I am moving from southern east coast to pacific northwest and I am going to car camp my way across the country with as many belongings as I can fit in my Honda CRV. I have two questions I really need answered.

1. I bought a black soft cargo carrier to put on my roof rack so that I can pack belongings in the car and all camping equipment on top for easy access. The trip is going to take about a week -- should I be worried about that much heat exposure hurting the durability of my gear?

2. Part of my journey will be through South Dakota/Yellowstone/Idaho - aka parts of bear country. I am by no means a perfume person, but I will have various hair products/lotion/a bit of makeup buried in a toiletries box in my car. I'm going to try to stick to well traveled areas if that makes a difference, but is this going to be a problem?

I may be overthinking, but I'd appreciate some experienced opinions for peace of mind! Thanks!

On the roof rack you could put something like a "Space Blanket" on top of all your stuff inside the cargo carrier. A piece of bubble foil insulation would work good too. Put the shiny side up and it will reflect heat back up and out.

I made a road trip up near there years ago and never ran into any bears. Yellowstone NP is huge, and I doubt those bears hang out much near where people are. I never saw one there. Saw a big moose up close, but he did bother me.

I wouldn't worry about bears at all, and I really don't think you need to either, but the best thing to do is ask locals or Park Rangers if bears have been a problem there and if you need to take special precautions.

Sounds like a good plan and a fun trip!!!

ask locals, should always at least toss up a bag if you have any food or scented products with you.

My understanding is that only California bears break into cars. In other areas of the country, the authorities tell you to store your food in the car.

I'd worry more about two-legged burglars when in a parking lot, rest area, or at a motel. I always unload my car completely when at a motel, and try to keep a close eye on the car when parked elsewhere. If you're going to go hiking along the way, arrange to store your stuff somewhere, particularly if you're anywhere near a main highway or interstate.

BTW, I've found that a block of ice, as opposed to a bag of cubes, will last several days, even in a cheap ice chest in a car parked in the sun during 90* days. There's a lot less water to dump out, too.

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest!

That was certainly our experience in Yellowstone. We tried to keep food out of our car, as we do in Yosemite. The rangers made it very clear that they wanted all food IN our car.

You shouldn't have a problem with either.

I'm feeling a bit guilty for saying "I wouldn't worry about bears at all [in Yellowstone]" now.

Stephen Colbert might be right after all