[pct-l] Bear Canister thoughts

[at2002@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Gary Wright)]

Much of this discussion seems to be centered around
what a thru-hiker can get away with versus what is
an effective way to minimize the bear problem within
the various national parks and forests.

I'll admit that I'm not personally familiar with
the bear problems in these areas but as far as I
can tell from these discussions, if a hiker wanted
to avoid making the bear problem any worse, they
would:

	use a bear canister and/or bear boxes
	avoid "established" camping areas
	cook away from your camping area

The following practices only make the problem
worse:

	cooking where you camp
	sleeping with your food
	hanging your food

It is very easy to make a decision that focuses on
maximizing your own personal needs and desires.  It
is much harder to make a personal sacrifice in order
to address a larger problem.  When thinking about
problems like this, it is often helpful to ask
yourself what would happen if everyone made the
same choice as yourself.

Radar www.trailjournals.com/gwright
AT2002,PCT2003?,CDT?