High Sierra Topix

Mountain Minstrel, obviously I'm aware of the regulations, but for the kind of hiking I like to do, multiple canisters are weight prohibitive. Thankfully, backcountry rangers are much more forgiving -- and less judgmental -- than you. They realize long distance hikers cannot reasonably carry enough canisters to hold two+ weeks of food. As one current backcountry ranger has written in this forum:

Also, it's pretty standard, especially for Kearsarge, for hikers to have overflow. All of the backcountry rangers have been OK with that. It does happen occasionally, though, that you run into a non-backcountry ranger who takes a stricter view of things.

So the short answer is go ahead, but at least have one canister to show good faith.

I try to show good faith by carrying a canister and placing my most bear-enticing food in it, and I am careful to hang the rest of the food or store it in bear boxes that can be found in numerous areas throughout SEKI. Indeed, in certain areas of the park, the only safe place for food storage is in these food lockers. I was hiking through Vidette Meadows a few years back and came across an elderly hiker who had been attacked by a bear near lower Vidette Meadows. The bear was attempting to open his food canister and wasn't about to be deterred by this human trying to scare him away from it. My personal opinion is that this bear should be put down.




MM, this might be a good topic for you to bring up in a separate post. It is a highly contentious issue for many hikers, similar to the debate about the need to filter water.

P.S. -- you are a better packer than me if you can fit 9 days food in one canister!

Forgive me if I came across as judgmental (unintentional I assure you). I was only pointing out that should a bear get your food you could be on the hook for a bunch of cash. HYOH, I myself am still too paranoid of "the Man" to risk it.

Hi M and MM,
I'd tend to guess that the reason the gentleman (and, as I reach the elderly stage, he doesn't look too elderly to me!) depicted got battered is because the bear in question had tasted too much human grub (due either to folks flaunting or ignoring the regulations). Most of the bears I've come across have been pretty shy (in other words, they have ambled off once I started making an obnoxious racket). So, even though I greatly resent the addition of the extra bulk and weight to my pack, I understand the requirement for the bear cans and like MM will continue to abide by the regulations even though I tend to camp in areas that seldom are frequented by bears. At least, I've never run across a bear above treeline. Have you (and, yes, this should probably be a separate thread)?
CG

PS. I agree that 9 days in one bear can is incredible, either you don't eat much, or it's all peanut butter.

cgundersen wrote:\PS. I agree that 9 days in one bear can is incredible, either you don't eat much, or it's all peanut butter.

I am not a big eater but I did not starve either. Started with a 24 once water bottle on one side then layered in one package of instant oatmeal, two Folgers coffee bags, two tablespoons of peanut butter and honey (in baggies), a cliff bar, 1/2 cup of gorp, and a single serving MountainHouse meal for each day. Finally, I put the sugar, creamer and tortillas of the top. The first day's food was not in the can so really there was only 8 days in there, and the bag of other smellies would not fit until the second night but it worked.

BTW, I gained weight on the trip

You must have a very slow burning metabolism, and I am towards the opposite end.
My daily routine is oatmeal(mixed with dried blue berries, protein powder, and walnuts)
in the morning or a Pemmican Bar, I drink 2 nalgene bottles of Cytomax during the hike,
4-6 bars (Cliff, Luna, Probar), 2 tortillas with 2 almond butter packets, 1c gorp and 2-3 oz
jerky.
Then a freeze dried dinner with tortillas and some chocolate.
This can be much more depending on the terrain and length of my trips.

Hmmm; after posting on Maverick's new food topix thread, I realized that I habitually count days for two people (my wife & me). So, since we get roughly 6 days worth of food (for the two of us) in one Bearikade, I guess that 9 days is not so extraordinary. But, is it necessary to stash the 151 in the can? Do bears drink (rum)? Or, do you just not want to risk it?
cg

for me, the 151 stays out. no bears have taken it yet (not that they wouldn't, but a poly bottle in the can would take up room for real food. 151 is expendible.

All I know is that I have been hassled by a ranger for having my 151 out. He told me that it needed to go into my can or a bear box. If push came to shove, I would either leave it at home, or out of the can. However, the thought of a 300lb bear after the consumption of 750 ml of 151 is a bit scary.

My backpacking diet is remarkably similar to Maverick's and I lose weight on every trip (unfortuntely I usually make up for it when I return). Makes for a heavy pack though (especially with the carrots and hummus I add in).