Too much food for Bear Can

imported
#1

What do you do with the extra food that won’t fit into your bear can?

Last night as I was packing up my resupply bucket for MTR, I noticed that there is no way my food will fit into my rental Berikade Expedition for the segment from MTR to Whitney. Maybe I’m taking too much time (9-10days) for that segment, but does anyone have advice on what to do with that extra food while in camp? At this point I guess I’m planning on leaving that extra food in a stuff sack 100 yards from the tent and play my luck with the bears.

Thanks

weez

#2

I completed my JMT on 7/4-7/22 and, though I rationed food at some point, I discovered that I initially packed too much food. Reassess your food supply. You may get by with less. It always happens.

Julio

#3

Fortunately, you do not need a bear can for the first day or 2 (or three if you are slow) as you head south. So use the stuff sack for your overflow and try to eat it empty by the time you enter the bear cannister zones. Try the Sierrawildbear dot gov website for a map of the bearcan require zones (assuming you don’t already know). Tie something to the stuff sack like your pots that will make noise when a bear plays with it so you can use your rock pile and make other noise to drive it away on the nights you are forced to use it.

However, that said, 9 days should fit in a Expedition can. Try repackaging your food into ziplocks/etc. to make it fit more compact.

Miner

#4

Unless you’re on a speedy schedule, it’s normal to have too much food for your bear can on that stretch. Don’t undercount (or overcount) your food. I personally wouldn’t hang food in the Sierra. It’s like a bear invitation. Instead i’d do the standard PCT-style stealth camp: Cook dinner on the early side, and then walk a couple more miles after dinner. Go a good ways off the trail to find a campsite, like 100 yards at least, and away from any water sources. Preferably camp high, near a pass. If you do all that, you’re so far off the beaten path from where bears are used to looking for human food. Then put your stinkiest food in the bear can and leave it far far away from your tent, like even back ON the trail. Wrap up the remaining less stinky food in a dry sack, a plastic bag or two, and sleep with it in or under your sleeping bag.

I know that this theoretically could lead to a bear in your tent, but if you do all of the above, it should be astronomically low odds of being bothered. Keep a whistle and some rocks nearby in case, but with all the zillions of people who use this method, i’ve never heard of any getting bear visits as long as the follow all of the above. (BTW that’s what we did for about 5 nights out of VVR, since we had one bear can for two people. We had no bears, unlike when we camped at Ruby Lake at an established spot with all the food the can. THAT’s where we had a bear. The bears go for the established spots.)

markv

#5

I agree with the advice of markv. I just finished the JMT. Everyone around me had too much food for their bear canisters when they left Muir Trail Ranch. We each put the smelliest food in the bear canisters and bagged the rest. Some hung the excess from trees; others slept with it. We had no bear trouble. Or rodent trouble. Food like MH meals in their original packaging really doesn’t smell until they’re opened. As markv said, I think it helps if you cook and eat well away from your tent, to make sure any spilled food or strong smells are not near your sleeping area.

Five-Leafed Clover

#6

Thanks all. That makes plenty of sense now. I had already planned on the stealth camping strategy so it should be no problem for the first few days out of MTR with the extra food. Good to hear its a typical problem with easy solutions and that I’m not just a big over-eater.

weez