[pct-l] Bear cannisters

[briandid at telusplanet.net (Brian)]

Heh guys

I hate to open this whole debate again, but here goes....   when I was section hiking A-C this spring I talked to several thruhikers who confided that they were going to sleep with food rather then follow the bear cannister regulations.  i could totally see where they were oming from.  However, I maintained that for the safety of the bears, the hiker and the hikers that followed it was better to use a cannister. I don't like carrying them, they are hard to stuff more then about 6days of food in, and theyare tought to put in a pack, but....for the safety of everyone they are essential

A couple days ago i was reading a on line journal of som thru hikers en route in the sierras.  a bear had raided a backpack from just outside their tent and had ripped it apart in serach of food.  This totally sucked for the hikers.  However, it totally sucks for the next hikers who come through.  The bear is now going to associate a pack with food.  since i am going to be hiking in that exact area in a month I am totally pi@#ed that a marauding bear might be out there.  Of course I understand that tyhe guys don't want to tell a rnager and face a huge ffine but I don't want to face a habituated bear.  I also don't want to see a bear destroyed because we dumb hikers can't follow the rules.

We all need to think about what we are doing.  the choice not to use a bar cannister not only affeffts us but affects the next hikers who follow and the bears we habituate

I will get off my soap box now

Hike on

Brian

ps.  I totally respect the hikers who had this experience, but I think we all need to pause and think about what we are doing....