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TheBrownLeader
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07/07/2010 02:29PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
It takes me forever, but I'm a solo tripper and committed to single portaging. Thus, a barrel and no hang isn't an option. So, as a dedicated hanger, I ask you, what's the secret??
 
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07/07/2010 02:56PM  
Also a single portager.

I use a seal line pack as my 'bear bag'. Place everything else in my tent, food in the pack.

I use a 100ft rope.

I tie an end of the rope around my ax, throw it up around an appropriate limb, tie on the pack, pull up, and wrap the other end of the rope around a close tree to support the weight.
 
shr2807
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07/07/2010 03:20PM  
Secret #1. Light food pack, I leave the dishes and cooking gear out of the pack.

Secret #2. Something good on the end of your rope to throw. Some people tie a rock onto it, others have a tennis ball, ect. I have a Monkey's fist knot tied onto the end of my rope.

Secret #3 Hardest part. Find a suitable tree. There really aren't a great number of these trees.
 
07/07/2010 03:26PM  

Maybe an; Ursack
I just tie mine to a small tree trunk, and it is bite-proof to the small varmints around camp also.

butthead
 
07/07/2010 03:31PM  
Sometimes two 50' ropes or climbing accessory cord is more useful, then you can hang between two trees. Most the rope you see broken is cheap nylon or clothes line rope. Climbing cord we use holds 900 lbs.
 
spankatolla
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07/07/2010 04:03PM  
I started using a pulley system this year. With this, I have the pulley on the end to throw over the limb. Seems to work alright, still working on mastering it.
 
07/07/2010 04:09PM  
Wow YaMarVa. I wouldn't be chucking an axe 'up' anywhere near me. Especially on a solo. But I bet it does throw well. It's the 'what goes up must come down' principle that I'd worry about. I'd probably split my head open.
 
07/07/2010 04:14PM  
BrownLeader, maybe give up hanging? I don't use a barrel, just good thick plastic liner around everything in food pack and paddle the food pack away from known game trails or campsites or trails between campsites. Stash food pack after dinner, retrieve before breakfast. Worked like a charm so far.
 
solotrek
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07/07/2010 04:24PM  

I've been a hanger for years but am moving to the barrels. I agree with everyone regarding light packs, etc. A friend of mine who is a hanger suggested something to me which I would do if I continued to hang. He carries a baseball with an eyebolt screwed into it. He simply ties his rope through the eye bolt and tosses it over the tree limb. Try it. At least it won't split your head open.... Lol
 
07/07/2010 04:30PM  
quote Amok: "Wow YaMarVa. I wouldn't be chucking an axe 'up' anywhere near me. Especially on a solo. But I bet it does throw well. It's the 'what goes up must come down' principle that I'd worry about. I'd probably split my head open."


It is sheathed obviously. And I keep my eyes on it. If it did hit me it would do no more harm than using a rock or heavy stick.
 
07/07/2010 04:32PM  
I use a heavy climbing rope and the problem with using a tennis ball or a stick is that the total weight of the rope outweighs the object attached to the rope. So it does not come down to the ground once around the tree's limb. That is why I use something heavy like my ax.
 
07/07/2010 05:20PM  
I send up a cord that holds 100 lbs before committing to the hanging rope. Using a double pulley system is great, hanging a bag for 6 with ease.
 
PortageKeeper
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07/07/2010 05:42PM  
I single portage and use a bear vault... no searching for trees and no hanging.
 
07/07/2010 05:52PM  
Who need to hang food anyway! ;-)
 
Mickeal
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07/07/2010 06:05PM  
I am so bad at it that I have never hung food from bears and I do not own barrels. When I am in Grand Marais in September their hunting bears at that time. The two I have seen looked like black streak in the woods.
 
07/07/2010 06:13PM  
Never throw anything into a tree you are not prepared to donate to the tree if things go bad (voice of experience here). I tie a stick to my rope for weight. For more difficult situations (high branch) I tie a stick onto a light line or string and use that to pull the rope up and over the branch. Have started using Ursacks the last few years with good results so far.
 
07/07/2010 06:44PM  
quote gutmon: "Never throw anything into a tree you are not prepared to donate to the tree if things go bad (voice of experience here). I tie a stick to my rope for weight. For more difficult situations (high branch) I tie a stick onto a light line or string and use that to pull the rope up and over the branch. Have started using Ursacks the last few years with good results so far."


Good advice!
 
marsonite
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07/07/2010 07:34PM  
I use a two rope pulley system. I use about 50' pieces of para cord and a small pulley I got from the hardware store.

Tie a small pulley on the end of rope 1. Tie a rock to the other end of rope one and toss it up into an appropriate tree, and let it slide down so you can catch the rock end.

Take rope 2 and thread it into the pulley so the pulley is at about the half way point.

Grab the weighted end of rope 1 and pull up the pulley nice and high. Tie your food pack to one end of rope 2, and hoist away. You'll find that by pulling away from the tree, your pack is going to wind up suspended well out from the trunk. Tie it off on another tree.

you could add a second pulley on the pack to give you a block and tackle effect, though I find just having a pulley gives me sufficient advantage to raise a heavy pack. Never lost a rope yet.

The tree doesn't have to be anything special--no need for the branch that sticks out from the trunk, as you will be able to pull the pack away from the trunk with the second rope.
 
Appolion
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07/07/2010 08:23PM  
check this out. Might help
 
07/07/2010 09:11PM  
I love the branch on that tree :)

I'm a Bear Vault user and wouldn't consider changing. A BV500 weighs 2lbs 9 oz, maybe that pushes you over your limit, I don't know. Ropes and pulleys also have weight, not as much I'm sure but then you can't sit on them either, something to consider.
 
Appolion
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07/07/2010 09:50PM  
can't sit on it? pfff every piece of gear must have at least 2 uses, IMO. lol, jk. I'd like to try one. Every time I go to hang my food bag, it seems like it's even more of a pain than the last time.
 
07/08/2010 06:48AM  
I'm with Merganser - I use a Bear Vault. Weigh all your ropes and pulleys and food bag and anything else you use to hang it, i.e baseball, golf ball, etc., and the difference is worth it to ensure the integrity of your food and for the time it saves, which is a valuable thing for a solo tripper who has to do everything.
 
jaimed
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07/08/2010 09:08AM  
quote fishguts: " Who need to hang food anyway! ;-)"

Oh, wow! What is the story behind this photo?
 
jaimed
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07/08/2010 09:14AM  
 
deanalika
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07/08/2010 09:27AM  
I am with YaM as well.. I use a Sealine as my food bag and then we try and if we can other wise we place under the canoe away from camp. Haven't had an issue yet *Knock on Wood*...

Cheers,
A
 
07/08/2010 10:10AM  
I believe hanging food violates the LNT camping for some people. All of you seem to know what you are doing, but at the sites I camped at this year the trees that might be used for hanging were messed. By messed I mean they had some rope left in them and many branches looked as though they had been broken off and not by the wind. I like barrels for peice of mind, and not having to try and find the perfect spot to hang from. (Which everyone else uses also and the conditioned bear knows too) IMHO.
 
andym
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07/08/2010 11:40AM  
We've been using Ursacks for almost 10 years now. No problems. Because we are with a few people and go for long trips we use multiple ones and so all of our food is not in one place and that gives us some extra security.
 
gannettpk97
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07/08/2010 12:02PM  
Turn the whole process into a contest:

- Find a good tree out side camp before dark
- Make a good camp fire
- Hang out around the fire
- Have several cocktails
- Find head lamp
- Pack food bag
- Find hanging rope
- Find good throwing rock
- Wait for dark
- Tie rock to rope
- Take turns trying to throw rock over a good limb
- Laugh at partners who miss
- If solo laugh at yourself
- Return to camp fire for a night cap
- Tell stories and laugh at partners excesses for missing
- Laugh a lot more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
mc2mens
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07/08/2010 01:03PM  
quote gannettpk97: "Turn the whole process into a contest:


- Find a good tree out side camp before dark
- Make a good camp fire
- Hang out around the fire
- Have several cocktails
- Find head lamp
- Pack food bag
- Find hanging rope
- Find good throwing rock
- Wait for dark
- Tie rock to rope
- Take turns trying to throw rock over a good limb
- Laugh at partners who miss
- If solo laugh at yourself
- Return to camp fire for a night cap
- Tell stories and laugh at partners excesses for missing
- Laugh a lot more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"


Hahaha - did that for years. Now we use barrels.
 
07/08/2010 01:30PM  
quote dring: "I believe hanging food violates the LNT camping for some people. All of you seem to know what you are doing, but at the sites I camped at this year the trees that might be used for hanging were messed. By messed I mean they had some rope left in them and many branches looked as though they had been broken off and not by the wind. I like barrels for peice of mind, and not having to try and find the perfect spot to hang from. (Which everyone else uses also and the conditioned bear knows too) IMHO."

Amen. And yes, I did my share of gannettpk's evening entertainment show as well, but not in 8 years or more. Wrap in plastic liner and stash in unlikely spot away from camp. Vaults maybe some day when not cooking for five or more.
 
RC123
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07/08/2010 02:20PM  
I used to hang the food pack until I decided it was the most dangerous thing that I was doing on my trips. I was tying a small rock to the end of the rope to throw it over a limb and several times I almost got hit in the head with the rock. Also, it wasted so much time and was frustrating trying to find the right trees, etc. I am very happy that I switched to hiding the food outside of camp. Each meal is sealed in a zip-lock baggie and many items are vacuum sealed. All breakfast items are in a large zip-lock, lunch and dinner items likewise. All those bags are inside a black plastic garbage bag and put into a small canvas duffle. In the evening the duffle is put into a black plastic garbage bag and stuck in some thick brush off the beaten path just outside the main area of camp. I've been doing this for years and never had any trouble with any bears or other critters.
 
deanalika
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07/08/2010 03:10PM  
quote RC123: "I used to hang the food pack until I decided it was the most dangerous thing that I was doing on my trips. I was tying a small rock to the end of the rope to throw it over a limb and several times I almost got hit in the head with the rock. Also, it wasted so much time and was frustrating trying to find the right trees, etc. I am very happy that I switched to hiding the food outside of camp. Each meal is sealed in a zip-lock baggie and many items are vacuum sealed. All breakfast items are in a large zip-lock, lunch and dinner items likewise. All those bags are inside a black plastic garbage bag and put into a small canvas duffle. In the evening the duffle is put into a black plastic garbage bag and stuck in some thick brush off the beaten path just outside the main area of camp. I've been doing this for years and never had any trouble with any bears or other critters."


If I did this, I would miss place the food and then end up talking to a Volleyball called Wilson since I can't fish to save my life.
 
07/08/2010 03:39PM  
Chuckling deanalika... I would worry the same, but we paddle it away from camp and pick a nice landmark (tree/island, etc.) so it's not too far into the bush, but along a shoreline somewhere NOT on a trail. It's soooooo much easier than hanging and I believe it's better for the campsite area trees too.

Now, I have NEVER had issues with critters either, but I do read all the barrel/vault/ursack threads just in case. Right now, my approach is working fine but if a bear or a mouse do stumble upon my "cache", they could feast away in theory. Someone invent a lightweight, large capacity, indestructible, bear-proof container please - like the size of the blue barrels, with the quality of the black kegs, and the weight of the ursacks! I don't ask much.
 
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