Wild animals, cooking, and overlanding

[hiimmike]

I like to go backpacking. I've only been 6 times though so I'm no expert. I've been in areas where a bear pole is provided as well as "figure it out yourself" areas. You're taught to cook downwind, 100 yards away from where you're sleeping and don't go to sleep in the clothes you cooked in. I've also camped in RMNP where they provide bear boxes at each site. The last time I was there, they warned us that a mother and two cubs were seen wandering the campground and you should absolutely use the bear box. Well, I got drunk and remembered to put all the food from the car and our picnic area into the bear box. However, I forgot about the dog food sitting right outside the front of our tent. We woke up to the sounds of an animal eating the food. The dog growling and my girlfriend saying, "what's that?" I told her it's probably just a coyote and go back to sleep, knowing full well it was a bear. In the morning, we found bear prints on her white car and I told her I just didn't want her to be afraid. She responded, "you should have told me! I would have opened the zipper just a little bit to take a picture!" Now I'm REALLY glad I didn't tell her because we would be dead.

Anyway.... get to the point, I know.... why is it not okay to cook at your camp when backpacking (this is obvious, I've already had a bear at my tent) but perfectly acceptable to cook on your tailgate, on a table right at your camp, etc? I've seen pictures from the damage a bear will do to a car to get inside, they'll rip windows out if they smell food.

Do you guys carry when you overland? I am planning on bringing my 10mm Glock 20 with some hotter loads along with some human marinade (bear spray). Is this even a concern at all though, it almost seems to not be considering everyone goes overlanding and I have NEVER seen one video of someone trudging 100 yards away from their camp site, they always cook right next to the vehicles and then store all the food right inside.

Will I die?!?!?

I also highly recommend everyone force the person they're going on a camping trip with, who it may be their first time, to watch the movie Deliverance before they go as well as one of the Grizzly movies, there are so many brutal movies to choose. Make sure to scare the person really well before you go so that every little sound they hear in the middle of the night gets their heart racing.

Sponsored

 

[four low]

Doggone ! " Fools walk where Angels fear to tread"
Go buy a Lottery ticket. Take those winnings, buy a Wrangler, ditch the Subaru, and most important, stay SOBER when camping..

 

[hiimmike]

Doggone ! " Fools walk where Angels fear to tread"
Go buy a Lottery ticket. Take those winnings, buy a Wrangler, ditch the Subaru, and most important, stay SOBER when camping..

I did buy a Wrangler! Well, at least ordered one and now I'm waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.... and I love vodka too much. Still doesn't solve the whole, why is okay when driving to a campsite vs not okay when walking to one problem.

 

[Pinion]

You'd be better off with firecrackers or bear mace. A 10mm, or just about any handgun would just piss a bear off if you shot it. The handgun would help protect you from human predators though.

 

[hiimmike]

You'd be better off with firecrackers or bear mace. A 10mm, or just about any handgun would just piss a bear off if you shot it. The handgun would help protect you from human predators though.

Well, that’s a whole different conversation. I just wonder why it’s okay to do these things while driving to a camp site but not okay when hiking to one. I’m no wildlife expert hence the reason for the ask.

 

[Pinion]

I don't see any problem with hiking and carrying. If I were in bear country, I'd have a large caliber rifle lashed to the outside of my pack in a scabbard.

 

[wibornz]

We often camp in a group. Three to ten vehicles typically with off road campers. We cook in camp. We all typically carry. One thing we do is all of us take are fob to bed with us. If we do here animals in our camp site at night. We will hit the alarm on the fob making the Jeeps honk and flash its lights. All of our campers are hard sided and the Jeeps have hard tops. That is not saying that a bear can't get into them. That is just saying that they are not immediately into them.

Also bears are not bullet proof. They are killed by bullets every hunting season. The 10mm is a very powerful round and is similar in power to a 41. Magnum. Which means nothing without proper shot placement.

 

[MtCamper]

I've lived in bear country all my life. For personal protection you are way better off with bear spray than with a pistol. You can take it into Canada and even though it's labeled bear spray it works really good on humans too. If you are in real griz country and want to carry a gun, pack a 12 gauge. By and large, bears don't like you any more than you like them. The woods bears are pretty human shy but they have learned to respond to gunshots and often will claim a hunters kill. Best to just let them have it. It's lots of paperwork and possible expense to kill a griz. If you are camping hard sided go ahead and cook at your campsite and store your food inside your rig. Don't assume your roof top tent will keep a bear away. Don't take a snack to bed if you are in a tent. Dog food is a real attractant and dogs make pretty good bear snacks. As far as carrying is concerned assume everyone you meet is carrying cause we all do. Makes for a nicer world.

 

[hiimmike]

Yeah, I’m not trying to start a debate on bear spray vs firearm, just trying to understand why it’s okay to cook in camp while overlanding but not while backpacking.

I’ve seen pictures of black bears having ripped out windows to get at a bag of Doritos in a vehicle. You’re also fined if they see you’ve left out a cooler and you’re not at your site at RMNP, exactly for this reason. It’s an interesting situation that I hope no one has to encounter. I did help several folks chase a bear through the woods once. It came in their tent at a backcountry site near Golden and took their pack which had all their food. Scared the crap out of me waking up to hearing a girl scream. They weren’t in my party but there were 11 of us looking with our lights for the pack at 2am. Strength in numbers.

I appreciate the input from all! At least for a year, I’ll be ground tent camping because we can’t afford a trailer yet. That is the long term goal though but dang some of those things are expensive! How mad will my wife be if I spend more on a camping trailer than her car… hah

 

[Jeepsk8]

Just a thought, but firearms are not allowed in National Parks. Bear spray is a better option in those cases.

10mm is a serious round, and I carry one for critter protection, but if I was in griz country I'd seriously consider a .44 mag and / or a 12 gauge for protection.

 

[bjm00se]

I've backpacked and car/jeep camped. There are a couple of considerations:

First: Bear socialization. We collectively don't want bears to learn to associate people with food sources. The more popularly used the camping area is, the more important this is. National Parks are a great example. They're visited by huge numbers of people and even the more "remote" camping areas (both backpacking and car camping) are very popular and heavily used. So, over time they're visited by a number of bears. If folks don't practice good "bear hygiene" then those bears will learn they can reliably and repeatably get food at those sites, and will return, causing damage and ultimately leading to a need for those bears to be relocated or destroyed.

And yes, those Rangers *will* come and talk to you about having left food or coolers visible in your car. So it's not just a backpacking thing.

The more we camp in less used areas, the less this is a consideration, as even if bears pass through, they're less likely to be able to return to the same location and learn that they can get another free meal in the same way.

In more remote locations, dispersed campsites simply don't have those permanently installed bear lockers, and folks who are Jeeping will have more food and garbage than can typically be stored in a "bear proof" canister or even those armored "bear proof" coolers. So we're trading off the higher risk of carrying accessible food with a lower risk of chance bear encounter.

As far as cooking gear itself goes, I've always followed the practice of cleaning it after every meal, then simply leaving it out. Animals (including bears) will quickly dismiss pans and plates after poking at them, sniffing them, and figuring out there's no food to be had. If the noisy plates and pans fall off the table, make a racket, and startle them off, so much the better.

We also want to make sure our food isn't raided or destroyed by other common opportunists: Racoons, Opossums, Squirrels, Rats, etc... So don't leave that stuff out.

Now, lets talk about types of bears: There's a BIG difference in the types of bears in North America.
- Black Bears
- Brown Bears/Grizzly Bears
- Polar Bears

Black Bears are far and away the most common, and they are just oversized opportunists. So, while they're completely capable of messing you up bad if you threaten them, they generally don't see you as a food source. So, in black bear country, you don't leave food out, and you don't let any food (or food scent) into your tent. This is the best single way to avoid an unexpected nocturnal encounter with a bear entering your tent.

I've never heard of "don't sleep in clothing you cooked food in." I can't imagine carrying enough clothing for that to be practical advice.

Same thing with "cook 100 yards away from where you sleep." Who the heck does that?

 

[AcesandEights]

Just a thought, but firearms are not allowed in National Parks. Bear spray is a better option in those cases.

10mm is a serious round, and I carry one for critter protection, but if I was in griz country I'd seriously consider a .44 mag and / or a 12 gauge for protection.

Where do you get your info? Not right.

 

[Jeepsk8]

Where do you get your info? Not right.

Yep, you are correct. I must have read some old regs on guns in NP's. So just nvm my comment, thank you for pointing out the error.

Sponsored