By Michael Lanza
On our first night in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park on one of my earliest backpacking trips, two friends and I—all complete novices—hung our food from a tree branch near our camp. Unfortunately, the conifer trees around us all had short branches: Our food stuff sacks hung close to the trunk.
During the night, the predictable happened: We awoke to the sound of a black bear clawing up the tree after our food.
Despite our nervousness and incompetence, we somehow managed to shoo that black bear off, though not before he (or she) departed with a respectable haul from our food supply. But by virtue of having started out with way more food than we needed—another rookie mistake that, ironically, compensated for this more-serious rookie mistake (read my tips on not overpacking)—we made it through that hike without going hungry and ultimately had a wonderful adventure.
And we went home with a valuable lesson learned.
Hi, I’m Michael Lanza, creator of The Big Outside. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Join The Big Outside to get full access to all of my blog’s stories. Click here for my e-books to classic backpacking trips. Click here to learn how I can help you plan your next trip.
A black bear along the Sol Duc River Trail in Olympic National Park.
I’ve learned much more about storing food properly in the backcountry over the more than three decades since that early trip, including the 10 years I spent as the Northwest Editor of Backpacker magazine and even longer running this blog. This article shares what I’ve learned about protecting food from critters like bears and, more commonly, mice and other small animals and some birds like ravens.
Follow the tips below and you’ll not only save yourself and your party or family from going hungry, you might save a bear from developing a habit of seeing humans as sources of food, which too often leads to a bad outcome for that animal.
If you have any questions or tips of your own to share, please do so in the comments section at the bottom of this story. I try to respond to all comments.
Backpackers admiring a big bear poop in Glacier National Park.
Storing food properly when backpacking or anytime you’re in the backcountry is critical for several good reasons:
Follow the guidelines below for storing food when in the backcountry.
Food lockers in the backcountry camp at Floe Lake on the Rockwall Trail in Canada’s Kootenay National Park.
In many U.S. national parks—including parks inhabited by grizzly bears, like Glacier and Yellowstone, and parks with only black bears, like Yosemite, Mount Rainier, and others—as well as in parks in the Canadian Rockies and elsewhere with large bear populations, some to most or even all backcountry camping is in assigned campgrounds that have poles or cables for hanging your food (bring stuff sacks) or metal lockers for storing food. Other parks, like Grand Teton, require bear canisters. On public lands with fewer regulations, management agencies often still recommend the use of any of a few common and widely accepted methods of protecting food from animals.
Whether in a place with grizzly or black bears, do not bring any food or items that smell of food (example: a shirt you spilled food onto) into your tent. Put any odorous items—including toothpaste, sunblock, ointment, etc.—with your stored food.
Jeff Wilhelm backpacking a narrow section of the Tapeats Creek Trail in the Grand Canyon. Click photo to see “8 Epic Grand Canyon Backpacking Trips You Must Do.”
Wondering whether to hike solo in bear country? Read my tips about that.
See a menu of all stories about backcountry skills at The Big Outside.
On our first night in the backcountry of Yosemite National Park on one of my earliest backpacking trips, two friends and I—all complete novices—hung our food from a tree branch near our camp. Unfortunately, the conifer trees around us all had short branches: Our food stuff sacks hung close to the trunk.
During the night, the predictable happened: We awoke to the sound of a black bear clawing up the tree after our food.
Despite our nervousness and incompetence, we somehow managed to shoo that black bear off, though not before he (or she) departed with a respectable haul from our food supply. But by virtue of having started out with way more food than we needed—another rookie mistake that, ironically, compensated for this more-serious rookie mistake (read my tips on not overpacking)—we made it through that hike without going hungry and ultimately had a wonderful adventure.
And we went home with a valuable lesson learned.
A black bear along the Sol Duc River Trail in Olympic National Park.
I’ve learned much more about storing food properly in the backcountry over the more than three decades since that early trip, including the 10 years I spent as the Northwest Editor of Backpacker magazine and even longer running this blog. This article shares what I’ve learned about protecting food from critters like bears and, more commonly, mice and other small animals and some birds like ravens.
Follow the tips below and you’ll not only save yourself and your party or family from going hungry, you might save a bear from developing a habit of seeing humans as sources of food, which too often leads to a bad outcome for that animal.
If you have any questions or tips of your own to share, please do so in the comments section at the bottom of this story. I try to respond to all comments.
Like what you’re reading? Sign up now for my FREE email newsletter!
Backpackers admiring a big bear poop in Glacier National Park.
Storing food properly when backpacking or anytime you’re in the backcountry is critical for several good reasons:
- Failing to do so risks losing some or all of your food to animals or having your food contaminated by animals that can transmit diseases, like mice, imperiling your trip and group.
- Public lands-management agencies often require proper food storage in the backcountry. In many national parks, you will receive instructions on storing food when picking up a backcountry permit.
- Improper food storage places you and your companions at risk of physical harm from large, potentially aggressive animals like bears—or at the least, a penalty or fine.
- Bears and other animals that become habituated to human food can become a nuisance, returning again and again to popular backcountry camping areas, threatening other people. Tragically, those bears may ultimately be destroyed by the management agency.
Follow the guidelines below for storing food when in the backcountry.
Read all of this story and ALL stories at The Big Outside,
plus get a FREE e-book! Join now!
plus get a FREE e-book! Join now!
Know the Rules About Food Storage
Food lockers in the backcountry camp at Floe Lake on the Rockwall Trail in Canada’s Kootenay National Park.
In many U.S. national parks—including parks inhabited by grizzly bears, like Glacier and Yellowstone, and parks with only black bears, like Yosemite, Mount Rainier, and others—as well as in parks in the Canadian Rockies and elsewhere with large bear populations, some to most or even all backcountry camping is in assigned campgrounds that have poles or cables for hanging your food (bring stuff sacks) or metal lockers for storing food. Other parks, like Grand Teton, require bear canisters. On public lands with fewer regulations, management agencies often still recommend the use of any of a few common and widely accepted methods of protecting food from animals.
Keep Food Out of Your Tent
Whether in a place with grizzly or black bears, do not bring any food or items that smell of food (example: a shirt you spilled food onto) into your tent. Put any odorous items—including toothpaste, sunblock, ointment, etc.—with your stored food.
Plan your next great backpacking trip on the Teton Crest Trail, Wonderland Trail,
in Yosemite or other parks using my expert e-books.
in Yosemite or other parks using my expert e-books.
Jeff Wilhelm backpacking a narrow section of the Tapeats Creek Trail in the Grand Canyon. Click photo to see “8 Epic Grand Canyon Backpacking Trips You Must Do.”
Wondering whether to hike solo in bear country? Read my tips about that.
See a menu of all stories about backcountry skills at The Big Outside.
Let The Big Outside help you find the best adventures.
Join now for full access to ALL stories and get a free e-book!
Join now for full access to ALL stories and get a free e-book!