Bear canister requirements and protecting your food

Animals can’t resist the food you have in your pack. Faced with a choice between eating grass or many thousands of calories of hiker food, they’re compelled to do everything they can to get your food. Remember, it’s not about protecting your food from wildlife. It’s about protecting wildlife from your food. As the saying goes, “A fed bear is a dead bear.”

On most of the PCT, you are required to properly protect your food. It is important to know and follow the food storage regulations for the areas you are traveling through while on the PCT. The bottom line is that these regulations are in place to protect the wildlife, as well as the trail experience for future backcountry travelers.

Food storage canisters on the Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir Trail

The PCT is the home of many types of animals, and it also traverses bear habitat. In places, animals, including bears, have become adept at gaining access to improperly stored food. Access to human food, either through improper or inadequate food storage, sometimes ends with managers having to kill bears that become too habituated to human food. Proper food storage is paramount to a safe, successful trip; it ensures your personal safety and protects one of our wildland’s greatest mammals.

Resident PCT bears are legendarily good at getting human food. In some of regions along the trail, all scented items MUST be in a bear canister. Where they’re required, these canisters must be on the list of allowed canisters published by that land management agency.

The number of black bears has increased steadily in recent decades. In California, the bear population has grown from about 10,000 in the 1980s to around 35,000 now. Their range has also expanded. In places where you didn’t use to worry about bears getting your food, there are now bears. Bears are at home in the mountains of the PCT from the southern deserts to the northern border.

Before your trip, plan ahead and prepare by inquiring about food storage regulations for the areas in which you will be traveling. Regulations and appropriate protocols differ in places along the trail.

Where are canisters required on the Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir Trail?

Food storage canisters are required in parts of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Inyo, Sierra and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests, and in all of Yosemite, Lake Tahoe Basin, Desolation Wilderness, Lassen Volcanic National Parks and are necessary in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. We also strongly recommend carrying a canister for your entire trip. ALL of your food and scented items must be in the canister once you make camp. We encourage you to carry them in places that they’re not required.

PCT hiker with a bear canister in the sierra

SOBO hiker ‘Rebound’, at camp fixing dinner and using a bear canister as a stool in the Sierra not far from Lake Tahoe. Photo by Michael DeYoung

Renting a canister

Most visitor centers in the area offer extremely cheap rentals.

Food storage canister FAQ

Can I store my food in the food lockers instead of carrying a canister?

There are food lockers in the backcountry but they are few and far between. The food lockers exist in case you have overflow food. Using them doesn’t mean you should hike without a canister.

Hikers may be able to get away with using food lockers in SEKI if they are also hanging food in those areas where bear canisters are only ‘recommended’. The last bear locker in Yosemite is at Glen Aulin, a mere 5.5 miles from Tuolumne Meadows, so even if you plan on staying the night at Glen Aulin, Yosemite National Park will still require you to have a bear canister between there and Sonora Pass. In Lassen Volcanic National Park, there are no lockers in the backcountry but you can opt to camp in the developed campground in Warner Valley instead of camping in the backcountry.

In other words: There are food lockers in the backcountry. There are not enough food lockers in the backcountry to support most trips on the PCT. Yosemite is one of those places. In the zones where food storage canisters are required, you have to have them.

Can I use a canister, “odor proof” bag or another solution that is not on a list of allowed canisters?

You’re more than welcome to use other devices where canisters are not required. But where they’re required, you’ll have to use an allowed canister.

Considering that bears can smell soup inside of a can, or a footprint that was left weeks ago, it’s highly suspect that a plastic zip-top bag does much good at all.

Other food storage options and products, like chew resistant bags, while great in many places, are not on all lists of allowed canisters.

I hear that there are no rangers. Can I just sneak through the area?

There are indeed backcountry rangers! They’re great people! They’re true wilderness lovers, avid backpackers and have the honor of working a dream job. They’re also focused on the PCT and JMT since that’s where a lot of people are backpacking. You’re likely to meet them. Since they live out there, it’s not a 9-5 job. You could meet them at any time in any place.

Can I just carry the smallest canister and call it good?

The goal is to not feed wildlife. With that, all of your food and scented items need to be in a canister. It might seem like having a canister period, like the smallest one, is good enough. Unfortunately, it’s not. Animals may eat your other food, and you’re not even following the requirement of having all of your food in the canister.

What do I do if my canister isn’t big enough?

A common problem! You’ve got a few basic solutions: resupply sooner (hike faster, or a shorter distance), carry more compact food (mmmm… couscous), or get a bigger canister. Thankfully, your first day and night’s food doesn’t need to fit in your canister. Beyond that, there really isn’t a magic bullet. Other tips include: repackaging food and careful meal planning that decreases bulk and waste.

Can I just refuse to show the rangers my canister?

We hope you’re not coming out to the woods to have a confrontation. Rangers have the right to ask you to prove if you have a bear canister, and many of them will.

If the ranger can’t ascertain that you’re following the law, you’ll be getting a ticket and you’ll likely be sent back to the trailhead. A confrontation may result in a mandatory appearance ticket, meaning you’ll have to go to the courthouse at a later day. This is highly inconvenient.

Rangers might ask to feel your pack or knock on your pack if it’s not obvious that you have a canister.

Tickets are not rare at all. In fact, they’re far too common. Do the right thing for the bears, leave the canister drama at home and carry a can.

How to protect your food when canisters are not required

Regulations and decent hiker ethics stipulate that you must properly protect your food, often times in a very specific way. Defending your food by keeping it in your tent or on the ground nearby is often ineffective, unwise, and does not meet the requirement. Generally, you should keep your food in a canister, or hang it using the counterbalance method.

Hard-sided canisters are the most effective way to protect your food. They’re the best choice for most of the trail. Problem is, they do weigh something and are somewhat unwieldy. While we encourage you to carry a canister, especially in bear country, we understand that you might forgo them on sections of the trail.

In areas without trees and without bears (think some parts of Southern California) protecting your food from rodents and small mammals should be your primary concern. In this instance, it is usually sufficient to hang your food a few feet off the ground. The goal is to get it at least waist high.

Animal resistant bags are also an option where hard sided canisters are not required if you do not want to employ counter-balance hangs. Please remember, it is best for the wildlife, your trip, and your health, to protect your food.