If you happen to camp or backpack in New Hampshire’s White Mountain Nationwide Forest, you should retailer your meals in:
- a closed motorcar (locking is suggested)
- a campsite bear field at a pre-established tent website
- by hanging your meals in a bear bag hung 12 toes off the bottom and 6 toes from the closest vertical help (assume tree)
- a bear-resistant canister
Ursack bear luggage are usually not permitted to be used within the White Mountain Nationwide Forest.
Official Textual content of the USFS White Mountain Nationwide Forest Meals Storage Order (R9-22-19-19)
The next is prohibited forest-wide:
- Besides whereas being ready and consumed, all meals, meals containers and refuse shall be saved in a closed motorcar or suspended at the least twelve (12) toes above the floor of the bottom and never lower than six (6) toes horizontally from any object. Bear containers, bear canisters, or bear fences designed particularly for meals and/or refuse storage are acceptable.
- All refuse containing meals supplies or containers shall be deposited in receptacles offered for that goal as quickly as doable after the waste is created or saved within the method prescribed for meals in #1 above.
Campsite Bear Containers
Campsite bear containers can be found at many, however not all, pre-establishd backcountry tent websites and lean-tos within the White Mountain Nationwide Forest. These are massive heavy metal containers with bear-proof closures that everybody staying on the website can put their meals in at evening without cost. Whereas these containers are bear-proof, they’re not rodent-proof, and also you need to be sure that your meals is saved in a rodent-proof bag, like a Ratsack (extremely really useful) or a hard-sided bear canister.
Hanging Meals is Tough within the Whites
When backpacking within the Whites, you do have the choice to hold your meals 12 toes within the air and 6 toes out. Simply be suggested that this may be very tough to attain within the White Mountains and it may take you fairly a while to perform (which sucks close to nightfall), if in any respect. The sort and density of tree cowl, dense spruce bushes, could make it very tough to seek out the proper kind of tree limb for such a cling and it’s widespread to have your rock sack get caught up in a tree earlier than you’ll be able to retrieve it. If you happen to don’t need the trouble or to spend time looking for an excellent cling, I’d advocate carrying a bear canister as a substitute. Smaller bear canisters just like the BV450, BV425, and the Bear Boxer match inside most backpacks and are sufficiently sized for weekend backpacking journeys.
Bear Canisters
Bear canisters are hard-sided containers that bears within the White Mountains can’t open. Whereas high-capacity bear canisters might be awkwardly massive and heavy, smaller-capacity fashions are a lot simpler to pack, comparatively light-weight, and they’re much more handy than hanging your meals in a tree. I now carry a BV425 or a BV450 on my backpacking journeys within the Whites.
Right here’s a comparability of the totally different fashions permitted to be used within the White Mountains.
If you happen to carry a bear canister, put together your meals, eat, and retailer your bear-resistant meals canister at the least 100 yards downwind out of your tent. Retailer your canister on the bottom hidden in brush or behind rocks. Don’t place the canister close to a cliff or water supply. Bears could knock the canister round or roll it down a hill. Cowl your canister with brightly coloured tape or stickers to make it simple to seek out the following morning. No matter you do, don’t neglect the place you place it.
If you happen to don’t need to purchase a bear canister, the Forest Service within the White Mountains loans out bear canisters without cost. Name the Most important White Mountain Forest Service headquarters in Campton for particulars at (603) 536-6100.
Ursacks are Not Authorized
Sadly, Ursacks are usually not permitted (per the latest forest order above), despite the fact that they’re on the IGBC-approved checklist utilized by many different nationwide forests and nationwide parks. This got here as a shock to me as a result of I’ve used Ursacks within the White Mountain Nationwide Forest prior to now and thought they had been authorized. However I’ve checked with the native US Forest Service a number of instances and Ursack use just isn’t authorized.
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