Camping in Bear Country

[Aggie_Ama]

Next month DH and I are going camping in Northern NM in bear country. We will likely be car camping in a forest park near a highway but it is somewhat lightly traveled. There is a town just up a small hill by the campgrounds. Although we are camping we are planning to go into town nightly via bike for dinner. For lunch though we will use our Jet Boil and dehydrated foods. There are bears in the area and we want to make sure we use appropriate precautions. They generally stay in the mountains but obviously they will come down if they want to!

Can we just store any food in the car? What about washing your items? Normally I will wash them away from the campsite and any food that might be left on the ground I don't worry since I figure it is something birds/scavengers can eat. I don't really want to buy a bear vault if I can just keep things in the car but also don't want to attract any unwanted visitors! This is our first time to really camp in an area where this could be an issue. Usually I am worried about rattlers.

On a side note if you have advice on the dehydrated food (what's yummy, what's not, if the portions are small) let me know!

[Irulan]

I would check with the land manager of the destination area to see what their recommendations are. Some bears are more habituated to humans than others, and this will be a factor in where/how you store your food. In some areas, bears will break into cars for the smell of TOOTHPASTE, fer crying out out.

This looks like a good start,
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Food-Bear-Safe-when-Camping

[jessmarimba]

Depending on where you are, some campgrounds have community bear vaults that you can store food, etc. in. When I was in the middle-of-nowhere Montana, it was also acceptable to keep food in the car (but they recommended the trunk, and even better if it was in something like a well-sealed cooler in the trunk). Some places have bear canisters for rent, too. So if you're staying in or near a National Forest, I'd start by just calling the local ranger station.

[solobiker]

I would check with the land manager of the destination area to see what their recommendations are. Some bears are more habituated to humans than others, and this will be a factor in where/how you store your food. In some areas, bears will break into cars for the smell of TOOTHPASTE, fer crying out out.

This looks like a good start,
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Food-Bear-Safe-when-Camping

I agree with Irulan. There have been many situations where they get into cars. DH and I have canasters but we lately have been using a kevlar bear bag which works great.

http://www.ursack.com/

[Aggie_Ama]

It is in the national forest just outside Red River, NM. I will call the Rangers and get advice. It isn't that I am opposed to buying a bear vault, just not sure this will be something we do again and they're not exactly inexpensive. If it goes well then yes but not sure.

I can probably ask around some of my more seasoned camping friends. I know some of them have camped in the mountains and might already have one. I love the mountains and would be happy to do this every year but not sure it is always in the cards.

[maillotpois]

All the national park campgrounds we go to in the sierras have bear boxes for each campsite. We never store food in the car. We don't leave food in the car in Tahoe overnight. There are lots of bears out.

[PamNY]

If you use your own bear bag or vault, where do you put it? I assume it needs to be away from your campsite? I'm just curious.

[Trek-chick]

DH and I have done a lot of backcountry hiking/camping in Yellowstone NP We saw a lot of black and grizzly bears (some too close for comfort:eek:) I would not leave food in a car. Remember to cook away from the sleeping area as well. You can get some rope and hang it in a bag (stuff sac) from a tree (if there are any in the area) away from the campsite.

I would call the campground and ask them what people do. i would guess they have some type of community container for people to use.

[beccaB]

It's important to keep the camsite scrupulously clean. The last place I took the whole fam damily :) to was Glacier National Park. I was worrried about bears so we didn't take our pop up camper with its soft sides, but stayed in camping cabins. But guess where the cabins were located..in the middle of a blueberry patch! Luckily we didnt see bears at the campground or on our short hikes. We made A LOT of noise! We did however see bears partying down with food in the blueberry bushes elsewhere, and every time we got in the car to go somewhere we saw them. They were fattening up for hibernation. This was in mid August.

[Aggie_Ama]

They do not have community bear vaults, this isn't as developed a park like Yellowstone. Carson National forest I think is a little more rugged. They said you can store in your car if the bears can't see it like a trunk but we have a Subaru Forester. I am assuming using the cover for the cargo area is not sufficient.

We're trying to see if anyone rents them near there or a friend has one. I guess the container could be handy for raccoons and other things we encounter at mountain bike races. We have over 3 weeks, just making sure we have plenty of time to get one if needed.

[Irulan]

Some places rent them. Check REI

[Moongidget]

DH and I backpack in CO several times a year, and car camp infrequently. I 2nd the call to the local forestry office and/or REI for advice.

We also have the abovementioned Ursack, and knock on wood, have never seen, heard or otherwise been disturbed by an unwanted visitor. The first several years we didn't even put our toothpaste or chapstick in the sack at night, although now we do.

Car camping - we have been to places that have communal bear vaults and places that suggest putting your cooler in your trunk. Neither gave me a warm fuzzy. Still, never had an unwanted visitor.

As far as dehydrated meals, EVERYTHING tastes great after a day of backpacking. We like the Natural High brand. Even after a day of hiking, sometimes we struggle to finish a 2 serving meal. DH likes Spicy Sausage Pasta, I like BBQ Chicken and Rice, and there are a few flavors we both like. Again, REI is a great resource for this. There are brands that do veg only options, if that is what you are into. At high altitude, the meat entrees need roughly double the time to rehydrate, but we never cook it in the pot like they say to.

Hope that helps.

[Bike Writer]

I've had a couple of experiences with bears while camping. The first one involved a bear and a racoon. A bear had been wandering the campground but a racoon got to our cooler first, it was outside of the car. Oh did I mention that we were very young newly married and rather inexperienced at camping in bear country. A neighboring camper saw both of the animals, I had only heard them moving around. Hubby had slept through the whole thing.

2nd encounter was years later with more experience under our belt we kept NOTHING, not even a stick of gum in the tent. In the morning when we pulled into camp we saw a bear inside someones screen room eating from their cooler. We were also the only tent in the campground. Everyone else had a camper. Not a good sign but the fishing that day had been outstanding and we wanted to go back to the same lake for a few more days and didn't want to drive the 40 miles or so out of hill country away from the bears so we decided to stay and felt fine with everything locked up in the car.

That was until we heard several bears moving about the campground. We made a dash for the car and slept there the rest of the night. At first light I noticed that the tent fell down during the night. Actually it didn't, it was taken down and ripped up by a bear. Glad we were in the car.

We patched up the tent with duct tape and mended the poles with whittled branches so we could use it for a change house, got our fill of hauling in great catches of fish till our arms ached from reeling them in over the next couple of days and spent two more uncomfortable nights in the car.

Looking back even though it was quite frightening, it was also fun and adventerous. It kept me spooked for a couple of years even when camping in very civilized and highly populated areas.

These encounters took place in Michigan's upper penninsula in the western hilly countryside.

Sleeping on the ground in a tent is not doable for me any longer but I look back fondly to those days. Car, canoe, tent, fishing rods and a wandering spirit - we wet a line in 4 of the 5 Great Lakes and countless lakes, rivers and streams.

Sorry for the ramble but I hadn't thought about the bear camping trips in a long while and this thread brought back a whole lot of good memories.

Have fun, don't worry and keep the car keys handy.