Where do you eat / food hang?

[Jett]

Hello everyone! I'm wondering if anyone could please share your experience with where you eat and hang your food bag while backcountry camping? I am aware that this is an incredibly basic question and I do know the "correct" answer. Don't eat at camp and hang 100 yards from your tent. So far, we've stuck to this general premise. However, I admittedly got interested in backpacking from watching several backpackers hike the triple crown trails on youtube (Homemade Wanderlust, Darwin on the Trail, etc) and I've noticed this seems to be inconsistent for most of these hikers. I often see them eating near/around camp, and some shelter areas even have picnic tables right outside the shelter which people eat at, as well as bear boxes/cables that seem rather close to camp itself. We've only ever hiked by ourselves, so I haven't gotten a firsthand look at how anybody else manages this. I'm mostly just wondering if I'm being a little TOO cautious with my food? Also, I'm not sure if it matters, but I'm mostly talking about black bear territory. I don't think I could be convinced to take any risks in Grizzly territory lol.

Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[balzaccom]

Depends completely on the region/location.  In the Sierra Nevada in California, we are required to keep food in a canister or within arms reach at all times.  But our bears are now relatively wild and shy--and we're trying to reinforce that.  Bear incidents in Yosemite are now down over 95% over 20 years ago.

But grizzlies are different.  And so is Alaska.  Local rules and regulations always apply.

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

I don't think you can be too cautious, whatever works for your comfort level while complying with the regulations for your particular destination. I always eat at a separate location and hang or use an Ursack some distance from camp.

[Dogwood]

The reason why there exists  wildlife unnaturally habituated to established CS's and trail shelter areas is because human behavior born out of the convenience to prepare, consume, and store food and other smellables where we sleep. 

I tend to prepare, consume and store food and  other smellables away from where I sleep in black bear areas AND mostly stealth LNT camp  away from established CS's while not introducing a new established CS. A big part of the reason why I personally don't have many negative wildlife problems with food is because I dont stick to established CS's. In our human hubris we dont usually readily examine the negative extent humanity's behavior  has on the environment.  FWIW, after sleeping somewhere it would take a professional tracker  to know I had passed through as I dont leave much of a trace ...AT ALL.

When someone like Skurka  says he sleeps with his food it HAS to be taken in context he does several things to reduce  problems with wildlife including largely camping where others previously have not(he does some rather remote hikes), not sleeping in the clothes he ate, and not always eating where he's sleeping.  

BTW, camping with several NP Rangers in different NP's where bear issues exist the Rangers have taught me to prepare, consume and store food away from I sleep 

[Dogwood]

I suspect some take Skurka's food protection approaches including his general disdain for bear bagging and hard sided canisters as an excuse not to protect their food or employ legal mandatory  food protection while ignoring the greater context of his overall situations.