bear bag vs. bear canister

I am assuming that you are going to do the superior hiking trail. You should be fine with a bear bag and line. The bears up here are not very agressive when it comes to getting food. Most of the campsites on the SHT are not used heavily enough for the bears to get habituated to humans and bear bags.

Also the bears up here are probably not concerned about looking for food right now because it is the middle of the bear hunting season.

Dear Stuart,

Thank you for your input. I appreciate it.
Yep, I'm planning to do the SHT.
After getting a lot of input, I think I'm just going to hoist my whole backpack (through the shoulder straps and hip belt) up a tree or between trees each night, except for my sleeping stuff. It seems that that would be the safest, lightest and cheapest way to approach this. Please let me know if you disagree about any of this. Thank you.
Take care.

Darwin

Darwin,

Hoisting your entire pack is certainly an effective way to get your food out of a bear's reach. One thing to keep in mind, some of the SHT campsites are in new growth forests and you might have a hard time finding a branch that can support your pack (unless you are carrying SUL gear). Personally I just take the stuff sack my food is in already and hoist that up into a tree.

Thank you for the continued input. I appreciate it.
How much line do you recommend for pulling a backpack (or stuff sack) up either up a single tree or between trees?

Darwin
daroos@indiana.edu

I use 50' of p-cord, but I always rig my bear bag from single branch not between trees. I would like to get some flat spectra cord to replace the p-cord to save a few ounces.

Bears fit quite a bit better in the bags then in the cannisters.

I have been using the Garcia canister on the SHT and in the BWCA for years now. Sure beats trying to string it up. There have been a couple of red squirrels in the BWCA getting to the Pinatas. I have never had a problem and only once in Afton State Park did the raccoons play soccer with the canister. I have never used an odor proof bag in my canister. Makes a nice sitting keg too.