Which spots have boxes?Originally Posted by life scout
I started using a bear can this year in advance of a trip out west this August where they are required. I don't mind hanging (do it correctly, PCT style) but honestly the bear can is just so easy, and so useful as it also serves as a seat, table, and if you get a BearVault you can see into it to get out what you need. I have the 500 right now but plan on picking up the 450 for my shorter trips.
One leg of my trip WILL be 10 days and I do think, with the type of food I bring, I can get 10 days in it and have had numerous other people say the same. You have to try it at home, and it does require careful planning and packing, but it "can" be done.
Personally, I think I'm a convert. Better for us and our food, and better most importantly for the bears. And just SO EASY.
If you decide to hang, practice this as well and you'll get it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgBLDMuPuvE&t=3s
"Your comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there."
New Hiker considering doing Thru Hike NOBO 2018....
Concerned about the weight of the BV Canister! Aside from the Georgia section requiring bear canister should I need to set camp there.....What other Forest or states require the use of Bear canister? Would greatly appreciate also, If you can same as some people identified above the trail section to skip setting camp to not be required the use of it in GA, if possible identify roughly # of miles (regulated if any)
Thank you
10 days of food is a lot to carry, for me that would be >20 pounds. It's also a lot to try to pull up into a tree (and it sure won't fit in a canister).
Your height doesn't matter for hanging a bag - you'll need to find a branch 20 or 25 feet off the ground, so the difference between being 5 feet or 6 feet tall sorta pales in comparison. Do look at the PCT Method on youtube, it's easy and works pretty well.
An Ursack will keep small critters from chewing into your bag, though I think the max I can get in one is about 6 days. Lately we've been using the Zpacks food bag, which is larger and works well with the PCT Method hang, though I would discount any "critter resistance" as we had a critter get in easily the one time I didn't get everything inside the odor proof liner bag ("OP Sack").
Not funny at all, *** is wrong with you people.i thought the trickiest thing was people learning not to step on the line. Funniest thing to see them sling the rock up , and it comes right straight back at them.
I was glad that I was alone the time that I found a branch that was a few feet farther up than usual, and nailed it on the first cast - only to watch the entire line sail over the branch. I missed grabbing the bitter end as it went by. It did come to rest a little bit after the stone hit the ground, but I couldn't reach the end of the line. There was nothing to do but pull it down and cast it again. And of course the next few shots were misses.i thought the trickiest thing was people learning not to step on the line. Funniest thing to see them sling the rock up , and it comes right straight back at them.
Tip: Don't stand anywhere near Another Kevin when he's trying to hang a bear bag.
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
Dont stand near anyone trying to hang a bag...
On the plus side, its good entertainment
When it comes to hanging bear bags, it's an adventure for most.
Ursack when bear cables aren't available.
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It's great entertainment! Especially when they screw up and the rock comes back at them.
For some reason they never seem to like it when I yell "fore!" as I spectate.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
If you want to foil a bear who can open a BV500, drill a hole in the side with the cap closed. Drill through the cap and the can. Use a large sheet metal type screw, one that will grip the two holes. One that's large enough to use a dime to screw and unscrew is ideal. It's one extra step but a small one.
According to a ranger I was talking to in the Adirondacks High Peak region last winter, (and the example show-and-tell cans he had) the bears tear the BV canisters apart, they don't deftly open them. Accordingly, that screw idea shouldn't make much difference and it might give the bear one more spot (maybe even a weakened one, to get a grip on for tearing apart the canister?
Either way, I don't know that the BearValts are being breached regularly anywhere outside of the Adirondacks High Peaks region and it doesn't matter what modifications you make on your BV, they won't accept them for use in the Adirondacks High Peaks region, so again, I don't see the use, albeit a creative idea, of modifying your BV with an extra screw even if it did work.
I'm not lost. I'm exploring.
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