I have never used bear canisters but do like the idea. Bears can can smell any scented item that you pack for up to five miles away. Now that is somewhat hard to believe but if you add a twinkie, then it is 10 miles away. 🙂
Bear Canister for keeping food safe!
Bears are very curious so if they catch the scent of something that smells interesting then they may come to check it out. Luckily, humans are not on the menu for bears so they are not interested in us. The things that will have them coming towards your camp are deodorant, lipsol, candy, chocolate, and basically anything that you put on your skin or eat. Many people stache their food in a tree. This may work for grizzly because they usually are too big to climb a tree but if you have your food hanging too close to a branch, or if the bear grabs the rope with its teeth to tug it, will your cache hold up? Apparently a bear canister will!
Here are a few links to research a bear canister a bit more. The first link even tells you how to pack it with a list of foods that can work well with a bear canister.
http://www.sierrawildbear.gov/foodstorage/packingabearcanister.htm
http://www.backpackerscache.com/
http://www.theadventurelife.org/2009/05/rocky-mountain-national-park-requires-bear-canisters/
Here is a link to a product that will not keep bears out of your food but will decrease the chances of them finding your cache.
http://www.loksak.com/products/opsak
Following is the text of a Bear Warning that is posted at Forte Steele in S.E. British Columbia.
WARNING
Due to the frequency of Bear-Human encounters,
the B.C. Fish and Wildlife branch is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen and and any persons that use the out of doors in a recreational or work related function to take extra precautions while in the field.
We advise the outdoorsman to wear little noisy bells on clothing so as to give advance notice to any bears that might be close by so you don’t take them by surprise.
We also advise anyone using the out-of-doors to carry “Pepper Spray” with him in case of an encounter with a bear.
Outdoorsmen should also be on watch for fresh bear activity, and be able to tell the difference between Black Bear feces and Grizzly Bear feces. Black Bear feces is smaller and include lots of berries and squirell fur. Grizzly bear shit has bells in it and smells like pepper.