Do You Sleep With Your Food in Bear Country?

[Erebor]

I always have the best bear repellent with me... a bear tag.

I bet you have some cool stories.

 

[4rcgoat]

Never used to worry much in black bear country until 2 years ago,no food in the tent just a propane tank that just happened to have a few drips of grease on the side from the grill.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I sleep with in in my sleeping bag like a human freeze dried fiesta

 

[COelk89]

Yes. I like to eat Twix bars right before bed

 

[Blackdog317]

No food in the tent for me.

 

[jhm2023]

I keep my unopened freeze-dried meals in my pack in the tent with me. Used freeze-dried meal bags go under a rock 10ish yards away until I'm ready to pack out. Meat/cape is kept 30-50 yards away. I do piss in different spots all around camp like a dog marking his turf, usually 10-15 yards from the tent or meat cache and mostly on the upwind side. I've never once had a bear come into camp and I spend 60+ days in the field every year all around Alaska. I also generally kill bears when I see them, so that helps I'm sure.

 

[AlBeartoe]

I live in AK where bears are not habituated and they have plenty of more natural options than whatever I’m packin. They just don’t bother us. If there’s meat in camp I have no problem sleeping with my human food, I know what they are going for first. But I definitely sleep close to my meat because it’s mine and I ain’t giving it up to no lazy ass bear!

 

[Alaska92]

Yes I sleep with my food and my meat next to me. I don’t want bears messing with it. I’ve been doing this for 30 years all over Alaska.

 

[CodeMonkey]

After scouting this weekend, I don't think bears are going to be a problem for my September mule deer hunt.

Marmots on the other hand...

 

[Ucsdryder]

Never used to worry much in black bear country until 2 years ago,no food in the tent just a propane tank that just happened to have a few drips of grease on the side from the grill.

Pretty sure that’s not a bear…

 

[4rcgoat]

Pretty sure that’s not a bear…

Yeah......I would disagree most times,......female!!

 

[Nykki]

I don't have food in the tent but it's just outside. I've always kept a clean camp and burn everything including cans. Bears are always a concern but have never had one in camp. We did move camp one year after we found where a Grizz had killed a cow moose a few hundred yards from camp.

 

[HighUintas]

I live and hunt only in Utah. There's black bears where I hunt but not particularly habituated to humans. I mainly only eat freeze dried meals and bars, which are in my tent right next to me or under my head in my pack. There's not many decent trees to do a proper hang in that area. Haven't had any encounters in camp, yet. I'm not a deep sleeper so if anything tried to get in I'd hear it before it made it to my head. I did have an adolescent bear sneak up behind me around midnight as I was quartering a bull. That was fun. It took a good hour to scare him off as he kept trying to come back. It made the job a little harder after that.

When camping in grizz country, particularly in the lower 48, I hang it.

 

[DawnPatrol]

I don’t keep food in my tent. I don’t need any reason for anything, from a mouse to a griz, to try to get in.

How far away, and in what kinda container/setup, depends on a lot of different factors.

 

[Poser]

Hot take:
Not reasonably securing one's food is a weird thing to be passionate about/proud of.

 

[bowonly]

Unless I missed it after scanning all the posts, I did not see where anybody mentioned in many locations there are regulations concerning food storage. They are quite specific on where and how attractants are handled. Of course, there are those who choose not to inform themselves or ignore the law just like there are those who do the same with hunting regulations.

 

[Poser]

Unless I missed it after scanning all the posts, I did not see where anybody mentioned in many locations there are regulations concerning food storage. They are quite specific on where and how attractants are handled. Of course, there are those who choose not to inform themselves or ignore the law just like there are those who do the same with hunting regulations.

The Collegiate Peaks wilderness area of Colorado has mandatory food hang or cannister requirements and, last I heard, Ursacks do not satisfy the requirement.

 

[KenLee]

I’ve had cattle destroy my shit. My tent is not your scratching pole…

Rogue barn goats are the worst.
Neighbor of folks who let me hunt their section of heaven in NC mountains had a big billy that went wherever he wanted.
Bastard tore up something of mine every time I camped there. After about a dozen encounters, ole Bill found his way to an abandoned hand dug well after some lead poisoning.

 

[el_jefe_pescado]

Looks like Ursack made the IGBC list.

https://igbconline.org/programs/bear-resistant-products/

 

[Cyril]

When I was in western alaska we slept with our food in our tent. Based upon the advice of the transporter and a group of guys that were on their third trip. They said they had limited Bear encounters that time of year. As an east coaster, if I were spending time along the more traveled portions of the Appalachian Trail, I would probably hang it. Too many nuisance people creating nuisance bears.

When I go back to Alaska, I will probably be prepared for either, look to the transporter for advice in their area.