Colorado Trail 2021

[faultedgeologist]

I was going to mess around this Winter 2-3 day’ing the CT, and then give it a go solo next summer in <2-3 weeks. If interested in car pooling some segments leading into 2021 season PM

Captain, I'd be down to run the winter gauntlet. Tools and 2x 70M dry ropes, gear. Hopefully picking up some AT skis for some fun as well.

PM me.

Adventures,
Clint

[SchralpTheGnar]

I was going to mess around this Winter 2-3 day’ing the CT, and then give it a go solo next summer in <2-3 weeks. If interested in car pooling some segments leading into 2021 season PM

Captain, I'd be down to run the winter gauntlet. Tools and 2x 70M dry ropes, gear. Hopefully picking up some AT skis for some fun as well.

PM me.

Adventures,
Clint

That might be overkill for the CT.

[CaptCO]

I was going to mess around this Winter 2-3 day’ing the CT, and then give it a go solo next summer in <2-3 weeks. If interested in car pooling some segments leading into 2021 season PM

Captain, I'd be down to run the winter gauntlet. Tools and 2x 70M dry ropes, gear. Hopefully picking up some AT skis for some fun as well.

PM me.

Adventures,
Clint

That might be overkill for the CT.

There’s levels to this.. I’ll let you think what you’d like lol

Clint, let’s do it man

[stephakett]

bear hangs are notoriously a bad idea in colorado, due to the abundance of ponderosa pine in our state, which generally do not grow wide enough to accommodate for a hang 15' from the trunk. i know there has been a growing presence of bears on the CT, especially in the beginning segments, and every year hikers are shocked to see their food destroyed.
now i have personally never had a problem with bears at camps, even for a few nights at blue lakes with a poorly-executed hang in an area i KNOW has a lot of bears. there was actually one following me on trail one morning of that trip.

i realize the simple solution is to carry a heavy, locking, plastic canister instead of a soft-sided bag, however, i HATE HATE HATE the idea of lugging a bear canister across the state, almost as much as i think i would hate to find a destroyed cache of food with 50 miles between me and a resupply.

so to my question: has anyone had negative experiences with a ratsack and/or ursack used in conjunction with an odor-proof bag like opsak?


or perhaps the question i'm really asking is, has anyone correctly used an odor proof bag setup and still had an animal destroy all their food?

[supranihilest]

bear hangs are notoriously a bad idea in colorado, due to the abundance of ponderosa pine in our state, which generally do not grow wide enough to accommodate for a hang 15' from the trunk. i know there has been a growing presence of bears on the CT, especially in the beginning segments, and every year hikers are shocked to see their food destroyed.
now i have personally never had a problem with bears at camps, even for a few nights at blue lakes with a poorly-executed hang in an area i KNOW has a lot of bears. there was actually one following me on trail one morning of that trip.

i realize the simple solution is to carry a heavy, locking, plastic canister instead of a soft-sided bag, however, i HATE HATE HATE the idea of lugging a bear canister across the state, almost as much as i think i would hate to find a destroyed cache of food with 50 miles between me and a resupply.

so to my question: has anyone had negative experiences with a ratsack and/or ursack used in conjunction with an odor-proof bag like opsak?


or perhaps the question i'm really asking is, has anyone correctly used an odor proof bag setup and still had an animal destroy all their food?

This is a slightly tangential question, but does correct use prevent smells from ending up on the outside of the bag? To me that seems darn near impossible, but I haven't looked into this at all. I've only done hangs and cannisters on my backpack trips, and so far have gotten lucky with the former.

[IntrepidXJ]

so to my question: has anyone had negative experiences with a ratsack and/or ursack used in conjunction with an odor-proof bag like opsak?

I've been using a Ursack frequently in Colorado for many years without an odor-proof bag and never has it been messed with.

[randalmartin]

It's certainly likely that some smell will end up on the pretty much anything you touch. That smell shouldn't be the result of actual food particles or similar being spread. I always clean my hands before putting things back into my container to minimize any transfer that might otherwise occur.

Ultimately the problems you will have in Colorado are more likely from rodents, particularly at heavily used campsites. I use an Ursack with one gallon re-sealable mylar bags to put the actual food and trash inside. Never had even the slightest evidence of a problem in the decade plus I have been backpacking around the state.

[hotrod]

I have used an Ursack for many years, both the original yellow one and then the "improved" green one, both with and without a liner. In 200 miles on the Colorado Trail and many hundreds elsewhere, I have never had a problem. It sure beats a canister. It is important to fasten it to something, though. Rodents can drag it away, not to mention a bruin.

[ezabielski]

If I did the Colorado Trail again I would use the Ursack Minor and just sleep with it. The mice are kind of crazy in Colorado. One ate part of my shirt overnight! Another ate through a pocket in my backpack.

I think it's hilarious though that people (naturally terrible at smelling things) think their opsack, usually a few weeks old, very crinkled, with a questionable zipper, is anywhere close to odor proof. No bear is being fooled by that. The fact that bears don't bother you is mostly that bears on the Colorado Trail are afraid of humans and won't bother you even if your food was not in bear proof storage.

[TomPierce]

Steph,

I've used an Opsack as my sole food protection method for years and have had good luck with it; no cannisters or hanging bags for me, although I did hang food in the distant past. An interesting unplanned test a few months back: My partner on a bikepacking trip (CT section) used either a plastic bag or stuff sack to store his food, I can't remember, mine was in an Opsack. We laid them side by side next to a tree at night. In the morning, his food was ravaged, mine was untouched. Could have been just a random outcome, but I've also never had a food tampering problem in the last several years in the backcountry. Your experience may vary from mine, of course.

Fwiw, I don't really "cook" in the backcountry, I only rehydrate freeze dried breakfasts & dinners in pouches. I also try not to get any food smears on the outside of the Opsack, and make sure it's sealed tightly at night. Just my experience.

-Tom

[cottonmountaineering]

If I did the Colorado Trail again I would use the Ursack Minor and just sleep with it. The mice are kind of crazy in Colorado. One ate part of my shirt overnight! Another ate through a pocket in my backpack.

I think it's hilarious though that people (naturally terrible at smelling things) think their opsack, usually a few weeks old, very crinkled, with a questionable zipper, is anywhere close to odor proof. No bear is being fooled by that. The fact that bears don't bother you is mostly that bears on the Colorado Trail are afraid of humans and won't bother you even if your food was not in bear proof storage.

i agree - mice are a much bigger problem than bears in my experience on crowded trails/areas. I've seen mice get into the ursack openings so they'll need to be hung. the smell issue is another thing, even if you have everything in ziplocks mice will still smell oils from food/salt/etc on the bags

ive always slept with my food inside my tent (with bug mesh), in ziplocks, inside a stuff sack, and haven't had any issues aside from mice cruising around the tent

the plastic canisters will solve the bear and mice problem but theyre annoying to pack and heavy

[stephakett]

thank you all so much for the feedback- it sounds like i'll keep going with the zip bag (AWESOME suggestion for the mylar gallon bags- that's way cheaper than an opsak) inside of an ursack inside of a rat sack method- it has never failed me, and shaves off almost two pounds from the canister weight.

sounds like its worth putting a rodent repellant sachet in each of my resupply kits, too..