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What the hell about clean up-camping food

dadayama

New member
Ok...

What about clean up? so you cook scrambled frigin eggs and it taste great... but how do you clean up? with no running water.... etc...

What about that wonderful can of tuna fish you had for dinner in BEAR COUNTRY?

Most of the places.... scratch that.... all of the places i have been back-packing have been in non-bear country or i was in a sanitized national park that had bear protective areas for food and trash and such...

Mainly i am wondering about clean up... I started the camping food thread because i was trying to translate all the car camping experience with a little more rugged moto camping... you know when you are out on the Continental Divide Route.... or some other back country place...

In a car you have a lot more convenience then when on a motorcycle...

just curious....

Pedro
 
In any place with wildlife, I use a bearproof container. Not just for bears, either. Raccoons can be an issue in many places, as are mice. The BearVault Solo should do you. The original size can double as a chair. They have some nice design features.

Much easier and safer than trying to hang a bag.
 
If it's garbage and there are no approved recepitcle (not likely in remote areas), then you pack it back out. If it's not needed any more, crush the garbage down as small as possible and place it in a garbage bag you brought with you. If you're going to be out in the back-country for several more days and will still be carrying the garbage around, as RKOREIS stated, then a bear proof container is useful.

http://www.rei.com/product/768901

http://www.rei.com/product/709075

If you are talking about cleaning dishes and utensiles, there are products available for that. For example, here is a portable washbasin:

http://www.rei.com/product/814241

It also doubles as a stool.
 
I have an Ortlieb folding wash basin and use biodegradable unscented camping soap for clean ups. Running water is sourced from a stream or lake that I'm camped near; just boil a pot up right after finishing cooking, by the time your done eating its cooled enough to use for washing and no worry about stray organisms hanging around on your dishes for the next meal. Dispose of the waste water well away from your camp site and any water sources it could leech into. You can use a small folding spade to dig a pit first and recover after dumping the water in to aid in masking any residual aromas.

I don't typically have a lot of garbage with the type of food I use. I burn any clean paper products and will burn cans in the camp fire to remove the food odors, then pick them out in the morning and crush them to pack out. I keep all the pack out garbage in a Ziploc and dispose of it at the next fuel stop. I've never used a bear container for the food I do carry, Its all dry, canned or dehydrated stuff and I just lock it in the aluminum side case. If I have any fresh food, its consummed right away so there's no need for storage.

FWIW, I do carry a can of bear spray and keep it with me when I'm in bear country.
 
We generally camp in campgrounds we ride to on a street motorcycle. Commercial, State Park, National Park, Forest Service, County Park, etc.

Most have running water and trash receptacles. Some just have a hand pump and well for water. If we suspect there might not be water we make sure to have a gallon or so with us when we go to the campground.

Most often we are not in bear country - occasionally we are. But not in the back country in bear country. When we are in bear country we use the provided trash receptacles and are very careful to prepare food well away from the camp site. And we store any food and cosmetics and other stuff with attractive odors in a provided locker or in my Jesse cases, off the bike, and placed away from either the bikes or where we are sleeping.
 
TEN feet up a tree!

I camped just recently in around Mt St.Helens and the previous campers had apparently hung something smelly ten feet up a tree on a nail! Wrong idea! Bear claw marks were freshly ripped into the bark at 10':). So, use those containers if they exist. Your car, if using one is not a safe haven either, as bears around here peel car windows open every year. Very costly once inside. Happens every season. I think my Jesse's are not bear proof either and worry when I do it and have done it. I'd rather just leave the food out for the bears, if no other resource available. This is not a great idea either, so work hard at a safe haven for your byproducts around camp. Raccoons are another real hardy critter and I know all may not have bears, but probably racoons? Randy:thumb
 
If you are cooking in bear country you should be sure to use the green Tabasco Sauce. Bears really like their food with green Tabasco Sauce on it... or in it.
 
i also use the Ortlieb sink, since i often camp where there's no water and this helps a little go a long way.

i scrub pots and plates with dirt to remove stuff from the pan or plates... and do carry one of those little scratchy pad thingies.

if i'm in a place where i am worried about bears, i usually will do food prep/eat/clean/storage at least 100 yards away from my campsite.

ian
 
I've only had one close encounter with a bear while mc camping.
I had my food in a standard BMW plastic panniear and was awoken to a bear sniffing at my feet from the outside of the tent. The bear slobbered all over the pannier and knocked it around a bit, but didn't get in. I'm sure it could have.
I like Polarbears idea about leaving stuff out. The bear is gonna get at it anyway if it wants to. I have learned to take my smelly clothing off before getting in the tent.
I probably camp around bears most any time when in the mountains and have only that one incedent in over ten years.
As for cleaning up, I tend to keep it simple. Boil water in the same cooking pot and clean everything before tent time. Even the empty soup can.
I keep the kitchen area away from the tent area(not 100 yards) but at least 50 feet.
 
.... modest motels for me (bit of a sook eh?) Checked into a site in Utah and asked if they had any bear concerns in the campground. "nah, just a lot of deer" So I paid up. "However", he continued, " if nature calls in the middle of the night just be careful and don't turn over any rocks. We've got lots of snakes". Great. And, of course, you know what I had to do about two in the morning. I think he lied about the bears though. yup..... motels. - Bob
 
."However", he continued, " if nature calls in the middle of the night just be careful and don't turn over any rocks. We've got lots of snakes".

you know, down here in the south we wait until Yankees walk over to the edge of the woods to pee and then remind them of snakes.

all of a sudden, they don't have to go anymore. :ha

(this works great on the golf course, too, when you're waiting for others in your foursome to find their ball lost in the woods.........)
 
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