On my May 2015 21 day solo trip to the Q, I inadvertently became a “HIDER” instead of a “HANGER”.

My first day’s paddle ended in a deluge and after setting camp I was in no mood to find a couple decent trees and hang my food pack. I had the 3 pulley hanging system with me that work’s great, but I decided that at least for one night I would just leave the food pack on the ground.

I double bag all my food and use 2 of those clear locking lid Rubbermaid boxes that fit just right in my Granite Gear food pack. I had extra cinch straps added to the pack and added some of those backpacking type add on pockets to have a place to store bear rope AND fuel bottles.

All in all it’s a good system BUT those plastic bins wouldn’t survive a determined raccoon outside the pack never mind a bear. I ended up leaving them in the pack and used the waist belt and sternum strap to secure to a tree within sight of my tarp/tent and put some empty pots/pans on top for a bear alarm.

Well 1 night turned in 21 nights and I decided I would become a “HANGER” but needed to take the pack out of the equation. Bad enough to lose food, you don’t need to get an expensive pack torn to shreds in the process.

I wanted to be able to use my food pack so after some experimentation/measurement I found that I could lay 2-5 gal buckets sideways/alternating them and they would fit right nicely in my food pack. I could keep my same Thermarest ¾ mat as insulation/flotation which was important to me.

So I made 2 DIY food barrels out of 2-5 gallon plastic buckets and those Twist Top barrel lids they sell at the Home Dept type stores. The lids have a rubber seal so they “should” be waterproof and odor proof, but being the cautions type, I had to add some ST modifications so they would stand alone without risking damaging my pack.

I did a little on-line research and found that SOME experts say that a black bears VISION is similar to humans BUT if they have a weakness it’s that they DON’T see reds/oranges as well as other colors?
That’s why I picked the Home Depot orange buckets, but who knows IF that makes a real difference as scent is probably the biggest worry as far as bears are concerned.

I bought a tube of clear silicone caulk/glue and used that in the groove of the twist lid to make it a permanent and waterproof seal. Those lids snap on maybe with a little rubber mallet help, but even with them being glued, I was confidant a bear could pop them off with a little effort, so I bought some ½ “ STAINLESS screws that had a washer included.

I tightened the twist lid which has a + type top and added a screw at each cross end and then 1 more between the ends for a total of 8 screws. I drilled a little pilot hole thru the lids outer rim but NOT into the bucket itself.

Part 2:

You WANT  the tip of the screw to go UNDER the rim of bucket and JUST into the side but NOT all the way thru. 2 reasons for that. No sense making a potential leak point and you don’t want a sharp screw tip on the inside of bucket to cut yourself or tear your food bags.

After adding the screws, I ran another bead of silicone sealer and completely filled the gap between lid/bucket and covered the screws. No bear will POP the lid off, they’ll have to tear it open which we all know their more than capable of doing IF they scent your food and have the time.

I plan on using 2-13 Gallon garbage bags as can liners. They make them with non-scented odor eating coating which should add another layer of odor protection.

Finally, I didn’t like the idea of leaving the metal handle on the bucket. Besides making the buckets less easy to pack, I thought about them as being a possible point for a bear to bite hold of and carry bucket off OR as a leverage point to hold the bucket down with one paw and pop lid with the other.

I removed the wire handles and used some Paracord to make a couple of small loops that I ran thru a ¼” stainless washer and fished them up from the underside of the bucket handle mounting hole.

I made a rope handle out of more Para-cord and used some ¼ “rubber fuel line to make 2 –handles. I tied a knot on each side of handle to center it.

On each end of Para-cord handle I attached a simple galvanized squeeze clip. The idea is after stashing buckets, you take the handles off and leave stashed on hanging limb so you don’t lose them or some critter hauls them off.

Here are 3 pics of the finished product.
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The REAL test will come in the Q this spring.

Interesting mod, ST. I took your rubbermaid boxes system and have been using that for years. I'll be interested to hear how you think these barrels pack and carry compared to the square boxes. Will you still double bag the barrels?

And welcome to the wonderful, convenient world of the "Hiders"!  ;D

ST
Looks nice.  I go back and forth I do not like the extra weight of the buckets but I don’t like the time spent hanging.  Looks like you have a good way to carry them.   How many days food can you get in a bucket?

Hey Ranger/MP
Thanks for the feedback.

Ranger,
I don’t think they’ll pack any different than the square clear Rubbermaid boxes because they fit the same way in my pack and I can cinch the side straps to fit them.
Biggest thing is you can’t see thru the barrels, but that’s really not a problem IF you pack each the right way. I’ll label one for Breakfast/Lunch other for Dinners and adult refreshments.

There TOTAL volume is a tad shy of my two boxes, but not enough to make a significant difference. Weight wise they weigh a little more, BUT since I’m not bringing my pulley rope system, it should just about even out.

I plan on double bagging the bucket liner NOT so much for water proofing, more for an extra layer of ODOR protection. It can’t hurt and doesn’t add any negligible weight.

MP,
On my 21 day solo, I used a variation of the plastic boxes. Instead of 2 boxes, I went with 3-15 QT boxes for a total of 45 qts. I had room to spare and I also brought back at least 3-4 days of food/drink mix because like usual I over packed which is better than under packing.

2-5 gal bucket at 20 qts a piece gives you about 40 qts. I might have to pack the buckets a little bit differently, but I’m sure they’d easily hold enough food for 3 weeks plus. I eat better than most, bring 3 bottles of coffee/cocoa booze and DON’T plan on catching fish for a meal.

That’s why I always end up with more food than I need. I don’t plan on changing my style of tripping until my body tells me I can’t do it anymore.

When that happens I could easily lighten my food pack by cutting back on the type of food I bring and the alcohol.

I find that it’s not the weight per say that bothers me, it’s the weight on my shoulders that give out long before my legs do.
I’m going to try something this trip to see if by spreading the load out better on my shoulders, it will eliminate that issue.

I've looked for a long time and think I might have found the answer?
They make Velcro on shoulder straps for those backpack type garden sprayers you see people using for fertilizer/bug control. There 5” wide and 14” long.

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I figure they’ll should make a noticeable difference carrying that heavy food pack and IF they work as I think they will, I’ll take them off the food pack and put them on gear pack so when I portage canoe it will help my shoulders there too.

My body tell me I need to watch the weight.  I like the convenience of not hanging. If I use buckets I can leave the rope pulley system and my stool at home.  The one bucket still weighs more. 

Quote:

My body tell me I need to watch the weight

Do you have a hard water season work-out program?

IF not and you want one simple work-out that will work 90%+ of your muscles, especially your legs/core muscles, then this might interest you?

The strength and endurance gains are very noticeable and the work-out is safe once you learn the proper form.

I've had one for a few years now, but this year I'm going to go on this regime as my main work-out.

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I have a couple questions, you are using 2 containers do you find it to be an issue if the weight of each container is not close to equal in the way the pack rides on your back during the portage? In your opinion what is the main advantage to 2- 5 gallon buckets veris 1 small barrel?

Fallguy,
    
   I can’t answer for the 5 gal bucket system as yet but using either the 2-Rubbermaid clear bins or the 3-15 qt clear bins, they both carry equally as well because I pack them like you would a conventional backpack.

By that I mean you load the weight so the heaviest load is closest to your lower back/hip belt.
The 5 gal buckets present a little different challenge to load because they’re round, but I’ll work that out as I go.

The reason I wanted 2-5 gal buckets or the 2 combinations of rectangular Rubbermaid boxes is I use the containers for more than just hauling food.
I like to sit and relax around camp after a long day so I want to sit in comfort and still be able to cook without kneeling on the ground.

I bought this camp chair so I could sit under my Dri-fly and cook/relax and even set up/break down my tent without getting wet OR even standing up if I don’t feel like it.

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With the clear container or now the 5 gal bucket, I will use the top of them for a place to set my Peak 1 Stove and as prep table or just a place to set a evening drink on around the fire. I set my stove in a cheap aluminum disposal pie pan so no food spills on food box.

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IMHO the biggest advantage of having more than 1 food container is you can divide your food by meals/type and you don’t end up digging thru a big single barrel to find the items you want to eat. Even if you pack in different colored sacks, the bouncing around on portages is going to have things shifting and settling around.

I pack my suppers/adult beverage which tend to be the heaviest in the bottom box/bucket and the top one is the breakfast/lunch items and drink mixes.

When I went to the 3-15 qt boxes, I did the same but made one box all snacks/drink mixes.
The buckets will be packed the same-way so the same type items are packed together and easy to identify and get too.

When I’m on the water/portage and want to have lunch/snack, I just open pack, remove the lid and it’s all right there.

This system was conceived to fit my style as a solo paddler and might not be for everyone. IF you’re happy with what you do now, then you should stick with it, BUT if you’re not then it’s worth a look see.

Also remember I had a Food pack already and needed a packing system I could adapt and keep my pack. I’m glad I had the pack first, because I had looked at those blue barrels, but for the reasons I mentioned before I didn't think it would fit my style of tripping.

I also use the pack’s shape to wrap a ¾ Thermarest sleeping pad around the clear boxes/buckets. This has multiple advantages or at least I think it does.
I’m hard on my packs. When I’m offloading on rocky landings, I toss them up, roll them up whatever it takes to keep ME safe. So to protect the plastic from breaking hitting a sharp rock I have a 2” piece of close-cell foam on the bottom of my food pack. Then the Thermarest pad wrapped around the containers.
The padding protects and silences the pack as well as provides a layer of insulation on hot days which is nice IF your hauling perishable/heat sensitive food items. It also guarantees that if I dump the food pack will float in any conditions.

Finally, at night I take that pad and lay under my Thermarest foam air mattress for an extra layer of padding and insulation.

Thanks for the reply. I am just starting solo trips and still putting together a system. I have just used a #3 Duluth in the past for food and hung it in a tree when I have been out with my son.  As you know it can be a royal pain to find a halfway decent tree. So I am considering a bucket / barrel system. :)

IF your going that route you might want to get a food pack that has a good waist-belt/sternum strap?
The difference splitting the load between shoulders and hips is very noticeable. KONDOS outdoors makes a good  pack at a reasonable price.

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I like Granite Gear and this is my food pack.

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I sent it off to KONDOS to have 2 cinch straps put on each side to snug the load tight and also allow for attaching those side pockets I talked about. Cost was very reasonable and well worth it.

I used to hang until I helped someone do tracking with dogs.  I learned some interesting things that figure into my choice of stash spots.

Scent is carried in moist air, which is why very dry air is hard for dogs to track in.  As the air cools, it becomes more humid and sinks.  So in the evening, low spots have the most moisture - and the strongest scents - but they're also the places where the heavier air settles.  This means that scents move toward low spots, rather than away from them.

I stash my food pack in the lowest places I can find and easily reach, and have some sort of visual barrier like a rock wall or a bunch of overhanging bushes.  These places are usually along shorelines.

My dog tells me whether my food pack is scent-proof.  I leave it open just a tad and let him walk by it.  He usually shows quite a bit of interest.  I close it up and he ignores it.  That's good enough for me.

My food pack includes a Bear Vault (large size) and several different sized OP sacks, which are truly Odor Proof.  It all goes into a dry bag-type pack which I wipe down with lake water before stashing.

Never again will the rock at the end of the hanging rope boomerang back at me!