Cache Food

[Blammo]

I'm doing a couple day bike packing trip that will have only one option for purchasing food and even that will be weak ...probably the end of the second day or maybe the beginning of the third.  I do however have an opportunity to cache food for the end of the third day.  In both cases, I won't want to haul a heavy container away with me and I'm not too keen on driving back to get the caching containers. Any advise on caching food in the desert southwest would be great.

[Blammo]

I guess I should have mentioned the cache sites will be devoid of any trees as far as I can tell.  Maybe something in the sub 6' range.  I'm not sure tying something up in a tree --if one existed --would be an option because some human might find it and take it.

[JReeves]

I have no experience in caching food, but have read of people burying Aloksaks with good results(for food, guns, etc).  They're nice because you could simply roll them up and throw them in your pack after emptying them.  They're available in a ton of sizes as well...
http://www.amazon.com/ALOKSAK-Water-Sand-Proof-Bags/dp/B003Q33B8G/ref=pd_sbs_sg_1

Might also be worth shooting Doom an email.  He uses food caches on a lot of his long trips in Utah and Arizona...
http://therepublicofdoom.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

[12wheels]

I've cached food and water on a couple multi-day rides in Utah.  Friends who were 4 wheeling parts of the route dug shallow holes in the sandy soil at predesignated sites, placed in the supplies, and made a small cairn over them with rocks.  We were able to find them quite easily and had a great trip. 

The food and beer that we cached were in cans and the water was in those large 2.5? gallon plastic containers that are sold at most grocery stores.  We crushed the cans when finished, cut the water jugs into strips, put it all into a couple small grocery store bags which we strapped to our packs for the ride out.  The extra weight was minimal.  Animals can't open cans and left our water alone for the two days it was buried. 

[SlowDave]

Pack rats can cause lots of problems like biting holes in water jugs.  I would go with strong containers and go back to recover them.  No point in worrying about whether the rats got your stash the whole time you are riding.

[Aslan]

I have had good luck with with just hanging food off trail for a few days; although that might not work in the southwest where you can be short of tree cover at the lower elevations.  Another option that has worked for me is locating a small business or establishment near the route and mailing a cache to them.  You might be surprised what can be accomplished with a friendly attitude and the promise of $20 upon pickup.

[Blammo]

Just to keep things interesting, there was news of a mountain lion attack near park headquarters and a bear that wouldn't be dissuaded from inhabiting the location of my first nights rest ...all this week.

[SlowDave]

Last spring I came upon a mt lion kitten while riding.  I came around a corner and got a glimpse of something scurrying off to the side.  I was climbing and going real slow so I went to the side and looked down.  There was a scared little creature.  At first I was confused thinking it was a bob cat and then I saw the long tail.  What I felt next was something I had not felt since my misguided youth involving substances.  My speed picked up remarkably and my only thought was where is mama kitty.

That was the sixth lion I have seen in the wild and knowing I was likely between mother and kitten rated 10 on the fear scale.  The other 5 were of minimal fear and mostly awe.