High Sierra Topix

Can a bear smell unscented grain alcohols like vodka, rum, tequila, etc? And does that hip flask of vodka, therefore, need to stay out of the tent and in the bear canister?

151 stays out of the tent. Bear hasn't touched it in 40 years.

Some rums have a sweet character so you might be cautious with those. I sometimes take a 151 Demerara rum that has a sugary smell. Gin is pretty aromatic as well and that might attract a bear. I talked to a guy whose Jeep was broken into by a bear. He said it didn't eat his eggs but did eat an entire 5lb can of coffee. Weird, huh? So a bit of gin? I wouldn't assume a bear would pass that up.

Otherwise, vodka/tequila/whisky/whiskey/Bacardi 151 are really not that different than fuel for alcohol stoves and not likely of interest to a bear. It would be interesting to hear what rangers say. Ethanol has a pretty decent caloric value so the rangers might take the tack that it's "food" so it must be secured. But if that's true then denatured alcohol is also food, albeit slightly poisonous food. A bear could probably metabolize a bit of methanol, isopropanol, acetone, etc. and still be okay. On that note, I've always wondered if I could get drunk on vanilla extract (it's 80 proof) or if I'd end up puking first.

All that said, I've always kept the whisky/rum/whatever in the bear canister just because it's so valuable. I've heard stories of bears biting into all sorts of containers, including propane fuel canisters, presumably in the hope that they contained food. And if the whisky were lost somehow I'd have to abort my trip and hike out early!

By the way, what are all those web widget link things at the end of your posts. Do you make money by posting on forums?

longri wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:34 pm By the way, what are all those web widget link things at the end of your posts. Do you make money by posting on forums?

The only thing I add to my posts are the smiles available on here. I never see anything else when looking at my posts later.

A buddy of mine took a six pack of beer on a trip. At nightfall, he stored it submerged in a cold stream. The next morning, each of the cans had been punctured and sampled by bear claws and teeth. That's a shame, because it was good beer.

bobby49 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 18, 2019 5:58 pm A buddy of mine took a six pack of beer on a trip. At nightfall, he stored it submerged in a cold stream. The next morning, each of the cans had been punctured and sampled by bear claws and teeth. That's a shame, because it was good beer.

Wow, that's pretty tragic. I sort of imagine cans of Hop Bullet, Torpedo, Track7, etc. getting ruined and I can only imagine how bummed I'd be.

It was especially tragic because the bear didn't finish any of it, and each punctured can was diluted by stream water.

I've posted this before but I,too, have had a bear find a beer stashed in a creek and drink same. Never had an issue with my 151 though.

Sure would be interesting to see a bear drink a whole poly bottle of 151.. I'd fire up the GoPro for that video..