[pct-l] Thru-Hikers and cans (was Scary bear story & not hanging food)

[dude at fastmail.ca (dude)]

> I have come to the belief that the whole issue of cans and some of the
> thru-hikers that are so against cans is not one of discomfort or
> inconvenience, but rather one of rebellion, one of attitude and belief
> that thru-hikers are above the rules.


I disagree.  I cannot even fit a bear can into my 1900 c.i. pack.  When 
I trail ran the JMT, I carried a 900 c.i. lumbar pack, no cannister 
will even come close to fitting in there.

Carrying a can goes against the whole "ultra-light" philosophy.  If my 
entire pack base-weight is 8lbs, adding 3 more lbs is increasing my 
base weight by nearly 40%!!!  Why should I try to eliminate EVERY 
single item in my pack that doesn't have multiple uses, except for 
one?  The bear can reverses all my hard work of getting pack weight 
down to an absolute minimum.

Then there is also the cost issue.  Bear cans are not cheap, you cannot 
easily rent them on a thru-hike, and they do not provide any usefulness 
for hikes where they are not required.  It will end up being just 
another item in my garage.

The park service should look at their policy on bears.  Bears are not 
endangered, and they are not threatened.  If they would allow very 
limited and well-managed bear hunting in the park, bears would very 
quickly become scared of people (the way its supposed to be) and would 
no longer bother hikers and campers.  Why is is illegal to carry a gun 
to protect yourself, your spouse, or your children from a bear, but it 
is not illegal to carry a gun to protect livestock???  Is this not the 
ultimate left-wing wacko law??  when cattle and mules are more 
important to protect than human beings, something is definitely awry.  
I understand that people *might* abuse the law if it were legal to 
shoot bears to protect people, but surely we could figure out another 
way around this.

I know that this will unleash a huge backlash of environmentalist 
rhetoric, but there is nothing wrong with discussion.  tht's why we are 
on this list, right?

peace,
dude
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