RMNP food storage regulations – Ursack vs Canister

[Skibbs]

RMNP website states the following:

“Between April 1 and October 31, all food items and garbage must be secured inside a commercially-made carry in/carry out bear-resistant food storage container.”

Leaves it pretty open to interpretation… would an ursack be sufficient or do I need a hard-sided canister?  I guess I could just call them but get the feeling I could get varying answers depending on who I talk to… or maybe I am just looking for someone to tell me that an ursack is ok so I can save some weight :)

[Gary Dunckel]

No Ursacks allowed…hard sided canisters only. RMNP is pretty proud of their 20-30 black bears, which may or may not even be inside the Park on a given day. 6-8 years ago when a couple of them figured out how to score easy goodies along a string of several campsites along the Thunder Lake trail, they instituted the canister rule. They didn’t want Californication to happen in RMNP.  Bummer, I know. We locals feel your pain.

[Skibbs]

Bummer… Do people normally carry bear spray too?

[Gary Dunckel]

No need for bear spray. Nobody I knows has ever seen a bear in RMNP.

[Skibbs]

Thanks Gary!

[Jenny A]

Well well.  After picking up a backcountry permit for a trip into the Park later this month, I was idly perusing the summer newsletter handout and happened to read the following under the Wilderness Camping blurb:  all food items and garbage must be stored in an approved, commercially made bear-resistant container “that is either hard-sided or has a non-crushable insert”!!!  I called the backcountry office, and this does indeed mean the Ursack with the aluminum insert.  Glory be!  Of course, this being the Government, they have to actually see your Ursack to verify that you have put the insert in.  Dear lord.

This is good progress in the lighter-weight world, though I got the impression that this recent change is deliberately not being widely advertised.  There seems to be nothing in the Park’s wilderness food storage requirements reflecting this change on the website.  I would bet that most visitors don’t pay much attention to the Wilderness Camping paragraphs in this free newsletter, either.  Hopefully, this change will stay in place.

If I choose to carry the Ursack, it will mean another separate 80-mile round trip for the verification, but it might be worth the weight savings.  Guess I should feel lucky to live so close!

[Author]

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