Tent Camping on Motorcycle

[backtochain]

These tents look pretty cool...https://www.bigagnes.com/Products/Collections/mtnGLOTents

 

[itlives]

I've heard good about Big Agnes tents . They are out of my price range, though.

 

[theloop]

If you are bored out of your mind, you can watch a video of me setting up camp.

[video=youtube;6GCUAbREHtM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GCUAbREHtM[/video]

 

[wildeone]

how you actually protect your tents from grizzly bears?

[video=youtube;-y2VRsadZU4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y2VRsadZU4[/video]

 

[Fuzzy]

A ranger told me a story of some campers who tied their food from a tree limb to keep the bears away from it. Then they pitched their tent under the food. While they were sleeping a bear thought the tent was something to climb on to get to the elevated food.

 

[Naked_Duc]

how you actually protect your tents from grizzly bears?

As a backpacker in Pacific NW, we do what we can to keep bears away from our sleeping quarter. For the most part, bears would rather be left alone, unless there is food sitting around. Their smell is exceptionally good. I would keep my food secured and sealed, including trash, in ziplock bags. Then I would hang the food bag on a tree 10' off the ground, away from the campsite. I would also clean up the camp site and wash up before bed, so there is no smell of food lingering around. IF a bear is attracted to food, at least it's going after the food bag, not after me or my tent.

Those are pretty passive measures. Many opt for more active measures by carrying bear sprays. I think those might be illegal in Canada.

 

[wildeone]

Many opt for more active measures by carrying bear sprays. I think those might be illegal in Canada.

illegal? so what better to use a gun?
bear attacks happens from time to time and they may end up badly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

I didn't know that even in NJ, Arizona and Tennessee it can happen.

 

[StratTuner]

This one is my favorite for being easy to work with, well made, and inexpensive. ($35)
Tahoe Gear Willow 2

 

[Gonepaddling]

Bear spray is legal in here in Canada. I'm not sure about the tiny purse sized one but the hiker /real bear size is just fine.
We use bear canisters to store food when travelling where there are few trees. Looks like the people in the video were using something similar.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

 

[theloop]

This one is my favorite for being easy to work with, well made, and inexpensive. ($35)
Tahoe Gear Willow 2
View attachment 26056

Your tarp under your tent should be a little smaller than the floor of the tent. If you were to get a heavy rain, all the water running down the side of your tent would run down onto the tarp sticking out from under your tent, and pool under your tent.

 

[Fuzzy]

Some go to great lengths to keep their food from a bear.

[video=youtube;MJcrwn1zREQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJcrwn1zREQ[/video]

Or even steal it from a bear.

[video=youtube;SvIamfRRKK0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvIamfRRKK0[/video]

 

[anglachel]

illegal? so what better to use a gun?
bear attacks happens from time to time and they may end up badly
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

I didn't know that even in NJ, Arizona and Tennessee it can happen.

I had several people suggest that instead of bear mace I carry a gun to defend myself from bears while hiking.
It's generally a bad idea.
Guns a heavy, while carrying a gun for black bear might be reasonable, carrying a gun for grizzly really means carrying a rifle or a pistol so large it might as well be a rifle, which makes them big and awkward too.
Guns are loud and have questionable legality depending on location.
Guns don't stop the bear from charging, they only kill the bear, it might seem like an inconsequential difference but when you are talking about a grizzle that weighs as much as a sedan just getting hit by the corpse that was traveling at 35mph and is now sliding at 35 mph can still do a lot of damage to a person.

Flip side, mace is lightweight compared to most guns that would be effective against most bears.
Mace is legal in a surprising amount of places, and even encouraged/required when entering the backcountry at some national parks where carrying a gun is illegal.
Mace will cause a bear to stop in it's tracks, when it can't see, and is experiencing eye pain it doesn't keep running, it stops, which is now more akin to a small sedan stopping right in front of you instead of sliding out of control and hitting you.
Mace doesn't require much of an ability to aim, press the button and you get 7.5 seconds of dense spicy fog that lays itself out between you and the bear (you can press the button for less than 7.5 seconds too) no need to remain calm under pressure and control your breathing to get a clean shot.
(7 seconds is about the time it'd take for a grizzly moving at it's top speed to close 100 yards, the distance it's recommended to stay away from bears in the wild.)

And there are the side benefits to, park rangers at yellowstone told me that the bears in the backcountry are afraid of the red cans of bear mace, because if they've been maced before they learn to associate it with the can people were holding in front of them... they suggested if you are close to a bear, holding the can out in front of you is as good or better of an option than making yourself look big, scary, and loud.


As for keeping bears out of your tent, keep your food away from your tent, and toothpaste, or deodorant, or anything that has a particularly strong odor (though it you've been on the road/trail for a few days and you have a particularly strong odor that's ok.)
When we were in yellowstone they told us not to sleep in the same clothing we wore while cooking, and to do all of our cooking at least 150 ft from where the tent was.

Our food bag is generally a lightweight dry bag, so it holds in the odor's of food pretty well, and we generally only open it where we are cooking, and if we have the option we cook a 100 feet or so from where we hang the bag. Also means if it rains our food stays dry (hang the bag upside down so the top doesn't even have the option of collecting water).

When we've been in black bear country we don't worry as much about bears (cause looking big compared to a grizzly is hard, looking big compared to a black bear is... also hard but much easier than a grizzly) we still keep food and other odorous items in either air tight boxes or up in a tree, but we don't carry separate clothing in a ziploc bag just for making dinner. (though dressing for dinner is a wonderful way to maintain an air of civility in the back country )

I think I'm far more afraid of bears when I'm on the motorcycle than when I'm off of it, when I'm off the bike at the campsite there are things that can easily be done, the idea of hitting something as solid as a bear when on the bike is terrifying...

 

[wildeone]

As for keeping bears out of your tent, keep your food away from your tent, and toothpaste, or deodorant, or anything that has a particularly strong odor (though it you've been on the road/trail for a few days and you have a particularly strong odor that's ok.)

the only problem with that is for a grizzly bear you are the food...

 

[StratTuner]

For me, I look at the reviews of the camp sites for any mention of "bear" anyting...sightings, places to store food.... if I can read in advance that a bear has been seen in the last 20 years, I usually don't go there.
Suddenly KOA is starting to sound a lot better.

 

[anglachel]

the only problem with that is for a grizzly bear you are the food...

I've smelled myself after a few days in the woods, and I've smelled my food after a few days in the woods...

If there is a bear that decides to come to me for a meal it would have failed the test of evolution many many years ago.

 

[Fuzzy]

Remember the story that you can identify grizzly droppings by the cans of mace mixed in.