How to store food
• Load all food and anything else with strong odours (toothpaste, sunscreen, etc.) in a separate pack. Then string it up high above the ground either on a rope running between two trees or over an outstretched limb (well away from the trunk).
• Choose a tree that’s far from camp and not on a well-used trail. A bear will quickly find a food cache if it’s easy to locate.
• Sometimes a food bag is a little too heavy to lift. I take two sections of rope, one with a small metal pulley (found at any hardware store) tied to one end. I throw the pulley rope over the branch, with the other rope passed through the pulley. Then I tie the other end of the pulley rope to a tree and hoist up the heavy pack with the other rope.
• Make sure to set up the bear rope as early in the evening as you can so you just have to go and pull the food pack up before heading to bed. There’s nothing worse than looking for a proper tree to hang your food in when it’s dark. And tie a piece of fluorescent flagging tape onto the bear rope so you can find it easily later.