Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Trail Camp question

I have day hiked the main trail before but this year I have a 3 day permit so that I can take my 12 year old son. My question is what precautions do we have to take against critters invading our camp while we are summiting. Marmots seem to be able to access anything. Is a bear canister for food and other smelly stuff enough protection?

Yes, a bear canister will do! Leave it out of your tent and backpacks, so they dont chew through them in order to be stopped by the canister. Id recommend stashing the canister in some rocks near camp!

Bear canisters are THE BEST! That's why they are required up there!

Place all of your food items (toothpaste, too) in your canister. Place rocks around it to keep the marmots from playing with your canister.

If you are like me and are too "lazy" to lock up the canister (I have one of those black ones), place a big rock on top of the lid. Then again, pack a dime with you and don't be lazy like me.

In another thread, one poster suggested that you leave all the zippers on your pack open so that the marmots will not eat through your pack to get at the morsels.

You may consider giving your pack a good shaking to rid of any crumbs before you pack for your trip. Give it a good wash down with mild detergent (or manufacturers recommendations) or just plain water and let air dry. Hang upside down. Do not place directly in sun to dry.

Have fun.

Along with the good advice of leaving all backpack pockets open/unzipped while on your summit chase, leave the tent set up with the tent zipper open a bit too... all gear inside, out of sight.
Prevents any idle/inquisitive marmot gnawing.
Historically, the only worry is the four-leged critters, as nobody on two legs steals anything at Trail camp...They all have their own gear to haul.