Stealth Overlanding (1 Viewer)

[1world1love]

It's not just coolers. They know what Doritos bags look like too. Really any common food packaging should be hidden from sight.

Fortunately, there are really only a few locations where the bears are fearless enough to break into a car. Unfortunately, most of the parking areas in the Sierras are included in that list.

 

[linuxgod]

As I read the first comment, I was like "damn bears are smart, gonna know what a cooler is" and there it is.

Bring a blanket and every overlander is also a magician

 

[linuxgod]

It's not just coolers. They know what Doritos bags look like too. Really any common food packaging should be hidden from sight.

Fortunately, there are really only a few locations where the bears are fearless enough to break into a car. Unfortunately, most of the parking areas in the Sierras are included in that list.

Yeah I said coolers but really hide any food

I've heard stories from the rangers about bears opening vehicles. Minivans with automatic doors are apparently the most common, as people forget to lock and the bears learn that touching the handle opens the buffet.

The best (worst) I heard was the bear that learned if he climbed on the roof and jumped the doors of a vehicle would pop open as the frame flexed. At that point anyone sleeping in the vehicle would resemble a very large burrito

 

[Sandroad]

Yeah I said coolers but really hide any food

I've heard stories from the rangers about bears opening vehicles. Minivans with automatic doors are apparently the most common, as people forget to lock and the bears learn that touching the handle opens the buffet.

The best (worst) I heard was the bear that learned if he climbed on the roof and jumped the doors of a vehicle would pop open as the frame flexed. At that point anyone sleeping in the vehicle would resemble a very large burrito

ROFL. That is so funny I couldn't catch my breath laughing. Can you imagine waking up at 2:00A inside the vehicle to that?

 

[1world1love]

I posted this before but seems appropriate for this digression:

 

[JayLo]

I agree with the earlier posters about sleeping in the car and getting a cooler. If you are hitting hotels on the way too this is basically a road trip. Your stock LC will be fine hitting a few (actually several) unpaved forest service roads. I see Ford Fiestas way up trails...they are always purple for some reason. And total s**tboxes make it up to ski resorts in the snow. So don't overthink it.

Unless you are spending multiple nights off-grid, a good cooler with ice goes a long way. I have a fridge on the wish list, but I do long camping trips with the wife and three kids with ice in a cooler. A simple coleman stove and mini propane bottles work great. Home depot sells some really nice 4 ft folding tables that pack up great. They have folding chairs too.

A decent battery jump pack is nice. Also cool to have if you come across someone else to help them out.

Lighting is a complete luxury, I wouldn't bother unless you plan on doing some sort of late night recovery work or exploration. Get an LED lamp for your campsite.

For luggage bring a couple duffel bags. Milk crates are great for packing hard stuff like camp gear. My recovery gear (if not overhead on rack) goes in a milk crate.

We did the Magruder Corridor last year and a stock LC could easily make it. Granted if you went up to the fire lookouts that is a different story, but that doesn't seem like the goal. Oh...one of those eggs for the top of the car would be great for packing most of everything you need and the come off in like 5 minutes. Easy.

 

[stonepa]

USFS and campground hosts recommend covering any cooler and/or food you leave in your vehicle with a blanket. Apparently some bears who get familiar with human food storage know what a cooler looks like and will rip your vehicle door off or smash your window to get to it. Covering the cooler is like playing peekaboo, so bears apparently have brains like an infant. (Ditto BTW if you have a hard sided camper - it's generally considered fine to keep food in it so long as you cannot see the food through a window.

Buy a Yeti cooler and keep it outside of the vehicle when parked and away from camp in bear territory. Bears can smell food even if you hide the cooler but, even if outside of the vehicle, they can't get into the cooler (a YETI that is). If you worry about it getting stolen just lock the cooler. Key thing is to keep your vehicle from being damaged. Storing food (and garbage, smell toiletries, etc) away from the vehicle will help.