Your Friendly Hise Hikers Tuesday Tip: Plan To Organize & Organize To Plan.
As we get ready for an overnight backpacking trip, we have a pretty detailed flow of organizing and planning to ensure we account for all things we want to bring, pack everything, etc.
A few things on this list include:
* Ensuring all of our gear is properly functioning and packed
* Checking the weather forecast and adjusting gear as needed
* Watching current fire conditions and knowing whether or not they will affect the air quality
* Creating and sharing our itinerary with our emergency contacts
* Communicating with the friends who are going with us and adjusting as needed
* Calling the ranger station in the wilderness area we are going to ensure we have the latest trail info
That last one is pretty important because, after reading some reports in a couple of the trail apps we use about ‘an aggressive bear’ in the area near where we’ll be camping, we thought it prudent to check in with the ranger.
I chatted with the ranger for less than 5 minutes and she shared that yes, there have been a few bear reports of stealing food hung up in trees and that’s why they are now requiring bear canisters in the wilderness area we will be in. No problemo, I assured the ranger we were all set and had our stuff secured in bear canisters. The ranger also shared that there is a bit of smoke that seems to be getting better with each day.
I share all of that to say that this bear canister rule is a new one… and if I hadn’t called and chatted with the ranger, we could have experienced an issue like other hikers have reported about bears getting their food (which is problematic not just for the hikers, it’s also not good for the bears). There is also the potential for being fined if you aren’t carrying a bear canister… yikes!
Not to mention, the planning & organizing part are kind of some of my FAVORITE parts of the trip! Whoo hoo!
In the image below, I’ve included the top view of the bear canister with some of our food in it and a pic of my pack. <3