[pct-l] Illegal food storage fines

[Eric Payne]

After doing some research on the Yosemite site about bear storage, I was
surprised to see that you can get fined for up to $5,000 for storing food
illegally.  I'm having a bit of trouble deciding what to do with my food
thru the Sierra, and up until now had planned on using Odor-proof Watchful
Eye sacks and stealth-camping.  With a ticket that could penalize me this
much, I may have to rethink that.  Reading info along the web, it seemed to
me that rangers often give warnings, or cut slack to PCT hikers who show
that they have a strategy to deal with the problem.  So, my questions are:
1) What are the typical amounts for fines given to thru-hikers and 2) What
were the reactions of rangers in 2007 when they found out hikers weren't
carrying bear canisters?  I get the vibe that in the past rangers were more
lenient, but the past few years the bears problem has been getting much
worse and they are unwilling to cut any slack.
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