[pct-l] PCT Bear Canister Loan Program - Request for Donations

[bob bankhead]

Buy the darn canister. Have your at-home support person ship it where and
when you'll need it (probably South Lake Tahoe going sobo). 

What makes you think this will be your one and only hike through bear
country? Even if you think that now, you're wrong. Once you've experienced
the Sierra and North Cascades, you'll be drooling over the possibilities -
the JMT, the Sierra High Route, the Theodore Solomons Trail (all 3 in the
Sierra), the Colorado Trail, the CDT............the possibilities are
endless.

Respectfully, one less excuse for "Why not sobo?"


Wandering Bob



-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net [mailto:pct-l-bounces at backcountry.net]
On Behalf Of enyapjr at comcast.net
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2011 11:56 AM
To: pct-l at backcountry.net
Cc: gerry0625 at gmail.com
Subject: [pct-l] PCT Bear Canister Loan Program - Request for Donations

from Gerry:
> Why not sobo?

Numerous reasons...

The vast majority of PCT thrus go nobo, not sobo (and since it is currently
illegal to enter the US from Canada on the PCT, the small number of sobos
may even diminish)...

The loan program is not a 'rental agency' - we operate on a $0 budget, the
canisters being donated by the generosity of vendors and members the PCT
'community' - no money changes hands (donations are purchased outside of the
program and sent directly to the inventory location)...

We are not set up to ship out canisters anywhere on the trail - borrowers
must pick them up in person (same as the government agencies, BTW, that have
rentals 'near' the PCT) - and with a $0 budget there's no money to ship
canisters out...  

Also, the time when canisters would have to be shipped out for sobos from
the inventory location at Hiker Heaven is their 'time out' and vacation
break (well earned & deserved!) between typical nobo & sobo thru
schedules...

That is more than enough reasons for "Why not sobo?" as far as I'm
concerned...   ;-)

Happy trails!!!
Jim (PITA)