There’s more than one way to hang a food bag – but after trying a few, I’ve come to rely on the using the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail) method. The PCT method balances simplicity, speed, and effectiveness. Rather than simply tying one end of your throw line onto a nearby tree, where a bear or another hungry forest dweller could attempt to chew through the line, break the line, or cause other forms of disorder, PCT style hanging eliminates that point of failure in a quick and easy way.

The PCT method requires a minimal amount of equipment and once you know the steps, it isn't too difficult to perform.

Equipment

• Food bag. Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil dry bags or a Dyneema dry bag are among the lightest options.
• Throw line. I’ve settled on 60 feet of DynaGlide throw line with a small bowline knot tied into one end.
• Throw bag – a stake bag works great.
• Small carabiner of choice. Find a selection at REI Co-op and Zpacks offers this ultralight option.
• A rock or two and a short stick located at the hang site
• Optional: 12x20" OPSak liner bag for additional containment of smellables
• Zpacks offers a bear bagging kit containing many of these components.

While you can perform a PCT style hang with just about any bag or stuff sack, a roll-top dry bag offers the best weather protection and makes things easy.

How to Hang Your Food Using the PCT Method

Locate a suitable limb for hanging. Not so strong that a bear can climb out onto it and get your food, but not so small that they can easily just break the branch. Far enough out from the trunk of the tree, and high enough up that they can’t simply reach out from the trunk of the tree or up from the ground and grab your food bag. Once you’ve found the right branch, locate a small stick a few inches long, the smoother the better. Hold onto this for now.

Place a rock or two in your throw bag to give it some weight, and using your carabiner, link the throw bag to a loop in the throwline (you can leave the carabiner permanently attached to the line).

Keeping your foot on the opposite end of the line so it doesn’t fly away, throw your bag over the branch. An underhand swing is easiest, but sometimes an overhand baseball style throw can provide more accuracy. Lower the weighted bag to the ground with the line over the branch.

Tying the clove hitch

Unclip the carabiner from the throw bag and attach it to your food bag. Feed the loose tag end of your throw line through the carabiner and hoist the bag up to the tree branch. Reaching up as high as possible, grab the free end of the line and tie the stick in with a quick clove hitch. An easy way to tie the knot is to simply form two loops with the tag end running under the standing part of the line, then place the right side loop on top of the left side loop. When the stick is inserted and the line tightened, the knot will form.

Once your "stopper" is tied in, you can lower the bag back down a bit until it contacts the carabiner to hold the bag at height.

Lower the food bag down – When the stick comes into contact with the carabiner, it will act as a stopper and your food bag has been hung (to retrieve the bag later, pull the free end of the line down again and remove / break the stick). Now that everything is hung, you remembered to put those snacks that were in your pocket in the now hung food bag, right? A mistake I've been guilty of on more than one occasion.

PCT hang in progress

In Conclusion

While these days I prefer the convenience of taking an Ursack bear bag to save time in the evenings, there are trips where the trip length and / or group size exceeds the amount of Ursacks I own and I still utilize the PCT method to hang extra food at the start of a trip. If you find yourself in a similar situation, or if you're looking to go as ultralight as possible, when properly used the PCT method is worth having in your backcountry skills repertoire.

Editor's Note: This trail tip originally appeared in Issue 9 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos.