Backcountry Forum
Backpacking & Hiking Gear

Backcountry Forum
Our long-time Sponsor - the leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear
 
 
 

Amazon.com
Backpacking Forums
---- Our Gear Store ----
The Lightweight Gear Store
 
 WINTER CAMPING 

Shelters
Bivy Bags
Sleeping Bags
Sleeping Pads
Snow Sports
Winter Kitchen

 SNOWSPORTS 

Snowshoes
Avalanche Gear
Skins
Hats, Gloves, & Gaiters
Accessories

 ULTRA-LIGHT 

Ultralight Backpacks
Ultralight Bivy Sacks
Ultralight Shelters
Ultralight Tarps
Ultralight Tents
Ultralight Raingear
Ultralight Stoves & Cookware
Ultralight Down Sleeping Bags
Ultralight Synthetic Sleep Bags
Ultralight Apparel


the Titanium Page
WM Extremelite Sleeping Bags

 CAMPING & HIKING 

Backpacks
Tents
Sleeping Bags
Hydration
Kitchen
Accessories

 CLIMBING 

Ropes & Cordage
Protection & Hardware
Carabiners & Quickdraws
Climbing Packs & Bags
Big Wall
Rescue & Industrial

 MEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 WOMEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 FOOTWEAR 

Men's Footwear
Women's Footwear

 CLEARANCE 

Backpacks
Mens Apparel
Womens Apparel
Climbing
Footwear
Accessories

 BRANDS 

Black Diamond
Granite Gear
La Sportiva
Osprey
Smartwool

 WAYS TO SHOP 

Sale
Clearance
Top Brands
All Brands

 Backpacking Equipment 

Shelters
BackPacks
Sleeping Bags
Water Treatment
Kitchen
Hydration
Climbing


 Backcountry Gear Clearance

Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#195806 - 06/14/16 09:25 PM bear-attracting smells?
Olga Offline
newbie

Registered: 06/02/16
Posts: 5
Hi, everyone:
I am wondering whether the traces of chemicals from toiletries left on the skin would be attractive to bears at night. For example, wildeness wash (especially, the one with citronella): I am sure that skin will smell of citronella if it was used for washing before bedtime. Or should it be avoided in bear country? Would non-citronella wilderness wash be OK? Another chemical that I am sure to use is aloe vera aftersun lotion. I burn very easily, even after wearing sunscreen, and will have to use it, so avoiding it is not an option. Would all these smells prompt a bear to check inside my tent at night? On the related note, Esbit solid fuel tablets: they are pretty stinky and I would prefer not to keep them next to food in the bear-proof container. May I keep them in the tent at night (in the pack) or this is asking for a bear visit?
Thank you very much.

Top
#195816 - 06/15/16 10:41 AM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Olga]
scratchtp Offline
member

Registered: 09/11/12
Posts: 64
Loc: New York
I generally don't worry too much about those sorts of things. I think if bears have very much experience with humans, they recognize which scents are food, and which tend not to be. If you had peanut butter scented soap, I would be a little bit concerned, but I wouldn't worry as much about citronella or aloe vera. Is the citronella wash an anti-mosquite measure? I would think a non citronella scented soap would be fine if all you are looking for is to get a bit cleaner. Truth be told, I don't generally take soap, just hand sanitizer, and then in the evening will rinse off in a lake or stream at the end of the day if I feel grimy. You probably already know, but soap shouldn't be used near any water sources anyway. I definitely wouldn't worry about esbit, I don't think it smells like food at all.

That said, I generally try to avoid scented toiletries when backpacking (when possible). If that's not possible then choosing the ones that are least related to food seems reasonable. Aloe vera and citronella don't seem too bad to me compared to pomegranate body wash or some of the other soap scents.

If you haven't already seen it, there's currently a thread running about what to put in a bear canister that has some interesting points in it. Both Oregon Mouse and Wandering Daisy had some good posts in that thread about what they felt makes the most sense (or scents? grin) to put in a bear can. Here's a link to that thread:

What to keep in a bear canister

Top
#195817 - 06/15/16 11:02 AM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: scratchtp]
balzaccom Offline
member

Registered: 04/06/09
Posts: 2232
Loc: Napa, CA
Local knowledge is key here. IN the Sierra, bears won't generally go after people at all. They will go after packs, bear cans, and anything that smells like something vaguely edible. But they won't go after people, even if you are wearing Chanel No5 in the evening.

But that may not be true in Grizzly country, or Alaska...
_________________________
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/

Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

Top
#195820 - 06/15/16 08:30 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Olga]
wgiles Offline
member

Registered: 05/19/14
Posts: 182
Loc: Central Illinois near Springfi...
I would call your attention to an article in Backpacker Magazine which quotes Dr. Tom Smith of BYU. I'm not a fan of Backpacker Magazine, but I am a fan of Tom Smith.

http://www.backpacker.com/survival/bears/the-truth-about-bears-the-skills/

I do think that some of the concerns are area specific. A Yosemite bear is likely to act differently from a Yellowstone bear, but, when you are in bear country, you play by their rules. Bear attacks are rare, but they make big news.

Top
#195822 - 06/16/16 09:42 AM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: wgiles]
Zuuk Offline
member

Registered: 09/22/15
Posts: 70
Loc: NB, Canada
I read that article, lots of good info in it, and it's straight to the point. I've spent a lot of time in the woods where I live, and we probably still have the highest black bear density population in North America. Of course, you hardly ever see a bear as the forest is pretty dense here and lots of places for them to hide. I have had a few bear encounters, but most of them were hunting related, so it's not like a fully natural encounter.

I'm getting to the point in my life where I'm starting to "wise up" to things. I've never carried bear spray, but I think I should probably start.

Talking aloud to yourself is a good noisemaker to avoid bears. You're basically announcing your presence as you go along, and the bears will go hide and watch you pass by. You'll never even know they were there. Of course, if you're not hiking alone, it's probably better to talk to the other person so that they don't think you're nuts.

The only time I ever felt threatened by a bear was when helping a friend check his hunting bear bait. We were putting out some donuts when we heard a big crack of a branch breaking. My friend said it was time to go, that the noise was a dominant bear coming in to the bait and making a sign for everything to get lost. We went back the next morning, and there were huge bear footprints that had walked on top of ours from the night before, following our exact trail from the bait to the car. I never went back to that spot again.

Top
#195829 - 06/16/16 01:58 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Zuuk]
billstephenson Offline
Moderator

Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
Great bear story. Thanks for sharing!
_________________________
--

"You want to go where?"



Top
#195832 - 06/16/16 02:56 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: billstephenson]
Zuuk Offline
member

Registered: 09/22/15
Posts: 70
Loc: NB, Canada
I only have a few bear stories. One of the "don't try this at home, kids" stories would be when a friend was hunting, thought he shot a bear with his bow, but couldn't find it. So he called me up to help him because I'm good at tracking. Long story short, I'm following fresh bear prints on my hands and knees, in the dark with only a little flashlight. I crawled into this thicket of small fir trees... and the place exploded around me as the bear jumped up and ran out. In that instance I asked my self what the hell I was doing, handed my friend the flashlight and told him it was his turn. Needless to say, he did not hit the bear. There were 4 of us there helping him. The others after said I was braver than they were, but I think I was stupider than they were. (I know it's properly "more stupid" but stupider fits better for how dumb that was!)

It does go to show though that the bear was indeed more scared of us than we were of it. If we had been making noise when tracking it, it would have just kept creeping away and never have stopped to hide. It is rare for an attack, but like others have mentioned, do the things that reduce your chances of an encounter. It'll still happen someday, just have to try and reduce smells as much as possible.

Top
#195835 - 06/16/16 04:23 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Zuuk]
wgiles Offline
member

Registered: 05/19/14
Posts: 182
Loc: Central Illinois near Springfi...
There are probably some odors that don't get bears attention, but I don't know what they are. I suspect that a bear might try to check out the source of an unusual odor if the bear doesn't associate that odor with a bad experience.

Top
#195838 - 06/16/16 08:18 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Zuuk]
Glenn Roberts Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 12/23/08
Posts: 2208
Loc: Southwest Ohio
And, since you don't say anything about the bear coming back, I assume you've proven that the odor of human urine and feces doesn't attract them? (Sorry, couldn't resist. smile )

Top
#195840 - 06/16/16 09:10 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Glenn Roberts]
JustWalking Offline
member

Registered: 01/12/16
Posts: 293
Loc: PNW
Originally Posted By Glenn Roberts
And, since you don't say anything about the bear coming back, I assume you've proven that the odor of human urine and feces doesn't attract them? (Sorry, couldn't resist. smile )


Urine certainly attracts deer, but you probably knew that. On a trip in Trinity Alps Wilderness last weekend, we had some deer hanging around our camp all night. In the morning, right after I did my morning relief, they made a beeline for it and 'enjoyed' it for awhile.

Top
#195841 - 06/16/16 09:41 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: JustWalking]
Glenn Roberts Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 12/23/08
Posts: 2208
Loc: Southwest Ohio
That wasn't really intended as a statement of scientific fact. blush

Top
#195842 - 06/16/16 09:47 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Glenn Roberts]
JustWalking Offline
member

Registered: 01/12/16
Posts: 293
Loc: PNW
Originally Posted By Glenn Roberts
That wasn't really intended as a statement of scientific fact. blush


Oh I know. It just gave me an opening for my deer story! grin

Top
#195846 - 06/17/16 08:55 AM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Glenn Roberts]
Zuuk Offline
member

Registered: 09/22/15
Posts: 70
Loc: NB, Canada
Originally Posted By Glenn Roberts
And, since you don't say anything about the bear coming back, I assume you've proven that the odor of human urine and feces doesn't attract them? (Sorry, couldn't resist. smile )


Well, in that kind of a situation there's only 2 responses. One where fear takes over and you lose everything, and one where you freeze and wait to get hit. In my case, it was a giant full body clench waiting to be run over, which luckily didn't happen. Happy to report that no change of underwear was needed. Again, probably due to stupidity.

Deer are attracted to urine though, and it doesn't matter whether it's human or not. I haven't tested it after eating asparagus, but I know that many times hunters will just pee off their tree stands, and the deer will walk right up to it; probably just curious.

Bears don't seem to mind it, but I haven't seen any behaviour as to show an attractiveness to it.

Poo is more of a detractant than an attractant.

My suggestion would be to stick with scents that are insect-repellent based, if you use scented products at all. Anything that would have a sweet smell would undoubtedly be mistaken for food by a bear, or rouse it's curiosity. The more natural you go though, the better it is for everyone and everything.

Top
#195849 - 06/17/16 10:59 AM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: wgiles]
wandering_daisy Offline
member

Registered: 01/11/06
Posts: 2865
Loc: California
It is my understanding that bear spray is not allowed in some national parks, for example, Yosemite.

Almost all my bear encounters have been in Yosemite. One day I ran into 8 bears in about 4 hours of hiking. All the encounters have turned out OK. My last run-in (two weeks ago)was on the north boundary of Yosemite, with a mother and cub. I was solo, saw them first, started making low level noise. The mother bear stood up, the baby ran downhill, I turned and slowly walked uphill and never looked back.

Bears are afraid of people where they are hunted. In National Parks with only black bear, where hunting is not allowed, bears are either defending their young, looking for human food, acting territorial, or curious. I have had a curious bear smell my face while I was sleeping out in the open. I have had more threatening encounters with moose. Those guys are really aggressive.

I carry bear spray, where it is allowed. I would also use it on a moose if needed.

Top
#195853 - 06/17/16 12:32 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: wandering_daisy]
Zuuk Offline
member

Registered: 09/22/15
Posts: 70
Loc: NB, Canada
My dog is gonna be sniffing my face tomorrow morning, and I'm gonna wake up thinking it's a bear... thanks! wink

I love bears. Was hunting one year with a friend, and a mother & cub came out. I filmed them with my camera, and my friend took still pictures of them (we didn't shoot them!) Their behaviour was something to watch up close. I was about 8 yards away, my friend 10 yards. Momma bear walked up to his tree, looked up at him as if to say "stay right there" and went back to watching over her cub. She also kept looking into one area where I think a juvenile bear was waiting to come in, but again, she was the boss. That was my best day hunting ever.

Bear spray should work on moose. They're half nose to begin with. Although, it could just make them mad too. A young moose during the rutting season is dangerous because he's so frustrated he can't get any action due to the dominant ones keeping him away. They get crazy and will do unpredictable stuff. They are the top of the food chain, with no natural predators (other than bear & wolves/coyotes when they are very young) so they don't have any fear when they get annoyed. At least you don't have to worry about attracting them with food smells.

Top
#195856 - 06/17/16 04:08 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: scratchtp]
Olga Offline
newbie

Registered: 06/02/16
Posts: 5
Thanks a lot. One less thing to worry about. I will need soap to wash off the sunscreen (I use the non-chemical one based on zinc oxide/titanium dioxide) before sleep and it cannot be removed just by washing with plain water (at least, I never could). Citronella wash is indeed expected to do double duty: cleaning and repelling mosquitoes, but I think I can skip the second feature. The hike will be in Sierra Nevada. I had before a couple of (reasonably) close encounters with black bears (one at the Lake Tahoe and one in Kentucky), but they ran away as soon as they saw/heard me. But there was plenty of space for us to go our separate ways. In the tent it would be a little more crowded. That is why I was asking this question.
Thanks to everyone for their help.

Top
#195857 - 06/17/16 04:54 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Olga]
GrumpyGord Online   content
member

Registered: 01/05/02
Posts: 945
Loc: Michigan
I was out hiking this week and used some hand purifier that I had picked up at a dollar store. I did not look at too closely but it ended up being vanilla. Probably not a great idea. I smelled like vanilla for the next hour.

Top
#196786 - 10/17/16 11:57 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: balzaccom]
Jim M Offline
member

Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
I agree that it is local thing. In the Olympic Mountains we just don't seem to have problems with bears even when we have see them not far from camp. Nevertheless, we are quite careful and use bear containers when required or otherwise hang our food and smelly tooth paste etc. I do know of one case where a bear stuck his head in a tent and quickly grabbed a piece of candy right next to my friends head! Thrilling to be sure, but no harm done. Bears are curious and have even better sense of smell than dogs, I am told. So I personally would never put any thing with any scent on my body.
_________________________
Jim M

Top
#200827 - 04/22/18 08:12 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Olga]
Jim M Offline
member

Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
Once in the Pasayten wilderness where the ranger said they occasionally have a report of a Grizzly we found some moron had left some old uncooked bacon near a fire pit. We didn't camp nearby.
The problem is people, not bears. We legally have to carry bear containers (food containers, actually) in the Olympic Nat. Park, and do. Hanging food had always worked in the past.
_________________________
Jim M

Top
#201094 - 06/04/18 04:17 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Olga]
troutstalker Offline
member

Registered: 06/02/18
Posts: 38
Loc: CO
Yes thanks for sharing the bear story. I generally keep everything with any smell on it whatsoever in my bear bag in the tree overnight, including lib balm, tootbrush, sun screen, bug spray...

Top
#202086 - 11/07/18 08:36 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Olga]
Jim M Offline
member

Registered: 11/23/03
Posts: 430
Loc: Kitsap Peninsula, WA
I have always taken all the recommended precautions and only lost sleep once when a bear came into camp and found some left over food I had not properly disposed of. Shame on me. After I left Alaska I did have a friend and her son killed by a Brown Bear. So maybe I was naïve.

According to an article I read by Ray Jardine bears can be attracted to anything they associate with people (smells) if they have learned that people mean food (Yosemite), but not so where people have been careful to avoid that association (Lassen N.P.
_________________________
Jim M

Top
#202087 - 11/07/18 11:30 PM Re: bear-attracting smells? [Re: Jim M]
balzaccom Offline
member

Registered: 04/06/09
Posts: 2232
Loc: Napa, CA
Ha! Our car was ransacked by a bear in Lassen twenty years ago, before they had bear boxes. In fact, our experience was in the last year before they installed them...
_________________________
Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/

Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

Top

Shout Box

Highest Quality Lightweight Down Sleeping Bags
 
Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags
 
Lite Gear Talk - Featured Topics
Backcountry Discussion - Featured Topics
Make Your Own Gear - Featured Topics
Featured Photos
Spiderco Chaparral Pocketknife
David & Goliath
Also Testing
Trip Report with Photos
Seven Devils, Idaho
Oat Hill Mine Trail 2012
Dark Canyon - Utah
Who's Online
0 registered (), 209 Guests and 0 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Noodles, McCrary, DanyBacky, Rashy Willia, WanderBison
13240 Registered Users
Forum Links
Disclaimer
Policies
Site Links
Backpacking.net
Lightweight Gear Store
Backpacking Book Store
Lightweight Zone
Hiking Essentials

Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:

Backcountry Forum
 

Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!
 
 

Since 1996 - the Original Backcountry Forum
Copyright © The Lightweight Backpacker & BackcountryForum