1world1love
SILVER Star
Pretty much any trailhead parking in the Sierras will be vulnerable to bears destroying your car. Many have storage lockers but some don’t.
Having said that, I think the problem is overstated sometimes. Anywhere in the national Parks, anywhere near major tourist areas, like anywhere around Tahoe or Gatlinburg, etc. clearly there are places that a bear would rip your door off just to get a single, three month old French fry from under your seat.
But reasonable precautions should suffice in most places. If there are bear lockers - use them without exception. If not, try to store any food in an airtight cooler out of sight. Remove any leftover food, wrappers, bags, etc.
Use common sense. If you are setting up camp and see paw prints or bear scat, consider your options and how you can prepare.
Hanging is fine but I have seen a black bear kamikaze from a branch 20ft up onto a hanging pack below. Unless there is a dedicated food pole I would not assume that this is always safe. It is better than nothing though.
And it goes without saying I hope, but never, under any circumstances should you allow food or scented items into your sleeping area. Even if there are no bears, there is almost no place on earth without rodents who will not hesitate to eat through your tent, Oz or otherwise.
Having said that, I think the problem is overstated sometimes. Anywhere in the national Parks, anywhere near major tourist areas, like anywhere around Tahoe or Gatlinburg, etc. clearly there are places that a bear would rip your door off just to get a single, three month old French fry from under your seat.
But reasonable precautions should suffice in most places. If there are bear lockers - use them without exception. If not, try to store any food in an airtight cooler out of sight. Remove any leftover food, wrappers, bags, etc.
Use common sense. If you are setting up camp and see paw prints or bear scat, consider your options and how you can prepare.
Hanging is fine but I have seen a black bear kamikaze from a branch 20ft up onto a hanging pack below. Unless there is a dedicated food pole I would not assume that this is always safe. It is better than nothing though.
And it goes without saying I hope, but never, under any circumstances should you allow food or scented items into your sleeping area. Even if there are no bears, there is almost no place on earth without rodents who will not hesitate to eat through your tent, Oz or otherwise.