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That moment on the Long Trail when I realized I'd been hanging my food bag wrong for years
I was about 30 miles south of Journey's End in Vermont, exhausted, and watched a raccoon casually shimmy down a sapling to grab my bag. Turns out I'd been hanging it way too low, like 8 feet off the ground, thinking that was fine. A thru-hiker at the next shelter showed me the proper 12-foot-and-away-from-the-trunk method. Has anyone else had a similar "oh no" discovery about a basic skill way later than they'd like to admit?
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flores.emma2d ago
Same thing happened to me down in the Smokies, I was hanging my bag maybe 7 feet up for years before a park ranger pointed out a black bear could just stand up and grab it. Felt pretty silly realizing a simple height change was all it took.
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noran211d ago
Right after that ranger told me the same thing, I switched to using a bear canister instead of hanging. Way less worrying about height and branch thickness, plus it packs down okay in my bag. Makes a big difference for peace of mind when you're trying to sleep at night.
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