If you're thinking of buying one of the Garcia bear cannisters sold at the Portal store, let me tell you that they do indeed work. My group spend five days at Group Site 1 the first week of August for our annual one-day hike of Whitney on the 3rd. I have one of the Garcia cannisters that I had stored under one of the picnic tables, containing all of my snacks to be taken on the hike. About 11:00pm on Monday evening, a young bear came into camp, and tried for about one hour to get into my cannister. The cannister was knocked against rocks, tossed around, and now has extensive scratches all over it, but the bear was not able to get into it. Just remember, do not store the cannister anywhere near your tents, just in case you have an experience like we did.
Michael Theobald
