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Re: [pct-l] bear canisters + bear story.



In a message dated 4/24/99 11:50:29 AM PST, reynolds@ilan.com writes:

<< ...having no bear canister in the sierra in the areas where there 
are no boxs [north of woods creek bridge] is "training bears to
predate [hunt and eat] people". >>

The weight and bulk of a bear canister make it a "hard sell" to thru-hikers.  
Many will choose to do without, and instead, welcome and use the bear boxes.  
So....  

Why are there 26 bear boxes in the parking lot at Tuolumne Meadows and none 
out on the trail where they would be welcomed?  It seems ludicrous that the 
NPS/USFS can find the money to fabricate these boxes, then be unable to put 
them where they are needed.  Where we could find them, Rae Lakes and a couple 
other places, we used the bear boxes.  Did I read a while back that one of 
the Forests (Inyo NF?) was actually instituting a policy to REMOVE the boxes? 
 The rationale (if there is one) escapes me.

The deployment of bear boxes at intervals along major trails in the Sierra 
seems a sensible measure with few drawbacks.  It should be higher on the 
Park/Forest Administrators' to-do lists.   


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