Prevent hungry bears from breaking into your vehicle while family is out on a hike

A bear breaks into a vehicle with improperly stored food at Sequoia National
Park. Photo courtesy of Sequoia NPS.

Leave food in your vehicle when day hiking, and upon returning you may find some windows smashed, doors dented, and seats ripped.

No, the culprit isn’t a hungry teenager looking for snacks. It’s a bear – a creature you don’t want to meet face to face or when it’s stuck in the back seat.

Common in the mountains and forests of the West, bears are growing in population and advancing south through the wooded areas of the Upper Midwest. Though you almost never have to worry about running into a bear on a hike, your vehicle may not be so lucky.

Bears have such a strong sense of smell – about a hundred times more powerful than a dog’s – that they can detect food in your parked vehicle, even if your trail mix and picnic lunch are in containers. With their strength and willpower, bears will have no trouble getting into your vehicle, though they’re a little messy in the way they go about it. In short, food in your vehicle screams “Lunch wagon!” to a bear.

To avoid a bear break-in, follow these basic guidelines:
g Leave the food at home – If you’re not going to carry it in your backpack, then don’t bring it all. Should you consume food along the way, make sure the trash disposed of before you reach the trailhead.
g Use the bear box – Should you still have food at the trailhead, use the bear-proof food locker if one is nearby (Usually they are in areas where bears are known to break into vehicles). Made of steel, bears can’t open these containers.
g Dispense with the coolers – Especially in national and state parks, some bears have learned that food coolers may contain goodies. They’ll then break into a vehicle just to see if their hunch is right (and they usually don’t leave any leftovers if they are).
g Don’t toss food scraps on the trail – Once bears come across human food, they’ll give it a try. They’ll probably like it. That means on future trips that you or other hikers take in the area, bears are more likely to break into vehicles if they smell those same delectables locked inside.

Should you come across a bear who’s taken your food, don’t try to get it back. The bear will fight to keep your loaf of bread and granola bars. And the bear will win.

Learn about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

How to safely explore a cave with children

When exploring caves with children,
first find those with approved, marked
trails, such as at Carlsbad Caverns.
Photo couresy Carlsbad Caverns NPS.

Avoid encounters with wild animals,
mine shafts, collapsing cavern roofs

Ah, the allure of a dark cavern, full of secret passages and maybe even pirate treasure – what child wouldn’t want to explore a cave that you come across as day hiking?

For all their fun and excitement, though, caves can be dangerous places. Fortunately, some of them can be explored…but only with great caution.

If you have a little spelunker in your cave, quench their thirst for adventure by hiking approved, marked trails through caves. This always is your safest bet, as the trails have been designed for safety and park rangers familiar with the cave probably are close by.

Never enter a cave that is boarded or marked with warning signs to not enter. There’s good reason for the boards and signs. Often the caves have mining shafts in them or suffer frequent roof collapses.

Having said this, there are some shallow caves along hiking trails that are marked safe for entry. If going in them, however, follow these basic rules:
g An adult always comes with – A child never should be allowed to explore a cave alone. Buddy up and as the adult watch for potential dangers.
g Always carry a light – You must see where you are going so you don’t fall or stumble into a wild animal. A large flashlight with fresh batteries will do. Have each person in the party carry a flashlight.
g Avoid occupied caves – Bears, mountain lions, poisonous snakes, and bats all makes caves their home. If you hear or see signs of habitation, such as footprints, stay out.
g Never make turns that you won’t remember – With limited lighting, you easily can get lost in a cave if its passageways branch. Oftentimes you won’t see a passage the first time through and so will become disoriented.
g Don’t get into what you can’t get out of – Don’t squeeze down holes or through small openings into another section of the passage. You may not be able to climb out or get back through through the hole.
g Keep to clean cave floors – Don’t hang out in areas with feces or urine from small animals. These likely were left by rats, mice or squirrels and can carry diseases such as hantavirus.
g Watch for instability – Freshly fallen rocks or water flowing through a cave likely means the cave lacks structural stability. Leave immediately before a cave-in occurs.

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.

Excerpt from my hiking journal: Sept. 12

While hiking, I keep a journal of what I've seen along the way. Usually these become the basis for the trail descriptions appearing in my various hiking guidebook series. Today, I'd like to share an excerpt from my journal about a hike taken this past week near my home in Wisconsin (It’s a non-public trail and so won’t be used in any of my hiking books!).

Sept. 12, 2013
(through the woods behind my farmhouse)
With autumn’s arrival, the leaves have fallen off the bottom branches, or at least the animals fattening themselves for winter have eaten much of them bare. So at last I was able to see many of the chipmunks and squirrels, who I’d only heard scampering through the summer, as they made their last collections for the cold months ahead. In one small cliff cutaway, I even spied a bee’s hive built beneath a limestone overhang.

Then while walking along a ridge, I unwittingly frightened six wild turkeys asleep in the grass on a ravine’s side. They took off with a whoosh that scared me as much as I did them. After jumping back, I realized what was making the hillside come alive as they took to the air; I don’t think I’ve ever seen turkeys fly that high.

Down at the ravine’s bottom, the pond has yet to dry up, which the black bears apparently appreciate, as I spotted their paw prints in the sand and from the trail to the green water a path of crushed grass, the wild fresh scent of their broken stems still filling the air. These bears must have bad table manners, though, as some of the scat was full of acorns that appeared to be unchewed. Imagine a bear just stuffing a paw full of acorns into his mouth and swallowing whole!

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.