Odd Questions

[CheesyRider]

Okay so a weird question(s)

1.) Okay I know that if you are in bear country, I know that you are supposed to hang your food. What about in non-bear country? Do you have to worry about chipmunks and other varmits gnawing through your luggage?

2.) When you wash the cooking pots and plates (etc) do you do it by your campsite- or does this habit tend to attrach pests to the food bits that you wash onto the ground??
Thanks
Todd

[JohnDelivers]

Answer to both questions is YES.
Our son had a bag chewed into and ruined by raccoons when two-up camping with no hard sided cooler. And food scraps laying around is sure to attract critters.

[Ironheadziggy76]

One of the funniest things I've seen was a friend of mine chasing down a squirrel that had stolen a bag of chips. This little guy had managed to drag one of the full bags out of the old large "twin pack" style Lays chips bags. Little Rocky finally dropped before trying to climb a tree at full steam! :lol

[guymoto]

Yep. I tend to try to hang all food and keep food scraps as far away from camp as I can. I have had a few expensive bags chewed thru due to raccoons.

[kayakinbiker]

Well that reminds me of what NOT to do! Not putting any food stuffs in my saddlebags............

[Mr. Guy]

Keep in mind that your bags will pickup the food smells too. So even if there's no food in the bag, if it smells like food to them, they'll chew through your bags looking for the food. So, I usually hang up my saddle bags, where I keep the food, or put them in the bear lockers a lot of campgrounds are using these days. Even if there's no food for them to eat, I don't want chewed up bags.

Or maybe a shot of chain lube on the bag would cover food smells. Hmmm. Maybe.

Guy

[CheesyRider]

How about stuff like salt and/or pepper?? And cooking gear all up a tree??

[CheesyRider]

By the way Linda... Critters LOVE dog food. Be keepin that out of their reach too ....

BTW if one is ever stranded on a deserted island dog food will provide all the protein, minerals, fibers, etc that you need. Really is a complete food for us humans!! Trivia of the day

[kayakinbiker]

By the way Linda... Critters LOVE dog food. Be keepin that out of their reach too ....

Huh! I used to love dog food!! Woof woof GGRR!!!

Yep I figured that 1 out long ago...specially those beefy smelling treats....will be putting her food in those bear containers...

I even thought I would have to BYOBC...bring your own bear container, til I read somewhere they are provided..but I guess I should bring a small bear bag in case some places don't have them also extra rope...

[VFR]

BTW if one is ever stranded on a deserted island dog food will provide all the protein, minerals, fibers, etc that you need. Really is a complete food for us humans!! Trivia of the day



Ahhh, yes, remember the old Alpo meat loaf?? Yummmmm.....P^ :D

[dan1551]

I have worked in many food processing plants and the cleanest of them all was..................A Dog food plant!

[kayakinbiker]

Linda,
Inquiring minds would like to know ...
Packin the pooch and all, where do you intend to pack all the stuff you'll be carrying with you on a trip of this magnitude?
It would be understandable if you maybe had a large touring bike, or a sidecar, or if you intended to motel it along the way, insted of camp.

Could you tell us how you'll be carrying your cargo on your bike for your long distance trip, as you'll be, with Georgia, sorta like riding two up, on a somewhat small cruiser style bike, and to compound that, be carrying camping equipment, vittles, dog chow, and hopfully, a camera ...

G wizz

Wish I DID have a sidecar or trailer but I don`t...you`d be surprised at how well I can pack!... I will not be bringing my small grill.. G will take the place of that! HAHA!! Less clothes.. who needs em anyway..HAHA!! clothes rolled into sleeping bag and stuffed in a bag with sleeping pad, pillow and 1 jacket...

My tent,and kermit chair in 1 bag to be placed under her Tbag carrier..her carrier will have a waterproof cover on it...comfy shoes in 1 saddlebag and her food in a waterproof bag maybe on the rear carrier..big huge tarp wrapped under bungies..1st aid kits,toileties in a bag...drysuit and rainsuit in a saddlebag with her PFD...basically as I set it up the day before, I will know how it all comes together...not to worry..

BTW I will not be packing a kayak or paddle or PFD.. that is being provided when I get out to my paddling destination..I will be leaving my bike at a forum member`s home while paddling...also, I have been seriously looking at a folding inflatable kayak you can carry on a bike, no towing required......another trip perhaps...

Alot of eating out likely......I realized quickly that it takes time away from getting on the road when ya cook b`fast at camp...coffee maybe at camp though we will see.. depends on whether I am solo or not also.. 1 of those wind up weather radios might be a good idea....

[DILLIGAF61]

I have worked in many food processing plants and the cleanest of them all was..................A Dog food plant!

cleanest food warehouse I have ever been in easley by far above any other place other than an ice cream plant........Keebler those elves are absolutely anal about cleanliness among the worst.. Nabisco.....guess who's crackers I eat

[kayakinbiker]

Might I suggest mailing to your friends place out there, where you'll be kayaking ... the things you won't need till you get there.
Why pack stuff if you don't need it for the trip? ... :confused:

The only thing I won`t need for riding and camping is my drysuit and booties and they can ride in a saddlebag with my comfy shoes and useless rainsuit..BTW I hate that rainsuit! My thin drytop for kayaking kept me drier than that thing! And once ya get wet, that`s when ya run into hypothermia probs! Half of us got mild hypothermia on a long distance ride in Maine once due to being wet while riding...I will put my thin kayak drytop under my rainsuit when I need to.....keep the core warm and dry and you are set!

[Aldawg]

To the OP, try this place. http://www.ursack.com/ They have bear bags, but they also have critter bags. The nice thing is they pack small. P^ This is a good subject, and is taken more seriously out west and in Canada.

[kdf9511]

Sometimes you don't even think about things like this. Just a couple of weeks ago I was camping with the Kiddos at Colorado Bend state park in Texas and was rudely reminded about wildlife.

The kids had crashed out in bed and I was sitting there enjoying a nice adult beverage while reading a bit by the light of ye olde Coleman lantern and herd a noise over by the truck witch had the tailgate down and the topper open. I shined the flashlight over there and started to get up to investagate just as I saw a big ole racoon jump out of the back of the truck with a bag of hot dog buns in his mouth. He took off into the brush like a shot with them. We wandered into the brush a bit the next morning hoping to at least find the wraper so it could be thrown away but never found it. We did find where he has done this before as there was a nice little hollow under a scrub bush were there were a few empty torn open raman and cookie packages, witch we naturaly disposed of.

[BELOWaverageBOB]

Keep in mind that your bags will pickup the food smells too. So even if there's no food in the bag, if it smells like food to them, they'll chew through your bags looking for the food. So, I usually hang up my saddle bags, where I keep the food, or put them in the bear lockers a lot of campgrounds are using these days. Even if there's no food for them to eat, I don't want chewed up bags.

Or maybe a shot of chain lube on the bag would cover food smells. Hmmm. Maybe.

Guy

I would think them chewing through chain lube covered bags would be kinda not good for them.....

How about Cayenne pepper covered bags?

[SidecarMike]

I would think them chewing through chain lube covered bags would be kinda not good for them.....

How about Cayenne pepper covered bags?

We camped at Wisconsin Dells about ten years ago. The food was properly secured, with the exception of Tupperware salt and pepper shakers with twist caps on the picnic table. The next morning something had bitten the containers in half, then licked out the pepper but left the salt scattered all over the table.

[DILLIGAF61]

We camped at Wisconsin Dells about ten years ago. The food was properly secured, with the exception of Tupperware salt and pepper shakers with twist caps on the picnic table. The next morning something had bitten the containers in half, then licked out the pepper but left the salt scattered all over the table.

unusual hmmm well one thing is positive you were not visited by a porcupine that nite... they will chew a shovel handle for the salt

maybe a large racoon whose Dr. told him to eat less salt??

[Ironheadziggy76]

I would think them chewing through chain lube covered bags would be kinda not good for them.....

How about Cayenne pepper covered bags?

I have read that bears actually like the taste of the bear spray, just not the effects of it when sprayed at them. The story was about a Canadian who built a new outhouse and sprayed it with bear spray to keep the bears away. It actually attracted them and they chewed on it for days! :lol

[Indianscout]

I have read that bears actually like the taste of the bear spray, just not the effects of it when sprayed at them. The story was about a Canadian who built a new outhouse and sprayed it with bear spray to keep the bears away. It actually attracted them and they chewed on it for days! :lol


I recently read where as bear spray used properly (sprayed directly at the bear) works great but if you spray it on something as a repellant, over a very short time it breaks down and actually becomes an attractant.

[SidecarMike]

unusual hmmm well one thing is positive you were not visited by a porcupine that nite... they will chew a shovel handle for the salt

maybe a large racoon whose Dr. told him to eat less salt??
:) Perhaps. We found the same to be true of deer. When I was a kid my father would bore one inch holes into a freshly cut tree stump and fill them with rock salt. He would then pour water into the holes to dissolve the salt.
Inside of a week, the deer would have it dug out and gnawed into sawdust.