[pct-l] question

[Scott Bryce]

robo hiker wrote:
> i was thinking the same thing. i've heard something like for the
> first couple of days out of kennedy meadows you can have more than
> the capacity of the cannister,i guess you just need to stop at the
> bear boxes. can someone clarify this??

I was looking into this myself.

According to Yogi's guide, a bear canister is not required until mile
753.3. That is 50 miles, about 2 1/2 to 3 days, out of Kennedy Meadows.
It looks like your first three days of food do not have to fit in the
bear canister.

The problem you will have is fitting the rest of your food in the
canister. The canister is designed to hold about 9 lbs of food. The hike
from Kennedy Meadows to VVR is typically 10 days. This year it may take
a day or two longer due to snow. Add a day for a side tip to Whitney. If
you are carrying 2 lbs of food per day, you will only be able to fit
half of your food in the canister at mile 753.

It looks like you have several options.

Carry fewer calories than you actually need.

Resupply at Independence.

Adjust your food to carry only high fat foods for this section.

Fit what you can in the canister and hope for the best with the rest of it.

I'd love comments from someone who has done this section.