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-Foo...e-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-Foo...e-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.

[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