Food Storage and Wildlife: Bear Bins

There's multiple ways to stash your food while backpacking. In this blog post I go over the when and how to use a bear bin, different styles, and their benefits over other methods.

Overlooking the Core Zone in The Enchantments, coming down from Little Annapurna.

Mountain Goats were more of a concern here, but we still used our bear bins for our 5 day trip.

If you've never been camping/backpacking before, or perhaps you have but in areas where wildlife (particularly bears) aren't an issue, then this may be completely new to you. Whether you're backpacking in the wilderness or car camping in a full service campground, you need to manage your food in a safe and responsible way. In a campground this will look like storing it in bear caches or in your car, but in bear country, they might just open or rip off your car door to get at those tasty snacks. So if there's a bear cache available, I suggest you use it.

Proper food storage prevents attracting wildlife, big and small. Depending on where you’re hiking will determine what method(s) you utilize. Some parks within bear areas will have food caches or food hangs set up for you to use, but if they do not then you will need to either use bear canisters or set up food hangs.

Why choose bear bins over bear hangs?

First and foremost, where you're going might not have trees! Whether it's an alpine zone above the tree line, a desert landscape or simply an open field where the trees have been cut down, if you plan on securing your food with a bear hang but find there to be no trees when you get there... you're kind of screwed, right?

Secondly, bears can rip down bear hangs! Maybe you didn't hang it quite right, maybe they climbed the tree and broke the branch it was on, or maybe it got smart and found the other end of the line that you used to pull your food up. Doesn't matter how they do it, the results are the same.

Third, it doesn't just keep out bears - it keeps out those pesky little critters, too. Mice can be such a nuisance in the backcountry. Even if you're staying in a shelter, don't mistake the secure building for safety from those little guys - they'll get in and take advantage of how you've let your guard down. I remember one night while doing the Bowron Circuit when my group had to sleep in the shelter because one of our team had capsized and all our gear got soaked. I barely slept that night because I was constantly up securing 20 other people's food bags up off the ground as I heard mice eating through it all, all night long.

Choosing a bear bin

There are a few different bear bins available, and knowing the regulations of where you're going is important when choosing which one to get, because some parks (such as the Adirondacks High Peaks Wilderness) require or recommend specific bins.

I use BearVaults which conveniently comes in multiple different sizes. However, bears in the Adirondacks seem to have figured out how to open or chew through the bottom of BearVaults. For this reason, different bins are required in the Adirondacks. The Adirondack Mountain Club and Cascade Welcome Center rents and sells approved bear bins, and some other parks do as well, so if you don't hike often in areas that require bear bins, renting might be a good alternative for you.

Packing your Bear Bin

Figuring out how to pack your bear bin can take some time, and honestly, it'll probably change every time. Personally, I put my big items in first and squish them in as best as possible, then fill the gaps with smaller items like snacks, electrolyte packets, my spork, tea bags, spices, toiletries, and anything else I can cram in there. I'll cram my pillow and clean socks in there too if there's room!  I typically keep the first day's meals and snacks out of the bin to make room to stuff other things in there. A great tip is to re-package your food into re-usable containers such as silicone Stasher bags so you can get all the excess air out. Think of a bag of chips with 70% of the packaging being air. You don't want all that space being taken up by air, so re-package it into something you can take the air out of.

Remember that you're going to need room in there for your garbage, but that's not usually an issue because room will be made as you take out and eat food. If you're in an area without outhouses and where you can't dig catholes, you're also going to have to pack out your (human) waste. Be sure to have room for your WAG bag(s) in there, and consider bringing extra ziplocks and smell proof bags for... extra security.

When packing your bin into your backpack, keep it as close to your back as possible. Some people remove the brains of their packs and strap their bin there. I put mine inside my backpack, at the top-center of the pack, and right against my back. I stuff clothing and other smaller items around the sides and front of the pack to hold it in place. This keeps the weight close to my center of gravity and puts less burden on my back than if it were placed elsewhere.

Stashing your bear bin

When putting your bin away for the night, make sure to keep it at least 150 feet away from both your tent and cooking area, creating a triangle - see image below for reference.

Don't hang the bin, stash it in a tree or by a ledge where it could be knocked off. They are not designed to withstand drops/falls.

Also try to store them in an open area with soft ground like grass or sand. Stashing them on or near rocks could result in them bursting if a bear were to sit on them on top of a hard surface.

Some extra tips and reminders:

• Keep food sealed and at least 100 yards away from tents.

• Store scented items (like toothpaste) with your food, as well as garbage

• For an extra layer of security, put food, scented items and trash in smell proof bags before putting them in the bear bin

• Be aware of small animals: mice can run along ropes, so bear hangs might not keep your food safe from them. I personally have always used bear bins for this reason, it keeps all animals out. Even in shelters, mice can be a problem

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee is a great resource for finding approved products and other bear safety information.

Photo courtesy of Adirondack Mountain Club