Poptops In Yellowstone

[Wandering Sagebrush]

The Bride and I just got back from a loop around Central Oregon, where we saw temperature extremes of 20º through 87º. Nothing like Oregon weather.

Back on topic, we ran into a couple in a FWC Hawk that were both NPS rangers at Yellowstone. She was retired, but he was still active. I asked the question about whether or not the poptops like FWC, ATC and others were legal in the campgrounds, and got the following feedback. With the exception of Fishing Bridge, poptops are legal in the campgrounds, unless there has been recent bear issues in the area. That said, they made the point of saying that proper food storage was key, and that it would be wise to always have bear spray.

 

[MarkBC]

Interesting...this is the closest thing to an "official" answer I've seen -- even though it's off the record.
An answer to the question I posed here, at least as it applies to Yellowstone...which, I bet, would be as restrictive as anywhere.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I have been camping in Yellowstone for 5 years now with my Bobcat and never had any issues. I have stayed Indian Creek, Slough Creek ,and Pebble Creek. All in bear country.
Fishing Bridge is always hard sided only. Big sign as you enter the parking lot. Only reason to go there is they have showers.
Frank

 

[JMVT]

Hi: Just wondering what "proper food storage' in bear country is for a pop-up truck camper? I'm assuming food in the fridge, dry goods in the camper and any garbage such as coffee grounds, scraps etc. put in a proper container each night. Would food be better stored in the vehicle while sleeping in the camper? When there are food lockers around we always put our food/toiletries and cooking pots/pans/stove in there. JM

 

[MarkBC]

I am a novice in camping in MT, WY, and ID -- I'm not an expert on the regulations or the real danger when it comes to bears.
But in my travel through bear country this summer -- in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana -- the regulations posted in all of the campgrounds I visited -- in the National Forests as well as in National Parks -- said that if you weren't camping in a hard-sided vehicle then you had to take special bear-safe precautions.
During the daytime you could keep food, garbage, utensils in and around your non-hard-side vehicle as long as you were in/near the vehicle...presumably your presence would be a deterrent to bears just walking over and helping themselves. Maybe bears are shy during the daytime?
But at night you could not keep food, garbage -- even clean dishes and utensils -- in the non-hard-sided vehicle. You could use the cab of your truck/car (a hard-sided vehicle) or in a bear locker if there is one or hang it from a tree.

So...I certainly didn't leave stuff outside when I wasn't around...and I didn't leave anything outside at night...and I usually put garbage and sometimes miscellaneous food in the cab of my truck at night. I did not put my fridge contents and pots, pans, plates and other utensils in the cab at night.

On the other hand, a pop-up may count as a hard-sided vehicle -- who knows...? A bear would have to stand up on its hind legs to reach the part a pop-up camper that isn't hard-side... Pop-up campers like ours are relatively rare, and I bet the regulation-writers were thinking of tents and "tent-trailers" as being the bear-vulnerable camping rigs -- not pop-up slide-in truck campers like ours.

The thing is, black bears in Yosemite (maybe elsewhere) have ripped open car doors going after food (I've seen the warning photos while in Yosemite), and the door on most hard-sided campers/trailers is not as burly as a car door...so even a hard-side vehicle won't really stop a bear that wants in.

 

[alano]

We were at Yellowstone in June and stayed at Bridge Bay for several nights. They have about 1 bear box per 20 campsites so they really aren't taking it too seriously there though the entire park is bear country. We just kept our food in the camper at night and relied on waking up and scaring off a bear should she come sniffing around just like we would if we were hanging out around the campsite during the day. Unless a bear flies through the soft part like Sharknado, I think there would be some warning before damage occurs to the "canvas". That said, grizzlies are enormous and we gladly and with relief used the bear box at Pebble Creek when we stayed there later in the trip.

Alan

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

The main thing one needs to do is keep a super clean camp.No stuff out. To me that is a no-brainer. At Yellowstone they are very strict about anything left out in your campsite.They have worked hard to keep the bears from being "humanized" and it shows. They are always looking for a possible bear problem and get on it right away.

There are very few bear boxes at the campgrounds there so keeping things locked away and out of sight as much as possible is what works IMO.

I also try to keep as much of the "smelly" stuff in zip lock bags.

I also have a Truckfridge 12v cooler in the truck and haven't moved it from there. If need be I can place it in the camper and run it off the 12v outlet in there.

No matter what you camp in you must keep a clean camp with nothing left out to attract any animal.
Remember there are all sorts of critters out there to get into things.
From squirrels to racoons and they can all be a pain.

I do take the bear issue seriously. I know the parks over stress to issue but they need to.
Frank

As for the bears in Yosemite,that to me has been a problem for a long time. Look at all the visitors who ignore the signs about feeding animals,any animal some people think it's so cute to feed that chipmunk.well it isn't even good for the animal.

But a lot of visitors to that NP just aren't outdoor people and may not really understand dealing with all those cute critters.

 

[idahoron]

I was at a trailhead and left a cooler in the front of my 88 toyota xtra cab. Well when I got back to the truck I found that a bear had ripped off both rearview mirrors, and climbed on the roof. Then it slid off the roof several times and left a mud trail down the window. It put its claws behind the door and tried to pry the door open. I still have claw marks in the inside seal of the door. Bears like dogs have the ability to smell the food in a cooler, locked in the vehicle. WIth that said it is best if the bear turns it's attention to the truck instead of the camper. In a national park I would probably leave food in the cooler that had to be there. Stuff that didn't need to be cold would go in the front. Outside of a National park I would make sure I had a bear tag.

 

[rotti]

From a previous thread:
http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/4836-truck-pop-up-campers-are-now-griz-approved/?hl=%2Bgriz+%2Bapproved

After that fatal attack I camped there soon after and a FWC was considered a hard side.

 

[clikrf8]

We spoke with a ranger at Lewis Lake campground in Yellowstone. He said that in the campgrounds as long as you were outside with food it was fine eecially making noise. If you were in the camper preparing food, you were fine. Or, at night as you were sleeping inside the camper with food. The issue with soft sided pop tops like ours was leaving them off the truck unattended. We saw no bears the week we were in Yellowstone and Tetons a few weeks ago. We camped above Gardiner, at Lulu Pass near Cooke City, Lewis Lake, boon docked off Pacific Creek Road and near Mormon Row area.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Back in 2010 someone in the Zantara company that handles the reservations took a picture of out camper,(with the Ford Ranger before I changed to the Tundra),to be used as an example of what equipment fits in what size camp site.
If you log onto the Zantara site for camp reservations than choose the type equipment you will camp with ,you will see my rig.
So there must not be a problem with our rigs in the park.

I have never had any issue with using a pop up in the park.
Although while at Denali in 2011 camping at Teklanika campground I heard some people asking about weather they should lower the top during the day,if they were going to be away for a long time. Asked the host and they didn't seem to think it was necessary but if you felt better than do it.

Frank

 

[Stalking Light]

We camped at Norris a few years back using our AT Chaser with a RTT. A juvenile grizzly kept coming in the camp knocking down tents, even though it never got any food. The rangers tried to haze the bear away without success and finally made all 'tent' campers, including us and pop up trailers, sleep in our vehicles. They finally trapped the bear and everything went back to normal.