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Techniques and Equipment for Wilderness Travel with Stock
Setting up a highline with tree saver-straps.
Manure should always be scattered after animals have been tied. In some heavily used locations, stock users pack manure out in plastic bags.
When traveling in bear country, take extra care to reduce the chance of an encounter. Make human and stock food, as well as garbage, unavailable by using bear-resistant containers or by hanging food in a tree. All garbage should be packed out. Burying garbage is not acceptable because bears usually dig it up.
Precautions must be taken in bear country.
Contact land managers when planning a trip in grizzly bear country. Special rules concerning human and stock food storage and camping precautions may apply in wildernesses with grizzlies. These rules are implemented to minimize encounters between grizzly bears and humans and provide for user safety. Managers also can provide detailed information about traveling and camping more safely in these wildernesses.
While in grizzly bear country it is best to travel in pairs or groups and to make noise to alert bears to human presence. Always keep a clean camp and follow agency regulations on food storage. Remember, all food and beverage items (including canned food), garbage, processed livestock and pet food, scented toiletries, and freshly caught fish attract bears. Stock users should avoid using molasses-treated oats. Nose bags are recommended for feeding stock to minimize grain and pellet spillage. Hay is not considered a bear attractant.
Additional information on travel and camping in bear country can be obtained at USDA Forest Service and State Wildlife Department offices. To obtain a copy of "Living with Grizzly Bears-Structures That Work," contact the USDA Forest Service Northern Region, Wildlife/Fisheries Unit, P.O. Box 7669, Missoula, Montana 59807.
At the end of a day on the trail, travelers look for a comfortable camp spot. As a general rule, camps should be hidden from main trails and away from water so that everyone can enjoy campsite privacy and solitude. Because standards for camping distances from trails, water sources, and meadows may not be the same in every wilderness, stock users should find out before their trip what regulations apply. In most cases, camping at least 200 feet (60.96 meters) from trails, water sources, and meadows is recommended or required.
Most wilderness managers encourage using existing sites. This confines the major impact to sites that already have been affected by use. In some locations with little use, wilderness managers ask campers to select sites with little or no previous use so an individual site does not become overused. Campers should use the low-impact practices discussed. All wilderness users should be careful not to cause resource damage in fragile high alpine meadows. Rather than camp in these fragile areas, it is better to camp at lower elevations and take day rides to visit these locations.
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