Where have people had trouble with marmots/porcupines?

[painless4u2]

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Or you could just invite Bill Murray along...

[SkiBikeClimb99]

I think you'll be fine there. I've certainly never had problems in the Sawatch Range

[MatB]

Mosquito Range, Mt. Arkansas. Marmots/porcupines chewed up a few wires. Car could run but not well. The Honest Mechanic in Denver charged me $50 for what the Jeep dealership in Silverthorne quoted me at $600.

Porcupines came into my vestibule during my trip along the Four Pass Loop to chew on my helmet, pack, and poles. Shouting only temporarily scared them off. They left me alone after I pulled everything with salt on it into my tent. Oh and porcupines are MUCH bigger than I imagined.

The beginning of June, I had something chewing on my vehicle along Castle Creek Road as I went to sleep. I got out (of my car) once or twice, turned the car on once and eventually fell asleep worried I'd awake an immobile vehicle. Fortunately, everything was okay in the morning.

[dmdoug]

Does anyone have any better ways of wrapping their vehicle with chicken wire? I did this setup 2 weeks ago and it seemed to work fine but I figure there is always room for improvement.

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I used 6 3' pieces of rebar to pound around the truck (trying to save the paint) and I used some gardening wire to tie the chicken wire to the rebar. Lastly, I used bungee cords to hold the middle section up a little. (In case they tried pulling the wire down).

Thoughts?

I found this pic years ago on a Sierra based forum. It's chicken wire pulled tight on top of a roof underlayment or house wrap to keep from scratching your car. Just need some wire to tie it together. No pounding of rebar. I brought the materials with me to American Basin but didn't set it up and had no problem but I did spray coyote urine.

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[hoodayer]

I invited Bill Murray but have yet to receive a response. I'll update if he accepts.

[Max Moorman]

I think you'll be fine there. I've certainly never had problems in the Sawatch Range

Likewise. Never had a problem in the Sawatch range either.

[sandyb]

I drove over Stony Pass out of Silverton a week ago and noted a Land Rover completely encircled in an elaborate chicken wire enclosure. I was curious, to say the least. On my return several days later, the Land Rover was partially blocking the pass and an older woman stopped me to see if I could assist her. She and her husband had just returned from an 8 day backpacking trip thru the Weminuche (and she wasn't a day younger than 75, if not in her 80s!!) only to find that the Marmots, which they were aware of and trying to deter with their chicken wire enclosure, had chewed thru the gas lines, other various tubing, some electric wires, and everything else they could chew on. All the gas was drained from the vehicle. The tires seemed perfectly intact. The woman told me marmots were a huge problem all thru the San Juan/Weminuche. The couple had used mothballs under the vehicle on a prior trip (I think that trip was 10 days:)) with the same outcome. I was a little surprised as I live in Durango and hadn't heard of the problem. If it's not in the Telegraph, I don't know about it! Anyway, I called my car dealership for advice, and they said people have successfully thwarted the marmots by driving over a tarp and bungee cording it to the top of the vehicle, essentially diapering the underparts of the car. Additionally, spraying with rodent/deer repellent seems to be a very good idea. For what it's worth...cuz a tow out of Silverton is probably not cheap. Course, they may chew thru the tarp as well...

[Doug Shaw]

Ran across an interesting varmint-defense experiment in Navajo Basin this weekend.

On the way up Wilson Peak I ran across a tent pitched just below Rock of Ages saddle ... surrounded by an electric fence!

I ran into the owner on the summit - a gentleman from Florida who had his gear chewed up the year before.

He said that it was actually a bear fence that he modified to sit lower to the ground. Powered by two D-cell batteries, it's not going to electrocute anything, but he figured if it gives off enough of a zap to dissuade a bear, it should do for a marmot.

He said the entire apparatus weighed less than 4 pounds. He did indicate that the system cost about $260, so it's not cheap. I believe he said there were a bunch of marmots running around the area, but his tent appeared unmolested despite having been there overnight and left alone during his hike up Wilson Peak.

At 4 pounds, I'm not sure whether I'd personally pack this system in for tent protection miles from nowhere (versus just clearing my tent when I leave it alone for long periods), but it might have some benefits for reuseable car protection at a trailhead.

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[sandyb]

Electric fencing for car is an interesting idea. Cheaper than a tow , and reusable. I stopped by a friend's house in Dolores CO on Sunday, and they had just finished helping a neighbor chase a marmot out of their garage. It apparently rode in the engine compartment of their SUV, which had been parked on Stony Pass for several days. Witness Relocation program.

[tarn]

Guanella Pass?

Has anyone had trouble at Guanella Pass campground or at Guanella Pass TH?
We're going to be camping there for a few days in about a week, and I would like to know if I should be concerned.

Thanks for the advice!
Tim

[DeTour]

... Never had any success with coyote urine...

Can you elaborate? Have you had critters blow past a coyote urine perimeter? Have others?

[SkiBikeClimb99]

... Never had any success with coyote urine...

Can you elaborate? Have you had critters blow past a coyote urine perimeter? Have others?

Porcupines and goats, yes. I tried it 2 years ago in Chi Basin with no luck defending against goats, but then again the can said Busch Light on the side. The place I bought it from said it was pretty much coyote urine, but I'm not completely sure.