Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: How do YOU do it??
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TrekScouter |
I'm going to try an Ursack this year. I'm tired of evaluating campsites based in part on the quality of hanging opportunities. I'm also tired of wasting a good deal of time trying to achieve a satisfactory hang. |
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em8260 |
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nctry |
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sdebol |
quote pamonster: "quote OBX2Kayak: "Ursack. Been using them for five years with no sighs of even a squirrel trying to get in." So far I'm a recent Ursack convert too. |
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Arkansas Man |
My food barrel is a 12 gallon blue barrel from US Plastic, carried in an old army duffle bag with shoulder straps. It has the lid that fastens down with the metal strap. It is not bear proof. No cooking done on the barrel or food touching the barrel or duffle bag. All food inside is double bagged in plastic bags and or vacuum sealed. Pots, pans, cookware is all washed after use and kept away from the pack. While in camp duffle bag with barrel sits under trees in the open out of the sun to keep temps down inside barrel. When gone from camp I go a little ways from camp, away from any trail, and find a low cedar to hide it under or a group of trees close together to hide the barrel. I have even kept it under a vestibule of the tent at night. I have never had a bear in camp, and have only seen one during my trips. It was at the end of the portage trail between Disappointment and Snowbank about 10 years ago. Left the lid loose for about 30 minutes this year and had a pesky red squirrel chew on the rim a little bit! Bruce |
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billconner |
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walllee |
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pamonster |
quote OBX2Kayak: "Ursack. Been using them for five years with no sighs of even a squirrel trying to get in." +1 Tied to a tree at the edge of camp, in view from the tent. |
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mirth |
I still carry the ropes & pulleys as they're useful in situations. |
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Grouseguy1 |
quote ECpizza: "There is NO place where you can hang a food pack properly from a single tree in the BWCA. To hang your pack, you needs two ropes, heavy carabeners/pulleys, two trees, and a way to reliably get two ropes up high enough in two trees to suspend the pack in the middle. I think I have seen ONE properly hing pack in the last 25 years... And just like a squirrel with a bird feeder, if a bear wanted it, he still would get it. Sorry, I have to respectfully disagree. Many times the task requires two trees, but you don't need more than a pack and a rope of suitable length. I have some photo examples in my library as I'm sure others do. This last trip I used a pail with gamma lid for the first time. It still went inside a pack and hung from a tree that night. |
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Moss Tent |
quote Grouseguy1: "quote ECpizza: "There is NO place where you can hang a food pack properly from a single tree in the BWCA. To hang your pack, you needs two ropes, heavy carabeners/pulleys, two trees, and a way to reliably get two ropes up high enough in two trees to suspend the pack in the middle. I think I have seen ONE properly hing pack in the last 25 years... And just like a squirrel with a bird feeder, if a bear wanted it, he still would get it. Agree with grouseguy. I'm a hanger, and have never had any problems; and there is more than 1 place with a good single branch, especially over water. I hang a SealLine bag; I have this fantasy that the stink of the PVC either masks the food smell, or is otherwise unpalatable to wildlife. Don't know if there's any merit to that belief, but no problems here, even when leaving the bag lying around in camp, rodents seem to hate it. Squirrels, etc. will actually colonize and investigate bags made of sil and other materials, but they leave that yellow PVC alone. hmmmmmmmmmm............. |
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AndySG |
No more hanging. Using bear resistant containers and food stays in camp. If everyone goes out fishing or exploring, food containers go with. Type 1: Link Type 2: Link Type 3: Link |
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chergez |
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Royce |
In the past, I've hung the food pack as shown in the attached image. I am thinking more about just stashing the food pack. Currently use a small vittles vault container and think that it would be a bit easier than hanging. |
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GeoFisher |
It it, I shared a video with regards to the vaults. That is pretty much all we use any longer. Full disclosure: We also have used a Kondos food Pack and recently, I took a Glad Storage box in a Kondos number 3 pack. Vittles Vault versus Bear Barrel |
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Koz |
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Canoe42 |
I do not hang my food for obvious reasons. |
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marsonite |
I use no stretch cord I got at REI. Similar in diameter to paracord. |
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DrBobDerrig |
when we did to the tree thing I drilled a hole through an old hard ball and ran an eyebolt through that. It made a chore for the kids become 'fun'.......... trying to find and tie the perfect rock can be a pan. we also learned early on the do this before 9-9:15 PM and the skeeters show up. dr bbob |
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LilyPond |
The weight has to be heavy enough that you can dislodge it on a bad throw by swinging it back and forth. If it's too light it won't swing back up over the branch. I've never had a problem with tying the end of the rope around a tree trunk but I know that's inviting bears so I'll probably learn a better method in the future. |
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LilyPond |
quote Arkansas Man: "Don't hang anymore... Have not in years! We keep a clean camp and stash when away from camp? Where do you stashers stash, and in what type of container? |
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Grouseguy1 |
If it's storming heavy one night or I've had a couple too many whiskey sips, I'll skip throwing tied off rocks/logs over a branch and just find a place we feel comfortable leaving the food (inside at least a plastic liner bag), I just make sure I don't keep it inside any pack that I really care about, because rodents will chew through cordura or canvas. I care more about the welfare of my CCS or Duluth Packs than I do the food. Sometimes I get the feeling hanging food is becoming antiquated on this forum. It's one of the things that reminds me of my first trips as a youth with church groups and outfitter provided guides. I really miss the dutch ovens to. |
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ockycamper |
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chergez |
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Scout64 |
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Savage Voyageur |
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boonie |
I have heard of many creative solutions to your problem though, such as lacrosse balls, golf balls, slingshots, pulleys, special rope that is slick and has little stretch, etc. I'm sure some will offer up their solutions. |
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pastorjsackett |
Good luck! |
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DeanL |
When we did hang our food it was a rock the size of a grapefruit with a rope tied around it. Never knew what was going to happen with that method. |
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butthead |
butthead |
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OBX2Kayak |
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bwcadan |
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mc2mens |
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muddyfeet |
1), Not in camp on 'the obvious tree" That's where bears know food will be. Hang 50+ yards away from camp. On the shoreline is better, as there is a 50% chance the wind will be blowing towards the lake and keeping odors out of the woods. 2). Throwline is 50' of 1.8mm zing-it dyneema. It's slick, light, compact, holds 400lbs, and is what arborists use. Tie around a golfball sized rock and you can get it up about anywhere. It works well and doesn't get stuck easily. 3). Trips more than 2 people usually require a carabiner to be hoisted for a 2nd line pulley method. I think the PCT method works well to get the bag some distance away from the trunk. 4). It is a fun evening ritual to secure the line. 2 chances and then the next guy gets a turn. Usually we have enjoyed some adult beverages by this time so it's always good for some laughs. |
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Arkansas Man |
Bruce |
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AmarilloJim |
When I use to hang food this is what I did also. The pulleys used for sailing are much smaller and of better quality than those you can get at Lowe's or Home Depot. If the pulleys are not heavy enough to throw you can fill a Crown bag with rocks and tie your rope to that. I now use food buckets with gamma lids however. |
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ECpizza |
I also can't afford to spend $1000+ for enough bearproof barrels of sacks for 6 people 7 days. I minimize the small with buckets and gamma seal lids and stash it outside of camp so if a bear does come, he is well away from us. |
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A1t2o |
Just make sure that you hang the bag (or at least get it set up for hanging) early, before you start to get shadows as the sun sets. Hanging the food bag at sunset sucks. |
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billconner |
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BobDobbs |
I use two ropes...one is my 'shooter' composed of 550 cord threaded through a 4 oz lead sinker. The sinker is small, but has plenty of mass, and is a good shape to put just about exactly where I need it on the first or 2nd throw. Even when the branches are waaaay up there, or there is a small window. The sinker also ensures that the shooter rope doesnt get hung up on small limbs or pine boughs, which ALWAYS seems to happen when using any other method (ie rock bag). After the shooter is well placed, its a small matter to use it to pull the 'hanger' rope into position. Hanger rope is 1/4 cheapo nylon. After that, its a very small matter to haul the food pack up into the tree. Shooter rope is then repurposed into a clothes line or packed away. The food pack doesn't need to be but 10 feet off the ground (but it does need to be a few feet away anything climbable by a bear). Rope burn is a terrible thing to do to a tree limb, so use a paddle to push the pack with one hand, while pulling the hanger rope with the other. Easy enough to do with a little practice, and greatly reduces the friction on the tree. the energy I spend carrying around the 4oz sinker is much less than what I used to spend on 10-15 aborted attempts. If you choose to try this BE CAREFUL! Getting hit in the head by a 4 oz piece of lead falling from 25 feet would be VERY bad news. Now - having said all that...we prefer not to hang (even though I'm awesome at it) and use garcia barrels. They are the perfect size to use as a stool, and it is awesome to have something portable to sit down on. However, on a 10-12 day trip, two of those just don't hold enough food for 2 people, and then there's the gum/mints/toothpaste etc etc that needs to be bear-proofed as well, so for the first few days or so we hang what we have to. |
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BWPaddler |
Stash/cache or bear vault. Hanging was a PITA I dreaded. Took me a few years, but I figured out it's not needed and in fact bears know about hanging and how to get around it! |