[pct-l] Those pesky old bears

[SnoLepard" <SnoLepard@TrekkingKats.com (SnoLepard)]

It's a cinch that a picka-nick basket ain't gonna keep Yogi away from my =
grub. But I'm not sure how viable a bear canister is for a lightweight =
thruhiker.

I'm going to enter the Sierras at Kennedy Meadows. I haven't heard =
anyone say I can rent one there. I'm sure folks at the info desks at the =
Parks will say you can get them from the rangers in the parks. Great. =
How do you get from Kennedy Meadows to the park, and back? And when you =
get beyond bear country, to say Echo Lake, how do you get the canister =
back?

So the solution is that you have to buy one. Bearikade. $195 for the =
small one!!!!!! $245 for the big one!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Get real!

Here is a comment posted by a ranger from Kings Canyon-Sequoia about =
their regulations.

http://www.pcthiker.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?az=3Dshow_thread&om=3D=
50&forum=3DDCForumID13&omm=3D5&viewmode=3Dthreaded

He says thruhikers are exempt there, but must use bear boxes between =
Forrester Pass and Pinchot Pass. And there are plenty of boxes in that =
area. The problem is also bad around Dusy Basin, so I just won't stay =
anywhere around that area. I'd really like to hear from some rangers =
from Yosemite and Inyo National Forrest about what they really are =
planning to do in 2002 about thruhikers or long distance hikers who do =
not have canisters.

If someone did have a canister, and was heading in from Kennedy Meadows, =
they wouldn't have to get all of their food in it. They would probably =
not need to worry about it for the first couple of days, and could use =
bear boxes for several more, leaving their food undisturbed in the =
canister until they ran out of the rest. By then they would probably be =
glad to have it. That way someone should be able to get all the way to =
VVR if that's what they had in mind.=20

This is about the last problem I haven't worked out prior to my PCT =
thruhike this year, and I'm leaving in 13 weeks. Geeez!

I think I'll stealth camp and take my chances. But I have had a few bear =
encounters in the Sierras. In September '86 a buddy and I were wiped out =
one night in a snow storm. My fault. I was too stupid to realize bears =
don't care if it's snowing. Live and learn.

Once in Botswana I lost a loaf of bread and a dozen eggs to a troop of =
baboons. I wonder how bear canisters would work against those guys?


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