2 people on pct thru which canister???

[letmebefreee]

Sorry if this is a repeat I've found info on bear canisters but nothing this specific soooooo.....Me and my wife will be hiking the PCT next april. (finished AT in 2010 and didnt use canister at all) We have a bv 500 that we've used in and around the yosemite valley and are just curious if that one canister is enough for two people where its needed on the PCT. I've jammed 6 days of food, for two people, in it before but it was slim pickin's. If I need to buy another bearvault (the smaller one) I will but I'd rather not... If anyone that has hiked it with a partner or spouse (or anyone else) has any advice I'd love to hear it. 1 YEAR TO GO!!!!

[frogmanjack]

As with everything, the answer is "it depends". It depends on how fast you can go, how often you are planning to stop, how much you eat, and a few other things as well. As a solo hiker, I was not able to make it from Kennedy Meadows to Kearsarge Pass with only one canister (I had a bit of extra food in a bear bag for the first day or two), so I would say that it would be very hard for two people. If there is less snow when you go, you will probably go faster and thus need less food. If you go out over Whitney instead of Kearsarge, you'll also save a day or two at the start, but will probably need to make more stops in the Sierra. So it might just be possible, but I think it would be really really hard.

[burger]

You're gonna need 2 canisters. You'll be eating far more food per day than you did on your previous trips in Yosemite. No one I hiked with on my thru was able to fit more than 6-7 days of food (for 1 person) in their BV. Just get a second one--they're cheap enough.

BTW, if you're concerned about carrying the extra weight of the canister, just remember that by the time you hit Kennedy Meadows, you'll be in amazing shape because you've already hiked 700 miles. Except for having to bulk of the canister, the weight won't be a problem for you.

[letmebefreee]

When we hiked the AT we only had one bear bag (about the same size as bv 500 and stayed out 6 days regularly), but I suppose I should just get a second BV... the BV500 does not fit well on or in the pack my wife will be using so we'll have to make a decision to go with the smaller 450 I think... I guess I'll have to do a little more research about how many miles between resupplies in the sierras or canister areas and practice a little more with the canister see how much crap i can shove in it....

[BrianLe]

Two full-sized canisters. Perhaps your longest carry between resupply will be in the Sierras. Depends on where you resupply, and whether you climb Whitney, but most want to, so an extra day of food for that. About the food-minimal approach is KM to Independence via Kearsarge Pass, then to MTR, then Reds Meadow/Mammoth Lakes.

Pick up the cans at KM, send them back home (or back to where you borrowed or rented them from) at, say, Sonora Pass.

The AT is quite different for resupply; there's nothing akin to what you'll be carrying out of Kennedy Meadows.

[enyapjr]

Depends on many factors - age and food selection perhaps being the most important in this case...
Check out GottaWalk's (Ken & Marcia Powers) webpage on the subject - 2 people, 10 days, Garcia canister (615 cu. in.): http://www.gottawalk.com/packing_bear_canister.htm... If you are an 'older' couple, it is more doable than if you are twenty-somethings simply due to slower metabolism with age.

Two people with one canister 'can' make do if definitely planning on a resupply part way through the roadless Sierra portion of the PCT... The typical resupply midway through the Sierra is out over Kearsarge Pass & hitch to Independence either for your mail drop, or, since there's no longer a 'grocery store' in Independence, then either hitch or bus from Independence to Lone Pine or Bishop which both have fairly good resupply stores...

More research will definitely be needed in order for you to 'buy into' the 'idea' that it could be done with only one canister without a huge calorie deficit... Enjoy the planning, it's part of the journey, too!

Happy trails!!!
Jim (PITA)

[frisbeefreek]

I would say no way. I used a BV500 and had trouble fitting 7 days of food (and my stuff was high density stuff like nuts and energy bars).

Rough Math - Minimum of 3500calories/day * 2people * 6 days / 100calories/oz = 26lbs (which won't fit in a single canister). I budgeted for 4500calories/day (climbing 13000 foot passes on snow burns a lot of energy), which left me very lean by Donner Pass.

To be honest, a lot of my food didn't fit in my canister when I left Kennedy Meadows...but...you don't need a canister until around Chicken Spring Lake...then I used the metal bear boxes for the first 2-3 nights (like at Crabtree Meadows). If you don't mind sleeping at designated locations, you can use the boxes and save yourself the extra canister, but this becomes harder to do north of Tuolumne (it's about 50 miles to the Yoesmite Park boundary and end of the canister restrictions). And for the record, a Ranger did ask me about my canister.

--Frisbee

[GirlnPointer]

What about a canister and ursack combination? I guess it wouldn't work for the "canister required" areas but maybe on other stretches where you can use noncanister options... Just a thought..

[letmebefreee]

Thanks people for your responses. I was messin around and found a good way to rig the canister with full weight on my wifes pack... We'll be testing it with a 15 mile overnighter next weekend hopefully! Pretty sure we will be going with 2 big Bear vaults... some people have told me not to even worry about canisters but im not willing to create a problem bear to save a few pounds off my back. Thanks again for taking the time to answer! PCT 2013!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! -Unicroc & Scat Tracker

[Moose2001]

Could you do it with one cannister? Yes. Would you be really hungry? Yes Would I buy a second cannister? Yes A happy, and well fed, wife is a happy life!

[BrianLe]

"I was messin around and found a good way to rig the canister with full weight on my wifes pack... We'll be testing it with a 15 mile overnighter next weekend hopefully!"

Do test well. I did a shakedown hike with mine strapped externally before doing the PCT, and concluded that I was okay with it on the outside. But not too a couple of days after leaving Kennedy Meadows I changed my mind, strapped a lot more stuff on the outside of the pack to be able to fit the can inside. If at all possible, that's the way I would go, can inside the pack of you can possibly hang enough other stuff on the outside to make that work.