RE: [Philmont]: Wildlife Proof Food Container (Bear can)

> From: Jason A. Cotting
> You are welcome to use them, as long as you put them up in
> the bear bag. :)
>
We are required to use them on our Sierra treks by the National Park
Service.
They do not hold as much as a bear bag, and you have to bring more, so they
weigh more. However, since you can fill them before you put them in your
pack, they really don't take up extra pack space per se.

It is my belief that the reason the NPS has gone to requiring them is that
many people in the back country don't do bear bags properly, they tie them
off to a tree rather than counterbalance, or they don't put them high
enough. Another factor in the Sierras is you will often camp well above the
tree line, and it may be rather problematic to hang a bag. This is a
problem that I do not believe is faced at Philmont. You can go above tree
line, but I don't think there are any camps above treeline.

Philmont, OTOH, makes certain the crews know how to put up a bear bag
properly. I'd say that is a good reason to stay with bear bags at Philmont,
since they don't have the problem of people using bear bags who aren't
trained to use them properly. Another big advantage to bear bags is that if
the bags don't have enough space, you can use a stuff sack in a pinch to
increase capacity. You run out of space in canisters, and you have to hang
anything left anyway.

Obviously, neither bear bags nor canisters will solve the problem of someone
not wanting to put all the smellables in the bag/canister, so content
probably has little to do with the issue (except that Philmont does require
many more things go in the bags, such as film, duct tape, etc., than the NPS
seems to recommend).

Canisters are a PITA, so kudos to Philmont keeping to the bags!
Regards
Don Roberts
ASM T1201, CA C1202
Fullerton, CA
Eagle class of 73

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Received on Wed Jul 2 15:45:13 2003