Bear Country Food Storage When I Am Car Camping
I use the locker if there is one. I do not leave a cooler on the table overnight and call it fine. Pet food counts.
Field notes — I write these in first person, from how I actually pack. Photos go in when I have them.
The rule on the sign is the rule
Lockers, canisters, or the closed vehicle if that is what the land manager says. I do not invent a system because the cooler is ‘heavy.’ Bears open coolers. Raccoons teach humility faster.
Toothpaste and trash go with the food. I cook away from the tent if I am in real bear country. I do not sleep with a candy bar ‘for later.’
A rotomolded cooler is not a bear locker
It is a better cooler. Different job. I still follow the posted storage rule.
Quick answers
Is this a complete packing list?
No. This is what I actually do for this situation. Use a full checklist for the boring essentials, then add or subtract from this note.