Camping Questions

[miked]

Hey everyone, as mentioned in a previous post I will be in calgary in July for a wedding / visiting family. I plan on making it about a 3 week trip with some time spent in the mountains, camping, fishing and photography.

Sorry as this may seem very beginerish, I used to camp a fair bit but that was many years ago, and rarely in areas with as much wildlife as can be found in the mountains. I plan on sticking to main campgrounds where I can have my vehicle with me as I just not into the hiking and real roughing it anymore lol! Not to mention with 30 pounds or so of camera gear alone it would not be enjoyable.

My question is, is keeping the food in the vehicle good enough? Or do I need to be getting crazy with other methods of keeping food? I have seen stuff on government websites and such but often they seem way overboard, I mean having your cooking/food area 100 yards away from sleeping area just doesnt seem realistic in organised campgrounds.

Just to add a little more info it will likely be racehorse creek or one of the other campgrounds in the SW corner that I will be staying at. May also do a few days in Banff area.

 

Thanks all.

 

Any tips tricks from the seasoned campers here would be greatly appreciated, even food ideas. Saddly my days as a boy scout are long gone and all i learned also gone due to lack of using those skills.

 

[ÜberFly]

Keeping food in a cooler and containers in your vehicle is fine!

[pokerfish]

Keeping food in a cooler and containers in your vehicle is fine!

x2

 

not sure about the rules in Banff. no worries at racehorse. In your tent at either place is not wise.

[SilverDoctor]

Definitely in your vehicle is ok. The smell of the vehicle itself (gas oil) is usually enough to mask odors. Mind you there have been bears in some of the big US parks that have figured out there is goodies in those big tin cans. the key really is just keeping a clean campground. That includes no scraps on the picnic table and dishes done or stored. And the big thing garbage in the campground containers or well away from your site.

[bigalcal]

The smell of alcohol masks the smell of food at the "Cutty Hut"!! Haha!

In the vehicle is fine,

[hydroman]

A breathalyzer of the air around the cutty hut would easily exceed 0.05 24/7, especially when Darby is there.

[miked]

Thanks for the replies! Makes things easier to plan that way! Well I'm sure I'll be doing a little alcohol consumption during my time there as well! lol!

[Hawgstoppah]

If you are shooting some film do not leave off the Highwood River west of Longview from your list. It's stunning. There are some gorgeous places all over the west country. Cataract creek has some really gorgeous sets of falls as well.

 

If you are right in a campground you should be fine as stated with gear in coolers in vehicles. I've done that all my life. Like others said though, CLEAN UP. do NOT think "i'll clean up later and hit the evening hatch now" though. Just plan accordingly. Or you'll end up back at camp after the eve fish with a camp visitor.

[bigalcal]

Like Silver Doctor says...The bears in Yosemite have learned to open vehicles for a SUGAR PACKET!! They love minivan's as they scream young kids and dropped food!! When I was there, there was a sign at the campground kiosk saying that there had been more than 300 bear incidents there that season and they insist you put all food, toothpaste etc, in the steel box provided at each site. They said that there WILL be bears in the campground at night and not to be alarmed by bear bangers, and pots being clanged!! A bear tore apart an empty cooler in the site next to us. 20' from our tent!! They are more like big raccoons!! The threat at RHC is minimal. Just be a good camper!

[miked]

Thanks for the replies! Hawgstopah: yes the highwood is on the list for both the fishing and photography opportunities. I am pretty lucky on this trip in that time wont necesarily be an issue, I'll be able to spend as much time out there as I want. Unfortunately money will be a much larger and the ultimate decider on how long I'm out there for. The joys of being unemployed lol! I do plan at least 3 weeks total for the trip, so after travel and family obligations while out there I should be able to dedicate close to 2 weeks to just fishing and photography. Hoping to have some time to be able to do lots of both and not feeling like I missed a lot. The big thing is just gonna be getting over my fear of having my good camera with me while fishing. Need to find a good way to have the DSLR with me and safe while fishing so that if good shooting oportunities come up I dont miss them!

 

Thanks again.

Mike