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Ursack attacked by raccoons

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Ursack attacked by raccoons

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‹‹Stephenson’s Warmlite backpack year???   Ursack attacked by raccoons  Ursack attacked by raccoons  UL tent

  Description for Ursack attacked by raccoons

Description by GoldenBear

GoldenBear

Result of my Ursack being attacked by raccoons overnight. I should have kept my food an trash in the odor proof bag, but didn't. Despite innumerable bites and scratches, the bag was not penetrated. However, the food containers inside were all broken, food went to the bottom of the bag, and (apparently) the raccoons were able to moisten and eat a lot of it. Saliva, perhaps?
I continue to recommend the Ursack, but be certain to use both the bag AND the odor-proof plastic container.

Comments for Ursack attacked by raccoons (1)

  1. #1 No Match
    Re: Ursack attacked by raccoons
    I finally found someone on the AT who had seen the videos, plus another who was actually there, of the Ursack food bag that had been ripped open(the black one). The location of the videos was at the NOC. The hikers cook kit and water bottle also were severly assaulted. What compelled me to put this on WhiteBlaze was an incident back in early fall when a solo hiker had his Ursack stolen from a very properly stored Ursack. He used the double figure 8 as per instructions, so the bear chewed thru the Dyneema rope. He had to 'bail from the trail' of course. Coupling this with my recent week on the AT in the Smokies where two people lost their food bags at shelters and did NOT report for fear of being ticketed by the Rangers because both had 'improperly' left their food bags unattended, one in the shelter and the other in front while several hikers were present. Further conversation up and down the trail by several SOBO's reveals a number of hikers do not report the food bag loss due to embarrassment or fear of a ticket. One of the hikers had been confronted by a Ridge Runner in the past and said he was such a jerk she would never deal with another, which is also my experience. I cannot stress how critical the incidents are to the Great Smokies Backcountry Office or other properties that this is REPORTED. The next step is vey aggressive and dangerous bear behaviour-you will lose. Ursacks are not quite the answer. I have the full size bear canister for out West and am getting the Weekender model for Christmas which I will be using on the AT or wherever bears reside. And yes, I HATE that 2.1 pounds, but I also lost a food bag in the Cohuttas and had to bail. The 'properly' hung food bag was no match. I watched as the bear chewed thru the 8 inch Post Oak limb for 3 hours bringing the limb down at just after midnight. I hung it over a white water rapids, on purpose, over the Jack's River. The bear was also an expert whitewater swimmer and bag retriever. It may not have been 'Bay Watch' but still an incredible show by headlamp. You need more than coffee and wine to hike out of the Cohuttas.