[pct-l] Bear CAnnisters

[firefly at eatel.net (firefly)]

About Bear Cannisters
-

-I am a light weighter and I like them. I used mine once, in Desolation
Wilderness, where you don't really need them. (You do need them in Yosemite,
south of there.) I was base camping, meaning leaving the food by itself
while I day hiked a couple of days. Part of this is that I cannot hang a
bear bag to save my life. I twisted my ankle in Colorado 2 years ago trying
to hang one. I have also ended up with poison ivy, etc, roaming around
bushes trying to throw ropes...  Also, I don't like to work in camp at
night. Maybe it takes a month or so on the trail to transition into a
mindset where you don't mind stealth camping, but it does not sound like fun
to me. The way to camp and have it be fun is to go someplace pretty, set up,
have a nice meal, eat it, drink some tea, relax, go to bed. I have Jardine's
book. I think he is full of crap. I can go out for a week and have my pack
weight under 25 pounds. Since the widespraed use of Silnylon, any idiot can
do that, unless you go to REI and get hypnotized. My bear cannister, which I
bought in Reno, weighs 2.7 pounds. I can make that weight up other places,
without working at it. I have a friend in Georgia who makes gear who
disagrees with me. I respect her a lot, but we all have to find our comfort
zone. Mine does not involve getting scraped throwing ropes with my scrawny
arms, or worrying about bears, or stopping for dinner and eating and
relaxing and then getting my tired butt back up and moving again. But you
have to do what makes you comfortable. I am not suggesting taking bear
cannisters where there are no bears, but it was surely nice to have it on
that trip. When I finished the trip, I got some ice, some beer, and used it
as a "beer cannister"!  Marsanne