Took me 5 years to figure out I was hanging my bear bag wrong

I've been camping in the Smokies for a decade now. Last summer a ranger at Elkmont watched me hang my bag and just said 'you're gonna lose that to a raccoon in about 20 minutes.' I had been using the classic over-a-branch method but my bag was maybe 8 feet off the ground. Turns out you need it at least 12 feet up and 6 feet from the trunk, plus you can't have the bag dangling in a straight line down because critters can climb the rope. I felt like an idiot but at least I learned before a bear got into my food. Anybody else have a basic camping skill they got embarrassingly wrong for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannah_perry1mo ago

Yeah I did the exact same thing for years until a bear actually got mine at Gregory Bald. 12 feet up and 6 feet out from the trunk is the real deal like you said. What finally fixed it for me was using a carabiner on a separate line so the bag hangs away from the rope itself. Also learned the hard way that if the branch is too thin a raccoon can just bounce on it until the bag slides down.

morgan_martinez1mo ago

The carabiner trick helps but honestly the height and distance from the trunk matter way more than the hardware. Had a buddy use that same setup at Cosby and a bear still got it because the branch was only 8 feet up. That extra 4 feet makes a big difference. The raccoon problem is real too. Switched to an Ursack after watching one chew through a dry bag in about 45 minutes flat at Clingmans Dome.

torres.grant1mo ago

Yeah I hung mine from a twig once and woke up to a raccoon eating granola bars next to me.