Boondocking in grizzly country

[HopsBrewster]

I've been camping in bear country most of my life (both griz and black bears), so I have learned to keep a 'bear clean' camp. Yes, a bear can tear into an RV or a vehicle. But they usually won't. Bears are basically lazy! If there is easier pickings elsewhere, that's where they will go.

You can safely camp in griz country if you follow some simple rules:
Anything that has an odor, not just food, is to be kept inside the vehicle or the RV. This includes cosmetics, toothpaste and brushes, etc. Put away all food and water containers, stoves, cooking utensils when not in use. Don't throw trash in the firepit. Don't litter. Don't dump any gray water or allow it to leak. Clean up any spills promptly. All adults and responsible children should carry bear spray, or at least have it nearby.

There will always be people around that don't follow bear country rules. Those are the ones the bears will be attracted to. Don't be that guy.

[HopsBrewster]

Originally Posted by Wellibe

I wouldn't worry about Fishing Bridge at all due to how crowded it is. Yes, it is in the middle of grizzly country, but it would have to be one seriously habituated bear to cause trouble in that giant parking lot full of RVs.

Fishing Bridge is located at a major feeding area for bears. Early summer is spawning season for the cutthroat trout, and that is a major spawning spot. The FB campground doesn't allow soft-sided trailers or tents, only hard-side RVs, for that reason. It's not a matter of being habituated to humans in this case, but of opportunity.

[00 Buckshot]

Stayed at Fishing Bridge in 2009. Signs and warnings bout bears were everywhere. Woke up one morning , went outside and there was a small tent in one of the grass strips. A guy on a bicycle had come in sometime during the night and pitched a tent.


Apparently he wasn't afraid of no stinking bear.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by HopsBrewster

I've been camping in bear country most of my life (both griz and black bears), so I have learned to keep a 'bear clean' camp. Yes, a bear can tear into an RV or a vehicle. But they usually won't. Bears are basically lazy! If there is easier pickings elsewhere, that's where they will go.

You can safely camp in griz country if you follow some simple rules:
Anything that has an odor, not just food, is to be kept inside the vehicle or the RV. This includes cosmetics, toothpaste and brushes, etc. Put away all food and water containers, stoves, cooking utensils when not in use. Don't throw trash in the firepit. Don't litter. Don't dump any gray water or allow it to leak. Clean up any spills promptly. All adults and responsible children should carry bear spray, or at least have it nearby.

There will always be people around that don't follow bear country rules. Those are the ones the bears will be attracted to. Don't be that guy.

That's reassuring. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by 00 Buckshot

Stayed at Fishing Bridge in 2009. Signs and warnings bout bears were everywhere. Woke up one morning , went outside and there was a small tent in one of the grass strips. A guy on a bicycle had come in sometime during the night and pitched a tent.


Apparently he wasn't afraid of no stinking bear.

And apparently he wasn't afraid of being discovered and evicted for squatting!

[tap4154]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

Then why are you worrying about boondocking where humans are fewer and fewer careless incidents with food?

Fishing Bridge doesn't allow soft sided campers. Last I've known they don't even have picnic tables where food smells would be... and no fire pits for roasting those marshmallows or cooking over the fire. With the new renovation of the campground in progress I'll be interested to see if any changes.

We volunteered in the national parks. One instance was in Rocky Mtn. Nat'l Park in a campground that was always full. The rangers and volunteers applied strict rules to visitors to keep bears out of the campground. One visitor went hiking and when returned tossed her backpack in her tent. It had a chocolate bar in it. Within an hour of her return a bear ripped open the tent, grabbed the backpack and walked away. A ranger was called. She thought she had blanks in her gun but unfortunately for her and the bear it was not the case. She killed the bear needlessly and she was in deep trouble herself.

Another instance was a RVer who left his cooler on the table and took off for a day of hiking. He returned after dark to find his cooler missing. He pounds on our door at 11pm. We stated the ranger took it because of rules. He was yelling that the ranger had no 'right' to take his cooler and all it had in it were drinks. We stated "well.... talk to ranger then but he'll be doubly unhappy when you wake him up to state your 'rights'. The guy did wait until morning to approach the ranger. He packed up and left soon after! However, two days later a bear broke into another cooler that was left out!!

Another instance was a camper that had poured his bacon grease into the firepit. A bear quickly came. They love the smell of bacon.

The point is..... a full campground doesn't mean a thing to a bear. Stating rules time after time to campers doesn't mean a thing at keeping bears out. Some campers just don't 'get it'.

If you're boondocking a bear really wouldn't have a definite reason to go to your site unless it was a well-used site where people could have been careless with food around the campsite.

When I was a small child our family camped inside Yellowstone in a trailer, and I guess you can't do that anymore. During the night I looked outside my window - I was sleeping on the dinette bed - and there was a bear literally four feet away going through a garbage can. I crawled in between my parents in the back bed [emoji16]

The next day we're driving along and encountered what they called back then a "bear Jam". There was a bear right on the side of the road, and everyone slowed down. As we passed by it was on the passenger side, and my mom's vent window was open, the bear started reaching it's claws through the vent window, and my dad stopped to take a picture. Meanwhile my mom was yelling to get us the heck out of here!

Back then they all seemed very tame, but I don't know what it's like now. I haven't been back to Yellowstone since

[RealNiceTent]

Originally Posted by Wellibe

Yikes.

Thin fiberglass outer panel, probably aluminum frame, about 1 inch styro insulation, and thin inner skin. I had to replace back door in my 78 mobile home, replacement door $425 same construction, except stapled wood frame, aluminum skin. I cut the whole thing out and put in $160 pre-hung entry door, even looks better.

[RealNiceTent]

riginally Posted by 00 Buckshot Stayed at Fishing Bridge in 2009. Signs and warnings bout bears were everywhere. Woke up one morning , went outside and there was a small tent in one of the grass strips. A guy on a bicycle had come in sometime during the night and pitched a tent.


Apparently he wasn't afraid of no stinking bear.

Originally Posted by Wellibe

And apparently he wasn't afraid of being discovered and evicted for squatting!

Maybe one of the folks that has been a host can elaborate, Nut according to the authority, (my wife), there are special rules for bicycle travelers in FS CG's, State and National park campgrounds.


I have camped since I was in diapers(somewhere abouts 6 decades), and only have two personal bear stories camping. 99 percent of my camping has been in a tent and only one story involves my camp. My folks on the other hand have plenty of bear stories from campground camping. For somewhere around 30 years my folks had a spot at Plasses Resort at Silver Lake California off HWY 88. Tragedy Springs is about 3 miles from the campground, and was the release point for problem bears out of Yosemite. They never had their rig broken into by a bear, but one was traded in with a nice set of paw prints embossed into the entry door, yep, pressed right into the aluminum skin on the door. When this happened the rig next to them was entered, they had cooked fish in the rig Sunday before going back down to the valley. Because my folks had taken over my grandparents spot, they knew not to cook in the rig and had an outdoor kitchen set up. The kitchen got hit a few times, one time the bear bit into 2 cans of cooking spray and what a mess he made with that! There was cooking spray all over, he got it all over the back and sides of the 5er they had then, greasy paw prints everywhere.

My only experience with a bear in camp was in a FS CG, and this campground was known to have bear problems. We were in my old 1960's Coleman cabin tent. My ex had left a couple of totes o the table that night and one had the Smore's supplies in it. We had been in bed about 20 minutes when I woke up to the sound of pots and pans hitting the ground. As soon as I made noise in the tent he hauled ass. I know this because I heard him run right into the side of my utility trailer on his way out of camp. The only thing he got was a partial pack of Graham crackers. The kicker to this story is we had a beagle in the tent we had adopted. She was asleep next to my daughters between them and the tent wall, the bear walked down the side of the tent and his prints passed within 2 inches of where she was sleeping. That effing dog never made a peep! My step dad said she was smart, she was not irritate that bear, he was bigger than her.

My other bear story I was divorced and spending all my weekends and vacation time in the mountains dredging for gold. I was at a remote claim where we shared the camp area with the claim-holders above our claim. I had been there 8 days and the guys from above came in to set up their camp they would be using for a month, like they do every year. Their first night I come up from where I was mining and these guys are getting chow on. They saved me from having to cook that night and fed me. It was a great meal, Big ol' Ribeye steaks, baked potato, and corn on the cob. After chow we are sitting by the fire and the Cook, I'll call him Bob, asks me if I've seen the big ole boar that comes and sits about 100 yards downstream in the evenings. I tell Bob, no I haven't seen a bear on this claim ever, (it was one of my favorites, so I was there a fair amount), and Bob remarks about it's funny I have never seen him. It starts to get late and Bob and company head up to their tent for the evening and I start tidying up my camp and the communal cooking area. I go around the back of this 3ft diameter Sugar Pine off the corner of the table and here is a 30 gallon black trash bag hanging on a nail in the tree. I investigate and find everyone else's paper plates from dinner! there's a half eaten steak, the steak bones, corn cobs, potato skins, oh my gawd it was a frikin bear dinner bell ringing at max volume. I grabbed that sucker and headed for the fire and proceeded with my nightly ritual. It all went into the fire. It has been my habit since my early teens backpacking in the cascades in Washington to burn everything at night before going to bed. Anything that has a scent that might bring a bear into camp goes in the fire, paper plates, bones, cans , even the beer bottles then I make sure to have a hot fire to eliminate the remnants. The next morning I talked to the guys from the other claim about trash in bear country and the bag by the kitchen bringing the bear in. Of course Bob said, I never thought about that, or something close to it.

I have a number of stories about others experience with bears camping from my mining days. Most are precautionary tales, and a couple are just plain funny.


I don't think camping in Griz country is any different than black bear country. Take the same precautions of a clean camp etc. as you would in black bear country and it should all be good. Next time you pass one of those fireworks places though, you might swing in and get a batch of medium size firecrackers, use 'em like flash-bangs if you get one in camp. Light a couple and pitch 'em out a window.
You know how to read the scat to see if you re in griz country right? the griz scat has the little bells in it!

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by tap4154

When I was a small child our family camped inside Yellowstone in a trailer, and I guess you can't do that anymore.

Sure you can camp inside Yellowstone. It has many campgrounds and the one you stayed in is, most likely, still there.

You need to make another trip there!

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by RealNiceTent

Originally Posted by 00 Buckshot [I]Stayed at Fishing Bridge in 2009. Signs and warnings bout bears were everywhere. Woke up one morning , went outside and there was a small tent in one of the grass strips. A guy on a bicycle had come in sometime during the night and pitched a tent.

Maybe one of the folks that has been a host can elaborate, Nut according to the authority, (my wife), there are special rules for bicycle travelers in FS CG's, State and National park campgrounds.

Most public parks - national, state, forest service allow biking. The main restrictions would be to keep the bike on pavement unless a designated bike trail.

The above post you referenced was that the biker with a tent spent the night at Fishing Bridge Campground in Yellowstone. Only hard sided RVs are allowed at Fishing Bridge because of grizzly activity.

[Jacjetlag]

I worked in the Alaska bush. We had a cook tent at a mining camp that a very large, aggressive male Grizzly decided to raid 2-3 times per week. He had a uniquely blonde coat and was darker on his head and paws. He was a beautiful animal who had become a menace. The decision was made to take him out of this world with a Hughes 500 helicopter and a 30.06 rifle.

When I was a kid, our family built logging roads in the Cascade mountains. We were quite aware of the bear threat. Almost every adult working out there had a rifle just in case. If it becomes a fight between you and a bear, you don't want to lose.

[D Gardiner]

At Wellibe:

To answer your question, obviously as a former wildlife biologist, you have a good understand (per your post) what you obviously should not do. Such as leaving food, dirty dishes, garbage, toiletries outside unattended. Always use the bear proof garbage dumpsters. These rules were given in Yellowstone this year at each camp site we stopped at. Of course, many campers do not follow those guidelines, and bears suffer the consequences.

Leaving bagged garbage outside your camper in Grand Canyon will get you a warning, or worse citation. Watched our camp neighbors, in 2018, get a special visit from a park ranger for their garbage bag hung on their camper door.

We have boondocked, and camped in Yellowstone, Tetons, Great Basin, Joshua Tree and Yosemite. Definitely check in with the ranger, camp host, and look for postings regarding recent bear, coyote or other wild life activity. In Gros Ventre/Tetons I would add Elk/Moose to that category.

We camp in our 30' class-A, and did not use the bear boxes in Yosemite. If bear activity warranted, as directed by a ranger, we obviously would. Our camp grill is cleaned and put away, as soon as we are finished cooking with it. When we cook inside, we also do not leave food sitting out overnight. Dishes are cleaned, and all left overs are placed in containers and placed in the refrigerator. As for soaps and toiletries, we bring the non-scented kind.

PS. This year we donated $40 to the bear-box fund in Yellowstone during our 4-day visit. And yes,.. to those that do not believe RVs have been ravaged by bears.

Originally Posted by Wellibe

The wife and I are considering doing some boondocking in the Rockies next spring. Grizzly bears inhabit the area we are considering.

I'm a former wildlife biologist, and I worked with black bears early in my career. I know from experience that even a modest sized black bear is perfectly capable of breaking into a cabin or a car if it wants to. In most areas of the country, they don't do it because they've been conditioned to avoid people (Yosemite NP being a notable exception). Never worked with grizzlies, but it seems obvious to me that an adult grizzly would have no problem getting into a camper if it wanted to (yes, even a completely hard-sided camper).

So here's my question for those of you who boondock in grizzly country: how do you handle campsite sanitation? Obviously, never leave food, trash, dishes, crumbs, cosmetics, etc., outside. But I'm quite sure the bears can still smell any of that stuff that is inside your camper. If you were tent camping, you'd store it all in a food locker or suspended between two trees at least a couple hundred yards away from your campsite, and that's also where you would do all your cooking, eating, and cleaning up. But who wants to do that when you've got a perfectly good kitchen and table in your camper? Kind of defeats the point of having a camper.

[SomeDay]

We've spent a lot of time in bear country being in the Alberta Foothills as a base and extensively boonodcking, and YES they will break in vehicles more often than you think.

Bears we were told a long time ago, don't particularly like the smell of bleach, so place strategically diluted bleach containers (smallish ziplock ones you can put a lid on for reuse and disposal eventually). Also we have where appropriate bleach sprayed consistently around our campsite to mask any odours from inside the rig. Of course that doesn't mitigate the obvious on keeping your campsite ultra clean. If you spill fat or clean a grill scrape the soil around where cleaned and dispose far away from your site. Yes it's more work, but more than worth it, and with practice becomes all second nature.

They will smell anything in glove boxes holdall's that gets forgotten such as chewing gum, lipstick, ladies bits basically ANTHING! and smash windows scratch car doors to get in, so remove anything from any toad with you and make sure you double triple check everywhere. As a secondary precaution we even spray around our car perimeter when we can.

Most importantly enjoy your adventure, with your background everything else you'll know what to do.

[Wellibe]

Originally Posted by D Gardiner

At Wellibe:

To answer your question, obviously as a former wildlife biologist, you have a good understand (per your post) what you obviously should not do. Such as leaving food, dirty dishes, garbage, toiletries outside unattended. Always use the bear proof garbage dumpsters. These rules were given in Yellowstone this year at each camp site we stopped at. Of course, many campers do not follow those guidelines, and bears suffer the consequences.

Leaving bagged garbage outside your camper in Grand Canyon will get you a warning, or worse citation. Watched our camp neighbors, in 2018, get a special visit from a park ranger for their garbage bag hung on their camper door.

We have boondocked, and camped in Yellowstone, Tetons, Great Basin, Joshua Tree and Yosemite. Definitely check in with the ranger, camp host, and look for postings regarding recent bear, coyote or other wild life activity. In Gros Ventre/Tetons I would add Elk/Moose to that category.

We camp in our 30' class-A, and did not use the bear boxes in Yosemite. If bear activity warranted, as directed by a ranger, we obviously would. Our camp grill is cleaned and put away, as soon as we are finished cooking with it. When we cook inside, we also do not leave food sitting out overnight. Dishes are cleaned, and all left overs are placed in containers and placed in the refrigerator. As for soaps and toiletries, we bring the non-scented kind.

PS. This year we donated $40 to the bear-box fund in Yellowstone during our 4-day visit. And yes,.. to those that do not believe RVs have been ravaged by bears.

Yes, I think keeping a clean camp combined with avoiding known problem areas should be sufficient. We rarely cook outside just because we find campfire cooking to be more hassle than it's worth, so there aren't likely to be any food smells outside. Of course there is still risk associated with anything, but I guess that's life.

I'm guessing that most of the problems folks are relating are caused by bears that have already acquired a taste for people food, so being aware of and avoiding problem areas is likely to be key to an uneventful trip.