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

[pfreiman at popmail.ucsd.edu (Paul Freiman/Vicki Cavataio)]

1.  dude, are you complaining about the weight of a can, but then 
saying that you should carry a gun which increases your weight by 
25%???
2.  How many people are killed by bears in the Sierras every year? 
None?  Then why is it necessary to "protect yourself, your spouse, or 
your children from a bear?"  Is it the privilege you want, or do you 
want to rebel against what you see as an "ultimate left-wing wacko 
law?"
Respectfully,
Capt Bivy



>
>  > 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
>_________________________________________________________________
>     http://fastmail.ca/ - Fast Secure Web Email for Canadians
>_______________________________________________
>pct-l mailing list
>pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
>unsubscribe or change options:
>http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l