Originally Posted by
HooKooDooKu
Other than a hiking pole, I've never carried anything in the way of bear protection. I've always felt comfortable bringing my kids along, with the only caveat that I don't let them out of my sight to ensure they done face an encounter with a bear or wild boar by themselves.
The only prescribed method of protecting your food in GSMNP back country is hanging. Otherwise, the only purpose a bear canister would serve is to protect your food from mice.
However, simply hanging your food or your entire pack is NOT adequate protection against mice. The mice simply climb the bear cables.
On my most recent camping trip, I had my entire pack and food bag hung from the bear cables under a garbage sack to protect it from potential rain. Mice chewed a hole thru the garbage sack big enough to climb thru, then proceeded to use the side of my pack as a point of purchase to chew into my food bag.
I've also heard various stories regarding mice chewing thru packs to get to food (my primary GSMNP back pack has been the victim of minor mouse damage). It's often suggested that you hang your pack with all the pockets open so that the mice will not chew thru the pocket to see what is inside.
My current suggestion on protecting your food on the bear cables is to place your food in a silnilon roll-top dry bag... fill the bag with as much air so that when you close it, it's blown up like a balloon. The idea is that the mice climb down the cable to the top of your bag, but then can not climb down the sides of the bag without sliding off. Since I started doing this to protect my food, I've often found mouse poop on top of my food bag in the morning, but no mouse damage (that is until I hung my back pack along side the food bag defeating the whole purpose of blowing the food bag up like a balloon).
I've also heard a way to protect your food from mice is to use the tuna can trick... Take a used tuna can (or anything that is open on one side) and poke/drill a hole in the bottom of the can. Get a length of string and tie a knot in the middle of it such that when you push the string thru the tuna can, the knot will support the tuna can. Hang the string from the bear cables with the tuna can facing down, and your food bag from the bottom of the string. The idea is the mice can't get past the tuna can. Actually, the Davenport shelter uses this type of system. Unlike other shelters, there are no bear cables at Davenport. Instead, the shelter is still enclosed behind a chain link fence, and there strings in the shelter from which to hang your food protected by a large cone (the mice are unable to get around the cone).