Our cabin is in the middle of grizzly bear country. They are plentiful, though somewhat smaller than Alaska grizzlies.
The cabin has been there for eight years now, and apart from a few scratches on the plywood, there has been no damage, although the plastic canoe is now "ventilated". We have an aluminum boat now.
We cook outside whenever possible.
We burn all our garbage, including the cans, squash them and take them home. Not much weight to haul back when we're near empty anyway.
The cabin has a metal roof and walls are 1/2-inch fir plywood. I put steel angle on the corners.
The windows are made of safety glass, just 18 by 28 inches, so I don't think a bear could squeeze through, even if he managed to break a window.
All the windows are shuttered with flush-mounted 1/2-inch plywood (the window cut-outs).
The door opens OUT so a bear can't use his weight against it.
Non-perishable food is stored in a high-cache. No food is kept in the cabin.
The bears do come calling when we're not there, we know that from the trail camera. They do a lot of sniffing around but eventually give up and move on.
We have had bears come around when we're "at home". They almost always run, but if they hesitate then a "bear banger" gets them moving. It's very satisfying to see the north end of a south-bound bear and know he won't be back, at least until we are gone home. We are in THEIR territory, after all, and the bears are just doin' what comes naturally. They are big, powerful animals and they have to be respected but, in my experience, it is rarely necessary to do them bodily harm.
