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  1. #1
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    Default Coffee and bears

    I'm about to head into black bear territory (Colorado) and am wondering how to properly stow coffee grounds. I drink dark roast Community coffee which is very aromatic. The rich aroma tends to permeate everything. I'm sure bears could smell these grounds from miles away if not sealed airtight, so I'm thinking of leaving my coffee at home (shudder!!!) rather than deal wtih bears prowling around my camp at night looking for some late night java. No, I'm not willing to drink "instant" coffee (gross).

    Anyone know of a truly airtight container?

  2. #2
    Registered User JimSproul's Avatar
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    Default Bears

    Did treks at Philmont Scout Ranch the last two summers near Raton, NM. You can see Colorado. It is Black Bear country and they are pretty active due to an extended drought. We ran ANYTHING that was smellable up a bear cable each night. All food products but also toothpaste, lip balm, etc.

    I was the only coffee drinker on one crew. We never cooked breakfast. I used to cold brew my coffee each morning. Nalgene makes 4oz or 6oz wide mouth lexan jars. I would pop a Folgers "coffee bag" in the jar with water and hang it on the top of my backpack in a mesh bag to get a little sun when we hit the trail in the morning. By the time we got to our first long break, about an hour, I had a nice jar of coffee. Sometimes it was even warm! Once we hit camp, my coffee jar as well as my stash of coffee went up in the bear bag.

  3. #3
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    Obviously the coffee will be hanging in my bear bag at night, away from camp. But the odors of this dark roast coffee permeate everything while in the pack, including my bag, so I'm assuming bears may be attracted to my camp, my sleeping bag, etc. at night by the residual odors.

  4. #4
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    I think the bears will be able to smell your food anyways, even if you can't. Their sense of smell is very, very good. I wouldn't worry about it any more than you would if you were not carrying coffee. Someone does make a "smell sack", but I can't remember the name of it.

  5. #5
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    Talking Bears?

    My personal experience with bears in the San Juans of Southern Colorado is not to even concern myself very much. In fact I sleep with my pack and food bag beside me and even cook nearby before bed. For one thing, the CDT there is quite high and above treeline in many places so you could not hang your food even if you wanted to-unless the trail had slipped back down to treeline. For another it just does not have the "people" traffic of the AT, and bears there are still more frightened of us, than we are of them. You may not even see another hiker yourself for a few days-let alone a bear- and you'd be extremely fortunate to even spot a bear from a distance. I refer to the black-not brown-bears as so far Colorado only has the smaller variety. So, bring your favorite fresh coffee grounds and brew up a cup in the mornings---there's nothing better with which to start the day!

    What part of Colorado are you going?

    Altitude sickness and lightening are far more serious occurances to concern yourself with than bears will ever be! What beautiful country, though!

  6. #6
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    I'll be hiking in the West Elk Wilderness, between Gunnison and Aspen. I hear bears are hunted there and the area is lightly trafficked, so the bears should not be too habituated to humans. Neverless I'm real scared of bears. They're way bigger than us and are eating 20 hours a day at this time of year (meaning at night too!) and can make a meal of a human like a $1 Big 'n Tasty.

    I've thought of double bagging the coffee in zip-lock freezer bags then putting them real tight in a small Nalgene or something, and tying it to the outside of my pack instead of inside so the odors don't get all caught up in my bag and tarp. Like I say, I'm real s-s-s-s-caaared of bears and I know they loooooove coffee.

  7. #7
    Registered User JimSproul's Avatar
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    Default Bears

    Grizzlies require a different approach but Black Bear don't eat people. They may bite them, but usually don't continue beyond a little snack. In bear country in New Mexico and Colorado it is a good idea to keep all smellable stuff away from you AT NIGHT. Otherwise most bears, as lazy as a teenager, will look for an easy meal before taking one they have to work for.

    In the most conservative approach (as used at Philmont etc.) follow simple procedures to keep yourself safe. EVERY time there was a problem the simple rules were not followed. On the Long Trail in Vermont Procupines will give you a run for your money any time, more than Bears in Colorado!

    1. Anyting that has an odor but does not smell human goes in the bear bag, and up at night. This includes first aid kits, duct tape, bug spray, anything.

    2. No use of smallables (see above) after 5 pm. No lip balm before going to bed unless you wish to chance a very scary erotic dream!

    NOTE: We never use Aftershave or deodorent on the trail do we?

    3. No food in tents PERIOD. Not even sometimes, not even in the rain. No cooking in the vestible.

    4. Don't sleep in the clothes you cook in.

    5. Keep your tent at least 50 feet from where you cook, where you poop or where you hang your bear bags. An "interesting" fact is that because black bears are carion eaters vomit really attracts them. At least two of the attacks at Philmont (over a 20 period there were only about a dozen) the kids involved had vomit on them. In all cases they had food on them.

    Easy solution: I carry a compression sack which gets all my smellables, food, first aid kit, everything. It doubles as my bear bag! In my case I use and external frame bag and tie the compression sack on top. I can get "unSmellable" very quickly. I hang my smellables ANY TIME I am going to leave my pack. The little critters are a more real danger to your food.

    If you are REAL concerned or know you are going to an area where Bears are active you can buy a detergent by Snowseal at Wal-Mart ($8 for 16 loads), designed for hunters, that removes smells. It also helps renew gore-tex an other membrane items. Whenever I head out west to hike (I live in Dallas) I wash everything in it before I go, then faithfully use my "bear bag". I have camped in areas with very active bears but I sleep just fine. I always bet with the house and follow the rules.

  8. #8
    Registered User gravityman's Avatar
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    Default actually

    The following comment is not true : "EVERY time there was a problem the simple rules were not followed." (okay, maybe it is true at philmont, but not in general)

    There was an attack this summer in Rocky Mountain National Park where the rules were followed. No one was seriously injured (the bear "tasted" his head, and left) . He was at an established back country campsite. The best way to avoid a problem is to stay away from established sites. It's not what you did, but what the last person fed to the bear that will get you in trouble in my opinion.

    Gravity Man

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    The only rule I followed this summer was about cooking away from the tent, and I had no problems with bears (or with rodents, etc). Cooking 50 feet won't do a thing. Several miles will.

    What follows pertains to black bear land, not places where Mr. Grizz lives. This is what I did on the PCT, which traverses a lot of bear land (about 2000 miles worth). Cook before you bed down for the night and don't camp in established, popular areas unless they have food storage devices (boxes, wires, poles, etc). Be prepared to defend your food with sounds and projectiles. Hang it if you wish, but make sure to hang it close by. I slept with my food in my pack and under my feet. If the bear gets your food, let it go. If a bear shows up, pack up and move a few miles downtrail. Most importantly, don't screw things up for people coming after you by letting a bear get your stuff.

  10. #10

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    Bring the coffee. Treat it like the rest of your food. I was just in heavy grizz country and we drank coffee and had tons of food laying around and none of us were killed or mauled. Black bears are a whole lot less dangerous. Don't sweat it and have fun.

  11. #11
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    so, i lived my entire life (until recently) in colorado camping, hiking, and backpacking with my family and in the past several years on my own- i've never seen a bear. they certainly exist and it's true, people have been attacked when they weren't and even when they were following "the rules-" i guess, what i'm trying to say is; there doesn't seem to be any completely sound system. i'd say, be cautious but not paranoid- read up on what to do if you encounter a black bear (i'm sure you already have)- and TAKE YOUR COFFEE!!!

  12. #12
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    Default pro coffee

    so, i lived my entire life (until recently) in colorado camping, hiking, and backpacking with my family and in the past several years on my own- i've never seen a bear. they certainly exist and it's true, people have been attacked when they weren't and even when they were following "the rules-" i guess, what i'm trying to say is; there doesn't seem to be any completely sound system. i'd say, be cautious but not paranoid- read up on what to do if you encounter a black bear (i'm sure you already have)- and TAKE YOUR COFFEE!!!

  13. #13
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    Bears like cologne and perfume. Those you should leave at home. Coffee is fine. You mean you worry more about coffee than food items?? Try to consume veggies on your trip. Veggies are more "natural" to the environment and blend or "camouflage" themselves with the other vegetation. Idiots who take meat products...especially jerky...are asking for problems! These are the same geniuses who get mugged by mountain lions. And guess what,,,,they can't figure out why. They blame it on the animal.

    The moral: If it grows...safe to stow. If it breathes...leave it.
    There are no stupid questions..just stupid people. :banana

  14. #14

    Default Idiots?

    Quote Originally Posted by bam_bam
    Bears like cologne and perfume. Those you should leave at home. Coffee is fine. You mean you worry more about coffee than food items?? Try to consume veggies on your trip. Veggies are more "natural" to the environment and blend or "camouflage" themselves with the other vegetation. Idiots who take meat products...especially jerky...are asking for problems! These are the same geniuses who get mugged by mountain lions. And guess what,,,,they can't figure out why. They blame it on the animal.

    The moral: If it grows...safe to stow. If it breathes...leave it.
    It's painting with a pretty wide brush to call folks "idiots" if they carry jerky and other meat products in the wild. In the old days Indians, eskimos, and mountain men all did. Seems like they had plenty of experience in the wild. Were they idiots?

    Don't confuse your "facts" on the risks of meat products and animal attacks with your attitudes on diet. Bears eat mostly veggies, by the way. Also, your odds of being killed or mauled by a bear on the AT are far, far less than your odds of being killed by a bee.

  15. #15
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    I must REALLY be an idiot cuz in addition to jerky when I leave a town I take bacon or country ham, eggs for the first few mornings and beef/ veggies for the first night out. What the hell does bam-bam know anyhoo?

  16. #16
    Section Hiker 500 miles smokymtnsteve's Avatar
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    them bears is scared you ain't they lone wolf.

    "I'd rather kill a man than a snake. Not because I love snakes or hate men. It is a question, rather, of proportion." Edward Abbey

  17. #17
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    Bears is scared. The .45 keeps em at bay.

  18. #18
    Section Hiker 500 miles smokymtnsteve's Avatar
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    back in the days before I became a vegie_tarin
    we killed and ate the bears.

    you ever had bar-b-q bear?

    I spent some time up in big cove on the reservation in NC working a campground, we haved to get a bear just every now and then. The TN boys would come and butcher the bear and then we'd bar-b- que it everybody staying in the campground could come and eat the bear. then the TN boys would do some bluegrass pickin. we also had two biker weekends a year , you could get bear bar-b-que those weekends too.
    "I'd rather kill a man than a snake. Not because I love snakes or hate men. It is a question, rather, of proportion." Edward Abbey

  19. #19

    Default

    sounded like a studder to me
    Bam is a one trick pony, He copied the same thread to another post.
    Stupid is as stupid does my mom always say, want some chocolate Bam?

  20. #20
    Springer - Front Royal Lilred's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bam_bam
    Bears like cologne and perfume. Those you should leave at home. Coffee is fine. You mean you worry more about coffee than food items?? Try to consume veggies on your trip. Veggies are more "natural" to the environment and blend or "camouflage" themselves with the other vegetation. Idiots who take meat products...especially jerky...are asking for problems! These are the same geniuses who get mugged by mountain lions. And guess what,,,,they can't figure out why. They blame it on the animal.

    The moral: If it grows...safe to stow. If it breathes...leave it.

    Ok Bam Bam, you go ahead and stow those blueberries you find along the trail and I'll keep my beef jerky and see who gets followed by what......
    "It was on the first of May, in the year 1769, that I resigned my domestic happiness for a time, and left my family and peaceable habitation on the Yadkin River, in North Carolina, to wander through the wilderness of America." - Daniel Boone

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