July 3-8th: 80-90 mile, partial cross country Sierran trip. EPIC!

Have you guys thought about what you are doing with your food? Obviously hanging is out of the question, but canisters dont seem to be 'required' either. Ursack?

http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/food_storage_restrictions_SEKI_20070410.pdf

I assumed I'd have to carry a canister and have planned on doing so…
I'd rather not though. Does our route require us to?

Yea, same here. I was about a minute away from renting a bearikade, but thought to check first. You can see muir pass on the map I linked to above as a reference point for our route. The map appears to be dated 2007, but is currently linked to from here:

http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/bear_bc.htm

Hope I'm not misreading or being needlessly optimistic, but it seems like we are in the clear.

I'll call tomorrow and see what a real person has to say.

Check this link-it should answer your question:

http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/food_storage_restrictions_DusyBasin_20070418.pdf

In short, you won't be required to carry one where you guys are going. Whether or not you choose to is another question.

Edited: I also talked with a staff person down at White Mountain RS in Bishop a few days back, and he confirms what the map in the above link indicates.

Great, thanks for that Tom.

So I guess the question is indeed: do I want to deal with hanging or just suck it up and carry the weight for the sake of simplicity?

Craig, I would take the cannister. It'd be a bummer if many of you lost your food that far in. It could possibly ruin your trip. I know carry that extra weight is a bummer but at least you can sleep knowing your food is protected. Keep in mind, hanging food will be tough above timberline

"So I guess the question is indeed: do I want to deal with hanging or just suck it up and carry the weight for the sake of simplicity?"

If you are going in over Lamarck Col: I've been that way a couple of times, and there has been no sign of bear activity, nor have I heard of any. Same along the stretch of the JMT from just below Darwin Bench to Wanda Lake. Apparently most of the bears hang out down in Evolution Valley where the pickings are better. Once you get into Ionian Basin you will not be seeing any bears, for sure. Also, you won't see any bears in the Davis Lake area on down North Goddard Creek, up to Martha Lake, or south of Reinstein Pass, IME. Going out over Haekel or Echo, it won't much matter because you'll be within a day of civilization by that time. All of this said, I would not consider the above mentioned stretch of the JMT to be fool proof. If it were me, if I were going without a canister, I'd make a run for Ionian Basin from Darwin Bench so it wouldn't be a concern. Every place else above it is not a concern, IME, and from what I have heard. In the end, you will make your decision based on what you are comfortable with, since you will have to live with the consequences. I hope this helps a little, and that you have a great trip. You are heading into some fine, fine territory.

We'll have to come to a group consensus perhaps. I am for following Tom's always good Sierra advice; my opinion would be to go without if not required. I've been having more MICE problems lately than any bear issues, but that shouldn't be a problem if we sleep in random places up high.

If necessary, I have two BearVaults (I think the 450; good for 4-5 days) so someone could borrow one if need be.

Stoked.

Tom, Thanks for the input. I spoke to an employee(ranger?) at the wilderness office today who's statement was consistent with what Tom said. The zones on the maps are more like enforcement zones where you could conceivably be stopped and fined for not using a bear canister. We won't be entering them, so in that regard we are fine. Food protection was obviously still "highly recommended" outside those zones.

So yea, the question is one of risk assessment, not legality. I love a light pack as much as the next guy… I dunno though… 31oz for a weekender might be a relatively small price to pay for peace of mind.

EDIT: I second Dave's above comment about a group consensus.

Whatever the group wants to do…I can go either way. I already assumed we'd have to carry them so I'm not worried about the weight if it makes things easier. Saving a couple pounds is cool, but not if it leads to unneeded stress…
But if it leads to a midnight photo of Adan wrastlin' a bear over Twinkies while Dave is trying to club it with a branch…now that would be totally worth it.

So, before any of this bear canister mumbo jumbo is decided, I think the group consensus first has to be an agreement to take whatever risks necessary to end up with Adan wrestling a bear.

That said, bacon wrapped sardines are going to be my staple trail food…

Well, how powerful does Adan seem, when compared to a bear? Fairly powerful? Kinda powerful? More info needed.

Also, let's remember that there won't be any sticks above timberline, so the stick-hitting portion of the plan is right out.

"But if it leads to a midnight photo of Adan wrastlin' a bear over Twinkies while Dave is trying to club it with a branch…now that would be totally worth it."

Take LOTS OF PICTURES. I wouldn't miss that one for the world. ;)

Great, now I'll be up all night wondering if James is waiting to sneak some bacon wrapped sardines into my pants!

Dude, I can't believe you still have that picture…That party was f@ckin' nuts. I never did find out who brought the bear.

Good times…

"Well, how powerful does Adan seem, when compared to a bear? Fairly powerful? Kinda powerful? More info needed."

Well, apparently Adan is of the right body shape to fend off a bear, stocky and compact. The abundant back hair can't hurt either.

I was planning a very similar trip that week with a partner who has since bailed on me. Now planning something solo, unless others reading this thread were disappointed to see this trip is full to capacity and want to form another group with a modified route. I'm a bit flexible on dates – any 5-6 days between July 1 through 8 are good for me.

Sorry guys, I've been in the mountains for this discussion. It's nice up there.

I lean away from bringing my bearikade. I'm only concerned about marmots and feel comfortable with a combination of sleeping with my food and/or hanging off of boulders. I'll bring a cord to hang my food off a cliff if marmots seem to be a problem.

Anyone want to produce maps and send them around via email for us all to print off? Each person should definitely have 1:24k-30k for the entire region that we may traverse.

Thoughts on the summits, ridge walking and/or trip out towards Tunemah?

1. I vote for no canister.

2. I will have to take a better look at the route on my Tom Harrison maps at home and the "passes" in Secor (if they are in there) and/or online. My general thoughts is that I'd love to be off-trail/up high as much as possible, use off-trail passes up to Class 2+ level (if you know what I mean), perhaps bag a peak or two at the same level, and prefer as much of a loop as we can do (to avoid covering the same ground twice).

3. I'm hoping to hop into a carpool with the Bay Area/Sacramento folks.

> 3. I'm hoping to hop into a carpool with the Bay Area/Sacramento folks.

Dave T.

Regarding carpooling from up north, I think the plan is for you, James and me to meet up in the Bay Area then drive to Escalon where we meet Jack and leave a car at a BPL'ers house. If you and James can get to Berkeley, we can take my car from there to Escalon. Parking is also safe and plentiful at my house.

Casey

I can sort out getting down to Berkeley… we are heading over 120?

I'll go with the flow and plan to leave my canister at home then. I'm OK with sleeping with my food or hanging it.

Nice! I'm down for no canister too.

Casey, Thanks again for offering the ride! I'd be heading over on BART from San Francisco… Depending on where you are at maybe Lafayette or Walnut Creek would be a good meeting point? We can work out details/timing as it gets a bit closer.

Sorry, can't help there…I'm not too techy, don't have a working color printer, and don't have any topo software.

This is only 3 weeks away now!! Getting really excited to get out there.

> Regarding carpooling from up north, I think the plan is for you, James and me to meet up in the Bay Area then drive to Escalon where we meet Jack and leave a car at a BPL'ers house. If you and James can get to Berkeley, we can take my car from there to Escalon. Parking is also safe and plentiful at my house.

That's the plan as I see it. I'd really appreciate not having to drive beyond Escalon if possible.

Please bring cord for marmot hangs if necessary.