By Glenn H. Kipps

If you are planning a camping trip to the wilderness, you are likely to encounter a meeting with the local wildlife. Some animals, such as bears, are potentially dangerous. To reduce the likelihood of having one of these animals visit your campsite, the type of food, the way you store it and even the way you cook it is very important. You also must know that you are a guest in their domain. Therefore, your respect for the wildlife is a must if you should encounter a bear or other potentially dangerous animal. Just try to avoid them and let them pass. In this article, I will give some helpful tips on picking the right food for your camping trip that wiil help you avoid wildlife dangers.  This is a very important factor when making your camping gear list.

The first thing we will cover is the right kind of food to bring on a [tag-tec]camping trip in the wilderness[/tag-tec]. Foods that have a strong smell are the worst types of food to bring because strong smelling food, such as tuna fish, obviously is going to attract animals. The best food to bring is anything canned or factory sealed. However, some people like to have their eggs for breakfast, etc. In these cases, storing your food properly is very important.

You should store your food as far away from your tent as possible. To avoid food smells from coming to your site, try to store your food downwind from your site. This is not always possible due to wind changes. You can purchase a [tag-ice]bearproof container[/tag-ice]. They come in several sizes. However, if you hike a long way before setting up camp, these are really not that practical.  However, if you are not going far from your car, these bearproof containers are great items to add to your camping gear list.  Some people like to store their food in an airtight bag tied from a branch. However, if you tie the bag too close to the trunk, a bear can get it easily since they have the ability to climb trees. Also, if the branch is too small, the bear can break it and get your food. If the branch is big enough the bear can walk right on it to get your food. Some people like to store their food in the trunks of their cars. However, food smells can escape cars. A bear will try to rip apart your car to get your food. Anything else that emits a strong odor must be stored with your food. If you think your clothes might have a food smell on them, store with your food. As you can see, there are only deterrants to keep animals away from your food. There are no full proof ways to keep them from getting your food. However, if it is stored properly, the probability of animals bothering you at your campsites is minimal.

The way you cook food is also very important. You should cook near where you are storing your food. Do not cook in the middle of your campsite because the residue of the food still lingers in the air. Thus, you will be attracting wildlife to you campsite. Only cook what you are going to eat. Leave no leftovers. If you are a fisherman, clean fish where you caught them and throw the remains in the water. This will kill the odor since animals can’t smell through water. Make sure you clean up after you are done cooking. Wash all dishes thoroughly. Burn any burnable garbage. Store the rest of the garbage near your food.

In conclusion, use common sense when dealing with food on a wilderness camping trip.  Make sure you double check your camping gear list before you go. I hope these tips helped you in picking the the right food for your camping trip that will help you avoid wildlife dangers.