[pct-l] bear canisters again

[jdrows at comcast.net (JD Schaefer)]

For Trail purity, starting from Happy Isles was more satisfying for me.
Yes, hiking to Sunrise (or less) in one day is a bit tough, but you know the
worst is over if you don't hike any longer distance days.  You also spend
your first night (Yosemite) at several 1000 feet lower elevation &
acclimatization is easier.

While the pie at VVR is not bad (fresh caught fish meals are better), I and
others resupply at Muir Trail Ranch.  It is more expensive, but it reduces
the distance without re-supplying to Whitney.  From MTR, I carried 9-days of
food in my Bearikade Weekender & therefore didn't need to go off trail or
carry the extra weight of an Expedition.  Hint: Buy Enertia foods & remove
all non-essential packaging (i.e. rehydrate in your .85 liter pot)

Reading the books and watching videos are nice in terms of building
anticipation, but they are not in the least essential.  The Tom Harrison
maps (as Ralph says) are pretty good (a slight majority of the time their
mileages agree with the Trail junction signs) and are all you need for
maintaining confidence if solo or in a small group.

My best suggestion is once on the Trail, to get a sense as quickly as
possible for your speed.  Look at a distance on the map or Trail sign, and
figure out approximately when you should get to the next junction or
whatever.  Start anticipating that arrival and if more than 1/2 hour late
and it required making a left, right, whatever. . . stop and think.  Did you
take breaks that extended your time, was there a particularly steep section
that slowed you down a lot?  Did you cross that creek yet the map shows?
Have you hiked past those sheer cliffs the maps show?  Perhaps a modestly
lesser suggestion would be to learn to recognize topo features that your map
shows when you actually can see them.  Confidence and maintenance of same is
half the battle.

Best wishes,
JD Schaefer
JMT 2003

PS My Weekender weighs 2 oz. more than the website claim


-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net]On Behalf Of Eric Yakel
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2004 7:27 AM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [pct-l] bear cannisters again


Jon:
     The bearikade large cannister only weighs 31 oz.  It really does hold
6-7 days of food.  I'm a healthy eater and it carried everything I needed
for a week in the Sierras las summer.  Give it a try.  It's titanium and
stronger than anything out there.  A little pricey though.  I read an
article that told of testing it with grizzlies.  It apparently stood up to 9
out of 10 grizzlies tested.  The last one, "terminator grizzly", broke it
open after two hours of work.  Eric
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