Protecting Your Food
Before you hurl this book into a bonfire and vow never to set foot off pavement again, let me hasten to add that this was not only the first, but also the last time I have ever lost food to bears in more than 25 years of backpacking. I've never even seen a bear in Rocky Mountain National Park, where I've done much of my backpacking, much less had to battle one for my breakfast. Except in a few places where black bears have learned that backpackers mean packs full of food, your chances of seeing a bear are actually slight. According to information from Shenandoah National Park, only one visitor in a million to North American parks is injured by a bear. You might say it's a bearly perceptible risk. Even in places like Little Yosemite Valley, you can protect your food from black bears if you know what to do.

All Yosemite bears, and most bears in other parts of the Lower 48, are black bears, which are persistent and intelligent but basically timid. Yellowstone and Glacier national parks and many parks in Alaska are also home to grizzly bears, which are far more aggressive and dangerous than black bears. The food-hanging method described below will work fairly well with either kind of bear. However, aggressively defending your food, which will work with black bears, is not recommended for use with grizzlies.

The most bear-resistant method of storing food is called the counterweight method. All provisions should be stored with this method at all times except when you're actually preparing a meal. Never store food in your tent or pack. That's a sure way to lose both your food and your equipment. Make sure you stash odoriferous non-food items in your food bag as well. Potential bear attractants include garbage, toothpaste, sunscreen, perfume, etc. Now find a suitable tree. You're looking for one with a live branch 17 or more feet off the ground that's still one inch in diameter 10 feet from the trunk. Basically, the idea is to find a branch that's strong enough to support your food's weight, but not so strong that a cub could crawl out it and swipe your food. The tree must lack strong branches beneath the food-hanging branch that could serve as a platform for a bear. Although such trees may seem as common as unicorns, persist and you will be rewarded. Tie a rock to the end of a stout cord that's 40 or 50 feet long and toss the rock over the branch. Separate your food into two bags of roughly equal weight and tie the first bag to the cord. Hang your cooking pots with the food so you'll have a warning if a bear does come marauding. Haul the first bag up to the branch and tie the second bag to the cord as high as you can reach. Leave a loop of cord hanging out and put the remainder of the cord inside the bag. Push the second bag up with a long stick until the two bags hang side by side. To retrieve the food, snag the loop with the stick and pull the bag down gently.

If it’s absolutely impossible to find a suitable tree, try this approach. Locate two trees about 20 feet apart. Tie one end of a 75-foot cord around one trunk as high as you can reach. Tie the other end to a rock and toss it over the highest possible branch on the second tree. Tie your food bag to the middle of the cord between the two trees, then pull on the free end of the cord until the cord is tight and your food is suspended as high as possible. (Need new diagram here?) Tie off the loose end of the cord to a branch. This is the method I use most commonly. So far, I’ve never had a problem.

These methods should suffice to defend your food against most bears. They should also protect it against the chipmunks and squirrels which are a much more common threat. I've returned to my pack after leaving it alone for just five minutes and discovered a human-habituated marmot stealing my peanut butter and jelly sandwich from an open pack pocket. To add insult to injury, a pair of hikers was standing nearby enjoying the fat rascal's bold performance and doing nothing to intervene. On several occasions I've had witless rodents chew their way into a pack pocket even though there was no food inside. To discourage such damage, leave your pack open and empty with the pockets unzipped when you go to bed. If rain threatens, however, I prefer to cover my pack with a large plastic garbage bag to keep it dry overnight.

Yosemite rangers advise backpackers that even the best method of hanging food is simply a delaying tactic when the prowler is a black bear accustomed to stealing from humans. Rangers urge backpackers who are confronted with a black bear to make noise, throw rocks and chase the bear vigorously. The more people who chase the bear, and the longer and farther they chase it, the better. Don't get carried away, however. You should never corner a bear, nor come between a mother bear and her cubs. If a bear does manage to steal some of your food, leave the bear alone until he abandons it. Bears are like two-year-olds: they haven't learned to clean up after themselves, so you'll have to do it for them. Pack out everything the bear doesn't eat. Don't leave it as litter to entice other bears or ruin the next visitor's enjoyment of the wilderness.

If you're backpacking in grizzly country, you must take additional precautions. In Denali National Park, where suitable food-hanging trees scarcely exist, backpackers are required to carry their food in bear-proof containers issued by the park. Rangers further recommend that backpackers refrain from cooking in even a well-ventilated tent. The cooking odors can permeate the nylon and attract bears even if you stash your food elsewhere. While cooking, be prepared to store your food quickly in its bear-proof container. Keep your other gear packed so you can leave immediately, leaving nothing behind, if a bear suddenly intrudes. The goal is to prevent an aggressive grizzly from receiving a reward for its intrusion. After cooking dinner, move on a mile or two before making camp.

To avoid startling a grizzly who may be invisible in deep brush, make noise as you walk. Some people tie a bell to their pack or rattle pebbles in a can. Others sing, talk or chant high-school fight songs. Pay attention to your surroundings so you know when bears are nearby. A bear's five-toed paw print is as long as a human's but twice as wide. The claw marks extend well beyond the paw print itself. A bear's droppings are massive, often resembling a cow's. After the berries ripen, droppings may consist of a pile of partially digested berries. {Insert grizzly paw print figure here}

If you encounter a grizzly, refrain from approaching it. Grizzlies can start to feel threatened even if you're a hundred yards away. Bears will defend their cubs, their territory, their food and themselves. If you spot a feeding grizzly that's unaware of your presence, retreat slowly when the bear's attention is absorbed by its food. If the bear becomes aware of you and approaches, remain calm, or, if that's impossible, at least try to look calm. Hold up your arms, speak firmly and confidently to the bear, and slowly back away. The idea is to let the bear know that you're not a threat. Don't turn and run – you can't outrun a grizzly. If there's a suitable tree nearby, climb it, but remember that a grizzly standing on its hind legs can reach 10 feet. If the grizzly stands up and waves its nose in the air, it's trying to identify you. Talking to the bear and waving your arms helps it do so. If the bear makes a series of woofs and grunts, it's challenging you to either fight or leave. If it stands sideways, it's displaying its size in an attempt to intimidate you. Take the hint: retreat slowly. If the bear charges you, stand your ground. In most cases, charges are bluffs. If the bear calls your bluff and is about to strike, fall to the ground, keeping your pack on, and play dead. Do not abandon your pack except as a last resort. Don't inadvertently teach the grizzly that charging hikers is an easy way to get a meal.

In a very real sense, grizzly country belongs to the bears. They are the dominant predators, not humans. Tread with caution.

On Mt. McKinley, ravens wreak havoc with unprotected food caches as high as 16,000 feet. I've never seen ravens attack a hanging food bag in the Lower 48, but one incident in the Escalante region of Utah raised my suspicions. Cora and I had hung our food from a tree and were leaving camp for a day-hike when two ravens flew into our campsite. I knew from my experience on McKinley that a raven's powerful beak could shred our tough nylon food sacks in seconds. With two days to go on our trip, and no desire to seek visions through a 48-hour fast, I retrieved the food bag and carried it with us throughout the day-hike. Paranoid? Perhaps. Hungry? No way.

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