Two questions: 1) Has anyone had problems with bears is Quetico this season?
and 2) How many of you hang your food or use a bear barrel? In BWCA I have just packed my food in dry bags and a separate pack and set it out in the woods well away from my camp. This was on advice of one of the experienced BWCA travelers. So far I have gotten away with it, but what do you think? Is there more worry in Quetico?

I have taken two 2-week trips this year. My food was placed in Vittles Vaults (with gamma seals). The vaults are placed in a pack for travel purposes, but are simply placed on the ground near the food prep area when in camp. Needless to say, I've not had any bear issues, but we also keep a very clean camp.

The only time I have any concern about bears around camp is when I'm in a high traffic area or near an entry point. This means a higher concentration of people and consequently a greater chance to encounter bears that are habituated to human presence. A couple of lakes in, where there is ample opportunity for travelers to become more dispersed, I rarely give camp bears any thought.

But inspect your campsite before you set-up shop. If there is evidence of trash strewn around or other indications that a previous user has not kept a clean camp, I'd consider moving on.

dd

I have never had a bear problem in Quetico. I have never hung food. I keep a clean camp and the food is always in zip-lock bags in a food pack.

In 2010, there was one campsite at Wheelbarrow Falls on the Basswood River that had an official poster indicating a problem bear had visited the site, but that is the only time I've heard of a bear problem in the park.

When we went in 2014 we had no problems with bears and did not hang our food other than hanging it up on a sawed off limb about 4-6 foot up just to keep it away from any rodents. Check with the rangers at your EP when you arrive.

We have not had any campsite bear encounters in almost 20 trips. Normally, we'll just hang our tightly-sealed food pack on a branch so that it's far enough off the ground in case there are any critters around. Only food raiders we've ever had in the Q were ground squirrels. Hope that luck continues.
AdamX

Just returned from Prairie Portage and they indicated no bear issues this year.

T

1. None heard of so far this year. (Last year a sign was posted at Beaverhouse for a while about a bear problem.)
2. Used to hang/use barrels, now do much as you describe.

Keep camp clean, stash food away from tent area, off of trails. I now use Opsaks in steel mesh bags, which are small-critter-proof.

Just my opinion...probably less likely to have a bear in camp in Quetico as opposed to BW.
--Goose

Thanks to all of you. It seems rodents are the real issue. Red squirrels are awfully cute scampering around camp and sticking their heads into an open sack of nuts or candy, but not so cute when you later find they've chewed through the side of your pack and a dry sack to get at the nuts while you're out fishing. Opsaks I did not know about but look ideal for their purpose, and much better than just dry sacks. DB