The week where raccoons stole my entire campsite... twice

Last summer up near Lake Placid, I set up a nice little spot by the creek. First night, I wake up to crashing sounds. A raccoon made off with my entire bag of trail mix and a loaf of bread. I thought whatever, rookie mistake. So next day I lock everything in my car. Second night, same raccoon or its cousin somehow got into my cooler that I thought was latched tight. Dumped my eggs all over my tent floor. I had to eat granola bars for three days straight. Has anyone else dealt with a raccoon that just won't give up?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverwhite7d ago

I once lost a whole block of cheddar cheese to a raccoon up in the Adirondacks, which is tragic because cheddar is my favorite (and I'm lactose intolerant, so you know it was a commitment). The little bandit unzipped my tent while I was inside, I swear I heard him laughing. Now I hang my food in a tree like a sloth wearing a harness, and I still wake up at every tiny sound (usually it's just a squirrel, but still). You have my deepest sympathy for those granola bars, I've been there and it's basically a prison diet.

wade_young867d ago

...and that raccoon probably still tells his buddies about the time he got a five-star breakfast buffet out of your cooler. I had one up in the Finger Lakes that learned how to work a simple carabiner clip, I'm not kidding. Watched him pop the latch on my dry bag like it was nothing, then he just sat there on a rock eating my peanut butter crackers while staring at me. I figure they're smarter than half the people I meet at the grocery store, you just have to respect the hustle at this point.