base camp gear protection

Aside from hanging a food bag, I worry about mice, squirrels, raccoons, etc, being attracted to the gear from remaining odors, or just wanting a salt lick. Has anyone tried carrying chili powder or something like that, to sprinkle on your gear? If it rained, would the powder soak into the gear? Perhaps just on the ground around your gear?

I got this idea from someone who recommended "critter ridder" (but I would rather use something from the dollar store).

Another idea, was a garbage bag that has anti-mice smell (for the backpack). However, my thoughts is that the chili powder would be less nasty and weigh less.

Look at ursacks.

Is kevlar sailcloth similar to the material of Ursacks?

Also, I was mainly talking about protecting the backpack that doesn't have food in it. Hiding it under some rocks, the mice may be curious enough to make a hole, even if there is only a very slight odor of food.

Also, why not just bury the food in a waterproof bag, like a Mint-X trash bag?

I think you would find burying food would be more difficult than hanging it, and animals could still dig it up.

Many people leave the zippers undone so the mice can go in and out without chewing their way. Unless you are camping in an area where mice and other critters are a known problem, I wouldn't worry about it. Worst case is you sew a patch on your pack and you have a story to tell.

Salt on gear does cause problems with animals, particularly marmots. Hang your pack on a thin line (like parachute cord). Tie a rock on the end and throw it over a branch then attach your pack and pull up. Just getting it up off the ground will deter many small animals. If the line is thin enough, then even tree climbers will not likely be able to climb down the cord to reach your pack.

If your pack doesn't have food in it, then don't worry about it. I have only seen problems with food left inside. If you are still worried, hang the pack off the ground like WD said.

Wandering Daisy: Unlikely perhaps, but I also worry about human thieves. So I want to hide it, which would mean stuffing it somewhere, or throwing branches over it, etc.

Have you guys ever tried what I suggested? I'd like to hear the failure stories.

Depends on where you backpack. Here in the Sierra, the marmots are super aggressive and WILL chew up a pack for the salt on the straps.

I do not worry about humans taking my pack. First, my pack is old and does not look very valuable. Second, most backpackers are already carrying all they want to. Third, my pack is black - not easy to see. Just camp away from the trail and you are not likely to have any problems.

My pack oubles as a day pack so I do not have to worry about it in camp since it always goes with me.

Personally, if I were worried about human theft, I simply would not backpack in that area.

It's more likely your car will be broken into at some trailheads than that someone will mess with your gear.

If you are worried, hang your gear a good distance away from the campsite. Just don't get lost while you are doing it, and have an unmistakable landmark to identify the spot.

I have never had the problem of people stealing things. That doesn't mean it isn't possible. The farther you walk, the less likely you will run into someone who will steal your stuff. Not only is there just less people, but for the most part, those people that you do see are not thieves.

That being said, if I ever leave my stuff somewhere, I just put it in the bushes. Sometimes I cover it with my camo poncho. I never leave it ON a trail, or very close by. It is always off into the woods a ways.

I think this is really situational, per several comments already made. On our last trip, my wife's waistbelt pouch was chewed into based on lingering food smell (but no food); I certainly agree with the comment about keeping zippers/flaps/other openings open.

Last winter some others and I went on a day hike the morning after an overnight backpack/snowshoe trip, leaving most of our stuff behind. The others all had tents and left their gear in their tents. I had slept under a tarp, and had already taken down the tarp by the time the decision was made to hike around a bit before moving on. So I put all of my things in a black plastic garbage bag and tied it shut. On return, the tents weren't touched, but my yard waste bag had been ripped open by a fox and all of my stuff strewn all over in the snow. For some reason, it seems like many/most animals see a tent as "an object" and don't bother it. I expect if the food scent was strong enough, however ...

In terms of worrying about human thieves ... I think this is quite situational again. If you're hiking scant miles from a busy trailhead on a sunny weekend, it's quite different than camping 50 miles from the nearest road, and of course there's a lot of greyscale in between those relative extremes.

On a dayhike away from a base camp, my inclination would be to leave a tent sealed with things like sleeping bag, etc inside, and certainly no food or other scented item inside. Hang food (high enough and far enough out ...) or use bear can or Ursack depending on location. If marmots or goats are known to be an issue, certainly hang gear up out of their reach.

W.r.t. the human element, the thing that sometimes makes me worry a little isn't that someone will carry my gear away on top of their own, but that they'll recognize that I have something significantly nicer and leave their, say, cheap sleeping bag behind and take my good one. It's never happened, though, and life always has some element of measured risk. What good is the nice sleeping bag if you don't get out and use it!?!