[pct-l] Bear canister too small?

[Town Food]

I had always heard that you were required to carry and use a bear 
canister in the Sierras, but that you weren't required to store *all* 
food and scented items in it.  I put my smellier items in my bear 
canister, and the less-smelly ones in an odor-proof Opsak.  Each night, 
I would store the bear canister approprately (i.e. in a depression >100 
paces from camp), and store the Opsak in my non-Sierra way (in my 
trash-compactor-lined backpack in my vestibule.  I never had any problems.

It's also worth mentioning that some foods are much smaller per calorie 
than others (e.g. cheese, nuts, peanut butter, other fatty things with 
little air).  Commercial dehydrated meals are quite large per calorie, 
and tend to have heavy, awkwardly-shaped packaging.

Also, a side note -- the Bearikade canisters are larger and lighter than 
any other Yosemite-approved canisters on the market.  They're expensive 
to buy, but renting them is cheaper than buying the smaller, heavier 
ones.  So unless you have concise plans to need a bear canister again, 
and think it's worth the weight and capacity penalty to go with a 
different canister, I'd strongly recommend renting a Bearikade.

And another side-note:  I think it's worthwhile to line bear canisters 
with a plastic bag and tie it off, to reduce odors.  Although a bear 
wouldn't be able to get in the canister, you don't want it being 
attracted towards your campsite (even if you have the canister 100ft 
away), nor do you want it messing with your bear canister and 
potentially knocking it down a hill.  It's also a little easier to get 
things in and out of the canister if there's a movable plastic lining.

It's almost impossible to line them with Opsaks (or other zipper bags), 
but there exist more flexible odor-proof bags that tie off with twisties.

  -=Town Food

On 03/23/2018 12:15 PM, Rob at wildvagabond () wrote:
> 
>      
> Yes, I too had/have this issue.  At 68, I don't hike big miles. Some ideas, which might get you extra days:1.  Remove freeze dried (and other) meals from packaging, squish out air. Roll, practice packing so you use every tiny crevice. Better, don't take freeze dried on long sections - see #2.2. Carry dense foods such as couscous, and dried powdered potatoes, quinoa, etc.3. Keep in mind that bear boxes are bear but not rodent proof.  Any stuff bags in a bear box will be shredded.  So, carry a rat sack (or equivalent, steel mesh bag with velcro top - there are different weight mesh options - all far lighter than canisters) as made popular in The Grand Canyon to keep out the mice, etc from food placed in bear boxes.  Ask me for more information if needed. 4.  Some areas/sections allow hanging ursacks with the Sierra hang system.
> Best of success, Rob, Wild Vagabond
> 
> Wherever you go there you are!  Rob of the WV:  http://wildernessvagabond.com
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