Best practices for upcoming trip

[tschertz]

Happy Tuesday everyone,

Fairly new to the whole backpack camping scene and want to make sure I am prepared for my upcoming 5 night trip to RMNP. Everyday we’ll be hiking between 6 and 10 miles to a different backcountry site.
In the past, all my trips have been short durations where the vehicle is within a few miles and an easy in/out.

1. Bear canister. This is required at rmnp and I understand all food and wrappers will get housed in this for the entire trip. Where should this be at camp, or should this still be left outside of camp hung?


2. Don’t sleep in the clothes you cook in. I’ll have clothing designated just for sleeping but the ones I cooked with and hiked with during the day, what’s the best way to store and keep those at camp?

3. Scented items such as toothpaste, deodorant, and a E-cig and juice for it since a guy that’s coming loves his nicotine. Where is his stuff supposed to be stored around camp?

Really, just looking for best practices all around. Rather be safe than sorry! How do you professionals handle the above?


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[Rob]

Hi T....my experience:

1) I usually store my bear canister approx. 150-200 feet from my tent...father if I'm in serious Grizz country
2) Clothes are not really an issue for me because I eat pretty much all dehydrated food, just boil water...not much smell
3) All my toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, and trash...go in the bear canister as well.
4) Lastly, just be bear aware....the usual stuff, carry spray, make noise, also cook/wash yourself/brush teeth/dishes 150-200 feet from camp, and don't make camp in obvious bear friendly areas like berry patches, well worn camp sites, etc......

I've backpacked in bear country (Canada/USA) for well over 20 years and never had an issue....

--Love RMNP by the way.....have fun!

Hope that helps.....

 

[tschertz]

Hi T....my experience:

1) I usually store my bear canister approx. 150-200 feet from my tent...father if I'm in serious Grizz country
2) Clothes are not really an issue for me because I eat pretty much all dehydrated food, just boil water...not much smell
3) All my toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, and trash...go in the bear canister as well.
4) Lastly, just be bear aware....the usual stuff, carry spray, make noise, also cook/wash yourself/brush teeth/dishes 150-200 feet from camp, and don't make camp in obvious bear friendly areas like berry patches, well worn camp sites, etc......

I've backpacked in bear country (Canada/USA) for well over 20 years and never had an issue....

--Love RMNP by the way.....have fun!

Hope that helps.....

Thanks for the info! I won’t know the size of bear canister until we get there since we’re renting. However, I guess it’s not the end of the world if I have to rent 2 (1 for food and 1 for odds and ends) and deal with the extra weight.


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[John Goering]

I've been hiking/backpacking in bear country (both black & grizzly) 60+ years and have never had a problem. We don't do any cooking or food storage closer to camp than 300' and usually double that. And we are another that just boils water for freeze dried and do not take an extra change of clothing for cooking-just be careful not to spill any food on your clothing. If you do spill, wash the clothes as best you can.

Absolutely have a can of bear spray for each person and KNOW how to use it. You can get practice containers and I strongly suggest doing that. Make sure you also know where it is in the tent at night so you don't have to rummage for it if you actually need it.

I doubt there is any significant threat to life or injury from black bears in RMNP but they can really ruin a trip if one is careless.

 

[Scott Chandler]

ROMO is really good about informing people about regulations and good practices in regards to bears, both online and when you get your permit. I talked with the backcountry folks there about it and because they have "so few" bears they want to keep them as healthy and natural as possible. They didn't stress the cook clothing but were all about everything else scented going in the bear keg and that the keg be put a healthy distance from the primary camp area. I stuck it in a convenient boulder hole by the camp I had. According to their Camping Planner the regulation is 200'/~70 adult strides.