Re: [pct-l] bear manners

[Karl Brandt <brandt@snf.Stanford.EDU>]

On Tue, 1 Sep 1998, Tom Reynolds wrote:

> Why do I need to hike 2600 miles to understand what an extra 3 pounds
> means? Seriously, this is an insulting statement. Anyone who hikes 8-10 or
> more days without resupply knows the pain of each extra pound once you're
> at the limit.
> 
> The PCT is a series of 8-10 day hikes between resupplies. True, as your fat
> goes away the need for calories increases but then you carrying ability
> will typically increase correspondingly.
> 
> That said, the current, non-Garcia, Bear Can weighs 2# 3 oz. Properly
> loaded it weighs 20.5 pounds. That's 18 pounds of food or 10-12 days for
> the average backpacker.

I'm afraid here's where your not having thru-hiked alters your
perspective. 18# of food may well be enough for a single 10-12 day
trip but it's nowhere near enough while thru-hiking. That's more on
the order of a 6-8 day supply. 

>  I have a real problem understanding why you don't agree that this the
> absolutely best solution today to keeping food from bears!

I think the trouble is that you're presenting this as an absolute
without any room for alternative opinions. Bear boxes are a viable
alternative solution. They may even be better as even the idiot fringe
is likely to use them since they're such a no-brainer. On the other
hand, these folks aren't going to have the wherewithal to understand
why they should go out and purchase/rent a bear canister. Stealth
camping will work for a limited number of people. Make some room for
alternative opinions and folks will be more willing to agree with your
own.

> Even if you can expertly hang food every time and are willing to take the
> energy to do so, I'd question why you'd want to. Hanging food is a pain,
> almost as bad as camping near a bear box. For 2 pounds you can camp where
> and when you want without hassel. Instead of walking 16 miles a day for 10
> days, walk 18 miles for 9 days. You can save an extra two pounds of food
> for the last day and easily walk the extra two miles per day in the time it
> takes to hang your food! You can pick up the canister at Kennedy Meadows,
> refill it at Mammoth and dump it at Kennedy Meadows north of Yosemite.
> Whats the big deal?

The big deal is that we don't want to have canisters forced upon us. I
would urge folks to carry them and will the next time I'm in the JMT
area. But yet more rules/regulations about carrying canisters is in
fact taking something away from the wildness of the wilderness. It's
just as bad as the taming of bears by poor food storage.

-Karl

*********************************************************************
Karl "Birdman" Brandt PCT97 LT98                       (650) 725-3686
http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~kbrandt/

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