Okay, I've now had some nights under my belt where I've done some bear bagging. I'm no expert or anything but I wanted to report on what I found.

I tried the mason line. It certainly is strong enough for the task. For kicks I hauled my entire pack up a tree and it held fine. The weight did cause some wear on the line because of the friction against the bark but not as much as you would think. I think there is a coated mason line that might even do better at this. Mine was uncoated. Of course pulling up a heavier weight like that hurts your hands since the cord is kind of small. But for a smaller food bag it should be fine. Anyway the price was right.

I also tried the REI cord (I mentioned last time that I don't like this cord for guy lines but I thought I'd try it for bear bagging). This cord has a smooth, woven nylon, exterior. It glided very easily over the branch, easier than mason line. It's also pretty easy on the hands. However it was still a little worse for wear after just one use. The nylon exterior got a small rip in it and the white stuff inside began to come out.

I found some 550 paracord at the local surplus store. I haven't used it yet but the exterior feels similar to the REI cord so I imagine it will have no problem gliding over a branch.

Now the interesting thing comes in the technique. I tried the PCT technique and found I didn't like it.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/bear_bag_hanging_technique.html

It's a very clever idea mind you. The problem is that both the "up side" and "down side" of the cord have to go through the same binner and so need to be close to eachother. But during the night the food bag may spin and the cord winds up. With a thick cord like the 550 or the REI cord this may not be a problem. But the mason line can really get twisted up and then you can't get your food down easily. You pull the hanging line to get the stick out and it doesn't want to come. And since you can't see the line up there well enough you can't figure out which way to spin it to get it unwound.

The thing I tried that I liked better was to pull the food bag up and then tie the cord to a different tree. That way there is no possibility of lines getting twisted. I have heard that the bears on the PCT are too smart for this. They follow the line with their eyes, figure out where it is tied to, and chew through it to get the food. I'm hoping that our local bears (if there are any) aren't that smart. I'm quite sure the raccoons and squirrels aren't that smart either so that is what I'll probably do unless I go to the Sierra's,