Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Bearproof?

Maybe a stupid question, but would freeze dried food in a sealed pack absolutely have to be in the cannister? I'm trying to avoid lugging one each so if we can leave unopened freeze dried food out and just put the trash/leftovers in that would make a nice weight difference.

Or are we asking for trouble?!

Yes, you're asking for trouble.

Bears know what food ( even human food ) looks like and have an incredibly acute sense of smell. They'll smell it and enjoy it for dinner.

Joel's right. Better grab a couple of cannisters and be 'bear smart' It will also help with those nasty marmots as well above Trail Camp. Every time I go up I see folks leaving packs to hit the summit and as soon as it quiets down along come those pesky pack robbers...

YES! I had a bear eat my birth controll pills in the back country of Yosemite! not cool

Freeze dried birth control pills? What will they come up with next?

...in a possibly related incident, yosemite rangers reported an abnormally prolonged mating season...

Actually, you are somewhat missing the point. It is not exactly that you must have food in a cannister, it is that you must have it properly stored. From the Inyo website:

"The Inyo National Forest requires proper food storage in all wilderness areas. In some places where counter-balancing food has been unsuccessful and/or bear activity is very high, there are requirements that visitors must use an approved canister for food storage."

On the main Whitney trail, this is such a very high activity place, thus you legally must store ALL food in approved containers.

Parenthetically, in discussions with the bear biologists from Yosemite this year, they mentioned that the MOST COMMON situation in which bears get food, is where people have brought food in excess of their cannister capacity, such as the first nite....and the bears get it. Exactly the situation you'll be in.

I would say that the odds of you loosing the food if left out is in the range of 90%, but bears are actually not the most likely. Depending upon exactly where you are, either marmots or mice are almost certain to get it.

Yes, up at Iceberg Lake on the MR, there were a bunch of marmots roaming about last week.
Even hanging food doesn't always help. I heard of an incident at Iceberg Lake where birds were able to wiggle a food bag from a stick, and the marmots took care of it from the ground.

Does anybody know of a really lightweight, yet still sturdy bear canister? The standard black one is quite heavy. I haven't found anything much lighter at the local stores.

Yes, the bear vault, they make a mini one about half the size of
the black ones. I can get about 5 days of food in one. phil

We'll just make it fit in one. Sucks but there's no way we're lugging two of those things. As for light weight there is the whole Ursack option instead of the heavy cannisters. There's another thread on this forum about that and you can weigh up the pros and cons of it, there's plenty of discussion and info on that thread.

There is a new option out there, in the last month. I've not seen them, or had a chance to try one, but they are reputed to be the lightest, least expensive option.

http://www.bareboxer.com/

Is the Bare Boxer approved for the Whitney Trail? This seems like the perfect solution for a solo hiker on Whitney for 3 days.

But, I don't want to be turned around by the Whitney police because the canister isn't approved.

It is conditionally approved by SIBBG just like the new Ursack. You would be fine with the Bare Boxer.

Thanks Ken for Bare Boxer...
A little more than a inch smaller in dia.- Bare Boxer vol.275cu inch. bearvault 440cu inch...Now they are starting to get smaller.

I still want to fabricate a cylinder for us who go just overnite.

When I can find the money, patent it and get Yogi Bear to approve it...mark

What choices to other people in different parts the world have for canisters...mark

I'd think they have the same choices worldwide.

I've had the opportunity to meet and talk to several manufacturers. What I think after talking to each of them is that I'd never go to the incredible research, expense, and hassle involved in producing their product. Amazing that anyone would go to the bother. I think they are people from our peer group (outdoorspeople), who are driven.

Hi Every year we heard the same story, this year they fixed it for sure, well I think well maybe the the poop eating bears will only chew holes in the sack ,blow the lid off only sometimes and that little one will hold enough for six of us for 9 days , we don't eat much. the other 98% take the cans that have worked for many years, protect the food from the bears and rodents and enjoy the mountain. Side note problem bear in the Portal now that must of brought food when it came. Thanks Doug

Doug or Anybody Else,

Does anyone know of a place in Lone Pine or Los Angeles that rents the 1/2 size bear canister for one?

Thanks

I think that Adventure 16 stores may do so, in the SoCal region. You might want to call to confirm.

Yeah, I heard about a bear at the portal campground last Thursday night, when I was staying there. Apparently, somebody's backpack was ripped open...