So, heres my dumb camping question: do you guys do anything with your food when camping to prevent bear encounters? I've never had an encounter when camping but theres two local strips that I plan on camping at, lake wenatchee and stehekin, that I know have bears in the area(ive seen several at the stehekin strip while up there for work). The bear food cans seem big and bulky. Just wondering what others do? My best thought is to smother the kids in bacon grease and maple syrup and put them in a seperate tent

I use a drybag and hang it from a tree away from my camp.

Stehekin has barrows to wheel your stuff to the riverside campsite.
There are bear proof boxes at the campground.

I think the bacon grease and maple syrup is your best bet.....I actually laughed out loud at that one and everyone in the meeting I was in turned and stared at me. "Great budget proposal" was all I could think to say

50' of slick poly rope to hang stuff in a pack and cook a ways away from camp.

The squirrels demonstrate obvious ninja training at Stehekin, and the bear boxes are large and convenient for them and the bears.

Yeti coolers year bear proof. We use a 45qt when plane camping or we hang the food. Just be sure to get the rope in the tree before dark and before having too many drinks. Yeti is way easier.

blackrock wrote:Yeti coolers year bear proof. We use a 45qt when plane camping or we hang the food. Just be sure to get the rope in the tree before dark and before having too many drinks. Yeti is way easier.

I keep noticing the Yeti coolers on display at the local Ace Hardware and wondering why anyone would pay $400 for a cooler. Now I know. Think I'll get one.

Pierre

I got the small one, fits perfect in the baggage of the super cub

OK, I just went to the Yeti cooler website. No doubt they're a solid cooler, but those rubber hold-downs look like they'd take about five seconds for a bear to tear off. I mean, we've all seen the photos/videos of bears tearing into cars etc.

Color me skeptical about the bear-proof claim.

Pierre

edited to add that I found their website page about bear resistance and the point that there are padlock loops on the lid and they've tested it with real grizzlies. OK, skepticism is now resolved.

What did the old timers do? They didn't have "bear proof" coolers.......hard to beat getting all food away from the camp, #1. #2, hang it from a tree before too many drinks (sounds like the voice of experience there!) can't hurt either. Since they've been offered I've switched over to those soft coolers, I love the way they collapse once all the beer is gone. Like a ABW gas bag compared to a old style fuel jug, just a lot more efficient use of the limited space. You Maule and 180/182 pilots can laugh smugly now.

I would suggest a Pelican rather than yeti. I have one, and it won't fit in the Savage but it is built tough and the latches are way better than the yeti. Plus its cheaper than the yeti.

$185.00 Here:
https://www.elvessupply.com/Pelican-PEL-32-35Q-OC-TAN-Pelican-35-Quart-Elite-Cooler--Tan_p_1291920.html?gclid=Cj0KEQjwhPaqBRDG2uiHzpKLi6ABEiQAk_XXiS_MWkmvBhwMoE_31gMmtC1eBRwaT81dBzJfDz1UP6EaAj_48P8HAQ

Crzyivan13 wrote:I would suggest a Pelican rather than yeti. I have one, and it won't fit in the Savage but it is built tough and the latches are way better than the yeti. Plus its cheaper than the yeti.

I believe the Pelican coolers are substantially heavier than the Yeti, hence the price difference.

albravo wrote:

Crzyivan13 wrote:I would suggest a Pelican rather than yeti. I have one, and it won't fit in the Savage but it is built tough and the latches are way better than the yeti. Plus its cheaper than the yeti.

I believe the Pelican coolers are substantially heavier than the Yeti, hence the price difference.

You're correct on the weight difference

6 lbs difference for the same size. Yeti 35qt= 20lb Pelican 35qt= 26 lbs

Here we are again talking about Weight Savings vs Cost!

Jeredp wrote:... bears in the area(ive seen several at the stehekin strip while up there for work).....

I've seen a black bear at Stehekin too, lurking in the trees east of the airstrip. It saw us and was not bothered at all -- not a good sign. I believe there's a USFS (or whatever) station right there too, probably including a garbage dump (aka a bear smorgasborg) -- hence the bear presence.

I have a Yeti 35 and a Garcia bear resistant container. Both are a bit pricey for what you get, and I had to fight with myself for awhile before getting the Yeti. The Garcia was easier, after I encountered a bear at Marble one year and was told by several locals that they'd been breaking into houses looking for food for the last few months. The day after returning that year, I got the Garcia and have used it every trip since.

Incidentally, the Garcia is on sale right now at REI for $56. It meets the USFS requirements for bear resistant food containers for those places which require them. I can pack enough of my dry food needs for just me for several days' camping.

In addition to being expensive, the Yeti isn't easy to get into the baggage compartment of my P172D--I have to tilt it onto its back to fit it through the door, then right it after getting it in. But if I pre-cool it the night before leaving by packing ice into it, it will keep food cold for most of a week, starting with a reasonable amount of ice, something few other coolers will do. The only time I've regretted buying it was trying to explain to Marilyn why I'd spent $300 on a cooler--but the first time we took a car trip with it, she agreed it was much better than any other cooler we'd ever had.

I don't know how much damage bears might do to either of these things, but I've convinced myself that I'm likely to still have food even if they bang around the containers a bit.

Cary

Does anyone remember the photo that made the rounds on the internet a few years ago, of a supercub wrapped in duct tape to make it flyable after a bear tried to get some food that was inside?

hotrod180 wrote:Does anyone remember the photo that made the rounds on the internet a few years ago, of a supercub wrapped in duct tape to make it flyable after a bear tried to get some food that was inside?

Yeah--good reason not to store food inside the airplane!

Cary

Crzyivan13 wrote:

I've probably seen that photo a hundred times and didn't notice until today that they had written the N number on the side with a marker. lol!

That duct tape cub never dies!