Comments on: Pacific Crest Trail Resupply and Maildrops

By: Erik The Black

Erik The Black — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:38:57 +0000

A bear canister is only necessary in the part of the Pacific Crest Trail that coincides with the John Muir Trail. It is required to carry a bear canister in certain parts of the JMT because the bears have become too habituated to humans and regularly eat hiker and tourist food. If you get caught in these areas without a bear canister by a ranger they will give you a fine and escort you out of the area. Most thru-hikers carry a bear canister from Kennedy Meadows to Sonora Pass. Outside of this little section bear canisters are not required on the PCT and they are just dead weight. Outside of the Sierra the bears are typically afraid of humans and will not bother you.

By: Noah

Noah — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 18:38:29 +0000

Great site!
Is a bear canister absolutely necessary? I get a lot of suggestions from family and friends to carry bear spray, to your knowledge is there a lot of contact between bears and humans?

By: Pat McNeill

Pat McNeill — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:08:44 +0000

Super thanks Erik. I reckon I’ll mail the Geko to myself in KM as part of my Sierras kit and then send it back if it looks like the snow is all gone and I can see the trail. My base load is well below 10 lbs in the desert but that Bear Vault is going to be a bit of a load after KM.

Great to see you’re hiking the hike again. The PCT must indeed be fabulous!

By: Carl Rush

Carl Rush — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:19:35 +0000

Very nice site.

By: Erik The Black

Erik The Black — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:37:57 +0000

Pat, I would check postholer.com in the spring to see what the snow level in the Sierra is going to be like this year. If it's above average and you are planning to head into the Sierra in early June at the front of the pack you might want to consider bringing the GPS just to make things easier on yourself. The PCT Atlas maps have a UTM grid so it's less trouble to pinpoint your location quickly using the GPS than a compass. You might have to carry some extra gear through that section anyway (like bear canister, ice axe, more food, warmer clothes, etc.) so the extra 4 ounces probably won't be that big of a deal. But it's definitely optional. You'll be fine with just a map and compass if you don't want to carry the extra weight.

By: Pat McNeill

Pat McNeill — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:46:25 +0000

After thinking through my resupply strategy for two days I decided on the Hybrid method – and I am pleased to see that it is the one you favour Erik! I might only add that with the Hybrid Method, IF you have to drop out of the thru hike (a first thru hike for me, and being realistic, a repetitive use injury might knock me out) you haven’t wasted all the time and money on stuff you would rather not eat at home. I have 5 towns targeted for zero days with resupply and forwarding packages up the trail. Not that burdensome.

Question Erik – I have a Geko 301 GPS. It weights less than 100 grams (4 ounces) and my pack has a sub 10 lb base weight. With your maps in the Sierra, do you think I should bother bringing the GPS? I’m great with a map and compass but the GPS is just 100 grams.

Thanks for the guidance and inspiration.

Pat (Nameless) McNeill