High Sierra Topix

b) the phono trail is not an area that sees heavy backpacking use, so I would not worry about habituated bears there.

rlown wrote:Family of 5; 3 cans of ISO

By cans do you mean 8oz or 4oz cans...?

Flying from eastern Canada, I'll buy probably in Los Angeles (Venice Beach)
Thanks again!

yosehiker wrote:b) the phono trail is not an area that sees heavy backpacking use, so I would not worry about habituated bears there.

I have the feeling that's different this year... all the people who have reserved permits for trailheads that are still snowbound are probably resorting to it.

But, that said, it's not known for bear issues. You're still required by law to carry the canister, which means you won't have a problem even if bears show up.

Middle Paradise has bear lockers.

Regarding fuel use- many people have 2 or more stoves to choose from, myself included. I use a MSR Superfly, and a MSR Simmerlite. I have found that for my fuel usage, boiling water and an occasional fish dinner, trips that are 5 days or less, I take one 8 oz. canister. I take my MSR Superfly, which is similar to the Pocket Rocket. Longer trips, where I have to take more than one iso canister, the weight advantages are not that great to take the canister stove. Each 8 ounce iso cartridge weighs 12. 5 ounces, so that tends to offset the weight differences between a Simmerlite and a canister stove.
So on longer trips, or when I know it is going to be very cold, I take the Simmerlite, because in many ways, it is a better stove. It performs better in very cold temperatures. It tends to be more reliable. I have had a canister stove completely fail in the middle of a 12 day trip, and that was not good. MSR did replace it for free, but it would have been a problem except I was with someone who had a Whisperlite with a little extra fuel.

For me, a 10 day trip with the Superfly- stove and fuel weight is 31.3 ounces
10 day trip with the Simmerlite- total weight= 32.1 ounces

I did not like the bear canisters at first, but after a while you get used to having to carry one. I prefer to camp away from the crowds anyway, and not be limited to where the bear boxes are located. I agree with some other posters on this forum, that they really are not always that necessary, but they are probably more necessary for some than others. I think it is obvious that any campground or high use backpacking area, the risk is greater for bear problems because of greater numbers of people around making mistakes with their food supplies.

Hi,

We are back and had more than enough of two 8oz canister (only boiling water for food). In fact I had to buy a third one before our second outing because at the first meal one of the canister had a problem and emptied quickly as a geyser when I removed the stove...

We did spit toothpaste in fire ring where there was one.

The six bears we saw (all in SEKI) were all during hiking, none at campsites.

Thanks
(Our trip report is at viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6848" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; )