Hi all,
We're heading off on the Larapinta trail in a couple of weeks. Our house looks like Scott of the Antarctic has come to stay as we go through gear inventories, food prep and all the other bits and bobs we have to do before we go. To be honest I love the planning as much as the walking, tragic.
I've had my eye on the conditions on the trail over the last few months and it looks like conditions could be right for mice to potentially be a problem. We have a pretty tight food schedule, losing anything could push us into abandonment territory pretty quickly at any point along the way.
So despite everything else having been planned to within an inch and gram of its life, the critter factor is the one thing I'm turning my mind to.
One of our strategies we're thinking of lessening the chance of encountering mice, if they are a problem, is to camp outside of official and designated campsites as much as possible. Just walk another hour or two past the official camps and set up wherever looks appropriate. It makes sense that the mice will be in larger numbers around official campsites to us.
I've hung food bags and my pack in trees around camp always, but I've never contended with mice in the past at all. What lengths have any of you gone to avoid mice pilfering your food and what things have worked?