Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Bear Canisters

I know this subject has been batted back and forth and apparently Rangers have told some that canisters are required on MR or North Fork trail. This seems to be in conflict with their own information page on this matter. The following link

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/quotas/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/quotas.html

lists all trails and has those trails requiring a bear canister in bold print. The Whitney Main trail is listed in bold however the North Fork trail is not. This would seem to indicate to me that if you can choose not to use a canister on the North Fork.

Any clarification?

It appears there is confusing information about bear canisters in the North Fork/MR. In 2003 when I was there (backpacking) they were not required. My permit confirmation for June 2004 says bear canisters are

Required in the Onion Valley/Kearsarge Pass area...Bishop Pass area....Mammoth Lakes/ Rush Creek area...Little Lakes Valley and the Main Whitney trail.

They are "recommended" in all other areas.

Fishbaits comments explain why there has been confusion, since the two trails share the same starting point. I go under the assumption I don't need to take a bear canister up the North Fork, and never have. That seems reasonable, taking into consideration the rules the forest service personel in town have reviewed with me when I picked up my permit.

According to the Forest Service regulations, bear canisters are required if you are entering or exiting the wilderness area via the trails that Kashcraft listed above. Most people begin the MR route by hiking by the main Whitney trail for the first mile. If you do so, you are required to have a bear canister (according to the wilderness regulations). However, since the MR route and the Main Whitney trail are distinctly different routes that only share the same start, it seems that many rangers overlook this requirement.

Check out...
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/1059771616491.html

One more item of interest. I have obtained several permits for this coming spring and summer in and around the Inyo National Forest. All of the permits except the two I have for the North Fork have a "Bear Canister Required" stamped on the front of the permit and regulations regarding proper food storage, etc. printed on the back of the permit. None of this info is on the North Fork permits. I did ask a Ranger about this issue when going into the North Fork last November and was told that a bear canister is not required but if I did not take a canister I was required to counterbalance my food. That's pretty hard to do at UBSL unless you bring your own tree.

hilarious!

Bring your own tree...what a great line.

Unlikely you would see a bear up above LBSL anyway. We do like to hang our food over a big rock @UBSL/ Iceberg lake to keep the Marmots away.

The only bear like noise I have ever heard up on the North Fork trail is my father snooring.