One thing I think could be added.
Near shelters put in some Bear Hangs so you do not have to rip apart the trees and landscape to find a good place for yours.
One thing I think could be added.
Near shelters put in some Bear Hangs so you do not have to rip apart the trees and landscape to find a good place for yours.
Lots of shelters have bear cables and boxes.
Last week I was hiking south of Port Clinton and those shelters did not have them. I was thinking it would be nice to have a fund to get them installed at all the shelters. Some locals I talked to did not think there was any bear problem so saw no need. I really could not find any suitable trees so ended up with the food in the shelter as did others.
Alternately...
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Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Voice it to the ATC and NPS.
''Tennessee Viking'
Mountains to Sea Trail Hiker & Maintainer
Former TEHCC (AT) Maintainer
Old Hiker
AT Hike 2012 - 497 Miles of 2184
AT Thru Hiker - 29 FEB - 03 OCT 2016 2189.1 miles
Just because my teeth are showing, does NOT mean I'm smiling.
Hányszor lennél inkább máshol?
Just sleep with it, I do and I'm still alive.
- Trail name: Thumper
Woodpeckers are pretty rough on those trees too.
While I enjoy bear poles and hangs, I understand they are expensive to put up. I will find a tree where those do not exist.
And so . . . this thread.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
Over the years I've used a lot of methods, including sleeping with my food, and I have to say that even weighing in at 2Lbs, my Bearvault is by far the easiest and laziest method I've found, the fact that it's one of the most effective methods is just an added bonus.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
I have found on the AT (and elsewhere) that typically bear "hot spots" are already equipped with some type of food storage method (box, cables and/or poles). So even though I used to hang my food for many years I have gotten lazy in recent years and just sleep with it if one of these methods is not provided. I have yet (this is always the key word) to be harassed with the food in my tent. Note that I carry stuff that doesn't have strong odors, is packed in Ziploc bags, all of which is placed in a trash bag with the top closed and that's all placed in an OR sil-nylon dry sack.
Are new bear hot spots popping up that don't have food storage provided...sure. Could a random bear just wander in and become a problem...yes. This just hasn't been an issue in many years and a couple thousand miles of hiking so far.
Disclaimer: this is all based on my own empirical evidence, and not a detailed scientific study.
AT: 2007-2019 (45 sections)
JMT: 2013
Most AT overnight sites with bear "problems" do get (eventually) some sort of system to keep your food separated from wildlife. OTOH, why isn't this the responsibility of the hiker instead of the trail manager or local club? Shouldn't hikers take responsibility for their own safety and protection of the local wildlife, rather than 'demanding' their 'needs' should be taken care of? Are we reaching the limits of "development" of overnight site infrastructure? That said, all 14 AT overnight sites in my state have bear boxes....
Cosmo
For the same reason local clubs designate tenting sites rather than leaving it up to the individual hikers: it's less wear and tear on the landscape. Lots of tree limbs die from bear bag lines repeatedly scraping their bark off, so a permanent food box/hang facility is a better idea than leaving it as the responsibility of the hiker.
Of course it's the hiker's responsibility... and we'd live in a perfect world if everyone would be responsible hikers.
But from the point of view of a land manager, you have to account for the fact that there will always be a certain percentage of people who will not take responsibility, that will ignore rules they don't agree with or are too lazy to follow,or simply won't take the time to learn the rules and be ignorant.
So as a manager, you have to decide what you're going to do:
1. Nothing?
Perhaps what ever problem you're trying to deal with will only get worst... perhaps leading to a lawsuit.
2. Close the place down?
Sometimes you're mandate won't allow that, or a closure might simply be ignored.
3. Change the rules? (Like require bear canisters)
More rules might simply be ignored.
4. Spend money on increase enforcement?
If we had enough money to enforce the existing rules, there wouldn't be a problem.
4. Spend money on infrastructure that might make compliance more likely? (Bear boxes and Bear cables).
Make the rules simpler to obey and they are more likely to be followed.
Ban hurricanes too, did you see what Irma did to those poor trees?