[at-l] Bear Phobia

[rrubin@atconf.org (Robert Rubin)]

This brings up a question I've always wondered about.

What do other folks do in terms of critter-proofing when camping near or
above treeline, or in open meadows and balds?

I remember during my thru-hike that I hung my food bag in the krummholtz at
Naumann Campsite in the Whites, and it was not raided, but a nearby bag was
in the process of being shredded by a red squirrel. Obviously, any
self-respecting bear would have no problems with a bag hung five feet from
the ground by a thin branch, which was all that was available at the time,
but at treeline elevation I'm more worried about mice, squirrels, and the
like.

PCT hikers must deal with this all the time. What are the best techniques?

Robert

At 10:22 AM -0400 7/12/01, Mara Factor wrote:
>If you're hiking in the eastern US where appropriate trees are plentiful
>enough, you do not need the bear canister.  Just be sure you hang your food
>at least 10' off the ground, 6' down from the branch, and 6' away from the
>trunk of the tree.  Even trickier but a good idea if possible, is to find a
>branch that will support the weight of your food but not the additional
>weight of the bear.  :-)
>
>If you're in an area with known bear problems, you might want to
>counterbalance your food rather than more conveniently tying off the bear
>bag line to a nearby tree.  Just be sure you can get it down afterwards...
>:-)
>
>Mara
>Stitches, GAME99
>
>>From: "Elliott, Patrick S" <Patrick.Elliott@allina.com>
>>Date: Thu, 12 Jul 2001 08:40:19 -0500
>>
>>...If
>>I hang my food properly, do I need the canister
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