Protect your grub from bears!

Today I took a walk down to the local woods and taught myself to tie a bear bag. I believe the method I was learning is the PCT method, so named as it is widely utilized by Pacific Crest Trail hikers. It now seems the favored option for anyone hiking through bear country. The technique was surprisingly quick to pick up, and the only extra piece of equipment you need on top of your gear list is a karabiner, 50-ish foot length of paracord, and a stick about an inch or so thick and 12 inches long.

So this is how I did it..

I first selected a suitable branch. Ideally the bag wants to hang at least 10ft in the air and 4ft away from the tree. Any closer the bear will just admire your stupidity/ misguided optimism, grab it, and enjoy your next three days food!

I took the bag I will be storing my food in (some people use their tent stuff sack, I'll be using a dry bag) and attached it to the end of the cord using a bowline knot. Into the bag I placed a rock to give it a bit of weight and make it easier to throw. Making sure nobody was in the firing line I chucked the bag towards the branch. First attempt made it about half way. Second attempt hit the branch and came whistling back down towards me as I cursed and ran for cover. Third time lucky! With a nice under-arm throw I cleared the bow, keeping hold of the other end of the cord to make sure it didn't pull everything over.

(At this point I would remove the stone from the bag and put in my food). I then clipped the karabiner through the bowline loop and thread the tail of the rope through, before hoisting the bag. When it was almost touching the branch I tied the stick onto the trailing cord just above head height, and slowly let the bag down until it had locked itself against the karabiner. And there we go! My food is now safely out of reach of pesky bears. If they do decide to have a go at the cord, even bite through it, the bag will stay where it is.

To retrieve the bag you simply pull the trailing cord until you can reach the stick to untie it.

First bear bag! Wooo!

Thanks to the contributors to The Ultimate Hang and Backpackinglight for their awesome information:

http://theultimatehang.com/2013/03/hanging-a-bear-bag-the-pct-method/

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/bear_bag_hanging_technique.html?utm_source=2011-02-15&utm_medium=samh_personal_blog&utm_campaign=2011-02-15sling-it-and-swing-it#.UwOvf_l_ugc