this is an excellent thread with great information.. excellent community too i look forward to posting!

on the subject of bears/critters and food, i am planning a small backpacking trip possibly solo in the sierras in 2 weeks and havent really informed myself to a level that this thread has now provided.

i have a few points/questions though, about human scent and territory.

i plan on hanging my food at least 50-100 ft from my sleeping area, with food/water/toiletries contained at least 10 ft up with 3-5 ft between the rope and branch to ensure critters dont somehow climb down the rope onto the hanging bag. so ill need a branch about 15 ft high in order to maximize protection, which is possibly with the huge jeffrey pines in the area.

well i also plan on making a 10-15 ft diameter circle of urine (or as much as i can muster before bed) around my tent.

no one has mentioned urine yet, and i was wondering what your opinions would be on the effectiveness of having it circling your tent.

ive read that it is both a good idea as well as a myth, but im figuring at least bears (critters might not care as much) would back off from the area or lose interest in my tent/pack.

i will keep my pack inside my tent (its a 2 person tent i use for solo) and all im really worried about is food smell on my clothes after cooking/fishing and having damage done to my stuff from rodents.

i also want to know if during the winter bear activity is limited due to hibernation, and what time of year they wake up and start to look for food, because i know if i just woke up from a 3 month sleep id be hungry for anything!

well great thread/replies thanks for reading and im looking forward to any response!

cheers