Camping with a soft top jeep in bear country

Jbrowland wrote:
While some if the information given here is in jest, some of it isn't exactly spot on.

Bear rules and laws can change depending on where you are camping. Many mentioned camping in National Parks. Judging from some of the bear comments here, I am guessing some folks didn't participate in the Junior Ranger program at their NP. ;)

I would not recommend firing a 44 at a bear in a NP unless you like prison. I wouldn't even leave a single frie in a soft top jeep as well as toiletries like toothpaste and deodorant. Bears have 10x the sniffer of a blood hound. They can smell through cans. They don't know the difference between beans, taco meat or shampoo. Anything with a scent left in a car or not in a bear box in a NP could potentially cause bear vandalism. I have seen bear damaged cars due to small traces of crumbs left in baby/car seats. The result is usually a bear that has to be destroyed due to campers not following the rules. I have also seen many campers receive a ticket for leaving food in their cars and tents. All that said, you may leave smelly items in your RV with the windows and doors shut.

When campers follow the rules the Bears don't have to get destroyed. Same goes for soft tops. Have a glorious time. Colorado is a beautiful place! Hopefully, you will see many bears and it will be a peaceful and wonderful experience. I was just in King's Canyon a few weeks back and had the pleasure of hiking closely past 7 bears in a few days including tiny cubs. Amazing animals!

Spot on.....

We've camped in bear areas for over 15 yrs. Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, all over the Sierras. Have never had a problem with bears as long as the food is kept in bear boxes or sealed in fridge inside.

One thing not mentioned here is coolers/ice chests, etc. DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN THE VEHICLE, EVEN IF EMPTY. In campgrounds, Nat'l Parks, etc., the bear know exactly what a cooler is and what's inside....food! I have seen car doors ripped off after the bear wanted in for the cooler. We have had a number of occasions where there are nose and paw imprints on the windows of the TV.

Don't stress it and just be smart.

We tent camped for years in bear county.

We always have very good bear spray, never had to use it.
And good bear spray is expensive.

In fact we lived in bear country when I was a child and we children often played in the same woods that my uncle went bear hunting in.

I don't let bears spoil my camping. But, I've done a drive-by or two,

When we're camping in bear country, I just set out some of wife's cooking. That keeps them far away. (just kidding, honey!)

While some if the information given here is in jest, some of it isn't exactly spot on.

Bear rules and laws can change depending on where you are camping. Many mentioned camping in National Parks. Judging from some of the bear comments here, I am guessing some folks didn't participate in the Junior Ranger program at their NP. ;)

I would not recommend firing a 44 at a bear in a NP unless you like prison. I wouldn't even leave a single frie in a soft top jeep as well as toiletries like toothpaste and deodorant. Bears have 10x the sniffer of a blood hound. They can smell through cans. They don't know the difference between beans, taco meat or shampoo. Anything with a scent left in a car or not in a bear box in a NP could potentially cause bear vandalism. I have seen bear damaged cars due to small traces of crumbs left in baby/car seats. The result is usually a bear that has to be destroyed due to campers not following the rules. I have also seen many campers receive a ticket for leaving food in their cars and tents. All that said, you may leave smelly items in your RV with the windows and doors shut.

When campers follow the rules the Bears don't have to get destroyed. Same goes for soft tops. Have a glorious time. Colorado is a beautiful place! Hopefully, you will see many bears and it will be a peaceful and wonderful experience. I was just in King's Canyon a few weeks back and had the pleasure of hiking closely past 7 bears in a few days including tiny cubs. Amazing animals!

Trackrig wrote:
Had a rag top in Alaska for years, never had anything try to get into it. Just don't store your freshly cooked pot roast in it.

Bill

^^^^ This. The 'ol PA-12 is just a very very expensive soft top Alaska jeep. No fresh fish left in it unattended, no significant cooked food of other sorts.

Have also used No. 1 Son's rag top Wrangler quite a bit....no bear trouble, but no food storage either.

.....and say what you will, but when out in the boonies (i.e. where the bears are wild and not human-acclimated, I mark a decent perimeter around the tent and -12. I think it helps.....

Bumpyroad wrote:

I usually dump my tasties under a RV at the far end of the campground.
bumpy

RoyB wrote:
Did you all see the trailer photo on here where a bear tore the side off of the trailer to get inside. Was on here about a month ago. Unbelievable what a bear can do if he wants inside...

Roy Ken

BoyB, was that trailer at the far end of the campground? :B

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Leave the doors open and no food in the Jeep.

Yep.

Outside of national parks bears are generally very scared of people. Don't be an idiot about having some smelly food in the Jeep and you'll be fine. A can of bear spray or a 44 would be a good idea, though.

We camped in Idaho for years with a pop up and had no issues. The only bears I've seen in the wild either didn't know I was watching them from a distance or they were beating feet to get away from me once they noticed me.

Grit dog wrote:


I usually dump the leftover bacon grease from breakfast on a nearby tree, but it hasn't worked yet.......bears show up if they're around and curious but most of the time they don't want to be seen.

I usually dump my tasties under a RV at the far end of the campground.
bumpy