The Appalachian Path Conservancy is recommending that all overnight hikers on the A.T. use bear-resistant canisters to keep their meals in./NPS file
With black bears frequent together considerably of the Appalachian Nationwide Scenic Path, and a growing range of human-bear incidents, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is recommending that right away hikers on the iconic path pack their foods in bear-resistant canisters.
This coverage comes soon after a multi-calendar year raise in human-bear encounters at A.T. campsites, quite a few of which have been the end result of improper food storage by website visitors or black bears’ prosperous circumvention of classic meals storage tactics.
“Black bears alongside various sections of the Appalachian Path have come to be significantly adept at defeating conventional food items hangs, exactly where a hiker retailers their foods over a tree branch employing a rope and storage bag,” reported Hawk Metheny, ATC vice president of regional and path functions. “This is even when foodstuff hangs are carried out completely appropriate, and at times that just isn’t doable dependent on where you are tenting. By applying a bear-resistant container, hikers are minimizing their likelihood of a detrimental bear come upon on the Trail and aiding reduce extra bears from turning out to be habituated to people as a supply of food.”
In this plan, the ATC promotes the use of food items storage containers permitted by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee that have been revealed to have a substantial achievements fee in preventing all species of bears from quickly accessing hiker food stuff provides. Right away guests on the A.T. are also encouraged to use any long lasting food storage solutions out there at campsites and shelters, this kind of as cable systems, metallic poles with arms, and bearproof metal bins. By carrying a own foodstuff storage container, A.T. people will be geared up ought to these far more long-lasting methods be unavailable, total or broken.
The coverage also establishes the profit of expanded foodstuff storage container lending programs, supplying ways for A.T. readers to very easily attempt these products for their backpacking trips devoid of obtaining to to begin with commit resources towards buying a container of their have. Bear canister lending courses have now been carried out by the ATC in Ga and the Inexperienced Mountain Club in Vermont, furnishing dozens of hikers with easy access to bear canisters for their visits.
“Loaner programs like these will assist introduce a new technology of A.T. hikers to the rewards of bear canisters, not the minimum of which is in general improved benefit and simplicity of use,” claimed Metheny. “Of class, through advocating for the use of these containers, our main objective is to defend A.T. hikers and the black bears that reside along with the trail.”
The new ATC food items storage coverage was made in coordination with many A.T. land administration businesses, which includes the Nationwide Park Company and the U.S. Forest Services. To read the entire textual content of the plan, visit appalachiantrail.org/foodstoragepolicy.
To discover additional about black bear security, right meals storage on the A.T. and to report a bear experience on the Trail, visit appalachiantrail.org/bears.
