Study: Bear Canisters in Yosemite

[notis]

Master's Thesis titled, "BELIEFS, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS ABOUT BEAR RESISTANT FOOD CANISTER USE AMONG WILDERNESS USERS IN YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK" by Kathryn McCurdy.

http://humboldt-dspace.calstate.edu/bit ... sequence=1

Came across this somehow, and thought folks here would like to read it. I haven't read it yet but plan to today!

[balzaccom]

It's an analysis not of bear containers, but of human perceptions of the use of bear containers. It was written more than ten years ago, so it may not be valid any more. But I did enjoy some of the initial background that we provided. This statistic from 1985, in particular, stood out to me:

Graber (1985) determined that while 95% of Yosemite National Park backpackers surveyed said they had received a brochure about food storage, and 92% believed they were following recommended food storage techniques, confirmation of actual behavior revealed that only 3% were storing their food properly.

[AlmostThere]

The people who swear to me that they hang food properly, I often observe them not really doing it well enough. Everyone also apparently thinks that if there are no flames that the fire is out sufficiently, leading me to carry a foldup bucket everywhere so I can put out smoldering coals as I run across them.

I've read the McCurdy paper a long time ago. Statistics on bear encounters have changed for the better but only because the park works very hard to educate and write fines for infractions. People are hideously lazy when they know they will never be caught and won't be coming back to the park again.

[gdurkee]

Bears! Always a fun topic. I've read -- and worked closely with -- Dave Graber but not read the McCurdy paper. I can at least say that attitudes and behavior has changed dramatically since Graber's paper and, likely, since McCurdy. However reluctantly, I'd say most people are carrying canisters and using them properly (at least in Sequoia Kings -- less sure about Yosemite). Classic example of effectiveness is bear scat. Until the mid-80s and canisters and steel boxes, probably 70% of scat had plastic or foil in it. That went down steadily until by 2005 or so that percent was under 5% (e.g. the heavy bear area of Charlotte/Vidette/Kearsarge). Now, it's pretty rare to get a report of bears getting food.Which is all to say they work and have definitely changed bear behavior.

And, yes, the fire thing. Drives me buggy. Some people just throw dirt over a fire -- and not even authentic dirt, it's often bark chips and vegetation. A bucket's good. I've also used the large plastic bag I have to protect gear from rain.

[bobby49]

Interestingly, bear canisters and fire prevention go together. If you suddenly need a big water container to quench a fire, first take all of your food out of your bear canister and stick the food into your backpack, then keep that on your person. Fill the empty bear canister with water, carry that to the fire, and use it. Repeat.

Most bear canisters carry water easily if you just leave the lid off and carry it with your hand hooked under the rim of the opening.

[notis]

Omg @gdurkee, 70% with plastic or foil?? What! That's crazy...

And yeah, wow @balzaccom, that 1985 Graber stat is pretty telling.

[AlmostThere]

Interestingly, bear canisters and fire prevention go together. If you suddenly need a big water container to quench a fire, first take all of your food out of your bear canister and stick the food into your backpack, then keep that on your person. Fill the empty bear canister with water, carry that to the fire, and use it. Repeat.

Most bear canisters carry water easily if you just leave the lid off and carry it with your hand hooked under the rim of the opening.

I've done that. But, as usually happens, if I am hiking along and run across a fire still glowing hot and requiring intervention, taking apart my backpack is far less preferable to pulling a bucket out of the pocket to fill it.

[hikerduane]

Are there bears in the Park? I have not seen one since the early 60's.
Duane

[balzaccom]

In the past ten years I've seen a few bears in Yosemite: in the upper reaches of Virginia Canyon I surprised one, and it took off running like a bat out of hell. And that convinced me that you cannot outrun a bear. I was a sprinter when I was young, and that bear was moving way faster than I have ever run---and it was doing it over logs, through bushes, and up and down the terrain. A big bear, too. Extremely impressive. It may have been my imagination, but I felt like I could feel the impact of its feet hitting the ground.

And we saw one near Rancheria Falls a few years ago over Easter. And one in Tuolumne Meadows right by the lodge last summer at dusk.

Then again, we don't usually go where a lot of people go, so bear sightings tend to elude us.

[Wandering Daisy]

I nearly always see bears between Yosemite Valley and Sonora Pass road. Once, going down the trail from Tildon Lake to TilTil Valley I saw 8 bears; one per hour. Also many bears between Laurel and Lake Vernon, bear and cub near Many Island Lake, huge bear at Long Lake, many bears down in Pate Valley (as well as rattlesnakes), bears in Pleasant Valley at the head of Piute Creek, bears in Rodgers Canyon; just to name a few. Bears on the trail from the top of Snow Creek up to Watkins Peak. Farther south, plenty of bears on the High Sierra Trail near Crescent Meadow. I truly think I am a bear magnet!

I have seen plenty of bear where there are few people. Being away from popular places is no reason to not expect bears.