[pct-l] bears and cannisters

[fkroger1999@yahoo.com (Frank Kroger)]

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

Lonetrail@aol.com wrote:

>They all said it was not required. They also said that the Ranger Station =
at
>Tuolumne Meadows were I was talked into renting one receives a commission =
on
>rentals.

The commission could not be very much as the rental is only $5 (or was it $=
15) for 2 weeks.) Perhpas the rangers get a commission on everything sold a=
t the Tuolumne Meadows store? I don't think the rangers are pushing bear ca=
nnisters because of the commission.
I met ranger #13 from the district before (south) of Yosemite. I caught up =
with him as he was carrying a new sign post to its destination, looking lik=
e Jesus lugging his cross. While talking to ranger #13 two weekend hikers s=
topped to talk also. During the conversation ranger #13 asked the two if th=
ey had bear cannisters. They answered in the affirmative. Then he looked at=
 me and asked if I had one. I replied by asking him if I had to incriminate=
 myself. He said: "No, that won't be necessary. I can tell from the size of=
 your pack that you don't have one in there." He did not give me a ticket b=
ut warned that the rangers in Yosemite were ferocious about it and would gi=
ve epensive tickets.
I rented a cannister at Tuololumne Meadows and carried it to Sierra City. I=
 noticed that I slept better with my food in the cannister than I did when =
I was sleeping with my food.
I have since aquired an Ursack, ($50) which I tie to a nearby tree while I =
sleep. My thinking is that if a bear comes I will wake up in time to drive =
him from my food stash. My plan was to attach a little bell to the bag, but=
 that never materialized.
The Ursack weighs 7 or 8 ounces compared to 3.5 lbs for the bear cannister.
I practice stealth camping and was never bothered by bear, or mouse for tha=
t matter. Although one day, 1 day before Dunsmuir (Mt Shasta area) I saw 5 =
bears. (1 adult,one yearling and one mother with 2 cubs. Another PCT hiker =
saw 6 bears at once at a blue berry patch between Snoqualmie and Stevens pa=
sses (WA).
Satellite./Frank Kroger




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