>I have a friend who USED to pack a firearm when camping. A bear stole his >backpack, gun and all. The description of the bear whacking the gun ladden >backpack on a rock and everyone running for their lives is a good one. You >guessed it, there was food in the backpack.
I don't want to be rude, but it just seems obvious to me that, when you're in bear country, you don't store anything you want to keep in teh same bag as the food. The bears WILL get it, unless you hang it from a "bear rope" or else use a steel container that they can't get. Of course, that kind of steel container doesn't pack very well...