Bear Question

Hello! We're heading to Yellowstone, Grand Tetons and RMNP this summer and poked around the forum for an answer and didn't find anything. Emailing Yellowstone wasn't too helpful, either.

We usually have a poop tent set up with our portable toilet and kitty litter to control the smells. Does this sort of thing attract bears?

 

<Following> --- Good question. I would think it would repel them. It isn't a food smell, I'm more worried about what's in my gray tank and grill.

 

There's a guy here who shoots photos of bears in Yellowstone- johnL? Posted awhile back about bear food storage safety.

Human poop? I dunno, am not a bear biologist, but for own peace of mind -
Think I'll use the concrete block house if I'm camping on a NPS or USFS campground in brown bear country.

Or

Put my honeybucket/cathole at least 30 yds from camp if boondocking...just my $0.02

I read Yellowstone is snowed in for Memorial Day so getting an admin email back may take longer.

There's gotta be something on bear camp etiquette on the NPS website...

 

Human scat attracts bears and urine even more so because it smells salty.

 

The Rangers will give you a ticket if they don’t like it. My cooler was only used for ice, it was double locked, approved by the Interagency Bear people. It was explained to me that bears just tear things up because it “might” contain food.

 

Reminds me of the joke about bear scat that is peppery with bear-bells mixed in...hmm!

 

I hate 'might' laws. 'might', at the very worst, should be a polite comment, "You know, that MIGHT attract bears...." --- Ticket away for what is measurable. "It looks like you might have been speeding..." vs "Radar clocked you at 83 in a 75"

I can guess that the 36 foot with a fridge in side might look like food dispenser to a hungry critter...

 

Ok, I heard from the Cayon Campground in Yellowstone today and they do not allow a portable toilet. We will have to use the bathroom, but she said there was one at each loop. My wife will need to walk a little longer than normal for a midnight potty break!

 

Thats good information, that I probably don't want to think more about than I already have

 

I can see why they would have a policy like that but really... We use the side tent with a bucket toilet with kitty litter and dump the bag in the morning. My wife would NEVER camp without it. (No. 1 only though.) We've camped in Yosemite a lot and other bear country sites and never had a problem.