Backpacking Food Storage Methods: Be safe and stuff
When I teach food safety for the backcountry, I am always excited to share the first paradigm shift of the trip. You see, food safety practices are not about how to keep us safe, but how to keep the bears safe. That's right. You've probably heard it before: a fed bear is a dead bear.
Realistically, bears are just not interested in us, and if you are lucky enough to see one in the wild, you'll probably just see its butt scuttling away. But when a bear learns that it can get easy calories where it smells people, it will take that option every time. I spent a whole summer as a NPS Ranger chasing a problem bear around a campsite because one tourist left dogfood outside his camper one time (okay that was a fun summer but please don't).
It's not just about bears, either. If you store your food correctly, you'll quit donating your morning oats to the shelter mouse, campsite ravens, or nightly raid by the local raccoons.
The right method depends on where you are hiking, what the land agency requires, what trees are available. Bear canisters, the PCT hang method, bear-resistant bags, lockers, and simple critter hangs all have their uses, and bravery, in this case, does not.
Start with the rules for the place you are hiking
Always look into food storage requirements where you are planning on camping or backpacking. It's always listed on USFS or NPS websites, or a quick call to the ranger station will give you all the info you need. I personally use the PCT hang method when I am trying to go light and fast, and always resort back to a cannister when I will be above treeline or just lazy. Of course, I always obey the land agency rules to help avoid that embarrassing ranger talk/ticket.
Common rules include:
Hard-sided bear canisters required
Many high-use bear areas require approved canisters because bears have learned to defeat poor hangs. This is an increasing trend, more public lands require this every year, and they never renege the requirement.
Bear-resistant bags allowed
Some areas allow specific soft-sided sacks, like Ursacks, but they do not count as a canister, and I have seen them fail.
Food lockers/cables provided
Developed backcountry campsites may have metal lockers or bear boxes. This is always the best option if it is available, but be sure to inspect for critter sized holes.
Hangs allowed but not encouraged
Forested areas may allow hanging, though good branches can be hard to find.
Rules can also change after bear activity. If a bear damages camp gear or gets a food reward, rangers may tighten requirements for that area or even close a campsite. Check before you go for alerts.
Also remember that “food” means more than meals. Store all scented items with your food, including:
Trash and food wrappers. Check your pockets, you snacker
Toothpaste and toothbrushes
Sunscreen, if you're a weirdo that uses banana scented ones
Lip balm
Soap
Bug spray
Drink mixes, or mixed drink
Pet food
Used pots, mugs, sporks
Any stanky attitudes
Remember, bears can smell better than bloodhounds, so keeping a midnight Snickers is like trying to sneak contraband through TSA, only bears don't care about constitutional rights around search and seizure.
Bear canisters are the most reliable option in many places
A bear canister is a hard-sided container that resists crushing, clawing, biting, and opening. They are tested by an independent agency to withstand bear abuse for one hour. Crucially, they are not bear proof. More on that later.
This is usually the easiest, if bulkiest option. You simply close the container and walk a safe distance from camp, then place it on the ground.
Choose a spot where it will not roll into water, off a cliff, or down a steep slope, or into your mortal enemy's tent. You're better than that.
A loose canister is awkward for a bear to carry, which is part of the design. You should hear the commotion and chase the bear off your food (if you know how to do so safely. Of course, if you're with me, your guide will happily earn their wage).
Pros and tradeoffs
Best strengths
Super reliable
Required in many popular bear areas
Protects against rodents too
Works above tree line and when you don't want to spend an hour looking for a perfect tree
Main drawbacks
It's bulky, yo!
Heavier than a hanging kit
Can you fit all your food in it?
Can be annoying to pack around odd-shaped gear
The PCT hang method works only when the setup is right
The PCT hang is my preferred method when going light and fast, and I know I will have good tree cover. It gets its name from the Pacific Crest Trail, where hikers often used it in places that did not require canisters.
The method uses a rope, a stuff sack or food bag, a small carabiner, and a toggle. When done right, the food bag hangs high off the ground, out of reach from below, above, and teh side. The rope hangs on the ground with no tension, so no harm if a bear yanks on it. Haha, sucka!
The classic goal is:
12 feet above the ground. This bear is Michael Jordan
6 feet away from the trunk
6 feet below the branch
Those numbers are easy to say and hard to achieve, and you will spend your time looking for a perfect tree where this is possible at all In dense forests, branches may be too low. In areas like Roan Mountain there may be no trees at all. In popular campsites, dead branches may have been broken by years of bad hangs, and you'll see paracord dangling from trees like tinsel.
How the PCT hang works
Here is the basic process.
Choose a strong branch
Look for a live branch that sits high enough above the ground. It should be large enough to support your food, but not the weight of a bear.
Throw the rope over the branch
Use a small rock sack or throw bag. I use my tent stake bag. Stand clear of other people, this is a common time injjuries occur, because rock bags swing with heft. Then, aim a little higher than you think you need to.
Clip the food bag
Phew. You did it, you athlete you. Now clip the food bag to the rope with a small carabiner.
Place the other end of the rope through the carabiner
This forms a closed loop, like a lasso that tightens as you as you pull the loose end.
Raise the bag to the branch
Pull the free end of the rope until the bag reaches all the way up to the branch.
Add a toggle
Tie a clove hitch around a short stick or spare tentstake on the free end of the rope, as high as you can reach.
Lower the bag onto the toggle
Slowly let the rope down until the carabiner catches on the stick. The food should hang suspended, with the free rope dangling loosely
To retrieve it, pull the free rope end to lift the bag until you can remove the toggle, then lower the food.
When the PCT hang is a poor choice
A bad hang can be worse than no plan because it gives a false sense of security. A bag hanging four feet off the ground next to a trunk is just a piñata.
Finally, always start your food hang process early. Setting up my hang is usually the very first thing I do when I arrive at camp, unless rain is imminent. I have only spent one night lost in the woods looking for a place to hang my food before I learned this lesson, but you don't have to even do that.
Other backpacking food storage options can work in the right setting
Bear canisters and the PCT hang are my preferred methods, but there are others.
Bear-resistant bags
A bear-resistant bag is a tough fabric sack designed to resist tearing. Some are made from high-strength woven materials and close with specific knots. Many hikers pair them with an odor-resistant liner.
These bags are lighter and easier to pack than canisters. They also fit better inside narrow packs. They can be a good choice where they are allowed and where trees are limited.
The tradeoff is that they require careful use. You secure them to a tree or solid object. A bear may crush the food inside even if it cannot eat it, and saliva contaminated food is no good to eat. Some land agencies are beginning to explicitly ban these bags.
Food lockers, bear boxes and cables
Many busy backcountry sites have metal food lockers. If one is available, use it. Lockers are rock solid and super convenient.
At shared sites, make room for others. A giant loose pile of groceries inside a locker makes mfor unhappy neighbors. Bear cables are often in place at backcountry sites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and even in Pisgah National Forest. The are basically a pre-hung pct hang, and super convenient. If you're in the Smokies, you are required to use them no matter what you have with you.
Rodent hangs and critter protection
Even when I am not in bear country, I never sleep with my food. Rodents are pesky and everywhere, and even if I need to hang my food 5 feet off the ground, I'll do it. Pick a spot away from your campsit, too. This is less for safety, as it is with bears, but more because rodents learn to find ways into food where people tend to camp. Look at this adorable bastard in my (foodless) pack in a shelter on the AT. He has had countless nights planning this heist.
Build your camp around food storage
When deciding on camp layout we use the "Bearmuda Triangle": sleep here, cook there, and store food in a third.
The goal is to keep food smells away from your sleeping area. Eat away from the tent wherever possible, and for other safety reasons, never cook in your highly flammable tent.
My nightly routine looks something like this:
Nom nom nom
Brush teeth, place toothbrush/paste in food storage
Check clothing and backpack pockets before bed. I find something everytime, somehow.
What not to do with food while backpacking
Bad food storage usually comes from convenience. The shortcut feels harmless until an animal finds the reward. Avoid these mistakes.
Do not sleep with food in your tent
People do it, but you're not people.
Do not leave food unattended
Ravens love waiting for you to go filter water, and bears sometimes hide in rhododendron, patiently waiting for you to go on a short sunset summit jaunt.
It may even run off with your whole backpack
The most important component of any food storage system is: YOU
I mean it. All of the above food storage methods are only bear resistant. Given enough time on the problem, bears will figure out any hang, and break any kevlar bag or cannister. All of these systems are designed to slow the bear down, to give you time to react appropriately and scare it off. I personally always place a small, round pebble in my cooking pot so I can easily hear it clanging, and then yell mildly insulting things to the bear. That has worked for me everytime, which in all my hundreds of nights in the woods, has been exactly one time. Be smart, save bears, buy yourself an icecream for being a bear saviour. It tastes extra good after a hike.
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