Re: Bear Food Ediquette While Camping Question CO

Except for very populous areas around campgrounds, Colorado doesn't have a significant black bear problem. Bears that have been 'trained' to eat human food will wait until the food is unguarded or they think they can bluff their way in.

Black bears will not hijack you on the trail. But at night food smells are an attractant. The snacks you had in your clothes (assuming no longer there) will more than likely not be as attracting as the normal cooking and eating odors left over. If they enter your camp, they pretty much know what they are looking for. In the Sierra a prominently displayed bear cannister is sometimes all you need. They know it is not worth the effort to check out the place. They play the odds like any other savvy shopper.

The main critter you have to worry about are rodents and other small vermin. They will tear your pack apart looking for the food that had been in there. Leave your pack completely open with pockets unzipped so they can satisfy their curiosity quickly and move on to the next possible food trove.

Don't sleep with any food that is not in you. Either hang, or more properly in your case, lock up all the stuff that is editable/smellable. Dirty socks are about as attracting to them as they are to you.

Make sure your dog is under control at night. I've seen dogs go out after a bear, too late determine it is bigger up close than far away, and come running back to owners with a very upset bear on its tail. Most dogs don't understand bear etiquette at all. Keep your kibble in closable bags and not loose in your pockets.

In the Sierra where there are a large group of habituated bears, most hikers carry stuff sacks of food in their packs which they (are supposed to) store overnight in secure boxes provided by National Parks. They all are also to have a bear cannister with them, even if bear boxes are provided.

I saw a day pack disappear in a second when the owner was probably 50 feet away from it. I looked over saw the pack, reached for mine to go sit by it to guard it. By the time I got up to move toward it, it had gone. I didn't see the culprit!

Unattended food is up for grabs and considered theirs. If you have it on you while hiking or are cooking and eating it, raids are very very rare. But if one wants to join you for dinner and can't be dissuaded by shouts and clashing pans, let it sit at the head of the table while you retire to the reading room. That is a bear to be reported to whom ever is concerned about such happenings.

Cars are routinely broken into in the Sierra. At some parking lots you are ticketed by the rangers if you leave ANYTHING visible. Shopping bags, empty beverage cans, gum wrappers...anything. The bear can slip the latch on a pickup camper back faster than you can with a key.

Have fun out there. Consider a bear sighting an opportunity to see something most in the world haven't. If you don't really do anything dumb, the bear won't either. If bears were a significant threat to humans, you can pretty much rest assured they would have been taken care of generations ago.

Its just that they are an empty stomach on four legs. raccoons are a lot more destructive and meaner.