Does law require bear canister....
Hello, All. Do I have to have a bear canister for Springer to Neel's Gap? I heard a few years ago, it was a new law. Thanks for any reply. Kevin
A bear canister is required only if you camp ON Blood Mt or near it. The requirement is only for about 5 miles of trail and only if you overnight camp. To further complicate the issue, the requirement is only in the spring.
It's easy enough to avoid the "forbidden zone". There are campsites just before the climb up Blood Mt and is a better place to camp.
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No, there is no such law or rule.
from the Chattahoochee - Oconee NF Blue Ridge Ranger District
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Thanks guys. I read it here, about 5 yrs ago. Now I remember, for camping on Blood Mt. Thanks, appreciate ya'll. Gonna take a friend from Springer to Neel's Gap, in April. Wanna see some of the Thru Hikers starting. Might be interesting. Kevin
Inevitable?
What do people here think of the trend in backcountry food storage regulations? I have a sense of inevitability about it, based on the 2015 requirement for hard-sided, non-pliable, commercially made canisters for Pisgah, Shining Rock, etc, and the AT recommendation (for throughout; not sure when that recommendation was issued). And of course, what looks like a model regulation (notice the consistency in wording) excludes the lighter and pack-friendly Ursack.
There's an irony about the Ursack exclusion, though, in that even the hard-sided cans have been defeated by clever bears (in some regions; perhaps not all). Perhaps it boils down to the commonly voiced concern about a "taste reward" by the bear who can chew and salivate on an Ursack, even without tearing it?
Anyway, just wondering what others think about the direction we're likely heading w/r/t food storage regs.
depends what time of year it is . as long as you walk through and not camp in bear canister restricted areas you are all good . there is a spot between woody and blood that you need one for spring but if you bee line it through and do not camp in restricted areas you are good to go . check the atc website for rules . they will have it all there for you and update the stuff daily or as it needs to be changed . peace my friends .. Donald " grateful " ballard .. the further shuttle Appalachian
are these regulations because of bear problems/population in the area or other reasons?
I would imagine the population if greater on many other parts of the AT, odd to have this regulation for a few miles. I'll be sure to hike through this section.
It seems that nearly every storage method has been defeated under certain circumstances. Ursaks failed several times under certain circumstances during testing. Most bear canister brands also seem to have occasional problems with a single bear or small family of bears defeating them.
Personally I have been using a Bearvault for about a year after years of sleeping with my food and I've been happy with the switch. It really isn't much of an inconvenience and the extra 2lbs isn't going to make or break anyone's hike. Now when I get to camp I just take the canister out of my pack, set it down and forget about it until
I need it. It's probably the most convenient and laziest food storage method I've ever found.
As far as the regulations, yes they're coming and they won't be as bad as everyone makes them out to be.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
It's because of human crowding and piss poor food storage techniques used by inexperienced campers.
Jester made the graphic below on his 2015 hike, which is a good example of why Georgia has so many problems with habituated bears.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Wholeheartedly agree, but the masses will scoff.
haha I like the yellow one.
Gotta admit I have done a poor hang or 2 just to get it away from the tent and off the ground... but that's from setting up in the middle of the night and not finding a decent hang with the headlamp. Also not on the AT and only out for a couple nights so I wouldn't have been totally screwed if something did eat my food.
i run into bears out here at least twice a week . higtower gap is right near a fish hatchery and is prime fishing area . that plus campers / hikers and tourist that just do not care throw their garbage out and brings all sorts of animals around to scavenge . once they know there might be food there they will come back and check it out over and over again .also , the thing about the trail in Georgia the trail is not a isolated area like people think it is . there is a house somewhere within spitting distance pretty much all the way up to the border . bears love to scavenge through trash and will take a 20 miles in radius area and claim it as long as they can score some food . they picked a bear off down at springer this year . it was snatching packs and running with them so usfs went down and took that poor bear out . anyways , sorry if that was confusing .. usually i would be working but shuttles are slow right now so i'm sitting on white blaze keyboarding it until the weather breaks ... peace my friends .. Donald " grateful " ballard the further shuttle Appalachian Blairsville , Georgia
Funny how if it was for any other purpose (such as a better-carrying pack, a sleeping bag that actually keeps you warm, etc.), "2 extra pounds" would elicit scoffs of disdain from some quarters.
Vogel State Park is just down the mountain from this section. The regulation ends on June 1st because that is when the campground reliably fills up for the summer. The bears move down to the campground to feast on what the campers leave out. The bears are so accustomed to getting food from people that they became a problem on the trail. I'd like to see the campgrounds in the mountains install bear boxes with the requirement that food goes in the box each night.
These regulations aren't about inconveniencing humans, but keeping bears alive. Relocating a bear doesn't really work so a fed bear becomes a dead bear.
A year or two ago, a hiker on this list serve asked, "Do I really need a bear canister if I am going to camp near Blood Mountain?" He received many responses. Then the fellow posted a few days later, rather frantically, that although he had hung his food, a bear had gotten it all in the middle of the night. Better be safe than sorry.
Plenty of people scoff at the idea of being required to carry a canister as well and I can certainly sympathize with their aggravation. My point is just that once you get used to it, it really isn't that bad and has some advantages in and of itself.
Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.
Last year, I was in Western NC @ Lake James State Park (not too far from Linville Gorge, I think), at a frontcountry campground (tent only!), and they had a latching steel cabinet at each tent site, for food/smellables. Seems like a good idea.
Even though I'm not a UL-er, I don't relish the idea of adding 2 lbs to my load that wasn't already there. In another thread, someone mentioned maybe not thinking of those cans as taking up so much space in the pack, when you can pack more than just food and smellables in your bear can (and remove them upon setting up camp). The idea being, don't pack an empty can, esp. as you eat your food supplies down. In theory, the can then only takes up the displacement of the plastic itself, and does not create a big void in your pack.
My initial thought was, well, then everything you pack in there will smell like your food and toothpaste. But upon reflection, that concern might be overblown. First, you can double-bag or op-sack your food, so even within the can it may not smell so much. Second, you and the clothes you wear are going to smell a bit like your food and toothpaste anyway, by virtue of cooking, eating, cleaning up, etc. So making use of the empty space in a bear canister isn't necessarily going to make things that much smellier. Third, the extra stuff you pack in the canister, you can make it stuff that doesn't take on scents as easily or as long, like your cookset, or other gear (as opposed to, say, clothing).
Just thinking out loud here. Does this seem reasonable? Is this how people pack and use bear canisters?
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