Re: [pct-l] Bear Boxes

[Birgitte Jensen <bjensen4@juno.com>]

   Hiya Margo! Well you know what I think about "playing it safe",
right?<g> I personally don't advise Stealth Camping without a detailed
explanation of what's entailed because  an awful lot of people seem to
assume it means that you can just leave your food lying around or hung a
couple feet off the ground if you camp a short distance away from the
main trail. It's true that the "established" campsites get the _largest_
number of bear visitors, but one always wants to be 100% sure there's
absolutely zero-chance of a bear being able to get ones' food, because of
the dreadful consequences to bears -  and hikers that come later. I kinda
cringe at using a particular group's anecdotes as a guideline: some
people luck out, and their circumstances may vastly differ from yours,
too. (You'll be in the Hot Zone <g> during the peak hiking-season,
right?)
   Except in the Rae Lakes down to Center Basin section (maybe around
Crabtree also), and (lemme see) within a day of Mammoth and of course
Yosemite, one can probably get away with a _very proper_ counterbalance
if one camps quite far from  popular campsites. (one is not a substitute
for the other, ahem!). I hate bear canisters, myself, because of the
weight vs my delicate constitution <g>, but they're required in the
Kearsarge Pass and Center Basin areas if you choose not to use the boxes.
(You can _use_ the boxes and still not have to camp right on top of them,
BTW.....) There are free handout lists of bear-box locations at all the
RS and visotor centers etc, and from time-to t-ime somebody posts the url
of the website that carries the same info. I don't have it offhand, since
I don't have web access - anybody?     bj

On Tue, 19 Jan 1999 07:33:26 -0700 Margo Chisholm <pctcoach@sopris.net>
writes:
>It's good to hear all the bear discussions, and yet it would be not 
>out
>of the question to come to the conclusion from at least some of the
>postings that there's not much chance of getting through Sections G, H
>and I of California with food intact even using good hanging 
>technique.
>Clearly that isn't the reality or we wouldn't be going - right? Does 
>it
>make sense to contact rangers and find out where there are bear boxes
>and use only those campsites? Not much peace and quiet that way. I'd
>like to hear from anyone who has stealth camped in those sections the
>last couple of years and what your bear experiences were. I haven't 
>been
>out there in 10 years and back then hanging worked fine. Clearly 
>things
>have changed!
>
>Namaste, m (PCTCoach)
>-- 
>Margo Chisholm
>The Freedom Coach
>Partnering you in having freedom in all areas of your life
>970-704-9336    fax 970-704-9346
>margo@tothesummit.com
>http://www.tothesummit.com
>
>"It takes courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are."
>-- e.e. Cummings
>
>
>* From the Pacific Crest Trail Email List |  
>http://www.backcountry.net   *
>

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