That hiker in Yosemite told me to ditch my bear canister for a sack and I fought it for a month before realizing he was right

I was dead set on using this heavy plastic bear canister for a 5 day trip through Tuolumne Meadows last summer. Some guy at the campground said I should switch to an odor proof bag and hang it properly, but I thought he was crazy. After day 3 my back was killing me from the extra weight and I saw he had way more space in his pack. I finally tried the sack method on a shorter trip in Sequoia and it cut like 2 pounds off my load. Has anyone else had a lighter setup actually work better than the hard sided ones?

2 comments

2 Comments

joseph93217d agoMost Upvoted

yeah but were you actually hanging it right or just tying it to a branch? Ive seen too many people think a PCT hang means just tossing a rope over a limb and calling it good. The real trick with the bag is finding a spot where theres no way a bear can reach it from the trunk or a nearby rock, takes me like 15 extra minutes at camp sometimes.

eva_thompson1017d ago

ugh tell me about it, i spent a solid 20 mins last trip trying to find a branch that was high enough and far enough from the trunk, it was ridiculous. i get so paranoid about bears getting creative and just snapping the line or climbing a nearby tree to reach it. but honestly id rather take the extra time than wake up to a shredded bag.