Etiquette for hanging food in shelters (Split from another shelter question)

[Drybones]

racoons can actually pull a bear bag up from the branch its hung from. dont underestimate critters.and mr gault, i have seen mice jump from rafters driectly onto the bags, circumventing the tin cans.
i will say that hanging your food in a shelter and then tenting away from the shelter is so wrong its downright funny.

I'd put a racoon against a bear any day for creating trouble. The boys and I were camping on an island in Philpot Lake in VA, left the camp for a moment with food on the table, came back and followed a trail of bread slices to the other end of the island that a coon dropped carrying off our food, had one eat a candle, a cigar, and chew the heck out of a plastic coffee cup I'd been drinking hot chocolate from when we camped at the Lower Shoals shelter on the Pinhoti.

[hikerboy57]

I'd put a racoon against a bear any day for creating trouble. The boys and I were camping on an island in Philpot Lake in VA, left the camp for a moment with food on the table, came back and followed a trail of bread slices to the other end of the island that a coon dropped carrying off our food, had one eat a candle, a cigar, and chew the heck out of a plastic coffee cup I'd been drinking hot chocolate from when we camped at the Lower Shoals shelter on the Pinhoti.

they are incredible critters, can untie buckles, straps, strong agile. yes much more of a nuisance than bears

[bfayer]

I'd put a racoon against a bear any day for creating trouble. The boys and I were camping on an island in Philpot Lake in VA, left the camp for a moment with food on the table, came back and followed a trail of bread slices to the other end of the island that a coon dropped carrying off our food, had one eat a candle, a cigar, and chew the heck out of a plastic coffee cup I'd been drinking hot chocolate from when we camped at the Lower Shoals shelter on the Pinhoti.

I watched one climb up on a picnic table and open the zippers on a day pack and start pulling things out. It was like watching a Disney cartoon. But it was from across the road, like most animals as soon as it saw me coming, it beat feet out of there. Most animals have enough common sense to stay a safe distance away from people (mice not included), so I am not particularly worried about bigger critters in shelters full of people. I just hate the mice.

[Drybones]

they are incredible critters, can untie buckles, straps, strong agile. yes much more of a nuisance than bears

My dad told me they had a coon as a pet when he was young, got into the cellar and opened every jar of canned goods they had.

[Malto]

And then there are the birds at the Grand Canyon. I will put them against any critter. Bear hang, they call that a bird feeder.

I have seen the most pathetic attempts at bear hangs on the AT. There is no doubt that food is safer in shelter on the mice hangs than most of the hangs I've seen. Plus, I'd we want honesty here if mice hangs aren't used then I suspect most hikers would sleep with their food. That was by far the most popular storage place on the PCT. Mice are the only reason that I wouldnt use my food bag as a pillow in shelters on the AT.

[Pedaling Fool]

racoons can actually pull a bear bag up from the branch its hung from. dont underestimate critters.

And racoons have been seen climbing the steel poles in SNP.

and mr gault, i have seen mice jump from rafters driectly onto the bags, circumventing the tin cans.

Then the bag was too close to a beam/wall. If mice could jump on all foodbags, then getting food stolen in a shelter would happen all the time, just as it does if you leave food in your pack in the shelter. I say again, the stories of foodbags being infiltrated by mice in a shelter are so very, very uncommon; I can't even remember hearing of it happening, but I've heard many times the, "Oh *****!!!..." in the morning when someone realizes they forgot some food in their pack.

i will say that hanging your food in a shelter and then tenting away from the shelter is so wrong its downright funny.

I really don't have an opinion on that part of this discussion. Personally I always keep my food in my tent with me. All I'm saying is that food properly hung in a shelter does not attract mice, it's safe from infiltration and it's basically an AT tradition.

I would tend to agree (I guess I haven't really thought about it) that tenters should not hang their food in a shelter, but the OP was complaining about it attracting mice and that is wrong, that's all I'm talking about.

[atmilkman]

they are incredible critters, can untie buckles, straps, strong agile. yes much more of a nuisance than bears

When we used to car camp we would bungee cord the cooler shut to the picnic table. Worked for a long time till they started chewing through the cord. Then we started pad locking swingset chains around them. That's still working. Untill they learn to go to Home Depot and get keys made.

[atmilkman]

My dad told me they had a coon as a pet when he was young, got into the cellar and opened every jar of canned goods they had.

My uncle had one that could drink a six-pack of beer. He was always the hit of the party, till one time everbody started giving him beer and he was way over his limit. Went off into the woods and was never seen again.

[Sarcasm the elf]

When we used to car camp we would bungee cord the cooler shut to the picnic table. Worked for a long time till they started chewing through the cord. Then we started pad locking swingset chains around them. That's still working. Untill they learn to go to Home Depot and get keys made.

I wouldn't put it past those furry little bastards.

[Drybones]

My uncle had one that could drink a six-pack of beer. He was always the hit of the party, till one time everbody started giving him beer and he was way over his limit. Went off into the woods and was never seen again.

Yeah...that happened to a few friends of mine...never know what a pig roast and a keg of beer will get you.

[hikerboy57]

And racoons have been seen climbing the steel poles in SNP.


Then the bag was too close to a beam/wall. If mice could jump on all foodbags, then getting food stolen in a shelter would happen all the time, just as it does if you leave food in your pack in the shelter. I say again, the stories of foodbags being infiltrated by mice in a shelter are so very, very uncommon; I can't even remember hearing of it happening, but I've heard many times the, "Oh *****!!!..." in the morning when someone realizes they forgot some food in their pack.

I really don't have an opinion on that part of this discussion. Personally I always keep my food in my tent with me. All I'm saying is that food properly hung in a shelter does not attract mice, it's safe from infiltration and it's basically an AT tradition.

I would tend to agree (I guess I haven't really thought about it) that tenters should not hang their food in a shelter, but the OP was complaining about it attracting mice and that is wrong, that's all I'm talking about.

i agree that properly hung food will not attract mice and that they are already there. most people do not properly hang even in the shelter it seems its hung really just to keep it off the ground.everyone just uses whatever hangers are there already or just hang it from a nail. and yes, thats why mice can jump onto the bags.
i avoid shelters and sleep with my food.

[Slo-go'en]

Coons are the only other animal with opposing thumbs like we have. They are also very cleaver. They can get into just about anything they set thier minds to.

I had a crow fly off with a 2 dollar granolla bar I had just bought at Big Medeow in the Shanendoahs. I had set it down on a picnic table and then turned around to talk to some hikers I knew. When I turned back around, the crow was flying off with it. I chased him over a hill and found about a dozen granolla / power bar wrappers scattered around.

I've had Canadian Jay's swoop down from a tree and try to grab food out of my hand.

It's not just bears and mice you have to look out for...

[mountainman]

i might not be king. but if someone at shelter is doing something stupid, that could put others at risk i will do something about it. if you want to be dumb do it at your own expense, not at the expence of others.
i have zero tolerence for stupidity

Zero tolerence can bring unneeded confrontations. I find that the AT requires much tolerence.

[BirdBrain]

I've had Canadian Jay's swoop down from a tree and try to grab food out of my hand.

We call them Whiskey Jacks up here.

[T.S.Kobzol]

If the shelter is full then there is not enough hangers from which to hang the food. That means that others will still hang it wherever available albeit improperly. Their accounts will skew the statistics or properly hung food.

i agree that properly hung food will not attract mice and that they are already there. most people do not properly hang even in the shelter it seems its hung really just to keep it off the ground.everyone just uses whatever hangers are there already or just hang it from a nail. and yes, thats why mice can jump onto the bags.
i avoid shelters and sleep with my food.

[Different Socks]

I have to agree with aficion on this one...
Different Socks take the "higher road".... this is yo mama talkin...

I only said that b/c the guy was acting like if anyone, and basically he inclined "anyone" attempts to hang food in a shelter, he will move it for them. I'm sorry but I would not want to stay in a shelter with a person that thinks they should only follow his rules about how to spend the night at one. I mean if he doesn't like it when people hang food in a trail shelter, what about the people with stinking cigarette smoke, or the ones that sip coffee/tea/cocoa in their bags before bed or after awaking? What about the smell of food on a pack? Does he make you hang that from a tree or cables also?

[Different Socks]

If the shelter is full then there is not enough hangers from which to hang the food. That means that others will still hang it wherever available albeit improperly. Their accounts will skew the statistics or properly hung food.

You've never used a shelter where more than one food bag hung from the lines?
All my nights on the AT, I only had 1 night that a mouse manage to get past the upside can and onto the bag. Chewed a hole into the bag but couldn't hang on long enough to get anything. The system works for crying out loud, so why should we do what this guy says?

[Different Socks]

i might not be king. but if someone at shelter is doing something stupid, that could put others at risk i will do something about it. if you want to be dumb do it at your own expense, not at the expence of others.
i have zero tolerence for stupidity

So 1000's of hikers through out all those years were hanging their food the wrong way? Sounds like a good reason for your hike to not go along very well.

[jj2044]

Different Socks its right, this whole thread is kind of lame, A bear's sense of smell is 7 times better than a blood hound's or 2,100 times better than a human. the cloths you cook in have food smell in them, your pack where you carried the food has food smells in it, that candy rapper you stuck in your pocket 2 days ago , yep the bear can smell that too. bears are for the most part scared of humans even at night , for a bear to come into a shelter while people are there already mean somethin isnt right with the bear. so if im in a shelter and a bear comes in i hope there is a food bag, and its not someones pants or gloves he smelled lol.

[T.S.Kobzol]

not sure why you're assuming that I don't think the system works. see my past posts in this thread if you have time.

I did not say people will double hang, but if they did then the wider footprint of the two bags creates opportunities for mice to land and stay.

People will hang from the nails in the walls or or from the cross beam exposing bags for better mice success.

The odds are that something will happen and then they come here to report of it and others will take it as 100% odds that mice will enter their food.

You've never used a shelter where more than one food bag hung from the lines?
All my nights on the AT, I only had 1 night that a mouse manage to get past the upside can and onto the bag. Chewed a hole into the bag but couldn't hang on long enough to get anything. The system works for crying out loud, so why should we do what this guy says?