Staying Safe in Bear Country: Bear Bagging Your Food

ISSUE 10 | OCTOBER 2018

EVERSAFE MRES

STAYING SAFE IN BEAR COUNTRY: BEAR BAGGING YOUR FOOD

STAYING SAFE IN BEAR COUNTRY:

and lip balm. A bear bag is any

BEAR BAGGING YOUR FOOD

bag (preferably water resistant)

Experienced hikers, backcountry

that the bear can't get to, while

campers, and backpackers know

a bear canister is crush-proof

that when you are traveling in an

and used in areas more frequented

area frequented by bears, you

by grizzlies.

need to put your food in a bear bag or canister. You need to put

Once you've put everything with

anything with the scent of food

an odor into the bag, you hang it

into this bag, including scented

from a tree branch. There are

hygiene products like deodorant

many ways to do this. Whatever

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method you choose, the bag needs

small amount of food with you in

to end up at least 10 feet off

your tent for breakfast, but it's

the ground and 4 feet from the

just not worth it. Bears have one

trunk and other branches. Some

of the most powerful noses on

campsites in bear country will

Earth. They can smell food from

have poles in cleared areas for

huge distances and through many

this purpose. Don't forget that

barriers.

the tree you choose needs to be at least 100 feet from your

This includes sealed and freeze-

campsite.

dried food items like MREs and

It can be tempting to keep a

vacuum-packed foods. The foil orÂ

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plastic barrier isn't going to be

packages of MRE food have been

enough to keep a bear from

stored with other items that

smelling the food inside. Dogs

could transfer food smell to the

have been known to find their way

outside of the sealed packet.

into sealed ration packs, and a

Even if you carried nothing but

bear's sense of smell is about

MREs as food (which doesn't sound

seven times better than a dog's.

very appealing!), you still have to worry about the smell from

Even if the ration pack is sealed

your used cookware or trash

with materials that keep in all

getting on to other items in your

the food odors, it's likely the

pack.

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This contamination of other items

doing that.Â

means that there is just no way around hanging your food or using a bear canister in places that

Remember, too, that many bears

require it. Even if your food

have learned that humans carry

doesn't need to be protected from

tasty treats with them. Even if

the bears, anything with a smell

your bag doesn't have a smell,

does. This includes food garbage,

the bear may still investigate

cookware, hygiene products, etc.

and tear into it just to see what

Simply bringing MREs as your food

it is. Bears are naturally

isn't going to get you out of

curious and highly intelligent.

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So the long and short of it is that you need to either put your food in a bear bag and hang it from a tree, or use an approved crush-proof canister placed an appropriate distance from your campsite. There's no easy way around it. You'll be safer, and you'll teach the bears to hunt their own food.

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“ALWAYS RESPECT MOTHER NATURE. ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE WEIGHS 400 POUNDS AND IS GUARDING HER BABY.” ~JAMES ROLLINS