I would like to remind you that when you are camped in the King Range wilderness overnight you need to have a bear resistant food canister with you to store all food and scented items.
From my observations it seems that 93-95% of folks DO have bear canisters with them.
This is Fantastic and you should all give yourselves a pat on the back!
The bears and other wildlife also greatly thank you because, after all, it's for their well-being that you're using the canisters after all. When a bear eats human food and learns that humans can be associated with an easy meal they will lost their fear of humans, come around campsites more often, and can become increasingly aggressive. This is what would be called a "habituated" or "food conditioned" bear. This is what we want to avoid and is why you are required to use a bear canister for all of your food and scented items.
BUT, my main point of this post is about the proper use of the canisters.
This is the scene I came across this past weekend:
It is not enough to just have the bear canister in your possession - We must use them correctly.
This means having all of your food (yes, this included freeze dried and canned foods - the animals can smell those too) and scented items (toothpaste, sunscreen, etc.) secured in the canister.
PLEASE be sure that the lid is FULLY secured.
Thank you,
Write me an e-mail or give me a call if you have any questions.
Your Wilderness Ranger,
Paul Sever
lostcoastranger@gmail.com
707-986-5405
