Hi Everyone,

I am looking for some very solid/specific tips from experienced BWCA trippers. There are a few pieces of gear and their use that are kind of holding me back from planning a big trip. They are camp tarps and blue barrels.

I am a very experienced backpacker. I am used to traveling light and using small bear cans or pre-hung bear wires at camps.

I went to Sawbill two falls ago and was going to attempt basecamping and doing excursions daily. It rained the entire time and I did not have a tarp. What kind of tarps do people recommend for camp? Does anyone have specific hanging instructions or links to videos that show how to rig these up? This is kind of the set back with the tarps. I'm thinking about getting a CCS tarp...but I have no idea how to set them up (I see really nice camp tarp set ups all over YouTube and I'm jealous).

The other thing: blue barrels. I want to ditch the small bear cans I have that limit me to trail mix and dehydrated meals. I want to enjoy the luxury of being able to pack real food and real cool wear :-) I want to properly hang the bag in a tree and not leave it in camp like most people say they do, especially since I'll be solo. Does anyone have specific instructions on how to hang these things? Any video links? Or do people prefer food bags over the barrels?

Thanks much!!

As far as the tarp goes I would suggest a CCS tarp. Great tarp. On his website there is a few pages on how to set up tarps. Read them there.

I use my CCS Lean3 shelter as a tarp.... Kindof a learning curving setting up until you play with it a while. If rain and wind I can bring a side down... a lot of options. It is pricey but I would never leave without it or take something different. I also bought a couple of those collapsible poles he sells in case you are missing a tree. ANd then you can never have enough line to set it up here there and everywhere.

dr bob

Here is a good video on the tarp. CCS tarp setup

For the blue barrels you will find most people do not hang them. We just stick ours out in the woods away from camp and any trees that look like they would have been used for hanging bags from. As the bears get habituated to certain trees where most people hang their food bags. I use a cable bike lock to lock it to a tree. I also have some bear bells hanging on it to alert us if a bear starts messing with it.

quote OldFingers57: "Here is a good video on the tarp. CCS tarp setup


For the blue barrels you will find most people do not hang them. We just stick ours out in the woods away from camp and any trees that look like they would have been used for hanging bags from. As the bears get habituated to certain trees where most people hang their food bags. I use a cable bike lock to lock it to a tree. I also have some bear bells hanging on it to alert us if a bear starts messing with it. "

Same for me, but instead of a lock I just snap the waist strap around a tree.

You know, it's kind of funny. All my friends had tarps. One bought a CCS, tarp and we all were so impressed that over the years, one by one, almost all have CCS tarps. Not "Hype," they are wonderful!

I'm another devoted CCS tarp person.
Here's a good link on instructions for hanging a tarp with a continuous ridgeline which is how I do it: continuous ridgeline tarp
After hanging a food pack for a few years I also switched to using a 30L blue barrel. Instead of hanging it, you just lug it back into the woods a little ways and set it out of the way. I tie mine off loosely to a tree. Note though that barrels are not insulated, so if you want to bring in fresh food that needs to stay cold you will want to use an insulated food pack which you will need to hang.

Buy a CCS tarp and a CCS barrel pack and you will be set.
I have a 10x14 tarp for big groups and it has been on at least a dozen trips with no problems at all. It is easy to set up and helps you find your camp when out on the lake.
I take my barrel pack with the barrel in it and clip the waist belt around a tree and leave it. I've never hung a pack, the true issue in the BWCA with food thieves is mice and squirrels neither of which can get past the barrel.

I count having a tarp as very high on the packing list for my trips. Really makes a difference having a place to sit, cook, read, etc during long rains, and great for blocking wind or very hot sun too. Personally I think any tarp is much better than no tarp - I'd bring a cheap blue tarp from Home Depot before I'd go with nothing - but personally think CCS is the top of the line.

The video Oldfingers57 posted is excellent and shows one of the advantages of the CSS tarp - having a pre-attached ridgeline. This really speeds up set up and take down, which is important on solo trips. Any flat tarp could be tossed over the top of a ridgeline and then corners staked out the same way, but its slower.

There has been a lot of threads on this forum about hanging, barrels, stashing, etc. All I'll say here is I switched to a blue barrel two years ago from hanging mainly as a time saver. Like a few others, I just attach to a tree somewhere away from the campfire.

You mention your trip will be solo. In case you haven't already found it, there is a section of the forum dedicated to solo tripping. Look for Solo Tripping You'll find lots of answers to old questions there and plenty of folks willing to answer new ones. Good luck.

Can't beat the CCS tarps, I think I have 5 or six of them now in various sizes and material weights and that includes one of their screen tarps. As it has been said there are several threads pertaining to setting up tarps you can search for here and I would also Cliff Jacobson's book "doing the boundary waters with style", (I think that title is correct). He has some good advice in there on the subject.

As far as blue barrels go I stash mine in the woods too and like others I secure it to a tree. One thing I do in addition is a cover it with a cheap camo t-shirt I got at Walmart. I know it may be useless to cover it but it does make it blend in better with the surroundings. So I figure if the barrel is clean and free of odors and not as visible it can't hurt and may help.

I like this guys method of hanging a food bag. Doesn't need the perfect tree because he hangs the food between two trees. He gets the job done in 5 minutes so it's not that time consuming in camp.
hanging food pack

CCS tarps are awesome and worth the money. If your budget isn't that big, however, check out Kelty Noah's tarps.

My first canoe country trip was a solo in the spring of 2015. I just got back from my 3rd trip 2 weeks ago. Like you, my experience was backpacking, although I'm an avid moving water kayaker. Just my 2 cents below. Your mileage may vary.

A blue barrel seems like overkill for a solo trip, unless it's for an extended period of time. I've always gotten along fine with Bear Vault for any solo under 10 days, but then I'm more concerned about the weight instead of fresh vs. dehydrated food. I stash it in the woods and forget about it. One less pack and one less trip across the portage is a good thing in my book too. I used to have a bear bag, but that got lost somewhere along the way and I replaced it with the BV500. Of the 3 trips, very few of the campsites have had suitable trees for properly hanging food anyway. My partner on this most recent trip didn't have a suitable one on any of our camp sites. If a bear had come into camp, it would have easily gotten his bag. He admitted that it was more about keeping the little critters out, not the big ones. Hanging between 2 trees with the 2 rope method like the demonstration in front of Sawbill seems like a PITA to me.

For tarps, I like the Kelty Noah's Tarp. I have 3 sizes and the number of people on the trip and the amount of travelling determines which size. Solo or up to 4 people, I take the 9 if I'm travelling every day. Other people prefer square or rectangular over the cat cuts. Personal preference for sure, but I think the key is having lots of tie out options. Like others have mentioned - practice different set ups and knots before the trip. Just google something like "Tarp Rigging Examples" or "Camp Tarp Setups" and you'll have more info than you'll ever be able to read. I sleep in a hammock, so I always have that tarp with me too.

Enjoy the trip!

If you backack you likely have seen the PCT bag hanging method. That works in the BWCA, too.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgBLDMuPuvE

I concur with the CCS tarp. You just can't go wrong.

Instead of Blue Barrel, have you considered the Ursack . There are an increasing number of forum members switching to this method instead of hanging food packs. Here is a LINK to another thread regarding Ursacks.

To me hanging is a wast of time for black bears, because they can climb trees. Adult grizzlies can not climb.

Black bear knife lake

I remember a part where the bear walked away in the video. I still think this is a great video.

As far as tarps Go + 1 on CCS. Dutch gear has some very nice stuff. I just noticed they have clip on tarp pulls. That would be nice for using House wrap. Don't use the menards brand stuff. It is too stiff and will not roll up as nice as the Tyvek stuff. No affiliation just like there gear.

dutch

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I use a blue barrel and strap it to a tree in plain sight of my camp. Very careful not to get food odors on outside of container. Been doing solos that way for 10 years and never an issue in camp. A bear may wander in the site while I'm out paddling but it sniffs around and moves on........nothing here to eat. No lingering bacon smells or greasy pots to lick. To my thinking, food bags hanging from a tree limb are easy pickings unless set up in ideal situations like at Sawbill.
Also use CCS tarp. I try different configurations to set up the tarp. The grommets and sewn-in reinforcements are placed nicely. You just appreciate it's designed by a wilderness camper.

i think you are overthinking it cc. I always bring a tarp, cheap ones from a big box store did just fine for me many times. It is fun to think or different ways to rig it.

Are you worried about a bear finding your food or a bear finding you cuz he/she found your food? I don't think the second one is an issue in the bwca. But, if you leave your food out, it might be gone in the morning. I used to always hang my food pack, now use a bear vault.

Hi Olddirty,

Haha I'm not worried about bears finding me, just my food. I have used bear vaults numerous times in the Olympic Mountains out in Washington and sleep like a baby knowing my food is safe. I have always envied trip reports where you see guys eating real food and snot having to worry about cramming everything you need for a week into the vault. I like the idea of a hard food storage container so I don't have to worry about mice, etc.

One other tape question for the group: it looks like I see people hanging their tarp over the camp fire, or partially covering it? Does this work? I feel like it would be smoky under the tarp or a good way to melt your tarp.

Campfires under tarps can work well. The tarp needs to be up higher if there is not rain cooling the tarp. Nylon softens around 380°F and burns around 460°F. Fire retardants can keep flames down but the concern is 380° where it softens and can drip and cause extremely bad deep burns.
Small Spark holes are where a spark lands on the tarp and is able to raise the temperature up to 380° or more and it softens and the hardens after cooling. The hard spot will crack and become a hole after stuffing or folding. At a low angle- the closer to horizontal it is difficult to get a tarp to ever burn unless the heat source is so close it keeps adding heat to the tarp. the more vertical it is the more a fire will preheat the area above the ignition source.

If it is raining on the tarp look at the area that evaporates, water will steam off at 212°F.
I have repaired more tarps from folks dropping the tarp onto the grate that is still hot, or stoves and lanterns than open fires.
Set the tarp so the low side is toward the source of a breeze- high side downwind, with the fire closest the downwind edge. Kepp the rain off and the smoke will get sucked up and away.
Keep the kids from poking at the fire is a big thing as well. Keep the fire small and follow the above and you will not have to replace your tarp.

Another option to consider for your food if you weren't aware or if it hasn't already been mentioned is the Ursack. It's a bear resistant bag you can simply tie off to a tree away from camp without hassle. Even in the dark. We typically carry one per person and have more than enough storage space. A couple caveats to consider: they aren't crush proof so even though a bear cannot steal your meal, he can still crush it, also you'll have to package items in ziplocks or in a large liner as the bag isn't waterproof. Not a bad trade off in my opinion for weight savings, ability to contort the bag in your pack (especially as it gets more and more empty) and general ease of use.

quote s500yards: "Another option to consider for your food if you weren't aware or if it hasn't already been mentioned is the Ursack. It's a bear resistant bag you can simply tie off to a tree away from camp without hassle. Even in the dark. We typically carry one per person and have more than enough storage space. A couple caveats to consider: they aren't crush proof so even though a bear cannot steal your meal, he can still crush it, also you'll have to package items in ziplocks or in a large liner as the bag isn't waterproof. Not a bad trade off in my opinion for weight savings, ability to contort the bag in your pack (especially as it gets more and more empty) and general ease of use.
"

There is a metal liner that will help prevent the crushing done by a bear. Although I know not too many backpackers ever get one as it again takes up more room and adds weight.

Plan that trip cc! A five gallon bucket with a gamma seal lid is another solid food storage option. Just get out there and have fun!