[pct-l] when to hang food in WA

[david at emeraldlake.com (David Plotnikoff)]

Hello from a longtime list-lurker and section hiker.

I had a quick question to insert between the gun/bike/dog/charity/misc.
flame thread:

After reading about three dozen journals, I'm still unable to find any
consensus call on when to begin routinely hanging food in Washington.
Stehekin to the border is a known and posted bear area. Yet many journal
writers said their worst rodent problems were from Snoqualmie to Stehekin.
And others reported the mice began to be a nocturnal nuisance right out of
Cascade Locks. Two reported bear sightings (but not bear problems) south of
Cascade Locks.

Is there any consensus on when to start routinely hanging food in WA? I
added a rope and stuff sack at Big Bear this past year and carried them all
the way through to KM (where I picked up a Garcia can) and only used them
once -- at Spanish Needle Creek, just prior to KM.

While I'm at it, what's the collective wisdom on carrying a Marmot DriClime
windshirt through Oregon in July? My previous worst mosquito experiences
(Desolation Wilderness through Plumas) taught me the little demons can bite
through even two layers of snug shirt. I'm thinking the windshirt may be
just loose enough and thick enough to work as a mosquito barrier in camp.
My alternative is to go to raingear in the evenings.

In a perfect world, I'd add a windshirt at Cascade Locks and a hang rope +
bag at Snoqualmie. But I'd like to hear some other perspectives on this.

Thanks for your consideration,

DP