Sleeping in my Xterra in bear country. Where should I keep my food?
- Thread starter drunkbackpacker
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shade
Well-known member
And yet, they're still used effectively in bear country.
I don't even know what you're on about with the car door line.
JaSAn
Grumpy Old Man
They'll eventually figure it out. How long did it take bears to figure out a hanging food pack? And some of the early beards proof canisters were taken off the market because bears learned how to open them.
Next time I see Yogi I'll suggest pole vaulting ?
shade
Well-known member
A bear will eventually decide that the food they want is worth the hit, and they'll bound through the fence. No surprise, there.
Dogs do something similar when escaping from a radio collar zone. Run hard, take the hit, and keep running to freedom. Bears are very smart, powerful animals. This is a great example of just how smart some are. Over time, it's likely that some bears will figure out how to defeat fences. Some of the most experienced bear bandits live around Yosemite. Here's an article on their mischief. They're very good at exploiting the failings of humans.
No one suggested bear fences are penetration proof bear shields, just as no one should believe there's any one completely foolproof way to avoid bears when you go into their home. Of course, I don't know why you'd want to go to Beartown and try to avoid all contact with bears.
Dogs do something similar when escaping from a radio collar zone. Run hard, take the hit, and keep running to freedom. Bears are very smart, powerful animals. This is a great example of just how smart some are. Over time, it's likely that some bears will figure out how to defeat fences. Some of the most experienced bear bandits live around Yosemite. Here's an article on their mischief. They're very good at exploiting the failings of humans.
No one suggested bear fences are penetration proof bear shields, just as no one should believe there's any one completely foolproof way to avoid bears when you go into their home. Of course, I don't know why you'd want to go to Beartown and try to avoid all contact with bears.
drunkbackpacker
New member
Not just free...you’ve got all that land to yourself.I agree. Outside the towns, there are some private campgrounds, but I think most people just pick a spot on federal land and call it home for the night.
This is a few miles south of Silverton. Why would I want to pay for a campground when this is free?
luthj
Engineer In Residence
I was in alaska during the yearly moose hunt. Thousands of locals get to take a bull during the fall. They drive into the backcountry. Kill a 600lb+ animal. Many set up a big compound to process the kill (you can't just take horns due to the state laws). Many have slaughter tents, smokers, freezers, etc. A hungry bear looking to get that last big meal before the winter, would be sorely tempted by all those calories.
Situations like the above, hike-in hunters with kills, etc, are a common cause of fatalities with bears. A kill like that is basically a beacon for all the carnivores downwind for 20 miles.
shade
Well-known member
Ok, you got me. There are reasons to visit Beartown and not want to see any bears. I may not be interested in them, but they exist.
For the bear-fents-is-stoopid folks, hunters use them to keep bears away from their kills, so they might be more effective than you think.
shade
Well-known member
That's the best part. Once you get an eye for finding a good campsite, they just start popping up. Add in iOverlander and similar services, and it's not too hard to find dispersed sites as long as you're traveling through public land that allows it. They aren't always that nice, but they're not $20 or more a night.
For that Colorado site, we ate in Silverton at the closed visitor center (free water, picnic area, trash, and restroom), and I checked the satellite imagery (free wifi) ahead on our route for some likely campsites. I saw some meandering roads that intersected the highway, and decided we'd poke around and see what we could find. There were some other spots that were more level, but that one was at the end of the double-track trail, so no one would be driving by. I leveled the truck by pulling onto some rocks, and called it good.
jacobconroy
Hillbilly of Leisure
Sounds like nearly every one of my campsites in Western MT. Always best to be at the end of the road.
2Jeeps&PatriotX1
Active member
Was down there this past weekend and they’ve sent out notices regarding high bear activity and Ive seen video from couple days ago of bears in the field leading up to Ouray. We stayed in a rooftop tent and felt fine in the area we were.
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AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
The wife and I were up in SE British Columbia this afternoon, hiking near Stagleap Pass to take pictures of the wonderfully varied, colorful display of wildflowers blooming in this uncrowded West Kootenay region.
We saw a blond maned griz today about 200 yards away from us up the mountain, meandering quite unconcerned as it headed diagonally downhill across a utility line clear cut. It was a thrilling but too brief sighting of the bruin before it disappeared from our view into the wet, thicker closed in understory.
So I kept one hand firmly gripped on my orange can of UDAP bear spray and my eyes scanning the nearby forest’s edge the whole rest of the time my wife busily focused her efforts on setting up and snapping her flower pictures.
Tonight though, I have to admit that we’re feeling quite safe from any unprovoked attacks by blood thirsty, predatory ursine marauders...as we’re happily, comfortably camped out in a warm motel room in nearby Nelson where our food is safely stored for the night in the mini fridge.
Cheers!
We saw a blond maned griz today about 200 yards away from us up the mountain, meandering quite unconcerned as it headed diagonally downhill across a utility line clear cut. It was a thrilling but too brief sighting of the bruin before it disappeared from our view into the wet, thicker closed in understory.
So I kept one hand firmly gripped on my orange can of UDAP bear spray and my eyes scanning the nearby forest’s edge the whole rest of the time my wife busily focused her efforts on setting up and snapping her flower pictures.
Tonight though, I have to admit that we’re feeling quite safe from any unprovoked attacks by blood thirsty, predatory ursine marauders...as we’re happily, comfortably camped out in a warm motel room in nearby Nelson where our food is safely stored for the night in the mini fridge.
Cheers!
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AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
Viking w/Hammer opined:
“Bears are going to learn how to toss aside those fences in 3-2-1.....”
And Shade Countered:
Here’s my dos centavos on the subject:
Camping recently outside of Lake Louise in Alberta, we saw that the Canada Parks folks have installed electric fences around small “tents only” campgrounds and found out that they’ve been using these barriers effectively for several years.
That means that there’s been plenty of time for the many hungry bears here to have learned how to successfully defeat these defenses...and interestingly enough that hasn’t seemed to have become a problem yet.
And, judging by the numerous large piles of bear poop that we discovered deposited along and in the trails we walked that wound around and nearby these electric fence enclosed tent campsites, the bears here frequently do roam through these areas but stay away from trying to enter the camps.
I’d say....based on personal observation, and also by our follow up chat with a knowledgeable Parks Canada Warden...that the electric fences do seem to be effective time tested (and bear tested) deterrents.
“Bears are going to learn how to toss aside those fences in 3-2-1.....”
And Shade Countered:
Here’s my dos centavos on the subject:
Camping recently outside of Lake Louise in Alberta, we saw that the Canada Parks folks have installed electric fences around small “tents only” campgrounds and found out that they’ve been using these barriers effectively for several years.
That means that there’s been plenty of time for the many hungry bears here to have learned how to successfully defeat these defenses...and interestingly enough that hasn’t seemed to have become a problem yet.
And, judging by the numerous large piles of bear poop that we discovered deposited along and in the trails we walked that wound around and nearby these electric fence enclosed tent campsites, the bears here frequently do roam through these areas but stay away from trying to enter the camps.
I’d say....based on personal observation, and also by our follow up chat with a knowledgeable Parks Canada Warden...that the electric fences do seem to be effective time tested (and bear tested) deterrents.
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AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
Want to learn more?
See:
Or,
Ya might be interested in reading:
“A shocking new way to store your food in bear country.”
www.wyofile.com
See:
Or,
Ya might be interested in reading:
“A shocking new way to store your food in bear country.”
A shocking new way to store your food in bear country
Backcountry adventures in bear country mean planning for food storage. Don't want to hang your food? Consider a portable electric fence.
www.wyofile.com