Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board bears at the Portal.... question

Is it OK to keep unopened beer in the car, or can bears smell that too? Just wanted to have a few beers after we get back; obviously would not leave them in view.

Bears have a great sense of smell, so yes. I'd be careful. Supposedly, you can't even leave scented lotion in your vehicle. I'd take anything remotely scented out of your vehicle and any containers that look like they carry food. I've seen some pictures at the Visitor Center (you can get more information here, too) and the bears will destroy your car to get to whatever it is they smell. And I have a nice car! So I'm really careful. I'd just head out to the pub - the beers there aren't too bad, and the town is cute!

Leave the brews and anything else scented in the bear-locker. It would be pretty poor form to take someones celebration coolies.

For the driver/passengers of said vehicle:

California Vehicle Code Section 23225

For the bears: If it has an aroma, they can smell it even if you cannot. Food/gum/candy wrappers, medicine bottles, deodorant, old french fries, shaving cream, cosmetics, toiletries, etc. They also associate coolers as food.

There's Jake's Saloon in Lone Pine and the WP Store. Oops, and the Double L Bar.

Leave them in the Beer...I mean bear lockers. I would definitely take the bear warnings seriously. I had one near my tent at one the backpackers sites searching through a bag filled with water bottles. He was disappointed and I sure was glad I left the food elsewhere.

The mighty Bruin is a keen hunter.This emperor of the north uses all of his/hers faculties to find the easiest meal they can.If it LOOKS like food they may try to get at it.They hunt with their EYES, ears & nose and are very smart.I agree with all the replys to this post.Remember, a fed bear is a dead bear!

Data point - I've been leaving a couple return to the trailhead celebraty beers wrapped in an opaque plastic bag in the back of my truck at Horseshoe Meadow for at least 10 of the past 13 years. Always ensured there was no hint of food. Never had a problem.

Yeah, I would think even a bear couldn't smell through an aluminum can, or even a glass bottle; the oxygen permeation is so low.
Then again, I wouldn't leave it in sight, of course.
Geez, I just don't want to take the chance, but it wold be nice to get a new car...

Bears couldn't smell through the container, but there could be a small residue from the sealing process on the containers.

I read somewhere that bears sense of smell is 2000 times better than humans.

Beyond the usual precautions of making sure your vehicle is as clean as possible, you can use a technique that has seemed to reduce break-ins in Mammoth and Lake Tahoe - wiping the door handles with Pine Sol. As I recall, residents in those areas are urged to wipe the outside of windows and doors with Pine Sol. IIRC, the theory is that pine sol is so strong it overwhelms a bear's olfactory senses and masks food odors, if they exist. When I remember to do that, I leave the paper towel dabbed with Pine Sol in the truck.

Wow,Pine Sol, Who Knew?

That's good info - I gotta remember to bring some!

Of course, as soon as the bears -see- food taken out of a vehicle that smells of Pine Sol, they will know how to identify which to break into.

Dale B. Dalrymple

Mammoth Lakes Police Department

Read especially "YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, OR, A FED BEAR IS A DEAD BEAR."

Then there is this article. It mentions Pine Sol twice in the article:

Here: "Carolyn Foster of Alpine Meadows is running out of ideas to bear-proof her home. After the first bear let himself in to drink all the soda in the fridge in 2004, she took steps to secure her house.

"She bought a stronger front door, put beds of nails around her entrances and installed barking-dog motion sensors. She sprayed Pine-Sol and even male human urine on the outside of her house.

"But in October, she returned home to discover a bear had broken in again and this time had emptied her upstairs refrigerator of chocolate and jam, smashing a bathroom window on his way out."

Then here: "...Saturate window sills and doorways with Pine-Sol or ammonia -- but never squirt it in bears' eyes, because it can blind them."

Poor Bear

Actually, the article mentions Pine Sol twice. The first time it describes how a home owner used Pine Sol and other measures and still had a repeat bear break in.

The evidence is that Pine Sol didn't work where bears had reason to believe there had been or could be food.

Still, if you want to use Pine Sol, just remember to have no food in the vehicle, have nothing that looks food related visible in the vehicle and finally, the directions say you have to "saturate" with Pine Sol.

Dale B. Dalrymple

amonia in baggies soaked in a paper towel have always worked for us.

If you use pine sol..be sure to use the old fashioned regular scented one..not the new fancy scents.

A lot of the home break ins in the Tahoe area are from second homeowners...some of them leave the homes with food in the refrig. and cupboards..they will leave the curtains open so any bear can look into the window and see the refrig. which they recognize and know is a food source..also some will leave their trash out when they leave and the trash will not be picked up for a few days to a week..inviting bears and other wildlife.
Most homeowners now have a bear proof garbage container, but some still do not.
Here is the link to our local Bear League..it has all sorts of good info.
http://www.savebears.org/

Ive heard of using both ammonia and pine sol, but never heard of any proof. Sounds like a show for Mythbusters!