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[pct-l] Re: pct-l-digest V1 #509

Re: sleeping with food
Sleeping with your food is stupid, dangerous and, in California, illegial.
The fact that it works some of the time is incidental. In my car I can pass
on a blind curve most of the time. Sometimes, however, I would pay
big-possibly with my life. Sleeping with food is like this. The reason I am
so hard over on this is because the life you risk may be mine!

The entire problem along the JMT is that bears are losing their natural
fear of humans. This is because of poorly hung food by occasional
backpackers. From a Park Ranger point of view this is terrible because the
bear needs to be distroyed. From my point of view there is now a bear that
might attack me to get my food! The result of YOU sleeping with your food
is that a bear may attack MY TENT because you taught him food was there and
that HE HAD NO FEAR FROM ME.

Along the JMT the ability of Bears varies greatly. In Onion Valley [near
Kearsarge Pass] 4 out of 5 backpackers lose their food. You cannot
successfully counterbalance in these conditions. The bears have learned to
"Take the fall". They simply climb the tree, climb out on the limb until
either they get the food or the limb breaks and limb, food and bear come
crashing down. I have heard that this is true in Lyell Canyon [Yosemite NP]
also.

In other areas counterbalancing works. If you stay away from the areas that
weekend backpackers frequent you will be OK. North to South along the PCT
from Tahoe I would:
1. Not worry until I was close to Tolumne. Counterbalancing should work.
2. Stop at Glen Aulin and pay the camp to store my food.
3. Use a bear canister between Tolumne and Mammoth (U can rent one at
Tolumne)
4. Trust counterbalance south of Mammoth to Woods Creek.
5. Use bear Boxs at Woods creek and south until Forrester.
6. From Forrester south I don't know. There are bear boxs along the Kern on
the High Sierra trail so bear activity might be high.

Personally at, 2 pounds 3 ounces and $65, I'd carry a cannister. Hanging
food is a hassel, even if it works


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