[pct-l] Light Bear Can

[Hiker97 at aol.com]

Sugar Daddy writes:

Switchback or someone, please develop and produce a mouse proof  container, 
the same size as a bear can, weighing less than a pound (8 oz.?)  and cheap 
($20 - $25). I'll trail test it for you!! I suppose it's asking too  much to make 
it strong enough to sit on!
_________________________
I sent an email to Bearikade about  making a can half the size of the 
Weekender.  It would weigh about one  pound.  I only use my BearVault Solo can for 
food to make it out of  the backcountry if I get hit by a successful bear.  It 
is NOT for the whole  trip's worth of food.  Well, I guess I can get most of my 
food in it for a  4 day/3 night hiking expedition.
 
Otherwise, I just hang my excess  food using the counter balance method, 
which has worked for almost 40  years.  I use the old ranger trick of peeing 
around the base of the tree  that has my bag hanging from it.  I have no idea if 
this works, but I  always do it.  Marking my territory.
 
Out of all the many nighttime bear  encounters I have had, none have been 
successful for the bear.  I pile some  rocks near my tent door to throw at them 
if they wake me.  If they get me  out of my tent, then I am really mad and 
usually chase them  around the woods for awhile  throwing rocks until I get tired. 
 No big deal.  Of course, I have my  pepper spray with me.  :-)
 
I have had people scare the living  daylights out of me by yelling "bear!" in 
the middle of the night, while I was  in a deep sleep.  I think campers are 
sometimes more of a nuance than  bears.  That is why I like to only be in 
"waving" distance of other  campers, but no closer.  Or may be I am just antisocial.
 
Cheers, Switchback