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Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 7:30 pm
by jimmyjamhikes
Daisy: yes that was the Kern! So low then... And we tried to find your Pants Pass route but I didn’t have much class 3 experience then so opted for the steeper but unexposed descent down unstable talus. If I ever go back I’ll try it the other way!

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:56 am
by Julian
Thank you for your impressions.

I think that we would do a peak hike rather at the end of our trip. So Eagle Scout Peak, Mt Stewart and Mt Kaweah would be perfect, if we return on the HST.
Do you have any suggestions for peaks in cloud canyon, deadman canyon or the tablelands, if we return via this route?

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 8:56 am
by c9h13no3
Julian wrote: Tue Jul 09, 2019 3:56 am Thank you for your impressions.

I think that we would do a peak hike rather at the end of our trip. So Eagle Scout Peak, Mt Stewart and Mt Kaweah would be perfect, if we return on the HST.
Do you have any suggestions for peaks in cloud canyon, deadman canyon or the tablelands, if we return via this route?
Big Bird Peak is the obvious one that is easy & on your way. Alta Peak has a trail to the top, which you can access from your route via Moose Lake & Alta Meadow.

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:10 am
by Julian
As our trip will be in some weeks, we are doing at the moment some further plannings. We will stay eleven days in the park. But it seems that you can only buy an entrance ticket for up to seven days? How can we extend our stay?

We also want to rent bear canisters. At Lodgepole are only the 6-day cans form Gracia avialable. Is it feasabile to carry two of them in one backpack or is one of them sufficient for a ten-day hike or should we rather rent a 9-day-can form Wild Ideas at Mineral King?

Thank you for your help.

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:18 am
by bobby49
Garcia cans are the oldest and least efficient, weight-wise. Wild Ideas cans are the most efficient. I own a Scout model.

It is sometimes possible to fit two into one backpack, but it is impractical and uncomfortable.

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:24 am
by rlown
Julian wrote: Wed Aug 07, 2019 8:10 am As our trip will be in some weeks, we are doing at the moment some further plannings. We will stay eleven days in the park. But it seems that you can only buy an entrance ticket for up to seven days? How can we extend our stay?
If you do not leave the park after you enter, you probably do not need to worry. Most of my trips in Yose are 10 day trips, and they just waive us through the park exit and do not even check.

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 9:57 am
by Wandering Daisy
The HST has bear boxes at established campsites along the route. You only need capacity in bear cans for the volume of food when you camp where there are no bear boxes. There is a list of bear boxes on the SEKI web site. You may be able to use bear boxes for the 1-3 days at the start of your trip. If you camp the first night where there is a bear box, you will have already eaten 2 lunches, 1 breakfast, 2 dinners before you then would need the bear can. Also you come out on day 11, so do not need dinner, and perhaps not lunch. So that leaves only about 9 days worth of food that has to fit in the bear can.

The Wild Idea bear cans are very expensive ($250 or so) and although the best, but unless you plan to use it regularly, is not cost effective. If you did decide to buy one, they are in demand, so you could sell it later locally. If you are international hikers, then resale gets complicated.

The BearVault (large one) has a much larger capacity and weighs similar to the Garcia. The BearVault costs about $75 and is available at many outdoor stores. REI carries it. There is an REI in Fresno, maybe in Visalia. I am able to get about 10 days food in a BearVault but have to be careful to take food that packs down well. An example would be almonds vs walnuts, couscous vs macaroni, granular cook cereals vs no-cook granola. You may have to re-package a lot of food into plastic sandwich sized zip bags to reduce bulk. If I keep meals in their original packing, I just prick it with a pin and let out the air just before I put it in the bear can. That helps.


Some local outdoor stores will rent bear cans, so you may want to check on that and see if they rent BearVault or Wild Ideas cans. SEKI used to have a small number of Wild Idea bear cans to rent (they require a larger deposit and rent a few dollars more per day). Not sure they do that anymore.

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:39 am
by rlown
https://www.wild-ideas.net/rent-a-bearikade/ you can rent a bearikade as well directly from wild-ideas.

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 3:17 pm
by Julian
We are international hikers. So we want to rent the bear cannisters.
This is the website of seki for renting bear cans: https://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/ ... r-info.pdf
So we will try to rent one Wild Idea or a BearVault at a local store or otherwise at Lodgepole.

Re: Return hike HST

Posted: Wed Aug 07, 2019 3:35 pm
by bobby49
If I were forced to rent a bear canister, I would try to get one of the Wild Ideas models.
A. They are lighter in weight for a given volume.
B. The opening is better than other brands.
C. Those are easier to open than other brands, assuming that you have a small coin, or a key, or the back of a knife blade.