I rigged up a length of rope that is attached to both of my food packs side grab loops and also the  top grab loop.

It's rigged so all are independent of each other.

How effective is all this?   Light weight and mechanical advantage are great , but does it keep the bears and rodents from getting into your food pack ? What about "problem bears" and mice?  Those  bears in the Knife Lake region seam to look for these "piñatas" and have a pretty good system for bringing them down.   Are the barrel people and hiders smokin' dope and just really lucky?  Should I ask about this at the true confessions topic/site?  Do you all go through all this work every night ...  or just when that little voice in your head tells you that you better  ?  Ever have any complete failures at thwarting Yogi and Booboo? How many times have you all had to come" runnin and screamin" out of the tent while throwing rocks or swinging a paddle ?

knafelc wrote on Oct 2^nd, 2014 at 11:08pm:


I talked to a yogi one night just to let him know I was there. I came back to camp because I saw a bear heading straight for it when returning from an evening paddle. The pack was hung and the lights came out and after a few adult beverages were consumed. I soon forgot all about him but I did keep the fire going until the lights subsided. Ain't no way I'd have hidden that night. Not a chance. Not sure what I'd have done if I couldn't easily hang.

Another time I chased a bear out of camp at least three times before I started to pack up and leave. He'd be in camp every time I'd return from the canoe so I'd chase him out again. One time he ran directly under my food pack, only to stop at my tackle box. He ran off with my bear (spare) paddle once Which was funny in more ways than one. On another effort, he got a big surprise when he bit into my gas bottle.

I paddled to the nearest land to try and plug the holes in the bottle and have breakfast. The darn thing swam to where I was so I grabbed a few rocks to throw at him as I began paddling to another site far far away. I expect he was following the moose and calf he argued with earlier but I had had enough.

Ideally, I'll hang as close to the fireplace as possible. If hiding means hiking 50 yards into the woods at night, I'd never hide. That would make the decision to have one more rum and cocoa a PITA.

Seeing a bear on a trip wasn't unusual for me in the 90's. Last one I saw was in 2003 and my last trip was the first in a while I remember seeing what I assume to be bear scat. It was reasonably fresh and full of maggots.

If you wanted to hide something from a good nose near the ground, where might you hide it? Hey wait a minute … does that mean I hide in plain sight?

I do it because it's more convenient than hiding and I like a good night's sleep. It's only the last night sometimes that I don't hang. The hiding spot is within hearing distance of the tent. I can't believe anyone actually hides as Cliff once recommended. That's too much work and frankly, I could easily put an eye out, break a leg or have a heart attack walking in the woods at night with a pack on my back. 

The last bear we saw in Quetico was the resident beach bear on Beaverhouse in 1993.  She got my peanut butter but that was it - broad daylight so the food pack was on the ground and she moseyed in while we were packing like; "Hey guys, don't mind me".  Honestly, with the blue barrel and a locked lid we haven't hung a food pack in years.

db wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2014 at 6:55am:


DB,

Great story. Glad you are 'here' to relate it! Hope to never have those experiences but good to know what to do with persistent bears. I carry the bear spray that REI sells...probably more as a psychological comfort than effective...but that's another thread entirely to start for this upcoming winter. FWIW, I like the pulley system that you and others have described for the sheer engineering aspects of it....and the fact that it makes the hauling an enjoyable experience. I have no problem with others though who prefer to keep their kit closer to them and not go through the same process and hassle. To each his or her own