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.