Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:52:16 -0800
Reply-To: Oxroad <oxroad@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Oxroad <oxroad@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: camping amidst bears, safety question
In-Reply-To: <86627C3F-A3E3-4F07-B2DA-861EF7655324@sheilah.org>
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My wife insisted I was crazy about keeping the bus bear-proof. She even
slept with a candy bar in her sleeping bag one night. We sure miss her.
Just kidding. None of that is remotely true.
I've camped a fair amount in Yellowstone. I've heard bears nearby rummaging
but never closer than what sounded like, say 20 yards. I think
bear attacks are fairly rare in the scheme of things when compared to the
number of campers. But I think it should be taken seriously.
Bears are there. And if you cruise the internet you'll see pictures of cars
that have been broken into and torn apart by bears. And
those are not pop top cars--just regular old steel cars.
Having said that, most I have read about are cases where food has been left
"carelessly" in the car and the car was passenger free when breached.
Wasn't there a Vanagon Listee many years ago who went hiking and had his
vanagon "broken into" by bears for some M&Ms? (I don't have time to search
the archives right now.)
When it comes to bears I have two suggestions;
When I went on my first camping trip in my Westy I went to Stokes State
Forest in NJ. I was thrilled to cook up a breakfast of bacon and sausage.
The bus smelled of bacon for days. And at night the bus was COVERED with
raccoons. They would literally shake the bus from climbing on the bumpers
trying to get to the BACON smell. I don't blame them. Bacon is great. In
the end, the whole crime went unsolved because they were all wearing masks.
But the part about them shaking the bus at night is true. It was very
disconcerting and they were VERY persistent. They were not bears though
which
would have changed the playing field a bit.
Since then I cook the real smelly stuff outside of the bus on a small camp
stove I travel. I do use the inside kitchen for most cooking.
But if something has an odor that is going to stay with us I'll cook it
outside. It's less bear-y and more pleasant for the campers as well.
Two: Collect all your waste water especially from washing dishes. This may
be a requirement in many campsites. It is in Yellowstone as I recall.
The smell from residual food in the waste water in my opinion would/could
attract bears. Once contained, dump the gray water in the appropriate
drain or whatever they supply at the campsite and clean the container to
keep it odor free.
I use a container like the one somebody sells I think but I can't find where
right now. It is a collapsable/expandable plastic camping-style water jug
and a length of hose-- I made mine myself with a collapsible/expandable
water jug and attached to my bus by a 2-foot section of an old garden hose
that threads onto the drain outlet under the bus.
All in all I think err on the side of caution with storing food and keeping
away bear enticing odors-- but you don't need to go so far as to never leave
the house.
Oh, and I have Bear/Pepper Spray on board and usually handy when I sleep
just in case a bear or Tom Hanks shows up. Tom Hanks is a Union Buster.
Best,
Jeff
83.5 Westy
LA,CA
On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 7:42 AM, Sheilah Rogers <sheilah@sheilah.org> wrote:
> here i go with another "dumb" question, well actually, it's an admission of
> sorts.
>
> for all the camping i've done in my dear Vanna, i've somehow only gone to
> Yosemite once. for those who don't know, yosemite is famous for, among other
> things, having lots of curious and hungry bears.
>
> the one time i went, the ranger told us to stow our food in bear containers
> and to absolutely not leave any food in our tent or car.
>
> i looked at him flummoxed.
>
> regarding his safety precautions, i sleep "in a kitchen". one that gets
> cooked in. one that's presumably permeated by food smells, at least from the
> perspective of a bear's nose.
>
> so i put the food in the bear container. decided not to pop the top just in
> case the smells of dinner were particularly delightful.
>
> the next morning the ranger came by and asked us if we heard the bear
> rummaging next to the van. we had not.
>
> i thought about how i camp in more coastal areas, or in the desert, but
> usually not in the woods.
>
> so fellow van owners who camp in bear country and cook in their van, do you
> pop your top? do you sleep soundly without dreams of bears ripping through
> your canvas top?
>
> do you think about the smell of your kitchen?
>
> do you think it's impossible to separate the smell of food from where you
> sleep, assuming you like to sleep in the cozy of your delightful van bed?
>
> s.
>
