Re: Dumb bear canister question

So the Garcia bear vaults are black, obviously, and I've always thought I should paint the darn thing bright yellow or add reflective tape so I can better find it in the morning. Is there any reason to believe that doing that makes it easier for bears to find? I always assumed they used smell to track down our precious food stashes. And why are they are black in the first place?

So ewe want to paint it so it looks like a
big ol pot o honey?
Winnie will be very happy!

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Seriously, paint it or put stickers on it
whatever makes you smile

The bears will find it regardless and not
get your food if it’s locked.

it’s probably black because the composite
is black and coloring it would be cost prohibitive
bear vaults are clear ish

anyway
have fun and no worry bout the bears

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Thinking orange now like a giant tangerine or persimmon.

thanks. now this makes sense to me: https://north40.com/counter-assault-bear-keg-bear-resistant-food-container

Bears will smell it far before they can see it.

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- Billy Joel



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/16/2020 03:34PM by JRinGeorgia.

Put some reflective tape around it. Sometimes bears swat the can or roll it down a hill trying to open it. Sure makes it easier to find with that reflective tape.

Yep, reflective tape is nice when you're looking for it after dark., with or without bear interference.

Sometime pigments can protect a plastic from UV damage. I suspect the black is there is absorb UV. Yes, buy some reflector tape. While you are doing this buy some reflective line for you tent guylines too.

These bear cans have actualy changed bear behavior. They know that can't get your food so they are stopped trying. The advice now is to stack cookware on top of the bear can so it will make noise, wake you up and you can chase off the bear. But really, they have learn that it is not worth their time to mess wit bear cans

My tent lines are already reflective thanks to REI.

So I camped for a night in Lyell Canyon a few weeks ago on my way to Vogelsang, I woke up in the morning to find that a fellow backpacker had stashed his bear canister well away from his tent (good), but 10 feet away from mine (bad!). And it wasn't nighttime or anything. It was obvious to him that my campsite was there. Still wondering what he was thinking. Not cool.

This reminds me of the joke with two hunters running from a bear (punchline: I don't have to outrun the bear, I have to outrun you)
In this case, the other camper didn't have to make sure no bears were around - just had to make sure the didn't come to his campsite :-)

Quote
mbazeley
My tent lines are already reflective thanks to REI.

So I camped for a night in Lyell Canyon a few weeks ago on my way to Vogelsang, I woke up in the morning to find that a fellow backpacker had stashed his bear canister well away from his tent (good), but 10 feet away from mine (bad!). And it wasn't nighttime or anything. It was obvious to him that my campsite was there. Still wondering what he was thinking. Not cool.

Did you move his canister to a spot away from your tent?

I didn't see it until the next morning before I left. I pulled it out of its spot and left is sitting out near a tree so he would know that I had seen it. Had I had pen and paper, I would have left a note explaining the "rules of the road."

I wonder how many back country hikers in Yosemite have ever actually seen a bear or had their campsite visited in the night. The only ones I ever saw were either in the valley or near the T-Meadows permit office. Most of them hung around the car campers, High Sierra camps, and Little Yosemite Valley.

I can't remember the last time I saw one before my last trip. I saw two, not together, on the trail from Lyell up to Vogelsang this August. This was around the time that rangers had warned of bear encounters in the backcountry area.

We've seen one in Virginia Canyon--too off like a shot when it saw me on the trail. And one near Rancheria Falls, intent upon tearing a log apart for grubs.

Those are the only two bears we've seen in the last decade in Yosemite's back country. But we did have some memorable encounters fifty years ago near Merced Lake...a story for another time.

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963

I for one would love to hear this story soon

This was back in about 1970 or so....I would have been 18?

I was on a quick trip with my 16 year-old sister, and camped at LYV along with hordes of other people. A group of three people and a dog camped near us, and we quickly became friends.

Right after dark. the word spread that a bear was in the area. We had hung our food and all five of us were going to use the campfire we started to cook our dinner (back in the day, you could cook over an open fire....nobody brought a stove back then) .

We tracked the bear as it came through the campground, hitting first one camp and then another. People yelling and banging pots and losing food...This was standard campground practice and we were used to it.

When the bear got to our camp we did the same. Yelling, banging on pots. The dog was barking. We figured the dog would be a difference maker.

The bear walked right up to us as was stood around the campfire, dog barking furiously. (on a leash!) Finally it got so close to us that we backed up just a bit. The bear walked up to our fire and smacked the pot that was cooking there, then ate all the food in the pot while we watched. Dinner was gone.

The bear then looked around, spotted our backpacks hanging in a tree. and didn't miss a trick--one blow of the paw and the line holding the packs up snapped, and then the bear ripped into our packs and ate more food.

By the end of the night, we were able to cobble together just enough food for dinner that night, and something for the morning. I patched the hole in my pack by stuffing our frisbee down inside and wedging it in place. Yeah, I took a frisbee...

And we hiked out the next day.

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Check our our website: http://www.backpackthesierra.com/
Or just read a good mystery novel set in the Sierra; https://www.amazon.com/Danger-Falling-Rocks-Paul-Wagner/dp/0984884963



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/17/2020 06:58AM by balzaccom.

Whoa, thanks for sharing Balzaccom! That was indeed one insouciant bear. I guess the education about not feeding wildlife (and to bring it back to the topic, the widespread use of bear canisters) has really paid dividends, because I cannot imagine a black bear of today's vintage doing anything remotely similar.

I forgot to include LYV as a popular location for bears. That location was popular for bears long before we even had permits.