence of my not so intimidating dog has always been enough to keep the cowards away.
Again, I haven't been in Grizzly country, that would be a very different story.

LoneRidgeRunner
01-02-2011, 01:13
I've seen em in the Smokies but never had a problem with them...even with the sow with cubs I walked up on once, but I don't tempt them by getting my tent smelling like food. They have large teeth and claws too. It's extremely rare but black bears have been known to do people in....even in the GSMNP ..in the one or maybe 2 cases I've known of in the Smokies it was done by a bear that was proven to be starving to death and it partially ate the woman it killed, hence the reason for not smelling like food...

STICK
01-02-2011, 01:19
I usually cook in camp, however my cooking is boilng water and adding it to my bag. At the shelters throughout the Smokies I have always seen everyone cooking in the shelters at the bench across the front, so this is usually where I cook too. There has been a few times though that I have carried my food to a place with a better view after setting up camp (in the shelter) and cooking there.

BrianLe
01-02-2011, 01:32
I'm with sheepdog, depends on the type of bear, but rather than two categories (black bear vs. grizzly), I'd suggest three or perhaps four categories:
(1) Grizzlies
(2) Black bear in general
(3) Either type of bear in national parks
(4) Either type of bear in areas reported to have problems
(I note the O.P. lives in New Jersey)
Categories 3 & 4 are similar in terms of how to deal.

Because of the above I find that I can't answer this survey question, which lumps the categories together as "bear country". Most places I hike are bear country, but how things typically go in the different categories above is pretty profoundly different IMO.

For the AT in general it seems to me you just cook where you like, and I think this is true for most (category 2 above) trails. For the CDT this year starting in Montana I'm inclined to go cookless to start, though not primarily because of grizzlies.

In national parks, cooking maybe an hour before camp isn't a bad strategy, but in practice I've found myself to lazy to follow this.

In general I think the primary issue is often where you camp rather than where (and what) you cook; in areas frequented by bears, the bears may have a sort of standard route they follow to visit the areas that humans camp in often. If you camp in one of those places, you have more chance of seeing a habituated bear whether you cook there or not. This is a minor advantage to hammock hangers, some bivy/tarp users, and in general stealth campers.

Lone Wolf
01-02-2011, 10:58
What is your cooking practice when in bear country?

i don't know what "bear country" is so i just cook right next to my tent or in the vestibule if raining. i ain't skeered of bears

jerseydave
01-02-2011, 10:59
(I note the O.P. lives in New Jersey)............
If you camp in one of those places, you have more chance of seeing a habituated bear whether you cook there or not. This is a minor advantage to hammock hangers, some bivy/tarp users, and in general stealth campers.

I ask this question/poll for a couple of reasons

1) My inexperience with overnighters on the trail........ I'm new to this stuff..... day hikes and car camping have been my thing in the past.

2) Attempting to figure out what "actual normal practice" is because so far all I have to go off of is from what I've read.

3) I live in Jersey, and plan on overnighting here as well as in SNP, so unfortunately the chance of running into a humanized bear that, through no fault of it's own, may exhibit more than normal curiosity toward my dinner

4) I think I'd like to SEE several bears on my hikes, and VIEW them from a respectible DISTANCE...... offering up a "pikinik basket" (spoken like Yogi) and having them invite themselves to dinner wouldn't be so cool.....

5) I'm out of work, semi snowed in, and bored to death...... I figured "bears" is always a lively topic to get a response :)

Seriously...... I need an education..... teach me

Thanks
Dave

LoneRidgeRunner
01-02-2011, 12:34
I ask this question/poll for a couple of reasons

1) My inexperience with overnighters on the trail........ I'm new to this stuff..... day hikes and car camping have been my thing in the past.

2) Attempting to figure out what "actual normal practice" is because so far all I have to go off of is from what I've read.

3) I live in Jersey, and plan on overnighting here as well as in SNP, so unfortunately the chance of running into a humanized bear that, through no fault of it's own, may exhibit more than normal curiosity toward my dinner

4) I think I'd like to SEE several bears on my hikes, and VIEW them from a respectible DISTANCE...... offering up a "pikinik basket" (spoken like Yogi) and having them invite themselves to dinner wouldn't be so cool.....

5) I'm out of work, semi snowed in, and bored to death...... I figured "bears" is always a lively topic to get a response :)

Seriously...... I need an education..... teach me

Thanks
Dave

Sometimes you may not HAVE to offer up a "pikinik basket" to have them invite themselves for dinner...As I said..I've never had a problem with the bears I have seen but it could be because I don't flaunt my food at em as some do. They are wild animals and should be respected but not feared. None the less, if you contaminate your tent with the odors of cooking food or your 2 year old daughter smears peanut butter, honey, and strawberry filling from pop tarts all over her (as one did on Eagle Creek one night when I was camped there) trouble could be just around the corner. Many people seem to take black bears lightly and even refer to them as "cowards". Yes they are afraid of humans until they lose that fear in the National Parks and can be unpredictable and may just help themselves to your food if you give them the opportunity whether you like it or not.
"Cowards?" Not hardly....I once walked up on a large sow with cubs on Welch Ridge in GSMNP and her head swinging, huffing and ground swatting antics didn't convince me that she was one bit AFRAID of me..LOL..At 40 yards distance she would just lay down and watch me but at 35 yards she would stand up on all fours and start "communicating" to me that I better back up a little, which I did. I finally, after an hour of watching her from 40 yards and waiting for her to leave with her cubs had to leave the trail and make a big circle around her. That proves that she was most definitely a "coward." Just don't take chances with black bears. They CAN do you in just as quickly as a Grizzly.

BradMT
01-02-2011, 12:35
Most of my backpacking is in grizzly country and all of it is in black bear country.

I cook a minimum of 25' from my tent. If I've caught fish, all the bones, everything, goes into a fire. Hands are thoroughly washed.

Obviously NO food in a tent and food hung at least 15' in the air.

Bear country requires a little extra attention to details, and a little common sense goes a long way... no need for fear though, and put away all those "bear attack" books...

LoneRidgeRunner
01-02-2011, 12:42
Most of my backpacking is in grizzly country and all of it is in black bear country.

I cook a minimum of 25' from my tent. If I've caught fish, all the bones, everything, goes into a fire. Hands are thoroughly washed.

Obviously NO food in a tent and food hung at least 15' in the air.

Bear country requires a little extra attention to details, and a little common sense goes a long way... no need for fear though, and put away all those "bear attack" books...

Very sensible Brad. Sounds like you share the same respect for the bears of both North American species that I do. I've never been in Grizzly country but I respect both species of the bears and even though it's their nature to fear humans I don't regard them as "cowards".

BrianLe
01-02-2011, 16:46
I think that part of the problem here is that there's so much lore and hearsay about bears, and like so many other aspects of backpacking there's also a tendency by those that teach classes to err on the side of caution in setting rules for people new to the activity.

The "lore" among thru-hikers tends, I think, to sort of degrade to a too-casual approach if anything. People that don't spend much time in the woods fear bears and who knows what else while they're hearing sounds in the night in their sleeping bag. But hike enough weeks or months in a row with few or no bear encounters and you began to go along with the general consensus that in most places you're fine to just sleep with your food.

I think what's difficult is keeping a sense of balance and adjusting to local conditions. I didn't personally see a bear on the AT this year, and on the whole PCT I didn't see one until I had hiked back to my home area in WA state. That doesn't mean that bears didn't sense me, just that on those trips I didn't encounter them.

One factor to keep in mind about bears is just exactly what you're trying to accomplish. I think that less experienced hikers fear being eaten or mauled. For me, a good way to offset that is to look at the statistics. You can get some statistics by perusing sites such as wikipedia's bear fatality stats (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America), answers.com (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_are_killed_by_bears_each_year) has some nicely summarized data as well --- in particular, "
Between 1900 and 2003 there were about 52 recorded deaths due to black bears, 50 due to brown bears and 5 due to polar bears."

When you go further into the list of those deaths and extract behaviors that you wouldn't likely be doing, the stats are pretty darned comforting IMO.

The thing to fear about bears is losing your food (which could mess up a trip), and contributing to a change in behavior that could cause one or more bears to be killed by the authorities.

Bottom line for me is that I tend to use an Ursack, partly for rodents and racoons and the like, and depending on a sort of "situational awareness" I sometimes sleep with my food, sometimes tie it to a tree as recommended by Ursack, and infrequently hang it. But I pretty much always just cook whereever I like unless there are really clear signs or word from other hikers of a lot of bear activity.

Flippy
01-02-2011, 19:00
Depends on the time of year and if I'm in Grizzly country. I don't intend on inviting bears into my camp, but I'm not over cautious. When I'm hiking alone in black or brown bear country, I don't cook and eat in the same place I sleep. If I'm with a group, I usually do what the group is doing. Probably not the wisest of decisions. Below is one of my bear encounters.

http://www.127definingmoments.com/#/detailView?id=257

Even after that moment, I'm still not over cautious. Just maybe more aware of when I'm in bear country. BTW I carry and odor sack and Urasack as part of my base gear.

excuses
01-02-2011, 19:54
Usually I like to eat before I'm finished hiking for the evening. This means I'll cook a couple to few hours before stopping for the night. Of course I've be lucky to never have been visited by a bear either. Missed one by 30 minutes after leaving Roaring Forks Shelter in 09. Same evening hiked passed Walnut because of the problem bear. Awareness of the area and careful with the food and gear will get you through with minimum risk.

Joshuatree
01-02-2011, 22:42
I hike alot in black bear country. In spring I'll cook a couple dozen feet down wind of the tent. In fall after the bears go on a feeding bing I'm alittle more careful, some of the areas I hike have pushy bears because of bad campers.

SassyWindsor
01-03-2011, 01:00
Have never worried about Black bears and cooking locations, unless in brown bear country. Learned to be really careful while on a trip to the Carpathian Mountains (same place Cold Mountain filmed), thousands of brown bear around. Found that cooking a good distance before setting up camp worked out. Problem was at established camps where departing hikers would cook and leave a mess. This made it more dangerous for those coming behind them and having to use the same campsite. Because of messy/littering hikers I always tried to stealth camp no matter where, unless there is a very large penalty if caught. Also a good idea to hang, downwind, food and cooking items a good way from your tent.

Spirit Walker
01-03-2011, 01:21
Depends on where I am. On the east coast, I don't worry about it. In the Sierras or in grizzly country, I'll usually cook dinner around 5:00 and keep hiking an hour or two.

Erin
01-03-2011, 23:13
I will ask since I haven never camped in grizzley country. How do you get over the fear that you might be pulled out of your tent at night and eaten? Do you carry bear pepper spray?

hikingshoes
01-04-2011, 13:16
I usually cook in camp, however my cooking is boilng water and adding it to my bag. At the shelters throughout the Smokies I have always seen everyone cooking in the shelters at the bench across the front, so this is usually where I cook too. There has been a few times though that I have carried my food to a place with a better view after setting up camp (in the shelter) and cooking there.

Ive did the same thing to STICK,But,now i enjoy the PCT Method along with the Marlinspike Hitch(i know it use the clove hitch).I like the Marlinspike hitch because it free's one hand to work with.HS