Newby Question - cooking.

[superflatz]

I've read where you should cook about 1-200 feet away from your campsite and the trail.

My question is: Wouldn't that be like bushwhacking? Don't you worry about ticks, snakes and other "goodies"? How do you find a decent site that far from your camp to cook in? (Sorry - I guess that's 3 questions).

I know this is elementary to most. I am just learning and want to be prepared - and not break the few rules there are.

bob

[Lone Wolf]

I've read where you should cook about 1-200 feet away from your campsite and the trail.

My question is: Wouldn't that be like bushwhacking? Don't you worry about ticks, snakes and other "goodies"? How do you find a decent site that far from your camp to cook in? (Sorry - I guess that's 3 questions).

I know this is elementary to most. I am just learning and want to be prepared - and not break the few rules there are.

bob

I cook right outside my tent most times and sleep with my food.

[4eyedbuzzard]

I cook right outside my tent most times and sleep with my food.

Well Pilgrim, if you sleep with a "heater" you can make your own rules.

[Gray Blazer]

Where did you read that? From one to two hundred feet? That's a pretty broad range. Who's going to measure if you are more than 200 feet? There are lots of shelters and campsites with fire rings already present. Be considerate of others when cooking in shelters. I have come up to some shelters where the one or two hikers already present have spread their stuff all around, taking up all the sitting room and table room (some shelters do have tables). I imagine the reason the guide you read said that was to keep critters away who might feast on anything spilled while cooking. I've never heard that rule before. I usually cook right in front of my tent or set up my stove on a table or handy bench/rock. Don't worry about that rule. That should be the least of your worries. Maybe someone more knowledgable than me can help answer this.

[Spirit Walker]

If you're in grizzly country, then cooking away from your tent is definitely a good idea. Most don't bother in black bear country, unless you know there are habituated bears (i.e. Yosemite).

Grizzly country is generally open, so moving away from the tent isn't that difficult. Or you can do what we did in the Sierras - cook dinner for lunch or alternately cook dinner at 5:30 or so then hike an hour or so after dinner.

It is a good idea to store your food away from your tent if you know there are bears in the vicinity.

[mountain squid]

I think this is mostly a "bear" issue and more so out west. While there are certainly bears on the AT, I don't believe they are much of a problem (I only saw a mother and her cub). Most people probably cook at a shelter and then stay for the night without any extra company (except mice of course and the occasional late hiker). If you are concerned about it and if you don't stay at a shelter you can always stop for dinner on the trail somewhere and then continue to walk for an additional few miles.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

[4eyedbuzzard]

Basic rule: Don't spill or get food all over your gear. Regardless what you do, however, your pack does smell like your food. It's unavoidable. Minimizing the odor is the best you can achieve. Lots of hikers cook in shelters, some in tents(not recommended esp. in bear areas). It's a trade off. Minimizing impact by staying near a designated campsite/shelter vs. cooking/food contamination attracting critters(mice thru bears). Common sense should prevail.

[rafe]

I've seen precious few hikers in the east abide by the 200 foot rule. I generally shoot for a dozen or two feet. I might cook at or near the shelter, but my tent will be set up "nearby" somewhere. If it's a stealth camp, I cook wherever I can... a nearby flat rock or outcropping, patch of sand, etc. Another idea is not to cook at camp. Cook dinner on the trail, an hour or so before making final camp. Final camp will be for sleeping only.

[Fiddleback]

What you read probably was about bear avoidance...the famous triangle with the points locating your cooking, food hanging, and sleeping areas. I've seen recommendations for each of the legs of the triangle to be 100yds long. While it's been a couple decades since I've been on the AT, IMO that kind caution is probably overkill for the AT. On the other hand, I have practiced that kind of risk avoidance in Alaskan areas known for their dense grizzly populations. Probably not such long distances here in MT where the griz are smaller and more teddy-bear like.

We all are responsible for our own safety. Some accept that responsiblity and some don't. There are those that don't practice bear safety in grizzly country just as they don't wear seat belts on their way to the trail head. But the difference is that good bear practices protect the bears too. Bears that don't become accustomed to treats in camp are bears that don't often get in trouble and end up 'euthanized.'

It's an individual decision...just be sure to consider the bears when making it.

BTW, 'ticks, snakes and other goodies' will be found at your campsite too. If it's a busy campsite, maybe more so for the ticks and other goodies...

FB

[gold bond]

That rule was adapted and is still in effect for Scouting today. Check out a DVD called "Soft Paths" for more info on this subject. You have to use your own judgment and common sense though. I never, ever cook in a shelter or tent! Critters are bad enough as it is! I always try to cook at or near an established fire ring. Weather, wind, crowd, etc. will dictate that. If nothing else I go out to where the cables are. Critters smell food,critters come,critters invite their friends,critters chew.... Sometimes the trail is hard enough,lets not have one more thing to worry about!

[Lone Wolf]

Critters smell food,critters come,critters invite their friends,critters chew.... Sometimes the trail is hard enough,lets not have one more thing to worry about!

hundreds of nights eating and sleeping with food in my tent and never once had a problem. that's just me. i ain't saying for others to do it (don't want jack accusing me) but it's not a problem on the AT

[Outlaw]

I 50% agree with LW. I cook right outside my tent and on many, many occasions I've used the floor of a lean-to for a kitchen prep/ dining area. Even did this in the ADKs when two NYS Forest Rangers shared a lean-to with us.

Up north, many lean-tos have a fire pit no more than 6 or 8 ft from the open side of the lean-to. In other words, cooking is somewhat encouraged near lean-tos.

No matter what, I always hang a bear (critter) bag with my food and cooking stuff a reasonable distance away from where I sleep (perhaps this way I won't hear the little buggers chomping on my bag o' food).

[superflatz]

Thanks all. I don't remember where I read it, but I'm sure glad I don't have to do it.

bob

[Fiddleback]

I suspect that the AT shelter fire pits and associated cooking activities will change once the shelter mice I've heard so much about become vectors for hanta virus. Next to two-legged crazies, sanitation is probably the biggest threat on the AT.

FB

[SalParadise]

hey don't be ashamed of asking "elementary" questions on here, they're the most important ones to ask.

yeah the humanized bears can make it a problem to sleep with food that close to you like in SNP or New Jersey, but generally it's not an issue when it's only black bears you're dealing with.

I never ate in my tent, but not for the bears, but because I didn't want mice smelling the crumbs and chewing through my tarp at night to get at the food.

[hopefulhiker]

I usually ended up cooking on a picnic table at a shelter. Usually I would go at least ten yards from the tent. A few times I actually cooked under the beaks of the tarptent in the pouring down rain.

[CaptChaos]

Well, I think that your question is a good one and keep them coming. When I started backpacking when I was in middle school I was a Boy Scout and what I learned I picked up from Scouting. The times have changed and so has everything else so this website is a great place to learn, ask questions, etc..

The real truth is that it is very hard to setup your site in one area, cook in another, and do all of the things that everyone would like for you to do.

In the Great Smokey Mtns you are told about cooking and sleep and everything else because of the bears. But I have never had any problems. In fact, if you listen to what people are saying you would also not sleep in the clothes that you cooked in. I have yet to cook, strip and store my clothes with my food bag.

Why, well, most of the time it is about all that I can do to get my bag out or my tent up and many times the great meals that I want to have end up being beef jerky and snickker bars and if I feel better the next morning maybe I will do something.

I think a lot depends if you are aware of bear issues. If I am going to a shelter and I know that there is a bear issue then I do cook away from the shelter. But most time I watch what the others are doing and just follow suit.

Might not have answered your question but you have some idea what I do.

Oh, and by the way, welcome to WhiteBlaze.net.

Capt Chaos

[hammock engineer]

I think your question has been answered, but here are a few more thoughts.

I thought of this last time I packed my gear up when I broke camp. I rise out my pot and hang it with my food at night. Then when I leave I put it and my food bag in my pack. They sit up against my tarp, hammock, jacket, etc. So basically all of my gear has some food smell to it.

I hang my food and cook away from my shelter (hammock). If it is raining I'll cook underneath the tarp. If it gets dark after 7pm I like to stop and cook diner before camp. Just my style.

Most animals know where the established campsites are better than we do. If people use a site over and over, the animals are going to know there is food there.

I hang my food mainly to get away from the raccoons. They are a biggest threat to my food where I do most of my hiking.

[sarbar]

Honestly, it comes down to where you are backpacking. I live in the PNW, where bears are very common, so eating in one's tent is never a good idea. But there are areas I backpack that have no big animals. At that point I am a bit more lax, though I still store my food in my Ursack bag 24 hours a day. Keeps squirrels, mice, etc out of my eats!
As for cooking, well, we just go to the other corner of camp from our tents and cook. Works well. Or if somewhere scenic, we go cook by the river, the lake, on a rocky outcrop, etc.
I can say I'd never sleep with my food. I don't like mice dancing on me

[4eyedbuzzard]

yeah the humanized bears can make it a problem to sleep with food that close to you like in SNP or New Jersey, but generally it's not an issue when it's only black bears you're dealing with.

Hmmm.