Never try to recover food from a bear once it's gotten a hold of it. If the bear's closer to the food than you are, consider it a lost cause.

Never behave aggressively towards a bear if a bear cub is also present. A protective mother is one of the most dangerous bears you can encounter. And since you can't always be sure of seeing a cub (they may be in the underbrush nearby), this is a good reason to treat all bears with respect.

2torial #0892: Learn2 Keep Your Food From Bears (continued) Tie and hoist Now that the rope is over the limb, you'll need to attach the bags to it. This is the trickiest part when you're alone, particularly when tying on the second bag; if you have a friend with you, call them over to help. Remove the rock from the rope end, and attach the heavier bag in place of the rock. Use a good knot, one that will withstand a bit of tugging and jerking. Your best bet is probably a double half-hitch. See 2torial #0540: Tie Basic Knots. Use the free end of the rope to hoist up the heavier bag as high as you can, or until it reaches the tree limb from which it's suspended. Don't pull the bag over the limb, or you'll be back at Step 2. Hold the rope so that the heavier bag remains in place near the limb. Now comes the tricky part: reach up with your arms as high up as you can, and tie the other bag onto the rope. If you're with a friend, have them hold the rope as high up as they can; then you tie on the bag right below their hands. If you're alone, walk towards the other side of the tree, so that the rope wraps more closely around the limb. This'll create a bit more friction, which will help you hold the heavier bag in the air. With the heavier bag still high up next to the limb, tie the other bag to the rope. Use a clove hitch if a double half-hitch is too demanding to do by yourself. Take the remaining rope and stuff it loosely into the opening of the bag. Leave a loop of it hanging outside--you'll retrieve the bearbagged food by poking your stick through the loop, and pulling out the remaining line. Use the stick to push the lighter bag upwards until it's roughly the same height as the heavier one. In a best-case scenario, the bags will hang about six feet (or about 2 meters) below the limb, while remaining about fifteen feet (about 5 meters) above the ground.     Step 5