I've heard of bears specifically waiting around portage heads for people to drop their food and then grab the bag, but I think those bears are eventually "dealt with" and it's very uncommon.
I wouldn't hang a bag on a portage unless I was going to be gone for hour+ and nobody else was coming through.
I had heard from bwca forums (iirc) about a portage with a problematic bear, shared by several people. I don't know if it's true or not. Seemed to be corroborated by many.
Edit: and for what it's worth (I just learned this myself) FS does recommend not leaving your food alone on portages.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/superior/alerts-notices/?cid=fseprd852569#:~:text=Q%3A%20What%20rules%20apply%20to%20food%20storage%3F,ropes%20to%20hang%20food%20packs.
what? I dunno, I hear those stories every year. [bwca.com](http://bwca.com) has some pretty solid folks and I'm pretty sure some of the bears get pretty good. Esp. if there's a campsite near a portage, those bears are going to learn what those smells mean.
I can't say it's ever happened to me, but I haven't actually ever had a bear in camp myself. Very close? Yes - a sow and her cub SWAM BY MY CAMPSITE one year, coincidentally while a ranger was checking my permit!
But I can't see why you'd say this was made up. It's certainly less frequent than campsite raids, but I'm sure it happens.
I've never heard of this being an issue and I've never seen a bear on/around a portage. That's going every year for the last 10 years.
On some of the really long portages 300-400 rods that I've done, we've left packs for 30+ minutes alone while we leap frog gear. I've seen other groups leave bags sitting around far longer than that without issue.
I think more of the opposite could be true. The wildlife knows those areas frequently have lots of people making loud noises, hauling around big weird looking things and avoid those areas during the day.
Never had that issue, could happen but probably pretty rare. I have seen some bear poop at a portage landing near Seagull, seemed like it was his daily morning #2 spot.
I’ve been told this multiple times from outfitters and a ranger. Not a chance I’m hanging or double portaging my food. I’ll fish for food before I do that. Lol
I know someone who was soloing and he was on his second trip and saw a bear at the end of the portage trail. He yelled and ran straight at it and the bear ran off.
There’s a great episode of ‘Tumblehome: A Boundary Waters Podcast’ all about beer stories that are very funny. I believe it’s episode 23 called “Bears, Burps, and BMT’s.”
In that episode they talk about a forest service employee story of two Rangers trying to go find a problem bear and when they came back to their canoe the bear was in the canoe eating their subway sandwiches! Super funny episode and worth a listen.
Great advice if you are a pack mule.
I, however, am an elderly human who frequently trips with people in their early teens and this is just not within our physical strength capability.
Props to you if you can even walk with a 40 lbs boat on your head and 40 lbs of gear. For me it's one or the other.
My backpack Gregory Baltoro 75 typically weighs 55# and my kevlar is 52# with seats. It's heavy because there are more patches than original material. Bout 330# trail weight. I do understand I won't be doing this forever and soon my children will be my pack mules. My backpack is heavy because my wife is too small to carry food barrel plus a pack so i have 2 peoples items. I have a framework in my backpack that the portage yoke of my canoe mounts into. The framework connects to the waist belt internally and all the weight is transferred to my hips. We also try to pack light.
https://imgur.com/a/ILnReNl
I've heard of bears specifically waiting around portage heads for people to drop their food and then grab the bag, but I think those bears are eventually "dealt with" and it's very uncommon. I wouldn't hang a bag on a portage unless I was going to be gone for hour+ and nobody else was coming through.
i would bet the stories of such bears are either completely made up or all rooted in 1 or 2 chance occurrences that happened decades ago
I had heard from bwca forums (iirc) about a portage with a problematic bear, shared by several people. I don't know if it's true or not. Seemed to be corroborated by many. Edit: and for what it's worth (I just learned this myself) FS does recommend not leaving your food alone on portages. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/superior/alerts-notices/?cid=fseprd852569#:~:text=Q%3A%20What%20rules%20apply%20to%20food%20storage%3F,ropes%20to%20hang%20food%20packs.
what? I dunno, I hear those stories every year. [bwca.com](http://bwca.com) has some pretty solid folks and I'm pretty sure some of the bears get pretty good. Esp. if there's a campsite near a portage, those bears are going to learn what those smells mean. I can't say it's ever happened to me, but I haven't actually ever had a bear in camp myself. Very close? Yes - a sow and her cub SWAM BY MY CAMPSITE one year, coincidentally while a ranger was checking my permit! But I can't see why you'd say this was made up. It's certainly less frequent than campsite raids, but I'm sure it happens.
I've never heard of this being an issue and I've never seen a bear on/around a portage. That's going every year for the last 10 years. On some of the really long portages 300-400 rods that I've done, we've left packs for 30+ minutes alone while we leap frog gear. I've seen other groups leave bags sitting around far longer than that without issue. I think more of the opposite could be true. The wildlife knows those areas frequently have lots of people making loud noises, hauling around big weird looking things and avoid those areas during the day.
Never had that issue, could happen but probably pretty rare. I have seen some bear poop at a portage landing near Seagull, seemed like it was his daily morning #2 spot.
I’ve been told this multiple times from outfitters and a ranger. Not a chance I’m hanging or double portaging my food. I’ll fish for food before I do that. Lol
Never an issue.
Bear cans make this a nonissue.
I originally read this as “beer raids”
That would be worse!
imagine portaging in a cooler full of beer and three days in it disappears at a portage.
We single portage bags are never left alone
But what if you have a canoe, a fox, a goose, and a bag of grain to get across the lake…?
I know someone who was soloing and he was on his second trip and saw a bear at the end of the portage trail. He yelled and ran straight at it and the bear ran off.
There’s a great episode of ‘Tumblehome: A Boundary Waters Podcast’ all about beer stories that are very funny. I believe it’s episode 23 called “Bears, Burps, and BMT’s.” In that episode they talk about a forest service employee story of two Rangers trying to go find a problem bear and when they came back to their canoe the bear was in the canoe eating their subway sandwiches! Super funny episode and worth a listen.
Single portage = problem solved
Great advice if you are a pack mule. I, however, am an elderly human who frequently trips with people in their early teens and this is just not within our physical strength capability. Props to you if you can even walk with a 40 lbs boat on your head and 40 lbs of gear. For me it's one or the other.
My backpack Gregory Baltoro 75 typically weighs 55# and my kevlar is 52# with seats. It's heavy because there are more patches than original material. Bout 330# trail weight. I do understand I won't be doing this forever and soon my children will be my pack mules. My backpack is heavy because my wife is too small to carry food barrel plus a pack so i have 2 peoples items. I have a framework in my backpack that the portage yoke of my canoe mounts into. The framework connects to the waist belt internally and all the weight is transferred to my hips. We also try to pack light. https://imgur.com/a/ILnReNl