Re: [pct-l] Re: pct-l-digest V1 #871

[reynolds@ilan.com]

I camp in the standard well used campgrounds on and around the JMT. Most of
the time a bear does not show up. In over 400 days in the Sierra I have
seen a bear maybe 20 times. Maybe 1/2 dozen times in those 400 days did a
bear attempt to get my food. So, if you do nothing, you have a 1.5%
possibility of losing your food.

Theirfor the only time you can judge your "keep food from the bear"
strategy is when the bear SHOWS up but DOES NOT GET YOUR FOOD. My fifteen
year average is 6 for 6 or 100% using a canister. Your record for the trip
is 0 for 0 because no bear showed up. Your system didn't work. You got
LUCKY. Most hikers do most of the time.

Does "stealth" camping work. Probably. The assertion that bears frequent
common campsites is probably true. It is also true that bears probably look
for hanging food. I have had many experiences when a campsite 1/4 mile away
was raided and I wasn't bothered to my knowledge. [I was not, in any way,
stealth camped] I just got lucky!

Does that mean someone should IGNORE THE LAW? Does that mean that you
should RISK your food, TRAINING a bear to like human food?  Does that mean
you should RISK training a bear to CRASH A TENT? . . . or maybe crash MY
tent at a later date. [Your point is well taken that it is difficult to
keep food smells out of a tent. Still bears want FOOD not SMELLS. Once a
bear gets food from a tent, he will crash ANYBODYS smelly tent, possibly
someone innocent.]

Tell ME you WOULD BREAK THE LAW and RISK MY WELL BEING, do I get to break
the law to protect myself? Does my 260 pound frame get to protect myself
from IDIOTS who sleep with their food? What, pray tell, is the difference?

This is not a BEAR problem It is a PEOPLE PROBLEM ....called
SELFISHNESS......plain and simple. Stop kidding yourself! If you are too
LAZY to properly hang, canister or box your food toss it on the ground and
risk losing it like a man.

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