Current JMT South Bear Box Locations

First of all, there is information on bear boxes at Climber.Org

The information there tends to be up-to-date, but it is not guaranteed.

Three years ago, there was at least one large bear box by the ranger cabin at LeConte Canyon. Two years ago, there were one or two boxes at Charlotte Lake. There are some bear boxes by Kearsarge Lakes, but I think they have been locked/closed.

–B.G.–

Thanks Bob. The ones at climber.org were actually the ones I was looking at, before but couldn't tell if it was 10 years old. Still, the info there is very precise. I guess I'll have to mark them down as probably-maybe bear boxes.

I know the owner of Climber.Org

I know that he strives for accuracy, but he is constrained by the accuracy of the reports that he gets. I know that in the past I have reported to him on bear boxes, and my reports have shown up. In some cases, the bear boxes have been crushed by falling trees, so they are removed and (generally) not replaced. In other cases, the bear box was there, but the position was all wrong. In a few cases, NPS has just locked one up for no apparent reason. Go figure.

If you have a deep concern about a specific bear box location, then you can inquire to the NPS web site. In a few cases, they will respond with updated information. That is especially true if it is a standard location where they get other inquiries. In other words, if they have the information without bugging some backcountry ranger, then they will tell you.

Personally, I felt like bear boxes were good things when they were located at some heavily used bear haven where they don't upset the wilderness too much. It makes it much easier for backpackers to do a bear-proof job of storage. OTOH, it tends to concentrate overnight backpacker use to the immediate area at the box, so that is not great.

–B.G.–

I was excited when I saw April 14 2014, but then I realized all the locations had this date. The must have done an overall update then – but no way to know when the info for a particular notation was last updated. I'm satisfied. It would be hard to check every box every year. Hard to beat topo maps and GPS locations.

I agree about the issues with boxes. The last place I want to be is near a lot of other people. I may leave MTR with a few days worth of overflow. That narrows the spots I care about considerably, and if I happen to be passing by one about the time I want to stop, and its still there and unlocked, I can drop the overflow in. Otherwise hang for a couple of nights.