Base Camp Food Security
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: KSflatlander
04-Jul-23
What do you all do for base camp food security? Scenario is in Colorado with a truck base camp. Trucks will be used during hunting and will not be left at camp. The food will be homemade meals in vacuum sealed and in coolers along with store bought dry goods. How do you keep bears out of base camp while out hunting. Solar electric fence charger?
From: Jaquomo
04-Jul-23
I keep mine in a fridge and freezer in a locked camper. But in all the years when we dirt camped, probably 20 years before we got good jobs and could afford campers, we just kept it in coolers wrapped in insulated blankets in the wall tent and never had a bear strike. And this was in bear-heavy country. Seems like most bear problems occur at night.
From: Glunt@work
04-Jul-23
Only time I was hit was when we decided to spend the night on the mountain. Came back to a cooler busted up and a trail of food and trash.
We just leave food in coolers in the shade. Anything can happen but not a big concern for us.
From: bowhunt
04-Jul-23
Is this somewhere you have camped and had issues with bears?
Seems like on odd question for just general car camping in the mountains
From: ElkNut1
04-Jul-23
In 40 years of leaving coolers at camp next to walltents & campers outside I've yet to have a single issue. Personally I wouldn't give it a 2nd thought!
ElkNut
From: Jaquomo
04-Jul-23
Where problems sometimes occur is around the Subaru-Birkenstock campgrounds where people are sloppy with trash and food, and the local bears become habituated. Otherwise, if dispersed camping in National Forest, nothing to worry about.
From: KSflatlander
04-Jul-23
Thanks everyone. We are dispersed camping in a wall tent. We have hunted there before and seen a few bears around. I’ll go with the experience of Paul and Lou.
Thanks a bunch.
From: Glunt@work
04-Jul-23
One night we had a big spaghetti feed and were tired so didn't clean up very well. I was in a tent and the rest of camp were in a camper. About midnight I hear some clanging and something decent size moving around.
I pulled in some boots, grabbed a flashlight and a .45. Totally sure it was a bear, I figured I would try and chase it off and make a big enough scene where it might stay away.
I unzipped the tent and popped out. My bear was an Angus cow finishing off the pot of pasta. With gear, tent ropes and chairs all over, decided it better to just let her finish and hopefully make her way out calmly without wrecking camp.
From: bowhunt
04-Jul-23
The dang mice have usually been my biggest issue
Cold stuff in the coolers, dry goods in tote bins when your away.
From: Corax_latrans
04-Jul-23
Solution of choice along the AT
Solution of choice along the AT
From: Inshart
04-Jul-23
I'm not saying anything for fear of jinxing us.
From: Bohunr
05-Jul-23
My dad lost an ice chest full of beer once,Don't think it was bears though.
From: DonVathome
05-Jul-23
Not usually a big issue. Do NOT let trash rot and start stinking. There is a reason bears ussualy find carcuses and gut piles in about a week, that is when they stink and that smell is much stronger than regular food smells. If you are really worried hang it. You can also leave it in the truck - but might get your truck scratched.
My one issue, with exactly that same food was probably because I left a wally world rotisserie chicken carcass in my trash bag outside my tent for a week. It stunk. I cannot say for sure but I would bet that stink drew in the bear. In other words I made a mistake.
From: PoudreCanyon
05-Jul-23
X3 to Paul and Lou - Never had an issue in Colorado in all of the years I've been truck camping. I've had a lot worse luck hunting whitetails in Nebraska with coons and possums. Had a full on coon fight in camp at 3 in the morning over leftover cherry pie filling that we didn't dispose of properly. It was LOUD.
From: Treeline
05-Jul-23
Never had any issues in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, or Wyoming just having the coolers in the shade around camp during the day. We did put up a solar electric fence on a hunt in thick grizzly country once up near Cody. If you are concerned, that is not a bad option to get a solar charger, wire and posts for around the camp. I would suggest making sure to tie flagging on it so you don’t bounce into it unexpectedly in the night…
From: ahunter76
05-Jul-23
I've tent camped in the boundary waters of Mn/Canada & lot's of Bears (6 weeks). We hoisted our cooler up into a tree on a limb & never had a problem. ONE time, we forgot & came back to zero food except potatoes. Our meals the next week were fish we caught & potatoes. I spent near 6 months (June till mid Nov) in Colorado "in a tent" on a Mountain where I had seen a few Bears. Just kept it in the cooler & never had a problem.
From: Who Cares
05-Jul-23
Spike camped for many years in the mountains for weeks at a time and never had a bear issue in camp. Kept a clean camp and things sealed up.
From: Two dogs mobile
05-Jul-23
I have camped in tents numerous times over the last 30 plus years, both hunting and fishing, mostly in Colorado. Twice we had cattle tear up camp. We figured out that they are like drug addicts when it comes to ashes in fire rings. The cattle will not pass up a fire ring. We now make sure to have the fire a good distance from tents and stoves. My brother did have bears get into the coolers during a fishing trip on the Grand Mesa in Colorado. My two brothers were fishing a creek and the one that had driven fell and hurt his chest, causing him to feel like it was hard to breathe. He decided to go off the mountain and get a room at lower elevation, leaving my other brother alone in camp (he wanted to fish that evening as they were heading home the next day). During the night he heard what he assumed was bears in the coolers. He had a shotgun with 4 shells and decided to stay in the tent. After while it appears they had left so he went back to sleep. After a while he heard them again. It was now light, so he decided to confront them, and got of the tent armed with the shotgun. It was a cub so he decided to give it a scare. He yelled at it and shot into the ground at it's feet. That was not the best idea, as the cub ran up a tree squalling. At this point he decided a walk was a good idea. He left for about 45 minutes. When he came back no bears were I camp.
From: RonP
05-Jul-23
hang a stinky t-shirt on a branch nearby.
From: KSflatlander
05-Jul-23
Thanks to all for sharing your experiences. I just didn’t want a bear to destroy all our food then have to spend a day in town replacing it. No guarantee that can’t happen but I will go with your collective experiences. If something happens I’ll see if Jaquomo will deliver groceries lol.
ahunter76- 6 weeks in a tent. You’re a mentally tough person.
Treeline- I know you also have a ton of experience in CO. Thanks for chiming in.
From: Grey Ghost
05-Jul-23
I'm usually more concerned about 2-legged predators than bears, when I'm away from camp. Fortunately, I've never had any problems with either.
Matt
From: Matt
05-Jul-23
We camp in a pretty out of the way spot in the Sierras every July 4th. We had no bear issues for ~25 years and then had bears in camp the last 2 years. Here in CA we have a growing bear population and are starting to see issues where we never had before. Might keep that in mind in other states that have similar dynamics
From: goelk
05-Jul-23
been doing the same for over 60 years and never a problem except humans stealing our tents and bags once a few years ago
From: Jaquomo
05-Jul-23
RonP we hung a stinky, sweaty, tshirt on the riverbank once to mark the start of a caribou blood trail. A bear tore that tshirt to shreds in the night.
KS, when I was wrecking out decommissioned telephone lines in the mountains between Kremmling and Steamboat Springs one summer, I lived in a 2 man dome tent for 11 weeks. We kept our food in coolers and tubs, and had no issues at all, besides managing the food storage and keeping it cool. I wrapped my down sleeping bag around my cooler during the day and it worked ok.
From: Darrell
05-Jul-23
We just make sure someone in camp has a bear tag. That seems to always insure none visit us. :)
From: Pop-r
06-Jul-23
I can't believe some with as much time in the woods haven't ever had a problem. Bears love beans! They'll bite right through the can and they can smell them through the can apparently. They'll leave everything else to get beans.
From: IdyllwildArcher
06-Jul-23
Lou and Paul X4. Same thing here. Only time I ever had a problem was a bear getting into a cooler with my dad's deer, but it was a "Birkenstock" campground.
I've had a ton of trips where I've brought stinky food like pepperonis and bacon and have had good luck burying food in a small cooler. Start by removing a large rock and you're 1/2 way there. Nonetheless, I've done fine with leaving my stuff.
I left a week's worth of food in the crack of an alpine boulder during a sheep hunt and picked it up a week later when I cycled back through, although it was all sealed from the manufacturer.
From: BULELK1
06-Jul-23
Over the many years, I've never had a problem.
Lucky I guess,
Robb
From: welka
06-Jul-23
Up in Alaska we have been at a camp where they use two strands of wire and a grounding wire with a zapper that uses D batteries. Amazing how big the shock is from a couple of D batteries. Just get enough to put around food or entire camp/tent area. Works great, not heavy to pack in and sleep easy!
From: elkmtngear
06-Jul-23
25 Years Truck/ Tent Camping all over the Rockies (most of it in CO), never an issue. All food is sealed and in vehicles (no food in the tent)! We clean up dishes/pots/pans if need be. Hopefully this Season is no different!
From: Mule Power
07-Jul-23
I’m with Elknut. In over 35 years of putting coolers underneath the overhang of the tent tarp I have never had a single problem.
From: FORESTBOWS
07-Jul-23
I have had bears in camp in Colorado. They can be very destructive. Use a bolt to keep your cooler lid from opening.
From: FORESTBOWS
07-Jul-23
From: FORESTBOWS
07-Jul-23
From: 320Bull
10-Jul-23
Had multiple issues 1 out of 25 plus years. We were within a couple miles of a camp ground. Yogi visited every camp within a few miles of the campground over a couple of weeks. It was costly the first time it happened. He ate pretty much all our food in two nights while we were away. The second time he came back we had our food in a large cooler with half dozen or so ratchet straps around it. No success for him just a mess to deal with. 3rd visit he just nosed around and left without much of an effort to gain access to the cooler. If you don't plan for it, you may, or may not regret it lol.
From: Rickm
10-Jul-23
We keep a clean camp but have had bears come in and sniff around a few times over the years. Either hang all garbage and food or use a bear safe cooler or both. Have had bear prints all over the truck on 2 occasions with food in a cooler and locked in the bed. No food, toothpaste, deodorant etc left in any tent that you don't want destroyed. It only takes returning to a shredded tent once!
From: Blever
07-Sep-23
I've faced a similar situation in Colorado. A solar electric fence charger is a smart move for keeping bears away from your base camp food. Also, ensure all food is stored in bear-resistant containers or hung up high in bear bags. And don't forget to clean up thoroughly after meals to eliminate any food odors that might attract them. I did that with my korean cheese corn dog, and it helped. Stay safe out there!
From: TurboT
07-Sep-23
We have used a crank style radio in grizzly country.
