Sorry, I'm too lazy to figure out YouTube. My version of hanging the foodpack:
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Then, later of course, letting it down again:
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Hey, I was windbound on a small island in a light drizzle and had to amuse myself somehow.

That is probably the best link I've seen on this or any of teh canoeing sites I check out.  Thanks.

ST, If the molded handles help humans get their hands on it, I'm pretty sure bears could get their teeth on it too.

In my experience, no guide or outfitter I've ever been with has ever hung food. But then we were only traveling remote areas too.

IMO, If there's known nuisance bears roaming the area, you better be hanging food or find someplace else to trip. Bigger problem is what happens during the portage. Unless you can do a one pass portage, or have at least 3 people in your group, you have to drop your food and leave it at some point, or do people hang there food at each portage. Drop your food halfway maybe, to try and trick a smart old bear poaching the trailheads, 

There have been a couple of times I was concerned on a portage.  One was with bear tracks and blueberry bushes recently stripped of berries another was the long Cache lake portages.  I don’t like leaving my pack for a long time and on short portages that is not a problem on the other portages I leapfrog my gear across.

The thing that takes the longest to get done when hanging is getting the ropes over the correct tree limbs.  I have a small bag with string in it.  I put a rock in the bag and throw it over a limb then pull the rope over but I am a bad thrower so it takes several tries.  I have tried to use a sling shot to shoot the bag over a limb but that does not work nearly as well as I had envisioned it. Any one got any easy methods of getting the rope over that high limb that is partially blocked by a near by tree?
MagicPaddler

Magicpaddler wrote on Oct 18^th, 2011 at 12:09pm:


I find this works pretty well......just make sure you have enough line.
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Being unable to go on a trip for the last 4 years , I've consoled myself with tweaking my pack hanging technique.
I've come up with a method that works at the local park , and hopefully will in the bush.

I use a 3 pulley system. Monjon, if you like 2 pulleys, you'll love 3. A 90 lb food pack pulls like 30, even a child could do it.
Azalea gave me some advice that I've taken to heart. I throw 2 separate lines for my overhead horizontal line. My 3 pulleys ( sailing pulleys with bearings) are rigged in a triangle shape.
One of the pulleys clips with carabiner to the pack haul loop. I use 1/4 pull rope as smaller cuts your hand and heavier isn't needed.
On the 2 overhead line loops, I have a small stainless steel clip I bought at the hardware store on each end.
I use to use 1/4 rope for these lines, but decided I could save weight and still be strong enough by getting some of this 1/8 Dacron line they sell at Piragis and other places. Has the hand for tying say tent guy lines but is rated at 450# breaking strength. They came in 80 ft pieces. I took 2 -1/2"  x 6" wood dowels and drilled a 1/4 hole in one end, and cut a slot about 1/2 deep in the other end. Insert line in hole, secure and wrap cord around dowel, securing the tag end with stainless clip on the slotted end.
You now have your overhead lines. You could cut them shorter, but since they weigh practically nothing I figure I could use the extra line somewhere/sometime down the road.

I use to use the bag method. I even made a leather bag out of a old carpenter bag becasue the nylon sacks I started with would get worn from hitting the ground with my throwing rock in them.
I also noticed that a sack isn't very aerodynamic and if you need to make a accurate throw as MP mentioned, it could be frustrating as well as time consuming.

I came up with what I think is a better way. I took a tennis ball and drilled two 3/8" holes about 3-4" apart across the seams of the ball. I then used a razor knife to cut a slit between the 2 holes. The holes keep the slit from getting two big. When your done, you should be able to squeeze the ball and it will open wide at the slit, like one of those coin wallets people used to carry.
Directly across from center of slit, I drilled another hole,a 1/4 this time. I took a piece of Para-cord, made a loop in it about 1/2" long and ran that loop thru a 1/4' fender washer. Tie a couple of overhead knots on cord to keep it from pulling thru washer. Use a bit of stiff wire to pull loop thru hole in ball. You want just a big enough loop to tie a line to and not so much it can snag on limbs.

When you want to throw ball, you can tie your line to loop " lightly" I use just a simple overhand loop. If the ball should hang up, you want to able to pull the line free and let the ball drop free.
If you can't get the height or need more weight, you squeeze the ball and add some small rocks until you get what you need.
A ball is much easier to throw  and aerodynamic as well.
I clip my overhead line to loop on ball, pull some line loose and toss. Hold the dowel in your non-throwing hand so the line uncoils as it sails. I then do the same with the other line directly opposite.
The 2 clips attach to the 2 corner pulleys. I then clip the 3rd pulley to the food pack.
I used to hang back in center of the line, but this puts a big strain on the trees, especially if they're not very big. As long as the pack is far enough away from the trunk and high enough, you don't get the sag hanging your pack closer to whatever tree you choose. Azalea gets credit for this tip.
I pull the one line and when the pulley is about 8-10 feet away from trunk, I tie it off.
The opposite line I do the same. When you get the horizontal line parallel to ground, you can use the dowel to pull it as snug as possible and secure, I use a truckers hitch.
When I get done, the 2 corner pulleys are up in the air with the overhead line, the " tip" of the pyramid pulley is clipped to the pull loop of pack, and the pulling rope is ready for use.
I tie a loop in the pull rope, so it can't accidentally get pulled thru the pulleys.
With 2 separate overhead lines, your splitting the weight between each line, so you can use a lighter line as long as they're combined load rating is heavier than you pack.
With the #450 lb cord, I don't worry and have used just 1 line over a large limb and the 3 pulley rig to hang my pack.
This set-up gives you plenty of options, limited only by your ingenuity.
I'm guessing about 3# or so for entire set-up. I don't have a digital camera, but you can Google 3 pulley set-ups and get pics. The rest you can play with until you get it right.
Sounds complicated, but once rigged and used ( I'd set-up, fine tune at home), it's really very easy.
Of course your can just hide your pack and take your chances.
But if your looking for a set-up, this will give you some options.
Feel free to make it your own, I always do

On the video:
Looks to me like they had plenty of time to shoo the bears but wanted see the show. That's cool. But why did they stop filming before they walked away? Was it because once they realized that an expensive harness was probably now ruined they decided to shoo them before the non bear proof barrel became wrecked as well? Maybe the cubs got bored and mom went to round 'em up? Just wondering. The hanging job gave them plenty of time for action in any case.


I normally just take my chances on portages. In spring I'd always watch for Ravens. I do like ST's alarm idea though.


Magic- On tossing-  I've used tent poles with great success. One year I had shoulder problems and a borrowed tent that had only two poles. My tent had 4 poles. The borrowed one had two which I found didn't work so I was reduced to tossing underhand, which I can get much higher but with far less accuracy. At one campsite I became so frustrated after a half hour of on and off attempts that I ended up tying two 5' sticks together to poke it over the branch. Worked great!

You don't need a branch. All you really is a nub. The trunk is what you want to use to hold the weight. My preference is the ~1/2 - 1 sticks leftover after the rest of the branch has dried up and fallen off. They often seem to be the right height as well.

I use a bag for tossing.
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Thanks for posting that Azalea.
I've added a 3rd pulley but the basic set-up is the same.
I downloaded that pic, but forgot where I put it
A picture is worth a 1000 words

I've stashing my food pack in the woods for more than ten years and I've never had a problem with bears or mice.  I learned this from Cliff Jacobs and he's been stashing for a long time.  You save the weight of the rope and pulleys plus the time it takes to hang the pack.  Plus, I absolutely hated hanging the food pack, what a PITA trying to throw a rope over a high tree branch, even finding a decent branch is a pain.

Clever idea.
Just shows there's always more than one way to skin that dang cat

Excellent video. You know that guy?
coupled with "How to hang a food pack" on the right side there. nice.
db: if that's a block and tackle set up wouldn't 90# pack end up requiring 22.5# to pull?
Never mind...STs diagrams show 30#

zski wrote on Mar 29^th, 2013 at 10:46am:

Yup. All too well. I'm a dork ... and a seemingly old looking one at that. Didn't see that coming.

We've used that same setup for six people ten days with fresh vegies and a cooler so ~150+ works. It can get heavy so that's why I used the big ropes but my wife could easily raise and lower the pack when it was just the two of us.

No brainer for solos these days. Ain't no way I'm walking through the woods to hide in the dark after my nightly libations. After all that work, I might decide I deserve another and then I'd have to start rationing near the end of my trips!

It never ceases to amaze me that I've probably received as many PMs about this thread than there are posts to it.

Yes, I recently called myself a moron but that was because I had nothing better to do than shoot another video of myself hanging the pack. FWIW - what's up on youtube was the third take. Viewing the first, I noticed my butt was always facing camera - not good. I missed the second toss on the second take so what's shown was my third attempt I think - something like that. It's really not that hard. Anyway.

Today, I received two compliments I never expected. I haven't coiled rope since I asked my bowpaddler to show me what she was doing because her painter never tangled and it always annoyed me that mine did. In return I taught her how to tie a slip knot. I never imagined someone would learn anything about rope stuff but hey, if you see something you like and it works for you - enjoy. Any and everything is transferrable if it works for you but please no more PMs on this one. Post 'em here or elsewhere yourself or shut up and paddle. Fair enough?

Quote:


Not much of a plot.  Wasn't much character development either.  Maybe the book is better.