Storing food in your tent when you're sleeping?

[Sarcasm the elf]

Actually, here is a reason to keep your food in your possession.

Well said. I would never store food unattended in my tent. I use bear boxes where available and often hang food PCT style if I need to leave it unattended, but ive never had any trouble with food that is in my possession, even when asleep in my tent (and not next to a shelter). That said, I ain't never hiked out west...

[AzWildflower]

Any body care to mention the last time a bear entered a shelter to get food when hikers were actually in the shelter? It doesn't happen.

Yes, it does.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010, Mt Collins Shelter, GSMNP. A bear entered the shelter several times at night and was shooed away each time by the human occupants. The bear only got one hiker’s boot, but I suspect that it would rather have had hiker food. The story I was told was that the hikers (some or all?) did not hang their food, and after the first time the bear entered and left the hikers were too afraid to go out in the dark and hang their food. Then the bear came back, I don’t know how many times. No humans were harmed. The next day I was planning to stay at Mt Collins shelter but I was told by SOBO hikers near Clingman that the shelter had been closed by Park personnel. I hiked on down and when I got close to Mt Collins Shelter there was yellow caution tape draped all around and over the trail with huge warning signs not to get close to the shelter due to bear activity. I had to detour out to the road because of the yellow caution tape and hike a bit and then get back on the trail further down. I stayed that night at Icewater Shelter instead. I had no desire to go to Gatlinburg during Memorial Day weekend.

Remember I was not at the shelter during the bear incident, only the next day, and this story was told to me by people who were not there either. I do not know how many days the shelter was closed. I do know that the shelter was closed because a bear had entered it more than once that night because I discussed it later with a ridge runner (Scott?). I do remember noticing that at each of next shelters I stayed at in GSMNP, every single hiker hung their food!

[ChinMusic]

I don't consider food hung at the opening of shelters to be true possession. It's more like a tease.

[leaftye]

I don't see where anyone said food was hung at the opening of the shelter.

[AzWildflower]

I don't see where anyone said food was hung at the opening of the shelter.

Correct, leaftye. After the bear incident all of the hikers in the shelters I was staying in were hanging their food from the bear cables strung between the trees away from the shelters, no discussion nor debate, because we had all heard about the bear INSIDE Mt Collins shelter and the purloined boot.

[Pedaling Fool]

Yes, it does.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010, Mt Collins Shelter, GSMNP. A bear entered the shelter several times at night and was shooed away each time by the human occupants. The bear only got one hiker’s boot, but I suspect that it would rather have had hiker food. The story I was told was that the hikers (some or all?) did not hang their food, and after the first time the bear entered and left the hikers were too afraid to go out in the dark and hang their food. Then the bear came back, I don’t know how many times. No humans were harmed. The next day I was planning to stay at Mt Collins shelter but I was told by SOBO hikers near Clingman that the shelter had been closed by Park personnel. I hiked on down and when I got close to Mt Collins Shelter there was yellow caution tape draped all around and over the trail with huge warning signs not to get close to the shelter due to bear activity. I had to detour out to the road because of the yellow caution tape and hike a bit and then get back on the trail further down. I stayed that night at Icewater Shelter instead. I had no desire to go to Gatlinburg during Memorial Day weekend.

Remember I was not at the shelter during the bear incident, only the next day, and this story was told to me by people who were not there either. I do not know how many days the shelter was closed. I do know that the shelter was closed because a bear had entered it more than once that night because I discussed it later with a ridge runner (Scott?). I do remember noticing that at each of next shelters I stayed at in GSMNP, every single hiker hung their food!

I don't consider food hung at the opening of shelters to be true possession. It's more like a tease.

I don't see where anyone said food was hung at the opening of the shelter.

Correct, leaftye. After the bear incident all of the hikers in the shelters I was staying in were hanging their food from the bear cables strung between the trees away from the shelters, no discussion nor debate, because we had all heard about the bear INSIDE Mt Collins shelter and the purloined boot.

Ok, I'm confused. leaftye says, "I don't see where anyone said food was hung at the opening of the shelter", but you seem to say exactly the opposite in your initial post, but then agree with him later

[Del Q]

Hanging gives me something to do, practice throwing skills, keep food away from evening snacks............last hike came into 2 towns empty, would have definitely eaten more if my food bag was with me in the tent.

Also.................Don't want chance of critters coming around............

[Lone Wolf]

i wouldn't even think of hangin' food on the AT. no need to

[leaftye]

Ok, I'm confused. leaftye says, "I don't see where anyone said food was hung at the opening of the shelter", but you seem to say exactly the opposite in your initial post, but then agree with him later

I made one post, one sentence, about that. You're confused because what you think I did is not possible. It didn't happen. Unless perhaps my words are poetry. it meant one thing when you first read it, but at a different time it meant something else. Am I a poet and don't even know it?

[Pedaling Fool]

I made one post, one sentence, about that. You're confused because what you think I did is not possible. It didn't happen. Unless perhaps my words are poetry. it meant one thing when you first read it, but at a different time it meant something else. Am I a poet and don't even know it?

Yeah, but I wasn't confused about what you said

[Connie]

I think bears get habituated to associating hikers with food.

Hike, wear a back pack, have a campsite = food.

Once bears eat our food or food garbage, they get habituated to our food or food garbage.

It is better for the bear to never get our food or food garbage.

I use odorproof OPSak's for food and for garbage.

I think I will use lightweight slick dyneema line to suspend my food and my garbage bag from now on, reference those photos posted by mainemike on the previous page.

[Ladytrekker]

From the many journals I have read mice have damaged more backpacks than bears. However my cousins camping in NC had a bear tear open the end of their tent while sleeping and grabbed a purse and ran with it. They found the purse think it was the fruity smelling lip glosses in the purse

[Crash! Bang!]

Actually, here is a reason to keep your food in your possession.

Bears getting killed is not a good thing.

Anyway, I use an Ursack. Just slightly heavier than a regular foodbag, and you don't have to hang it while being secure in the knowledge that your food will not be taken. I don't know why they are not more popular.

[sailsET]

Would a beer come in your tent for your food if you're in it sleeping

If a beer comes into my tent, it's gonna get drank and that will be the end of that beer.

Love it!! Here's a good book for you: "I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar: A Collection of Egregious Errors, Disconcerting Bloopers, and Other Linguistic Slip-Ups" by Sharon Eliza Nichols

[SouthMark]

In Pennsylvania, a 7-square-mile community called Hemlock Farms where 7,000 people coexisted with 21 bears, that many bears in 7 square miles is a higher bear density than exists in any national park or national forest, people regularly hand-fed the bears and no one was attacked.

In Smoky Mountains National Park, Dr. Jane Tate studied wild black bears that people fed along roadsides (Tate 1983). She watched in disbelief as raucous tourists crowded around bears to hand-feed them, pour beer over their heads, lure them into cars for photos, and put honey on kids’ faces for bears to lick. She reported that the bears were “amazingly tolerant and restrained.” When people tried to pet bears that were not used to it, some bears defensively nipped or cuffed people, causing minor injuries, but the bears did not attack. The more accustomed to people the bears became, the less likely they were to cause injury.

In nearby Eagles Nest Township, MN, residents have fed wild black bears for over 40 years. Dozens of bears have lost their fear of people over the years. No one was attacked.

At the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary near Orr, MN, people have hand-fed and petted hundreds of wild black bears for decades. Until the mid-1990’s, the public was free to mingle with the wild bears without rules or supervision. People teased bears with food for pictures. Toddlers steadied themselves against 500-pound bears. People lifted children up to bears’ mouths for reasons beyond understanding. There were occasional nips and scratches, but no attacks.

[Odd Man Out]

In Pennsylvania, a 7-square-mile community called Hemlock Farms where 7,000 people coexisted with 21 bears, that many bears in 7 square miles is a higher bear density than exists in any national park or national forest, people regularly hand-fed the bears and no one was attacked.

In Smoky Mountains National Park, Dr. Jane Tate studied wild black bears that people fed along roadsides (Tate 1983). She watched in disbelief as raucous tourists crowded around bears to hand-feed them, pour beer over their heads, lure them into cars for photos, and put honey on kids’ faces for bears to lick. She reported that the bears were “amazingly tolerant and restrained.” When people tried to pet bears that were not used to it, some bears defensively nipped or cuffed people, causing minor injuries, but the bears did not attack. The more accustomed to people the bears became, the less likely they were to cause injury.

In nearby Eagles Nest Township, MN, residents have fed wild black bears for over 40 years. Dozens of bears have lost their fear of people over the years. No one was attacked.

At the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary near Orr, MN, people have hand-fed and petted hundreds of wild black bears for decades. Until the mid-1990’s, the public was free to mingle with the wild bears without rules or supervision. People teased bears with food for pictures. Toddlers steadied themselves against 500-pound bears. People lifted children up to bears’ mouths for reasons beyond understanding. There were occasional nips and scratches, but no attacks.

While I don't think feeding wild animals is a good idea, the stories above are consistent with the data from long-term bear research, i.e. bears that become acclimated to people are not more dangerous. They are probably less dangerous. This is a great link, if you have not seen it before.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pag...-run-away.html

Whether or not these bears are a nuisance is based more on the people than the bear.

http://www.bear.org/website/bear-pag...lack-bear.html

Click the "Bears and Humans" link at the top of the page for several more articles.

[brian039]

I want to know if it is a myth or fact. Would a beer come in your tent for your food if you're in it sleeping? Is the best thing to always hang your food?

For me it depends. If I was in Grizzly country I'd always hang. There's a few spots on the AT with black bear problems year-after-year (Watauga Lake and around Blood Mt for example)that I would only camp by shelters so that I can use the bear cables or just avoid the problem areas. I don't hang because most of the time I wouldn't be able to do it correctly or find a good tree to hang food from and I (and the bears) are better off with me sleeping with my food. I think it's better to sleep with your food than to hang it incorrectly and I'm not confident enough with hanging to know whether or not I'm doing it right.

[TechnoD]

No bears in my state,at least not where I camp but I hang my food after spraying my stuff sac with OFF. Coons and possum don't seem to like the odor.

Techno

[Velvet Gooch]

Yes, I sleep next to my food bag. Soundly

[wisenber]

I use OPsak as well (garbage in it) and tie my food bag to a tree like 25 feet away. I used to be scared of bears but now Im realizing they are a myth here in new england..

Hanging your food isn't always for the hikers safety. If a bear becomes too acclimated to humans and their food, it can often lead to them being put down as "problem bears". In the long run, you may be helping the bear more than yourself.