[pct-l] How to handle and pack a bear canister........

[Phil Baily]

I am not an expert and usually fill the can with 7-8 days worth of 
food. However, I would like to point out a few things.
         - Bears won't fight you for food, typically. They will wait 
for you to leave it lying around, usually. Therefore, when repacking 
you probably won't have a bear steal from right next to you. During 
the day you can carry meals and snacks outside your cannister. Just 
don't leave your pack while you go off on a short side trip!
         - After a few days you can find things and get things off 
the bottom by rummaging without emptying your cannister.
         - Depending on what you have and the shapes, you might be 
able to stack meals or days minimizing the need to empty the cannister.
It really is not that bad a chore.
Pieces



At 06:09 PM 11/24/07, cvano at tmail.com wrote:
>I'm still not sure about all of this.  What if I want a tortilla or
>something else on the second night that I didn't plan on in the
>morning.  I think that a bear can, just like a backpack or purse, moves
>every desired item somehow to the bottom.  So you unpack the whole thing
>at the meal stop, find the one item on the bottom, pick up all the stuff
>from the trail, dirt, rock, etc. and somehow put it back in.  Now, the
>trash goes on top?
>
>Meanwhile, you tell the nearby patiently waiting nice cute bear that
>you're sorry but he will just have to wait till you get all this stuff
>back in the can and the lid secured.  He understands and of course just
>shrugs his shoulders and goes on about his business.  Realistically, is
>it part of breaking camp to pull the days food out and repack the can?
>Do you do it at first break?  Throughout the day?  I'm sure that with
>much time, a heated carpeted living room, and perseverance one could
>pack a lot in there.  You still have to get it all out and back in on
>the trail, along with the trash.  I'm so confused.  Anybody want to take
>me along and teach me how to use a bear can on the trail?
>
>Actually, that would make a very good class or a long thread here on the
>list in my thinking, not just on how to pack the damn thing at home, but
>how to access, use, and repack on a daily or more frequent basis on the
>trail.  Hey, you always forget to keep one thing out for some meal -
>maybe its the p'butter - maybe it's the Snickers - whatever, it requires
>another trip into the can and the subsequent repacking on the trail.
>Then you have to pick up all the loose rice and beans and seperate it
>from the forest duff to repack it.
>
>At this point I'm thinking of just carrying two on my upcoming JMT.
>Twice the food, half the headache, 2.7 more pounds.  Also I'm just
>thinking of going all commercial freeze dried.  Still haven't found the
>dehydrated rum, but an empty plastic fifth of Captain Morgan makes a
>dandy fuel storage bottle and it fits nicely in the pack.  Due to
>Murphy's law, I'll use Powerade bottles for water.  Even in the dark,
>and with a snoot full, I can tell the difference.  C
>
>On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 4:27 pm, Andrea Dinsmore wrote:
> > Here's an interesting read I found on a bear canister site. Never
> > packed one myself. Maybe someone experienced could comment on this
> > idea. Newbies might not know how to pack one. Hopes this info is good
> > and helps.
> >
> > PCT MOM
> >
> > The Care and Feeding of Your Bear Canister
> >
> > Or
> >
> > Care for Your Canister and You'll Eat Better Than the Bears
> >
> > by Tom Reynolds
> >
> > Using a Canister
> >
> > Most weekend hikers rarely get more than 8-10 pounds of food, 6-8 days
> > supply in a canister. However, it is possible to carry over 18 pounds
> > of food, a 12-14 day supply totally within the canister. From Kennedy
> > Meadows the Keasarge Pass trailhead (Onion Valley) is 140 miles ahead
> > while the Vermillion Valley Resort (Lake Edison from Mono Creek) is
> > about 230 miles. Cramming 18 pounds of food into a canister may, at
> > first, seem impossible. However, following these instructions and a
> > little planning and patience will accomplish the task.
> >
> > Volume
> >
> > Volume must be considered as well as weight. For example 1 ounce of
> > regular rice makes 3 cooked cups while 1 ounce of minute rice makes 2
> > cups. In terms of weight they are equal because of the additional fuel
> > required to cook regular rice. However, in terms of volume the regular
> > rice is better.
> >
> > Food Choices
> >
> > Choose foods with a high weight/volume ratio:
> >
> > I prefer regular rice and cous-cous as carbohydrates over noodles,
> > spaghetti and other pasta. They have a much higher weight/volume.
> >
> > I also prefer tortillas over bread. They have a much higher
> > weight/volume.
> >
> > Pack foods that waste a minimum amount of space in the canister. One
> > size tortilla fits perfectly. The other sizes waste space.
> >
> > Pack foods that are compressible, like powders as opposed to elbow
> > macaroni.
> >
> > Choose foods with a minimum of water [Obviously, this doesn't apply in
> > the San Felipe Hills.]
> >
> > For your chocolate fix choose baking a chocolate cake to a Hersey's
> > bar.
> >
> > Used powdered refried beans, chili and/or black beans.
> >
> > Use dried mix powders for sauce and/or seasoning.
> >
> > Carry dried fruit and/or Jerky.
> >
> > Choose foods with a high calorie content.
> >
> > I prefer fat like peanut butter to sugar, protein or carbohydrate. It
> > is double the calorie/gram.
> >
> > I prefer nuts as snacks to candy (sugar).
> >
> > Pack simple foods that can be combined into many different meals. My
> > favorite is tortillas/rice and several bean powders. I could write a
> > chapter on the number of meals that could be made with these staples.
> >
> > Pack in bulk, not by meal. Depending on a lot of things your appetite
> > will vary. Cook each day to your appetite
> >
> > Cooking Style
> >
> > Learn to bake in a BakePacker [4 oz.] or possibly an Outback Oven [I
> > have not used one].
> >
> > This is the #1 volume saving tool I have found. You can turn low
> > volume, lightweight powder into high volume, high weight foods simply
> > and easily.
> >
> > Get a stove that simmers. For BakePacking or cooking rice-simmer for 20
> > minutes-you need control. I personally tossed my MSR Flame-thrower
> > years ago [I know this is heresy] in favor of a simple iso-butane
> > stove. For a hike on the JMT (200 miles) the total weight of stove and
> > fuel will be lighter. On a thruhike, where fuel resupply is a problem,
> > an iso-butabe stove may not be practical. Regardless of the stove you
> > carry, make sure that you leave Kenndy Meadows with enough alcohol or
> > other fuel to successfully cook foods that take longer to cook but
> > require less volume to store.
> >
> > Carefully measure all food.
> >
> > Figure out exactly how many breakfasts, lunches and dinners you will
> > need.
> >
> > Opening Your Bear Canister
> >
> > Do not open the bear canister until you need to.
> >
> > Your canister should be closed (lid on) unless you are in arms' reach
> > of it.
> >
> > Your first day's food doesn't need to be in the canister. You are going
> > to eat it before the bear comes [night]. If there is a bear box your
> > first day you can carry 2 days food outside the canister. Once you open
> > a properly packed canister you will NEVER get all that stuff back in.
> > You need a BEFORE bear canister [is opened] salt supply and an AFTER
> > canister [is opened] salt supply and on and on--get it?
> >
> > RePacking Food
> >
> > Repack food so that all air can be eliminated.
> >
> > Repack food so that the package is flexible and will squeeze into any
> > available space.
> >
> > Pack powders in sandwich size baggies --not ziplock. Pack about 1/2
> > full then carefully squeeze all air out. Twist the top several times to
> > make a tight tail and a body with NO air. Put the tie-tie at the top of
> > the twist, then untwist the tail and flatten out the bag. A relatively
> > flat bag will waste almost no space while a tight round bundle will
> > waste lots of space.
> >
> > Waste NO space. Peanut butter in a plastic jar [you know, good old
> > Skippy, not that gourmet kind that rots] is a staple. However, there is
> > lots of space on top, even in a new jar. Fill it full.
> >
> > Puncture air holes in tortillas wrappers and the like. This way you can
> > force air out of the package when you compress.
> >
> > Store some stuff loosely. In small nooks and crannies toss some loose
> > rice or peanuts.
> >
> > Once you open the canister and take some food out, they will pool and
> > you can easily them for later use
> >
> > Packing the Canister
> >
> > You now have two piles. You have a pile of before canister food that
> > you have in a stuff sack and a basket of carefully repackaged food that
> > goes into the canister. How much can you get in?
> >
> > Flat stuff, like tortillas, go in first followed by a layer of powder.
> > You smash and knead around these bags and push down with your fingers.
> > Use a glass jar to further press down and compress the powder. You will
> > be amazed how much more they compress.
> >
> > Next irregular, uncompressible items like a peanut butter jar. Press
> > more powder bag down around the irregular items, smashing and kneading
> > till all space is used. If necessary, fill nooks and crannies with
> > loose rice or nuts. Compress further with the glass jar. Continue this
> > process -- layer by layer till the top.
> >
> > At the top, no more room. Get a ram - a full glass jar - and lean on
> > it. I mean ALL your weight - I weigh 250 pounds. When you think you are
> > done you still have another inch. Then force the top on.
> >
> > OK, If the canister weighs 20 pounds you have 17-18 pounds of food in
> > there. If it
> >
> > weighs less than 18 pounds, start over. No kidding, I have repacked
> > many canister. Typically, the second time I get 1-2 more pounds in.
> >
> > Canister Do's and Don'ts
> >
> > Don't
> >
> > Do not put a plastic liner inside! It just wastes space, makes packing
> > hard and costs money. The bear can smell right thru the plastic --
> > trust me. Besides you want the bear to spend his time on the canister
> > and not the packet of M&M's you inadvertently left in your shirt
> > pocket.
> >
> > Do not hang your canister. The only known way a canister fails is to be
> > dropped from a great height.
> >
> > Do not put a strap around the canister to tie it so something so it
> > won't roll off -- you just are giving the bear a handle to carry it
> > off!
> >
> > Do
> >
> > Toss it 25 yards away from camp in a shallow depression so it can't
> > roll away, down a hill or into the stream. If this is not possible
> > block all routes of rolling with logs branches. Bushes are great.
> > Nothing rolls in them. Toss it in the briar patch.
> >
> > Paint part of it pink or "day glow" orange. Reflective tape also works
> > well and is wilderness friendly. This allows you to find the canister
> > after the bear moves it.
> >
> > Keep it closed and locked ALL the time. (Except when you want to eat
> > something!)
>Beyond this point
>There be dragons...
>
>Chris ~ S/V Drifter
>Anacortes, WA. ~~~_/) ~~~
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