Two works here, somewhat related. These have nothing to do with grizzly bears. These pertain to California's black bears.
Two works here, somewhat related. These have nothing to do with
grizzly bears. These pertain to California's black bears.
Some of us find ourselves carrying a lot of food on a multi-day group trip, and the single rope technique gets difficult. Try the double rope technique described below. This writer has used it hundreds of times over a period of almost 20 years, and has never lost any group food to the bears.
The alternative seems to be a bear canister. This is a hard black plastic can that you must carry to your camp site. Human hands can open it and seal food inside. Bear paws can't seem to work it and it is too large for the bear to bite. The trouble is that they weigh 3-4 pounds each and they don't hold that much food. This is not to say that a canister is bad. I have used canisters, and they work fine if you don't mind carrying them. If you do not understand the double-rope technique, and if you are not very expert with this technique, then a canister is your best bet, especially if you go to some standard bear haven in Yosemite. See below.
Another alternative that has been used is the cliff-overhang. You hang
your food bags out over a very steep cliff, with the rope anchored in such
a way that the bear can't climb out to it. Bears have never been too good
at steep rock cliffs, partly due to the fact that they can't find good
rock shoes to fit their wide paw size.
2. Hang decoys. Take some scraps of bright white cord and hang them conspicuously around low tree branches with an empty paper bag. This is to give the bear something to play with while you are waking up to defend the real tree branch.
3. The real tree gets an old space blanket wrapped around the trunk. First, the bear wonders what the hell kind of shiny tree that is. Then, he decides to tackle it anyway. His claws make sounds on the space blanket to notify you.
4. Have noise makers on the trunk, just above the space blanket. This means the cook pots and pans are tied there with a rock inside each one. Anything will rattle them. (In military terminology: ...when Charlie hits the wire...) Often, a full grown black bear is too heavy to climb far on a tree trunk. But yearlings and little cubs are great climbers and have no fear. They get a run and hit the trunk 4-6 feet up.
5. Sleep within rock throwing range of the real tree, and outside of a tent, if possible, so that you can hear better. The Yosemite National Park rangers will advise you to throw rocks at bears that first approach your camp. Drive them off aggressively before they claim it as their turf. This does not mean to clobber some little bear cub with a massive blow to the skull. It means to hurl enough golf ball-size rocks at the bears to make them go after a less aggressive target. DO NOT get between a mother bear and her cub. Loud screaming as you run at a bear can be effective.
6. For a time, the trick was to store your food in the tree with a few moth balls in the bag. It was thought that it would mask food odor and discourage the bear. Then, one night, the bear got the food along with the moth balls. So then the bear associated moth balls with food. For a time, the backpackers that used moth balls were actually attracting bears. Or so goes the legend.
^ Photo taken at Yosemite's Ten Lakes Basin.
^ You would be surprised how much broken car window glass you see around a typical Yosemite trailhead parking lot. And it is not from human vandals. It is from large, furry vandals.
"God bless Yosemite bears!" -- John Muir
Humans refer to us as black bears, Ursus Americanus.
MISSION
The prime mission of every Yosemite bear is the liberation of the human's food as much and as frequently as possible. Traditional bear food takes a lot of effort and is not as much fun. Besides, humans expect it of us in Yosemite.
LOCATION
Many humans leave tasty goodies in parked cars all over the park, especially in Yosemite Valley. Check out every car at the standard trailheads. Pay special attention to the small cars with the windows open a crack. They are easy to open by peeling down. Otherwise, smash the glass. Food hidden in big American cars inside the trunk is not worth the bother. Move on to easier targets. Large white picnic coolers are lots of fun. In the backcountry, places to go for backpacker food are numerous. Try Little Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows, Young Lakes, Lyell Canyon, Vogelsang, Nelson Lake, Glen Aulin, White Wolf, Pate Valley, or Lake Eleanor.
STRATEGY
Humans generally camp beside lakes or streams. They often hang their food in trees with white cord. One scratch will break the cord. Always make sure your fore claws are sharp for this reason. Humans often leave some food inside their packs overnight, so mash each pack flat to make sure that you haven't overlooked some goodies. Human's packs are fun to tear up. During late afternoon, it's easy to find food being cooked by the smaller human while the larger human is swimming in the lake. The smaller human is easily intimidated. The smaller human also keeps tasty cosmetics in its pack.
There are only a few basic maneuvers. "Snatch and run" is the easiest. Go for the sausage and cheese first. At night, reach up and grab a food bag if you can. Most humans tie the cord or the bag within easy reach.
If the humans did a good job of hanging the food bag, it will be necessary to send the cubs up the tree trunk after the white cord. Early season training of the cubs can be done in Little Yosemite Valley.
It is necessary to at least puncture and probe every food package for a taste. If it doesn't taste good, at least ruin it for the humans.
CAPTURE
If confronted with capture by Park Rangers, show them the "Who? Me?"
look when they shine the flashlight on you, then run. If captured, give
them only your name, rank, and bear serial number. They will transport
you to the other side of the park. Then the object is for you to return
to the food area as soon as possible.
Most freeze-dried food is available in a foil pouch. There are a few brands that can be found with less biodegradable packaging, but most brands involve lots of plastic, foil, and paper. In most situations, the entire package is best eaten whole. After ingestion, our gastrointestinal tract can make the most of each meal in any way, shape, or form. It has always been a puzzle to me why humans deliver the food and then hang it from a tree branch with a piece of white cord. It is as if they are displaying the challenge to us bears. I guess that they expect us to take it. I like to be ready for cutting those while cords so I always keep my front claws sharpened up on the rocks for just such an occasion.
Anyway, back to the food brands. Rich-Moor is fine, except the foil package gives me heartburn. AlpineAire is exceptional, but it makes me so thirsty that I always have to find a stream to drink water afterward. Backpackers Pantry is good, except that all of their products seem to smell alike. I can't tell the freeze-dried meat from the fruit. Mountain House is a long-time favorite for all bears. Their packages are a little tough, so you have to tear them up a lot with your claws before you gobble them down. Do remember to drink plenty of that stream water afterward.
I found a real delicacy last month. I snatched the food out of the tree and ran off. When I got into the woods to unwrap the prize, I found the overall favorite for bears. Louis Meyer cold cuts in the new picnic package. It was prepared without any fur or bones left, so I couldn't tell which animal it came from. I enjoyed sucking out every scrap of that meat anyway. And the plastic wrapping wasn't bad either.
I discovered the one type of food that I don't like at all. It was just
too tangy. I can't read much, but the tube said "Ben-Gay."