counterbalancing works great on those smooth, barkless, knotless,
carbonfiber branches
but its a pain in the ass on a real tree
however, it does seem to be a necessary evil
just be ready to do some climbing and a lot of cursing
when i find a better alternative ill sell it to each of you!
cory
84 westy
N. Bridgton, ME

---- Original Message -----
From: "Emmet McGovern" <webmaster@BEACHIN.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 11:06 PM
Subject: Re: bears and westys

> Most national parks actually DO suggest you hang food.  Yosemite is hot
> tourist spot and has better facilities than most national parks.  I spent
13
> month back country across the country and have stayed in alot of national
> forests for up to 3 months at a time.  Food lockers are a great thing, but
> not all spaces or trail heads will have them.  In tourist areas is where
you
> see them most, so it really depends on where you are headed.  Plan for no
> food locker to be safe.  The biggest mistake alot of long tearm campers
make
> is using their cars as a supply depot.  I usually made sure to check in
with
> the park service every 2 weeks and bear stories from the rangers made good
> small talk.  Heres a decent link for camping in bear country
> http://www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/visit/brochures/bears/ and
> http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/bearhang.htm for a simple hanging method.  One
thing
> this guide overlooks is your personal clothes.  The clothes you cook in
> smell like the food you cooked, so plan on properly storing those outside
of
> your vehicle as well.  Never ever cook inside your van, and clean those
> cabinets, stove and fridge up really well before you go.  All this info
will
> prepare you for the worst of situations.  Living with bears is pretty
simple
> and safe if your smart.  Now living with moose is another story for
another
> time :)
>
> Emmet
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Matthew Pollard [mailto:poll7356@UIDAHO.EDU]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 18, 2001 5:42 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: bears and westys
>
>
> I've never had problems while camping in my bus in bear country.  Just be
> sure to keep the food in a bear locker when possible.   Hanging? No way.
> I've seen full sized black bears climb 30' up, 15' out and chew through a
> fat rope, and eventually destroy my food.  In most national parks they say
> not to hang your food either.  I'm careful to keep the food in a box or
> quickly removable container so i can slip them into the food locker.  Also
> watch out for things like your chapstick and candy wrappers.  When a
> locker is not available, just be wise. Don't wash your dishes anywhere
> near your rig, throw out all trash, and keep all coolers covered. THey
> know what coolers look like. You may want to invest in bear spray
> (hot peper spray)- but bear spray is ILLEGAL in Canada. Silly canadians.
>
> knock on wood... but i've NEVER seen a VW bus (old or new) get broken into
> by a bear (and i lived for two summers in yosemite valley).
>
> Cheers!
> m
>
> Matthew Pollard          "Racing with the wind and flirting with death
> Dept. Of Chemistry        So have a cup of coffee and catch your breath"
> University of Idaho
> www.uidaho.edu/~poll7356
>
>
>
> On Wed, 18 Jul 2001, Bill Kasper wrote:
>
> > on 7/18/01 1:40 PM, Emmet McGovern at webmaster@beachin.net wrote:
> >
> > > Dont store anything food related in your van.  Wash all your dishes
away
> > > from your site. Haul your food and garbage up in a tree with a rope at
> night
> > > away from your site.  Ive been camping in the grand tetons where bears
> where
> > > breaking into backcounry campers cars in the middle of the night for
> food
> > > stored in a tighly lidded cooler.  Good luck
> >
> >
> > so, rather than have any food in the cupboards, put it in a plastic tub
> with
> > a lid, tape it shut, and hang it?
> >
> > what about any grime on the stove?  do they come after that?  do we have
> to
> > keep martha stewart clean while travelling in bear country?
> >
> > thanks emmet.
> >
> > bill
> > '87 syncro westfalia
> > http://www.scruznet.com/~kasper/pics/westy/
> >
>