Probably a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyway…
What do you put in your bear bag – other than food (if anything)? When I'm playing “adventurer”, I always hang my food in an OPSAK within a mesh bag and sling it over a tree limb at least 10 ft off the ground. My question is, do you put anything else in the bag such as medicines, soap, deodorant, or anything with an inherent scent?
If not, is it because you think it is unnecessary, because you think bears and other animals won't be attracted to it, or because you have faith in the claims of scent-blocking abilities for items which you have in an OPSAK or similar derivative?
I do a lot of solo backpacking and the last thing I need in the middle of the night is a visit by an animal. Other than food, I carry Dr. Bonner’s soap and several medicines which have a scent to them. Although I store them in an OPSAK, I still error on the side of caution and put them in the bear bag 100 feet from my site and in a tree. My concern is that one of these days, assuming a storm breaks the limb of the tree or an animal has a high-altitude engineering degree, I’m going to lose the contents of the bear bag. It may seem trivial, but being without food on a long trek, or in my case, daily necessary medication, could be a pretty significant problem.
Thanks.
