Bear Hang using a 3:1 pulley system

[Eric Billard]

Hey guys,

On long trips where I tend to bring a whole lot of food , I usually set up a 3:1 pulleys system for all my bear hangs. Makes things super easy and allows me to put a whole lot of food up in the tree on my own with minimal effort, up out of reach of scavenging black bears. Making sure to use a sturdy branch.

Here's a link to my video on how to set up a 3:1 pulley system for a bear hang.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_kb6UrplyU

Let me know what you guys think, this was one of the very first videos I put together, pace is a little fast.

On another note, does anyone have to deal with any other pests looking to steal your food, other than bears, let me know.

- Cheers

 

[yknpdlr]

I believe this is essentially the same as the Marrison bear bag haul system from Rick Curtis's Backpacker's Field Manual.
https://www.princeton.edu/~oa/training/bearbag.html

I've been using this system for years, especially when Boy Scouts bring an excessive weight to hoist. Except I don't usually bring an actual pulley wheel. A smooth caribiner by itself suffices as the rope glides through almost as easily. A disadvantage of this method is that at one point in the beginning you will have 4 lengths of rope from hand to branch. Be sure the rope you begin with is long enough and that you reach up to tie the upper biner as high as possible. I find 75 feet to be usually sufficient for branches that are high enough to be out of reach, yet low enough to easily throw over. (when evaluating guides undergoing their certification evaluation , I have seen all matter of weights thrown and missed going over or stuck, sometimes taking an hour or more to get it right and becoming quite the humorous event).

 

[Bothwell Voyageur]

Nice high hang but too close to the trunk and a branch that thick would easily allow an educated bear to climb out to chew through the rope. Plus taking both ropes down to the same tree makes it easier for a savvy bear to bring the whole thing down.

I have occasionally used a high rope between two trees to get a better hang

I've given up hanging except when backpacking in national parks out west our trees in manitoba are rarely suitable and the bears are not that much of an issue.

You could always get a portable electric fence if you are that worried

 

[Canotrouge]

Nice high hang but too close to the trunk and a branch that thick would easily allow an educated bear to climb out to chew through the rope. Plus taking both ropes down to the same tree makes it easier for a savvy bear to bring the whole thing down.

I have occasionally used a high rope between two trees to get a better hang

I've given up hanging except when backpacking in national parks out west our trees in manitoba are rarely suitable and the bears are not that much of an issue.

You could always get a portable electric fence if you are that worried

I agree 100 percent!! We leave in big bear country and we stoped hanging a long time ago, plus 90 percent of the time it's impossible to find proper trees to hang from up here!! we will do the 100m triangle rule most every time and so far so good. Electric fence are getting really popular up here and work great! I'm considering one for when we are hunting....

 

[memaquay]

Ya, I never hang anything, when group camping, we will triangulate.

 

[sweeper]

Never hang, put all the pots and pans on top of the food barrel just outside of camp

 

[Guest]

spent endless hrs in the past trying to throw ropes around branches and will never do it again. now I use a dubble smell blocked bearsack or bear container.

 

[yknpdlr]

I have heard that a momma bear will send a cub up a tree to get to branches that are too flimsy to support her. And I know that Adirondack bears (and probably others elsewhere) have learned that a rope (especially a white one) means instant food with one swipe of a paw. If you camp in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks you are required by law to use commercially built hard side certified bear resistant canisters, and the NYSDEC is thinking about making it mandatory elsewhere in bear country. A rope hang does not count. Many national parks have this requirement as well.

 

[Alan Gage]

I just keep the food in the tent with me so Sadie and I have a chance to fight for it if someone shows up in the middle of the night sniffing around. We ain't dead yet.

Alan

 

[PaddlingPitt]

When Kathleen and I were backpackers in British Columbia we hung food. Lots of trees, and not all that much food.

We took up canoeing, and in 1993 paddled the Thelon River, out on the tundra. No suitable trees to hang food. We started placing our food, cooking area and tent in widely separated areas. Didn't know until this topic that the method had a formal name (Tringular Camping).

I just read an article that recommended that campers should have separate clothes for cooking and sleeping. That seems a bit to paranoid for my liking. If Alan can sleep with his food, I can take my cooking clothes into the tent. I generally place them right near my .308 rifle and the bear spray.

We ain't dead yet.

 

[Canotrouge]

I shouldn't say that we never hang our food while camping, usually once a year for a few days we do!!

 

[Iskweo]

I dont hang food either. I dont do the whole 100 yards away thing either. I keep mine close, use pots on top for early warning, and often tie it to a tree. This gives me a chance to stoke up the 12 ga if I am so inclined or just yell with my flashlight. I am more worried about mice and raccoons to be honest.

You are much better to spend the time wasted hanging food to keep your campsite clean and free from food scraps. Wash up pots right away. Dont leave food out. I use barrels as they reduce the odours and are at least a barrier to smaller critters.

I also often toss the scraps ( not leftovers, we never have those) in the river and let them sink away. Every couple of days I have a rip roaring LITTLE fire and incinerate garbage. The rest goes in the barrel too.
The only thing that is 100 yards away from camp is the latrine.

Christy

 

[yknpdlr]

My team entered the first running of the Yukon River 1000 mile race in 2009. That first year the organizers required 20kg (44 pounds!) of food per person to be put into the boat at the start of the race. They figured the fastest boats would be done in about a week, the slower ones might take 2 weeks, plus a third week for emergencies. It would be weighed for compliance at the beginning of the race. Plus, it all had to be put into certified bear resistant containers, since there are few to no trees available or suitable for hanging along the river. Well, i was paddling in a voyageur canoe with a total of 7 crew (do the food math). Even though I had originally planned to home dehydrate only enough main meals for everyone (breakfasts and dinners) for our expectation of 10 days (including a couple of days buffer) on the river, I had to increase the amount to make the weight requirement. I was not allowed to include the weight of water to make the dehydrated packages edible. The only way to fit it in the canoe and protect all that volume of food was to buy a 120L Yeti cooler, which when locked is certified as bear resistant. Crossing the finish line after just 6 days, we only ate 1/4 of the weight of food and no one went hungry.

The next time we raced the 1000 was in 2011, and that ridiculous food weight requirement was thankfully dropped so we used bear vault canisters instead with just 10 days of food in the boat. Although the race rules still required bear resistant canisters. the only place canisters are really required by law is when paddling through the 160 miles of the Yukon-Charlie National Preserve. Turns out that our timing on the day we paddled that section was such that we traversed the entire Y-C in a single day and would not have legally needed the canisters.

 

[Cruiser]

I use a 3:1 pulley system .... but finding branches to take the weight mentioned can be a pita ... and often your packs don't end up in a good position relative to the tree. Also, trying to get a regular rope tossed into the tree is just a bad idea that can cause a lot of work and potentially a snagged rope.

Not every area has the same threats to your food .... mice/squirrels/chipmunks/raccoons can also create havoc with food.

I use the same idea, but with 2 ropes, a hank of 7/64th amsteel, which gets suspended between 2 tress, and a hank of 5/16th marine rope threaded through the pulleys. I use a 75' piece of 1.7 mm Zing-It with a throw bag, to get the amsteel suspended between the trees. This rig is usually used to suspend the whole groups food, so is worth the little extra effort.

 

[recped]

I paddle in Labrador, Quebec, Ontario & Manitoba, gave up hanging food over 30 years ago after just a few back country trips. My 51 day trip this past summer was in an area where I'd have been hard pressed to find any suitable trees to hang from and for the last few weeks of the trip camped next to fresh poop and tracks most nights. There were plenty of black bears around but I never saw one except when I stopped at a fishing lodge (occupied) who had bears in their dump every day.

I currently use a 9' x 9' shelter, I bring all my gear inside and unless the bugs or winds are really bad I'm sleeping in the shelter as well. For sure I'm more worried about a moose tromping through my camp than bears.

On the other hand, the rare time I'm paddling in a busy park like Killarney or Algonquin I at least make the effort to keep the food outside overnight but it's rarely more than 10 metres from my tent or shelter.

Polar bear country is a whole different thing but there are never appropriate trees so hanging would be out of the question.

 

[Guest]

Yes, I depends on where you camp and what kind of animals. I camp in the adks and red squirrels, chipmunks, and racoons are the biggest problem. never had a bear problem, but I still use a canister of bearsack. The bears there have been called Einstein bears or acrobat bears for there ability to get bear bags. they even tried stringing cables at popular camping spots to throw your rope over-didn't work. As I said, I double or triple bag my food to stop smells. I also use a dull color bag for my bag or container so it's not so visible.

 

[hidden_lo]

mice, squirrels, and raccoons are by far the biggest threat to your food and gear. On Saranac lake last spring i watched a squirrel attempt to unzip my soft side cooler. he grabbed the zipper and swung his body back and forth with me only feet away...was very funny.

 

[PaddlingPitt]

The Virginia Falls campground on the South Nahanni River in the NWT provides elevated bear caches for people to store their food. This did not help at all against the Ravens, who seemed to appreciate having everyone's food arranged in one nice, big neat pile.

 

[Guest]

that elevated platform reminds my of a bear at an adk boy scout camp that climbed a metal sided out house to get at food on top. His claws poked holes in the metal as he went up! This platform sure wouldn't work for him.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I used to use the Marison Bear Hang system ( with carabiners) too in Algonquin and Temagami

Then had to switch to another strategy in black spruce country like Wabakimi where the spruce do hot have sturdy branches.

And in the subarctic willows are the trees.. You can't hang from a willow. Gravel bar camping.. no trees..Beaches. no trees.

Eventually just quit hanging because hanging does nothing to prevent raiding by squirrels ( red) which are the main problem for me.

Food caches like the laddered platform above are commonly found in the Yukon from what we saw..

If there is a metal locker at a campsite,we use it.. Bowron Lakes has them as well as some sites in Pukaskwa and undoubtedly many other places even frontcountry campgrounds ( Yellowstone Glacier) But the metal locker does nothing to deter mice.. I lost 3 liters of fine box wine to mice as we stored the box of wine in the bear locker and the locker did have gaps.. The food in a barrel also in the locker was fine.