Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Bear canisters for rent @ Visitor Center & Portal Store?

Hi All -

I read bear canisters are for rent @ the Visitor Center and @ the Portal store. Neither takes reservations.

Has anyone rented a bear canister from either place?

Any issues w/either locale having enough supply on hand? I'm concerned that if my group opts to rent and there aren't enough canisters then this is a problem for our hike.

Thank you,

Paula

Call 'em. Also the Portal Store has its own site, linked on the home page here, another good source.

Hi -

I did call and neither place takes reservation. I'm sure they do not carry 60 bear canisters (1 for ea overnite permit) and I'm a little concerned they may run out.

Looking for input from anyone who has rented a bear canister from either place.

Thank you,

Paula

I rented one a few years ago from the Store and it was perfectly adequate. "Bear" in mind that the real culprits to be conscious of above 10K' are marmots, not bears. If you're backpacking Whitney, I can almost guarantee you will not see a bear once you're outside the vicinity of the Portal. If you're camping at Trail Camp, I can also guarantee you will see numerous marmots, who will try every possible trick to get at your stash. Most any bear can will keep a 20-pound marmot out of your eats, but the Inyo NFS has specific requirements for canisters, and that's what the store stocks.

I've spent quite a few days at the Portal Store over the past few years, and I don't think I've ever seen less than 6 or 8 cans in stock. Many folks rent down in Lone Pine before they even head up to the Portal.

How many cans do you plan to rent?

I haven't rented since I own. But every single time I have picked up permits, I've seen people renting canisters at the Interagency permit center, and have never seen or heard of them running out. I doubt you need to stress on this.

If you really want to plan ahead, you can rent one from REI. But again, I doubt you'll have any problem at the permit center.

By the way, a canister is far larger than you need for one person, one night. A Garcia canister (which is all they rent) can take one person 7 days or so. If there are a few of you, you can share one canister for a Whitney overnight.

I usually have a spare BV450 and/or BV500 I could lend you (or anyone) if you can pick-up/return from downtown Oakland. Don't know if that would be convenient, PM if it interests you.

I didn't mean call em for a reservation. I meant call em to get their take on how often they run out, which I bet is never, or generally what kind of supply they have. Especially at the IAVC, its in their interest to have plenty, and I bet they do.

Thanks for all the replies, info and suggestions.

I'm in a group of 7 so we're looking @ 1 - 2 canisters, depending on size.

The Portal store confirmed they have plenty to rent but no more details beyond that.

Paula

They also rent Garcias.

I'm thinking you are going to need at least 3 cans for 7 people. I can get about 6 days of food in one, if I condense and repackage everything. If you are planning on using prepackaged freeze dried Mountain House whatevers, you will not get by with one or two canisters...using the standard rental canisters, Garcia weekenders.

If your near an Adventure 16, they rent bear canisters as well... and if you decide that you just can't live without having one readily accessible they usually put at least part of the rental fee towards purchase of one when you return ;-)

Thanks for the guidance, everyone!

WBTRAVIS - qty suggestions duly noted. Thank you.

Paula