Bear Canister Requirements on the Pacific Crest Trail
Bear-resistant food storage is required on much, though not all, of the Pacific Crest Trail. Specific requirements vary by region: sometimes a bear can is required, other times a Ursack is acceptable, and in some places bear hangs or other methods are technically accepted, although oftentimes the variety of trees available in a forest can make it remarkably difficult to satisfy the common "ten feet up and four feet out" aspect of the order.
If you're new to thruhiking, you may not be aware that we carry bear cans primarily for the benefit of the bears. "A fed bear is a dead bear." That is, once a bear acquires a taste for people food, they're likely to become problematic and potentially dangerous, and they end up getting put down. Don't feed bears.
Sections with Food Storage Requirements
- The Sierra section. Technically, they're not required every step of the way from Kennedy Meadows (South) to Sonora Pass, but those are convenient places to pick up / ship home a bear can in order to comply with the regulations, and it's what most thruhikers do.
- Lake Tahoe area. Desolation Wilderness[1] and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. For many hikers, this requirement means it makes sense to carry a bear can to (or from) Truckee, rather than deal with the logistics and costs of additional shipping.
- Lassen Volcanic NP. Bear cans are required for overnight food storage in the 19 mile section of the trail between Chester and Old Station / Burney Falls. Many thruhikers choose to hike through the section in one day, or to make use of the bear box in the Warner Springs Campground, near Drakesbad Guest Ranch, instead of shipping and carrying a bear can. Staying at the campground and using the bear box reduces the carry to about 16 miles. Read more in the PCTA.org blog post here.
- Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie NF. Bear-resistant food storage (not limited to approved bear cans) is required in an approx. 275 mile long section of Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in Washington: https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/comments/12ozp53/275_miles_of_the_pct_in_washington_impacted_by/
- Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. The PCT is in OWNF from Goat Rocks/Old Snowy to the northern Terminus (about 375 miles), and as of Sept. 16, 2024, bear-resistant food storage is required[2].
Links
There's a great bear regulations overview page on PCTA.org that includes a helpful FAQ:
HalfwayAnywhere.com has a helpful review of PCT bear can regs, but at the time of this writing it is out of date:
Sierra Nevada Wilderness Food Storage Requirements map, from sierrawild.gov:
Exhaustive list of which bear canisters are approved by Yosemite NP. If a canister is approved by Yosemite NP, it is likely adequate to comply with regulations anywhere else in the Sierra Nevada.
Notably, Lassen National Park's approved bear canister list is different from Yosemite's. According to Lassen NP's website, Lassen NP regulations permit use of any IGBC approved canister. While most of the canisters on Yosemite's list are also on the IGBC's list, Yosemite does allow some canisters that are not IGBC approved. Lassen also allows use of some non-canister bear resistant storage containers.
Here's the approved canisters page from SEKI (PDF):
Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC)-approved bear resistant products list:
"What to Do if You See a Bear," according to Yosemite NP:
PCTA.org blog post about the bear can regulations in Lassen Volcanic NP:
Sierrawild.gov's bear info overview page:
Andrew Skurka's opinions on bear hangs: "Ineffective and outdated."
