Ursacking the JMT

" I can find a way to get rid of it, I will, though it doesn't look I'm going to be able to avoid it in SEKI." For the record, Michael, you don't have to carry a canister everywhere in SEKI. There are specific areas in both parks where canisters are required, but elsewhere, if you are below tree line you are allowed to hang using a counterbalance. Whether or not this is a good idea is another matter. I prefer the PCT hang, and use it whenever I'm in areas where I am unlikely to encounter a ranger, which is the vast majority of the time. A lot depends on where you will be hiking. If you are on the JMT, or any other high use area, where there will almost certainly be habituated bears, it is probably wiser to carry a canister. Otherwise, a PCT hang should suffice. Some people even carefully store their food in odor proof sacks and sleep with it or near it. Andrew Skurka has been known to do this, among others. Rumor has it that for backcountry rangers on patrol, this is SOP. Lots of ways to skin a cat.

So a Scout plus counterbalance-style hang in legal areas if you'r out for longer than five days is pretty sweet, imo–you have a bombproof/bearproof food cache and a responsible hang for any extra food. But hanging/cliff stashing above tree line is often problematic. Of course, using your food bag as a pillow, like Tom suggests, is…interesting. I would personally have a little trouble sleeping soundly with this set-up. I've had a bear try to reach into my tent one night when I stupidly brought a bottle of vitamin c to bed with me! I guess I'm skeptical about odor proof bags…but I've run into people who live near Seki who do this; I've heard the rumor about rangers too.

"So a Scout plus counterbalance-style hang in legal areas if you'r out for longer than five days is pretty sweet, imo–you have a bombproof/bearproof food cache and a responsible hang for any extra food." +1 on the Scout, if you're going to use a canister, for up to 8 days, IME. I do not think the counterbalance method is the best hang, but HYOF as always. "Of course, using your food bag as a pillow, like Tom suggests, is…interesting." Read my post a little more closely, Jeffrey. Nowhere did I suggest using one's food bag for a pillow. What I did say is that storing food in an odor proof bag works well. I my case, I wash my hands after carefully repacking my food inside a stuff sack lined with an odor proof bag, and then slip another odor proof bag over the stuff sack. This, in turn, goes inside a waterproof bag used for my down gear, which is then sealed very tightly. I store this at the head of my tent, covered by my WPB anorak. I am confident that this effectively eliminates any escape of odors from my already low odor food. Been doing this for quite a while now, and so far no bear problems. To elaborate further, how you store your food is only one part of a multi pronged approach to avoiding bear problems. Carefully selecting food that does not give out a lot of odor, not cooking your food, avoiding hiking in areas with a high hiker and therefore bear population, eating then moving on before camping, and careful selection of campsite with an eye to finding a place where there is nothing around for bears to eat all factor into reducing your chances of having an unwelcome visitor. In short, don't attract attention in the first place. I've been at least two of these techniques, often more, for a long time now, and have not had a bear encounter since 1978, and I can count the number of times I have carried a canister on half the fingers of one hand. YMMV, of course, but I think my track record indicates I may be onto something beyond blind luck.

Sorry Tom, I used "pillow" for comic effect. Or tried to.

"Sorry Tom, I used "pillow" for comic effect. Or tried to." Not a problem, Jeffrey. It was a typical Internet misunderstanding. You were joking, I was serious, and due to the one dimensional nature of Internet communication, I misunderstood you. Certainly no need to apologize. Life in the Forum goes on and all is well. ;0))