i did not read ALL those replys to your post,but in canoe
country where bears are known pack thiefs there are two
methods---one is to "tree" the pack and the other is to
leave it off in the woods or along the shore where a bear
searching a campsite will not find it..stashed packs should
be sealed up to keep food smells in..both groups think the
other is nuts..good hanging trees are hard to find and the
bears know where to look for the ones campers always use
on the other side,leaving a pack on the ground is making it
easy to take as you can never get all the food smell off it..
it he old days campers would just leave the pack tied to a
tree at ground level and put the cook gear on top as an alarm
and hope they got out of tent fast enought to chase the bear off--