If you camp or backpack in New Hampshire’s White Mountain National Forest, you need to store your food in:
- a closed motor vehicle (locking is advised)
- a campsite bear box at a pre-established tent site
- by hanging your food in a bear bag hung 12 feet off the ground and 6 feet from the nearest vertical support (think tree)
- a bear-resistant canister
Ursack bear bags are not approved for use in the White Mountain National Forest.
Official Text of the USFS White Mountain National Forest Food Storage Order (R9-22-19-19)
The following is prohibited forest-wide:
- Except while being prepared and consumed, all food, food containers and refuse shall be stored in a closed motor vehicle or suspended at least twelve (12) feet above the surface of the ground and not less than six (6) feet horizontally from any object. Bear boxes, bear canisters, or bear fences designed specifically for food and/or refuse storage are acceptable.
- All refuse containing food materials or containers shall be deposited in receptacles provided for that purpose as soon as possible after the waste is created or stored in the manner prescribed for food in #1 above.
Campsite Bear Boxes
Campsite bear boxes are available at many, but not all, pre-establishd backcountry tent sites and lean-tos in the White Mountain National Forest. These are big heavy steel boxes with bear-proof closures that everyone staying at the site can put their food in at night for free. While these boxes are bear-proof, they’re not rodent-proof, and you want to make sure that your food is stored in a rodent-proof bag, like a Ratsack (highly recommended) or a hard-sided bear canister.
Hanging Food is Difficult in the Whites
When backpacking in the Whites, you do have the option to hang your food 12 feet in the air and 6 feet out. Just be advised that this can be very difficult to achieve in the White Mountains and it could take you quite some time to accomplish (which sucks near dusk), if at all. The type and density of tree cover, dense spruce trees, can make it very difficult to find the right type of tree limb for such a hang and it’s common to have your rock sack get caught up in a tree before you can retrieve it. If you don’t want the hassle or to spend time trying to find a good hang, I’d recommend carrying a bear canister instead. Smaller bear canisters like the BV450, BV425, and the Bear Boxer fit inside most backpacks and are sufficiently sized for weekend backpacking trips.
Bear Canisters
Bear canisters are hard-sided containers that bears in the White Mountains cannot open. While high-capacity bear canisters can be awkwardly large and heavy, smaller-capacity models are much easier to pack, relatively lightweight, and they are a lot more convenient than hanging your food in a tree. I now carry a BV425 or a BV450 on my backpacking trips in the Whites.
Here’s a comparison of the different models approved for use in the White Mountains.
If you carry a bear canister, prepare your food, eat, and store your bear-resistant food canister at least 100 yards downwind from your tent. Store your canister on the ground hidden in brush or behind rocks. Do not place the canister near a cliff or water source. Bears may knock the canister around or roll it down a hill. Cover your canister with brightly colored tape or stickers to make it easy to find the next morning. Whatever you do, don’t forget where you put it.
If you don’t want to buy a bear canister, the Forest Service in the White Mountains loans out bear canisters for free. Call the Main White Mountain Forest Service headquarters in Campton for details at (603) 536-6100.
Ursacks are Not Approved
Unfortunately, Ursacks are not approved (per the most recent forest order above), even though they are on the IGBC-approved list used by many other national forests and national parks. This came as a shock to me because I have used Ursacks in the White Mountain National Forest in the past and thought they were legal. But I’ve checked with the local US Forest Service multiple times and Ursack use is not legal.
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