WASHINGTON—Saying that a few
simple precautions can help prevent unwanted attention during the night, the
U.S. Forest Service recommended Friday that campers tie up their food to avoid
attracting other visitors.
“Remember, all food not in
immediate use should be sealed tight in a strong cloth bag or metal storage
canister—otherwise the scent may lure hungry and potentially aggressive
visitors to your campsite,” said spokesperson Jill Rodriguez, adding that other
visitors can pick up the scent of something as small as a ham sandwich or even
a piece of chocolate and ransack a campsite trying to find it.
“If visitors don’t smell
anything, they’ll just wander through and keep going.
But if they do catch a whiff
of something tasty, there’s no backpack, tent, or cooler they can’t get into.
Many visitors are quite large,
and some are surprisingly cunning when it comes to scavenging for a meal, so
it’s best to exercise as much caution as possible.”
Rodriguez acknowledged,
however, that no preventative measures were infallible, and waking up to
discover that other visitors have devoured your food sometimes simply can’t be
avoided.
