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[pct-l] Re: new thru-hiker bear question



If Brick hasn't already shut down this thread, here's my two-cents.
I hiked NB in 2002 and carried a bear canister from Kennedy Meadows to Echo
Lake.  I slept better knowing that if I had a bear encounter, some of my
food would be safe in the canister.  The rest, what didn't fit into the
canister despite my years of experience packing and using a bear canister
and the helpful lesson at last two years' ADZ, went different places,
depending on my circumstances.  The stinkiest stuff, including garbage,
always went into the canister.
-If I was in an area that did not require bear canister and I judged the
bear risk to be low, I hung the stuff not in canister only high enough to
keep it from rodents, a "critter hang".
-If I was low and in a popular area, the stuff not in canister got a
counter-balanced bear hang in a tree within earshot that best resembled the
ideal (but, as was pointed out, elusive) tree, or if I had 25' or higher
rock faces nearby, I'd do a rock hang.
-If I was in a high use area, like Rae Lakes, I used the bear boxes.
-If I assessed the risk to be low and I was stealth camping, I just did a
critter hang.

I did not comply 100% with the law even though I carried a bear canister.
Put me on the side with those who choose to sleep with their food.  I'm in
good company there even though some of those very same people gave me a hard
time about my best attempts to comply with a well-meaning law.  I choose to
not sleep with my food because I think it's too dangerous.  I don't care
what others do, even if they are camped right next to me and nibbling
cookies at night. Yogi was not joking.

The ONLY ranger I saw on the trail in a National Park or where canisters
were required was in northern Yosemite.  She asked me if I had a canister.
After she picked her jaw up off the trail, she said that I was the only
hiker she'd run into this season that had had one.  She did not ask to see
it.

Which brings me to this point I've said many times: (This is all based on a
thru-hike when you'll be in the High Sierra just before, during, or just
after snow melt, generally during June, using stealth camping techniques,
and not camping in high-risk areas.) *If you choose to carry a canister, you
can get away with the smallest one.  A ranger may ask to see your canister.
The ranger does not ask to see all your food.  Pop out the canister and be
on your way.*  (If you are hiking later in the season, it may be wise to get
all your food in a canister.)

I know a fed bear is a dead bear, and that bears can pose a risk to humans.
EVERY SINGLE bear that I saw on my hike was running for its life away from
me.  None of my bear encounters were in the National Parks.  The National
Park system creates a hunting-free haven where bears don't' have as much
fear around humans.  The whole dynamic we've set up with bears, frankly,
sucks. Neither state is natural.

To whoever started this thread, a new hiker, please find whatever it takes
to endure what this list can put out.  You should have seen the flurry I
created last year (as a new thru-hiker) when I suggested that it might be
useful for current thru-hikers to have a separate, low-volume, moderated
email list dedicated to on-trail information so they didn't have to sort
through all the other volume this list can generate.

I'm actually interested in following Tom's implementation of his plan.  I
don't know much about his background.  If he has the tenacity to get to the
place where he can issue citations, that will have taken some dedication. If
he can get the Federal and State governments to reallocate funds for early
back-country rangers, I'll be impressed.  Tom: Care to share early strategy
plans for implementation?

If Tom does get any thru-hikers on this list ticketed, I'll chip in to cover
the cost of the citation, unless, of course, the penalty is death.

How am I going to feel if a food-sleeping thru-hiker has an injurious
encounter with a bear?  Like they knew the risks and were responsible for
their own actions.  I do feel sorry for the bear's ultimate demise.

In the spirit of keeping this list useful for current hikers...
John B./Cupcake