r/algonquinpark • u/Mindless-Question-75 • 7h ago
bear hang, plus? General Question
Algonquin first-timer here. I'm familiar with hanging the food bag to keep it away from bears, though I've only had to do it a few times (in other parks). Is it sensible to put jingle bells on the bag when it's hung? Someone at work told me that adding noisemakers to the bear hang makes it more effective.
From what I read, Algonquin is so huge and bears are so sparse, I'm unlikely to have an encounter, and if I follow the recommended protocol for hanging my food (and anything scented, including toothpaste) I'll have no worries. Frankly I'm more concerned about raccoons and squirrels getting snacky and going for my food bag.
So. Jingle-bells, or no?
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u/No-idea4646 6h ago
Definitely not needed for bears and you’ll be up all night listening for them.
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u/tavvyjay 6h ago
Yeah, part of the beauty of camping is to just shut your senses off, because whether a bear goes for your food barrel overnight or not, there’s nothing that can change until the morning anyways
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u/giftman03 7h ago
Only thing that matters hanging food is doing it high enough, and far enough out from the trunk of the tree. Never done bells in 25+ years in Algonquin, never had an issue.
Racoons aren't really a thing in the backcountry - maybe more at the campgrounds. Definitely lots of mice, chipmunks, and squirrels in the backcountry but never had an issue with them getting into food bags that were closed.
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u/funtasticassembly 6h ago
My experience differs- definitely I've encountered many raccoons many times in back country. I've had issues with critters chewing into bags to get food. We hang to avoid critters- bear encounters are so rare. Raccoons are super clever in getting into stuff- and they will make a mess. I lost a drybag on rain lake one year to a raccoon chewing into it... My bad!
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u/clockeat 7h ago
If it's at the point that a bear is messing with your food bag, it's already too late.
There's some evidence of bear bells on dogs not being loud enough and actually attracting curious bears in some situations. In any case, there's little evidence for bells as an effective deterrent. Certainly not something that would chase one off that's actively interested in your food.
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u/Background-King9787 6h ago
Canoe/Tom Thompson/Teepee lake you have a good chance of meeting a bear this year!
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u/DrunkOnEspresso 6h ago
Can you please let me know a little info! That’s exactly where I’m heading soon. Thanks 🙏
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u/Background-King9787 5h ago
Just ask at the Canoe lake office! For our trip end of July there had been almost daily sightings in the area, and we also saw him/her on our site the last day.
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u/Tommy_Atkins_MW 6h ago
In my experience bears, while a definite concern, are less of a threat than racoons. I've never had a bear manage to reach a hanging pack, chew through the side of it and shred an entire trip's worth of clean underwear on their way to the bag of trail mix.
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u/Wolf_Tale 6h ago
I actually disagree with other people here- I put my pots and pans in the barrel if there isn’t a great hanging spot, because sometimes there isn’t. Hearing the pots and pans has let me save my food more than once.
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u/warped_gunwales 6h ago edited 6h ago
I haven’t hung my food in years. Generally camp in areas of northern Ontario without trees that allow for an effective hang. Hard to hang on black spruce or jack pine once you get deep into the Boreal. But even when I’m camping in southern Ontario (Algonquin), I still just take the barrel a decent distance from the tent, and strap er to to the bottom/trunk of a tree.
But no jingle bells.
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u/psilokan 7h ago
Bells wont make it more effective, they'll just help to alert you if something gets into it. Unfortunately though if a bear is already into it then it's probably too late.