Originally Posted by
fishboat
Sleeping with your food in bear country continues to be the practice of folks seeking a Darwin Award.
+1. And leaving food in your tent when you are not there can give you a good excuse to buy a new tent thanks to rodents. While riding home after my cross country tour I was camping outside of Hyde Park, NY in September. The place was rife with squirrels and chipmunks fattening up for the coming winter. Took a day off to tour the Vanderbilt mansion. Left a loaf a bread in the tent. I returned to find that something had torn through the tent mesh and gorged on my bread. The tent was nearly brand new. The zipper of my original tent crapped out in Maine. Fortunately, my route took me through Freeport and I had been able to pick up a new one at L.L. Bean.
Even the smell of food can cause problems. A few years ago a raccoon tried to make off with one my panniers. The bag had held my cooking gear and very aromatic everything bagel. It was empty since I was in New Jersey bear county and had put all my food and cooking gear in the bathroom for safety. Still, the varmint tried to drag the thing away. I was in my tent about to turn in when it happened. Heard him and chased him away.