[pct-l] Walker pass to Kennedy Meadows - advise

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Wow, awesome story. That's the trick: to not camp at Joshua Tree  
spring or anywhere that bears might hang out.

I'm pretty proud of the tooth marks on my bear canister even if they  
did happen in a car campground.

On Nov 18, 2012, at 7:02 PM, Scott Williams wrote:

> In 2011, Plain Slice and Little Engine had pitched their tent at  
> Joshua
> Tree Spring and began fixing dinner a short distance away when they  
> turned
> around and saw a bear clawing at the mosquito netting of their  
> tent.  It
> was a juvenile black bear who had put his claws through the netting  
> and was
> just sort of playing with it.  They began yelling and throwing  
> stuff at it,
> but it was not too quick to quit the place and seemed pretty  
> comfortable
> with hikers.  It eventually took off and so did Little Engine,  
> Plain Slice
> and several others who had begun pitching camp.  They later  
> stitched up the
> bear claw holes, which were in a beautiful shape of the bears full  
> paws,
> with yarn and were very proud of their bear mauled tent for the  
> rest of
> their thru hike.  It was definitely the coolest piece of mosquito  
> netting
> on trail that year.
>
> I finished my hike in the desert that year and remember seeing lots  
> and
> lots of bear scat at Joshua Tree Spring where I filtered water  
> right next
> to a big pile of the smelly stuff.  There was other evidence of bear
> activity all through the lower elevations north and south of Walker  
> Pass
> that year.  The evidence was the holly leafed cherries which had been
> picked all along the trails just up to what a bear could reach and the
> resultant bear scat filled with the huge cherry stones.  I managed  
> to climb
> up on rocks and other stuff to be able to reach my own share of the  
> fruit
> at places, but they clearly forage along the easiest pathway, which  
> often
> happens to be the PCT.
>
> I wouldn't worry about them and would not carry a bear canister  
> where it's
> not required by law, but also am careful not to camp where there is
> evidence that the place is a regular bear stop.  Stealth camping in  
> out of
> the way places is much safer and much more fun anyway.
>
> Have a great hike,
>
> Shroomer