[pct-l] Food-storage Outlaws

["Staggerin' Willie" <staggerinwillie@hotmail.com>]

I must confess that on this past year's thru-hike, I was something of a 
hiking outlaw when it came to food storage.  Defying both legality and 
common sense, I slept most nights in a bivy sack with my food bags on the 
ground next to my head.  I was counting on being able to hear any lumbering 
beasties, and waking up in time to shoo them off and, if necessary, to do an 
emergency nighttime food hanging.  The main exception was when I was camping 
near a metal backcountry bear box—then I would use the box.  Perhaps I was 
just extraordinarily lucky, but this "technique" (or lack thereof), worked 
just fine for six months—I never lost food to bears, and my visits from 
"mini-bears" were very infrequent.  I am well aware that this method is 
dubious at best, and I certainly wouldn't argue that it is the best, but at 
the same time it seemed to be the preferred method for quite a lot of 
thru-hikers (I won't name names).  I know that on the list, we are all very 
responsible and law-abiding when it comes to such things, but I'm curious if 
there are other "food-storage outlaws" out there who have also had success 
using this non-technique over a long hike.

Staggerin Willie
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