[pct-l] Food in the Sierras

[Jason Moores]

For the life of me, I don't understand the annual bear can avoidance threads

It wasn't one, until you made it so. I've carried a can all three times that
I've been in the Sierra. I was discussing additional reasons for carrying
the can beyond the myopic argument, "save the bears".

Truly it is about protecting the bear from your food. Nobody cares if a
hiker is foolish enough to lose his sustenance far from the trailhead

Not everyone relates to bear protection the way we may hope. Unfortunately,
many care more about themselves than the bears. This is only natural and all
the more reason to broaden the argument beyond this point.

Personally my number one reason for carrying a can is for self preservation.
By not camping in the heavily used areas where the bear boxes are located, I
greatly reduce my chances for a bear encounter. My first concern is not that
I may loose my food(I know that I can hike out and get more), it's waking up
in the night to a bear in my camp. This could be a direct threat to my life
and therefore supersedes my concern for the bear.  This is the reason for
wanting to camp closer to the pass that I mentioned before. Postholing can
be dangerous.

Yes, please do all that you can to protect the bears. Don't get me wrong,
I'm all for protecting the bear population. It's just that in the end...self
preservation wins hands down. There's no reason not to expand this topic
beyond the usual core argument, to include personal safety.

Jackass



On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 10:51 AM, Gary Schenk <gwschenk at socal.rr.com> wrote:

> On 4/21/2011 9:01 PM, Jason Moores wrote:
>
>>  The main thing is that it is not about protecting your food, it's about
>> protecting the bear
>>
>> Let's be real, it's about both.
>>
>> It is perfectly legal to use the bear boxes in the restricted zones
>>
>> I find the main issue to be not whether it's legal to hike from box to box
>> but the inconvenience that it causes. I like to be able to hike without
>> fixed mileages for the day. When I'm done for the day I look for a flat
>> place...and that's that. No need to push on for miles beyond what my body
>> is
>> comfortable with.
>>
>> Akin to this, I like to camp closer to my next pass than the boxes allow
>> for, so that I don't spend my afternoons postholing to my waist. Most of
>> the
>> bear boxes are in the valleys between the passes, not near the pass. The
>> same could be said for summiting Whitney. If you have to sleep near the
>> box
>> at Crabtree you increase the mileage and elevation gain to the summit,
>> making for a long morning.
>>
>>
> All good points. The answer is simply to carry a can. These aren't needless
> regulations. Those park bears are smart and educated, don't doubt it for a
> minute. Counterbalancing is ineffective in the national parks in the Sierra.
> No matter how perfect the hang, the bear will get the food.
>
> I've seen it. A bear walked right by my can, we saw the prints, without
> even bothering to tip it over and snagged a perfectly counterbalanced bag.
> This was on the east side of Kearsarge Pass.
>
> Truly it is about protecting the bear from your food. Nobody cares if a
> hiker is foolish enough to lose his sustenance far from the trailhead. But
> it may very well mean death for that bear, and not to mention the effect on
> others who will now be traveling through the Sierra with a bear conditioned
> to human food.
>
> For the life of me, I don't understand the annual bear can avoidance
> threads.
>
> Gary
>
>