Uinta Highline Trail: Food and Bears.

Bears can be anywhere, but you probably have a better chance of winning the Utah Powerball than having an issue with one in the high elevation backcountry of the Uintas. That doesn't mean I'd go slather myself in bacon grease before bed, but basic common sense precautions should be fine. I ran into a forest ranger south of Kings Peak once who was adamant that they are of no concern above 9500' due to lack of forage. Busy/stinky places like roadside campgrounds could easily be an exception.

From my personal experience, I've spent more than my fair share of time up there and have only seen evidence of their presence in the lower elevations (sub 9k)
 
I have seen tracks on the trail heading up to North Erickson lake near Smith and Moorehouse, that was around 7,000 ft. I think. Bears aren't much of a concern for me either. Like it has already been stated, I just hang my bag on a branch near camp just to keel it out of reach of small animals.
 
In Amethyst last year some d-bag left a bag of opened sausage in a campsite up by the lake. It was such a nice spot I decided to camp there anyway, but the fact that the opened sausage had been sitting out on a rock for anything to grab, for what looked to be at least a week, confirmed in my mind that there is very little danger of animal activity up above 10k feet. Get an ursack, throw your food a few hundred feet from your tent and don't worry about it.
 
Ok let's be honest here - how many of us actually bear bag in the high Uintas?
 
Jackson said:
Define "high Uintas". The High Uintas Wilderness as a whole?
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I'm thinking the high country - 9k+ or so. Amethyst Basin, Priord Lake, the Highline, 4 lakes Basin, Henry's Fork, Red Castle, etc.

Should also clarify that I'm talking about backcountry. Campgrounds are a whole different ballgame.
 
I've always hung mine, but that's more because of slight paranoia. In the back of my mind, I know I'm probably never going to see a bear up there.

I've left my trash bag out by accident before, and it was completely undisturbed. The night was absolutely silent, so I would have heard something had it cone around.
 
Jackson said:
I've always hung mine, but that's more because of slight paranoia. In the back of my mind, I know I'm probably never going to see a bear up there.

I've left my trash bag out by accident before, and it was completely undisturbed. The night was absolutely silent, so I would have heard something had it cone around.
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You're a better man than I. I sleep with my food 90% of the time.

#notalawyer
 
LarryBoy said:
You're a better man than I. I sleep with my food 90% of the time.

#notalawyer
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Haha. You also have probably spent 3x as many nights up there at the very least.

I'm interested to see what others have to say. My friends never plan to hang theirs; they just wait until I start moving to hang mine and toss stuff in.
 
LarryBoy said:
Ok let's be honest here - how many of us actually bear bag in the high Uintas?
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Always. Only takes 5 minutes and it keeps it away from the little critters that are more likely to eat it too.
 
I call this the 'High Uinta Bear Hang Method'.

This is a shot of my food and trash hung in stuff sacks lined with those Basecamp bags at our camp near Deadhorse yesterday morning. I hung it like this every night on the trail this last week. Never any signs of them being disturbed.

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Oh my heck! Just finished packing food for ten days. *Barely* got it all in. All I can say is we definitely will not be bear safe until we've eaten for a few days :/

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Its getting hard to find a decent tree to hang food from so I just bring a bear canister. It makes a great chair, I can toss it outside and not worry about the rain or animals. Its bulky and heavier than a bag and cord but ill pack an extra pound or so for the convince. I don't even notice it, since I use less fuel by heating my water over a small fire and ditched the camera and just use my phone. I'm sad the ranchers kill the bears, was hoping they would weed down the livestock that are more of a nuisance.
 
My wife had a bear cross the road in front of her about a quarter of a mile from the Leidy Peak trail head. She had just dropped us off to start our Highline trail hike this past August when she saw it. Elevation was above 10,000. Personally, I have never seen one on the trail.
 
I've hiked from Leidy pk over to Porcupine pass and then south out of the Uintas and then from Moon lake resort up to Rednob over to Deadhorse pass and then south down towards Squaw basin and back to Moon lake resort and have never seen any sign of bear scat or tracks.
 
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Nick said:
you probably have a better chance of winning the Utah Powerball than having an issue with one in the high elevation backcountry of the Uintas. That doesn't mean I'd go slather myself in bacon grease before bed
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Maybe the best line on BCP ever!
 
Your're not going to see bears above 7-8,000 feet because there isn't enough food to make it worth their trouble. I saw one in the Uintas very close to a 4 wheel drive road while in my vehicle once at about 7,000 feet elevation. I stopped my vehicle and we stared at each other for about 2 minutes. Then the bear turned around and took off. Man they can move fast. You could never out run one.
 
I'll be on the trail

I'm not worried about bears in the Uintas...probably just leave my food bag under the awning. I doubt I'll carry bear spray either. As far as Ursacks go...I barely managed to fit 7 days of food in one for the Wind River Range and I carry less food than many due to my size (petite female). The larger one may work but the Opsak liners are only one size.
 
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