These woods really do have bears in them. Black bears, cougars, bobcats, and coyotes live in the mountains of New Mexico, and we will be camping on their lands. While it’s reasonably unlikely that bears or other animals will bother us, it’s important to store your food in such a way as to avoid attracting and feeding the wildlife—not just bears, but raccoons, squirrels, and mice, all of whom would love to get into that bag of chips someone left open at the fire circle all night… so let’s not leave food open and laying around, either in community spaces or in camp.

Store food in your car if you can, and in your locked cooler outside your tent otherwise. Animals can scent food through plastic bags, and will chew through them to get at your bread and snacks; a bag is not good protection. Raccoons and bears will open unlocked coolers without difficulty.