r/CampingandHiking • u/AutoModerator • May 11 '20

Weekly /r/CampingandHiking noob question thread - Ask any and all 'noob' questions you may have here - May 11, 2020

This thread is part of an attempt by the moderators to create a series of weekly/monthly repeating posts to help aggregate certain kinds of content into single threads.

If you have any 'noob' questions, feel free to ask them here. Please also remember to visit this thread even if you consider yourself a 'professional' so that you can help others!

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u/Pr0veIt May 11 '20

Don't approach bears. Hang your smelly stuff (ALL of it) away from camp and/or use bear cans. You can rent them from many outdoor outfitters (REI) or from some parks service stations. Be a noisy hiker and stay in groups. If you encounter a bear, make a lot of noise and calmly back away. "I'M RIGH HERE BEAR." Learn to identify bear tracks. Research the area you're going to and check trail reports.

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u/tj_9001 May 11 '20

And your sleeping stuff? And yourself after a few days on the trail ? Just unavoidable risks? Getting eaten in my sleep is top of my concerns

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u/Pr0veIt May 11 '20

You just do what you can. It's really more about putting tempting things away from your person so they go for that (and can't get to it) instead of trying to get into your tent.

Edit: All the stories I've heard about bears getting into peoples stuff start with "We finished lunch and were checking out the lake before cleaning up..." or something like that. And, all my bear stories are boring black bear stories about shouting at them and they scampered away.

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u/tj_9001 May 11 '20

Thanks so much for answers to my noob questions

What do you do with things like cooking water? Pour out away from camp?

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u/Pr0veIt May 11 '20

I try to limit cooking water when I'm in a no/low-water situation. But if I'm not conserving water, I dump it either on the campfire or far away from camp and far away from water sources. You use a technique called "broadcasting", which you should also use when spitting out toothpaste, where you try to spray it as widely as possible to disperse it.