[pct-l] Another Super Secret Outburst

[jmertes at verizon.net (John Mertes)]

I and some fellow backpackers urinated around the food tree years ago 
and it did NOT work. It's the backpacking equivalent of an urban legend.

John



Hiker97@aol.com wrote:

> ## Mark Your Territory: Urinate around your bear bagging (food) tree 
> before
> you go to sleep at night. This I heard somewhere many years ago this 
> was a
> Forest Ranger trick to keep bears away from food. So far it has worked 
> for me,
> but who knows if it really works. May be I heard this idea from the 
> mountain
> man Jim Bridgers back in the 1830s or Sierra mountaineer Norman Clyde 
> in the
> 1930s. I just don't remember. I get confused so easily. Sorry.
> ## Tell Time: This is another old trick. Use your fingers to tell how 
> much
> sun light is left. Hold your hand out in front of you and then hold your
> fingers parallel to the horizon and to the sun. Count how many fingers 
> there are.
> Each finger equals 10-15 minutes. For example, three fingers would mean
> there is 30-45 minutes left before the sun goes down. I have used this 
> for years
> and it works pretty good. Now I do remember who told me this 
> technique. It
> was John Muir.
>
> Ye olde hiking buddy, Switchback