How did you store food above the treeline?

[maybe clem]

Does anyone know about how many miles are above the treeline?

[Fog Horn]

Its my understanding from the trail journals and the guide books that many of the parks in the AT do not allow you to camp above the treeline so you won't need to worry about bear proofing your food overnight up there.

I'm interested to know what the experienced hikers have to say about this, though.

[maybe clem]

CT, not AT.

[mcskinney]

you wont see a lot of black bears on the CT above treeline, in fact I've never seen a bear above treeline in 15+ years of backpacking Colorado wilderness.

I'd be more concerned with mice or marmots snooping around.
Tie your food bag to your hiking pole to keep it out of rodent reach and it should be good, place the hiking pole 100 or so ft away from your camp.

If this isn't practical for you you could always carry an ursak for peace of mind, overkill imho, or descend to treeline.

[fiddlehead]

I've always slept with it.

[Lone Wolf]

sleep with it

[MedicineMan]

I knew he was going to say that HA!

[SouthMark]

Of course he was going to say that. If it ain't t broke don't fix it.

[the goat]

you can sleep with your food pretty much anywhere on the AT.

[Hole-In-The-Hat]

Usually you'll want to camp below treeline to reduce your worries if a lightning storm comes up. This is not too hard for most of the trail, however there are ~41 miles between Spring Creek Pass and Elk Creek that are more of a challenge. This stretch, which includes Cataract Ridge, is almost entirely above treeline.

For this part of your trip, you may want to drop down to treeline to camp. However if the weather is clear and you decide to camp near the trail, bears are really not much of a problem.

[Tilly]

Has anyone found that rodents and other small critters are a problem on the trail? I would think that I would just sleep with my food in the tent when above treeline...but the thought of a midnight marmot visit doesn't appeal.

[the goat]

Has anyone found that rodents and other small critters are a problem on the trail? I would think that I would just sleep with my food in the tent when above treeline...but the thought of a midnight marmot visit doesn't appeal.

when we were cowboy camping on blackrock cliffs a rodent of some sort stole my buddy's socks. probably a rat taking them to his nest.

surprisingly, nothing touched our food....

[Hole-In-The-Hat]

Yes, there are a few small animals that would like your food or anything with sweat on it -- rabbits, mice, marmots, etc. Not a huge problem, but in ~500 miles you might encounter a couple. Hang your food when you can, or keep it nearby -- they're usually easy to shoo away.

[handlebar]

Slept with mine on the CT section that shares tread with the CDT. Never any problems. Did the same on the PCT except for where a bear can was required. Only once did I have a problem and it was with mice at an "established" campground 7 mi S of the road to Stehekin. I'd been using my bear bag line as a line to dry clothes and wound up attaching my food bag to it when the mouse just wouldn't be scared away.

[Highway Man]

A single stretch above the tree line may be equal to 1~2 hour walking. You can always pick up a low spot to camp at the night if you're not too fascinated about watching sun rise or sunset. Actually I believe one could have greater chance of seeing bears at lower altitude. I met bears twice on the trail next to mixed woods last summer. Also I heard coyotes howling around my camps at night a couple of times.

I only camped above the tree lines a few nights (following the rules, "climb high, sleep low"). Either way, I just hung my food bag on a nearby tree, or kept it under my tent if it rained, and never had a problem with any animals. But don't eat fish!

[Pioneer Spirit]

I have no experience with large animals and food but I would like to add this information from a blog I follow.
For your consideration and comments:

There was a little controversy about a comment I made back in the High Sierras about sleeping with my food at night, and now seems like a good time to explain my thoughts about bears and food. I'm convinced that the absolutely best way to protect one's food from bears is to not leave it unattended. In all of my years of backpacking, I've met a lot of people who've told me about an instance of a bear getting into their food. The one thing in common in every single case was that they had left their food unattended. Most of the time, they hung their food bags in a tree and a bear had all night to figure out how to get it down and did so. In a couple of cases, someone left their pack at a shelter on the AT went off for several minutes to get water and came back to find a bear pawing through their pack. Regardless of the circumstances, though, in every single case when a bear got into someone's food, it was because the food was left unattended.

I'd like to hear your comments, there is also more to this blog at: http://www.anotherlongwalk.com/2010/...ter-storm.html

[DuctTape]

Sleep with it, but make sure it's close at hand. I left a Camelbak outside my tent above treeline overnight, and woke to find the bite valve all chewed up.

[DuctTape]

Sleep with it, but keep it close at hand. I've left a Camelback outside my tent overnight above treeline, only to wake and find the bite valve all chewed up.

[Wise Old Owl]

you wont see a lot of black bears on the CT above treeline, in fact I've never seen a bear above treeline in 15+ years of backpacking Colorado wilderness.

I'd be more concerned with mice or marmots snooping around.
Tie your food bag to your hiking pole to keep it out of rodent reach and it should be good, place the hiking pole 100 or so ft away from your camp.

If this isn't practical for you you could always carry an ursak for peace of mind, overkill imho, or descend to treeline.

Granted you are talking about Colorado - I remembered this fact

Ecology and bear use of alpine moth aggregations: Bear food habits research documented that bears in the Greater Glacier Ecosystem (GGE) feed on army cutworm moths. From entomological studies, it was known that these moths migrate in early summer from the Great Plains to spend the summer in the Rocky Mountains. In Glacier NP, army cutworm moths spend their days resting in the cool spaces between jumbled rocks in talus fields near the tops of some of Glacier's highest peaks. The moths emerge at night to feed on nearby flower nectar. Research on bear use of moths in the GGE and the alpine ecology of army cutworm moths estimated the nutritional importance of this diet item; during peak feeding periods when moths are abundant, bears eat approx. 40,000 moths/day which is equivalent to 20,000 kcal/day. This study also addressed moth densities in talus fields where bears feed, physical parameters of known moth aggregation sites, locations of potential moth sites modeled on a GIS, body composition and migration potential of moths and the energetic cost of climber disturbance of bears feeding on moths. This work is reported in White et al. (1998)(1998)and (1999).

[BitBucket]

Put it in a "RatSack" and then sleep with it...no worries other than the extra 12 oz for the sack...

http://www.armoredoutdoorgear.com/BUY%20ME%20PAGE.htm