Simple Outdoor Tips
Animal Proof Food Storage – Protect Your Food From Animals With These Simple Food Storage Tips
Trail Courtesy – Are You Nice on Trail? Simple Tips from Cactus Huggers
Outdoor Tips Videos – Simple Videos Showing Some SimpleOutdoorStore Tips
Which Outsak® Bag – A Specifications Comparison of the Different Outsak® Bags
– Protect Your Food From Animals With These Simple Food Storage Tips
The following guidelines are meant to supplement local rules and regulations, rather than replace them. Always follow local protocols for food storage. When in doubt, always contact the ranger station designated for your specific travel area.
Keep the animals OUT of your food
It may seem obvious, but preventing animals from getting to your food and other scented items is the only way to keep your stuff safe.
Animals are opportunistic. They are rewarded for their efforts every time they successfully raid a backpack, food sack, stuff sack, etc. Animals are also rewarded for their close proximity to humans when they are fed or otherwise encouraged.
Animals that become habitual raiders often develop nuisance or dangerous behaviors that may lead to their displacement or destruction.
What Can You Do?
| Never feed wild animals, no matter how "tame" or cute they may appear |
| Know which animals are in the areas you are traveling through |
| Be prepared to store your food and scented items in such a way that it is safe from all the local wildlife |
| Always educate yourself on the proper use of food storage devices or techniques prior to using them |
| Try to be aware of ANY impact you are having on your environment, and try to minimize that impact |
| For more information, see the Grand Canyon National Park Backcountry Food Storage pages |
Which Food Storage Device Do You Need?
| Outsak® Animal Resistant Storage Bag | Stuff Sacks, Bear Resistant Bags, and Bear Hangs | Bear Canisters, and Wide–Mouth Bear Resistant Bottles | |
| Weight | Best | Better | Good |
| Capacity | Best | Better | Good |
| Resistance To Rodents and Other Small Animals | Best | Good | Better |
| Resistance to Bears and Other Large Animals | Must Be Hung Properly | Must Be Hung Properly | Best |
| Compresses When Emptied | Best | Good | Does Not Compress |
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Trail Courtesy – Are You Nice on Trail? Simple Tips from Cactus Huggers
- Rules And Regulations
- Most trailheads, entrances, and/or websites will have specific guidelines to follow.
- Stay On Trail
- Traveling on established trails in high impact areas protects the surrounding nature.
- Minimal Impact
- Please do your best to minimize your environmental impact. This includes packing out trash, leaving no crumbs or peels behind, staying on trail, eliminating far from water sources, animal proof food storage, etc.
- No Rock Throwing
- Assume there are hikers, bikers, trail runners, horses, or wildlife below every edge. Never throw a rock below an edge. Innocently thrown rocks can kill.
- Stop For Horses
- When encountering horses, mules, or other pack animals, step off the trail and stop. Make no contact with the animals. Listen and be open to instructions from the riders, as they sometimes have specific directions about their animals.
- Yield To Uphill Traffic
- Allow uphill traffic to continue with their pace by stepping to the side. The uphill traffic will sometimes want the break and might wave you through.
- Leash Dogs
- While on trail, it is respectful to keep your dogs leashed. This protects wildlife from stress and prevents your dog from approaching other people, dogs, bikes, horses, etc. Do not assume other people and animals want to greet your dog. Your dog should be under your control whether they are leashed or not. Know your dog, and do not allow your dog off leash if you are unsure if they will listen and comply with your requests.
- Stay Off Cross Country Ski Tracks
- Winter time travelers should avoid disturbing cross country ski tracks by walking to the side of them.
- Be Quiet
- Allow others a quiet environment.
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Tips Videos
Setting Up A Tent On A Hard Rock Surface
How To Dig A Cat Hole
or How To Poop In A Hole
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