High Sierra Topix

The bear boxes at the trailheads are for people to clean their car of food stuff and store this until they return from their trip. Lots of people have car-camping food. I would not put a bear can in the bear box, but buy a small styrafoam cooler and put the food in there, tape it up and put it in the bear box. I also put some dry ice in the cooler so the food will not overheat. Not that the food would spoil, but if it gets hot enough food stored in plastic bags pick up a plastic taste. Who is to prove this is not your car camping food? This is food stuff that is in your car- exactly what the bear boxes were intended for. At least that is my opinion. I have done this before without any problem. If they require your name on the cooler and pick-up date, then put our name on it.

I'm with WD on this one. Food is food, just because it can be used backpacking doesn't mean that it cannot go into the bear boxes at the TH. Backcountry bear boxes are another story. Those should not be used for storing a resupply.

I have used front country bear boxes at the trailhead for food/supplies, marked and dated, but would never use a backcountry one. Be forewarned, have heard of peoples food/supplies disappearing, several times (never happened to me), these occured at the more popular trailheads.

Sierra Miguel wrote:Is there still a post office in Grant Grove (559-335-2499) with better access?

oleander wrote:I could at least leave my food in the bear box, right?

Against regs. Also against regs, you could rent a bear can or two and cache them in the woods near the Wolverton TH.

I think the OP needs to give us more details to provide better suggestions. Is there a car involved or not? What else do you have other than food that needs to be stored?

Storing food in the trailhead boxes is not only within the rules, but is strongly encouraged to avoid bears breaking into cars. The Roads End rangers enforce this more than the Lodgepole rangers. There is a relatively low chance of someone removing your food if you are gone a week.

Here's what I'm up to:

I'm doing two back-to-back trips out of the Wolverton/Crescent Meadow area. The first trip, to Tablelands, is with friends. It's their car. During that time, I would store the food for my *second* trip in a bear locker at one of the trailheads - assuming this is legal, which I'm now unclear on. If it's not legal, then I guess I need to mail that food to myself at Lodgepole post office.

In addition, I always have some "car clothes," maybe sandals, towel, soap, my cell phone...Items that are not taken backpacking, and are not food. Those non-food items I can leave in their car, during the first trip.

When they exit Tablelands, they may be driving away with our only car. I have a reservation to stay at Lodgepole Campground on my layover night.

The question is where the heck to store my "car clothes," cell phone, etc. during my second trip. (The second trip is the HST meet-up!) It seems to me that these are my choices:

1. Find an employee - ranger, campground host, store, lodge, wherever - who's willing to store them. Anywhere in the Lodgepole/WolvertonCrescent Meadow/Waksuchi environs would probably work. The shuttle bus will get me around.
2. Store them (non-food items) illegally in a trailhead bear locker. (I wouldn't do this).
3. Send most of them home with my friends, the day they leave.
4. Keep them for another night so that I can use them for my shower, etc., then mail them home the next day, before I hit the trail.
5. Lug them all the way to Kaweah Basin and back.
6. In the unlikely event that I hike to Kaweah Basin with the same HST person on the exact same entry and exit trailheads and dates, I could perhaps ask that person to store my stuff in their car. Not fond of this option, as it ties someone down to me and my schedule.

I don't want y'all to think too hard on this. Mostly I just wanted some ideas for #1 above, as that would be my preference - finding someone locally to store my stuff. Should I try the lodge?

7. Option 7 is that I'll just drive my own car to the trailhead, so it'll be waiting for me at my exit. That option is looking more and more likely as I consider logistics not limited to just storing my car items.

I also do want to understand whether I can really store my food in the trailhead bear locker or not. I guess I will call the park and see what they say.

- Elizabeth

I agree that there is no problem with storing all your stuff in the typical trail head bear boxes.

Okay Lisa,

I called a friend at SEKI NP, it is legal to store your food/supplies, at/in the trailhead bear boxes.

maverick wrote:I called a friend at SEKI NP, it is legal to store your food/supplies, at/in the trailhead bear boxes.

Food, yes, toothpaste, yes. But "supplies" - what does that mean? That I could put clothes in there, too? (Assuming I would even want to.)

It would seem to me that putting clothing in there (in addition to risking it being stolen) would stuff the bear lockers too full to fit everyone's food in high season.

Not sure why you would need to put clothing in there but I wouldn't worry about it. Lockers are first come first serve.

franklin411 wrote:I think SEKI is too close to Fresno to get decent Rangers.

What a wonderfully ignorant, and arrogant, statement.