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Bears and Backpacking the Appalachian Trail
Bears and Backpacking the Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has found that in recent years bears have returned to habitats along the AT corridor where humans had formerly eradicated them. The ATC, local land managers and trail-maintaining clubs are receiving an increasing number of reports of negative encounters between hikers and black bears.
Most of these are related to bears attempting to access hikers’ food. In many cases, bears have been able to gain access to hikers’ food secured using a food hang. Bears are highly intelligent and adaptable creatures, and some have figured out how to defeat even fully compliant food hangs. These occurrences have resulted in negative consequences for both bears and human hikers.
To minimize all of these negative outcomes in the ATC adopted a policy that advocates strongly for backpackers carrying food on the trail to use an approved food storage container along the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. The policy strongly discourages the use of the food hang to secure food.
The Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club has partnered with Berks County Parks and Recreation to make Bear Canisters available at No Charge. Use of the club-owned canisters isn’t restricted just to the AT or to club members. Use the canisters anywhere they are required or recommended.
The Blue Mountain Eagle Climbing Club canister-lending program is the only trailside lending program between North Carolina and Vermont and a unique private/public partnership making canisters available to users at no charge.
Bear Canister Lending Update
By: David Bailey
August 13, 2026
In 2024, BMECC partnered with the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department to make bear canisters available to the public at no charge. BMECC purchased the canisters, in part with a grant from the Keystone Trails Association, and approached Berks Parks to administer the lending program. This partnership builds on Berks Parks’ already established fishing rod and snowshoe lending program. Bear canister lending is not limited to BMECC members, or the Appalachian Trail, but to anyone traveling into bear territory, reinforcing the club’s mission and Leave No Trace principles.
To date, the number of canisters loaned to individuals in 2026 has already equaled the total number loaned in 2025. In 2025, individuals requesting canisters skewed toward locals, while this year individuals requesting canisters represent a more expansive geography, including Delaware and Rhode Island. The canisters are being used mainly on shorter hikes along the Appalachian Trail near Berks County and Eastern Pennsylvania. Individuals requesting canisters report that they learned about the club’s lending program through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. Those taking advantage of the program had previously used bear hangs to protect their food but have transitioned to canisters after learning that they are a better option than bear hangs. That’s good news! Bear canisters directly address Leave No Trace principle #6, Respect Wildlife.
Berks Parks staff have also been taking canisters to their public events, such as World Ranger Day, Smokey Bear’s birthday celebration, as well as Leave No Trace programs. In addition to educating the public on Leave No Trace Principles and they also instruct the public on the mechanics of opening and closing a bear canister. Similarly, BMECC has had canisters at the annual awards banquet, challenging attendees to guess the number of trail bars in the canister, and at its own tent at Smokey Bear’s birthday celebration in 2025. Additionally, the local Scouting America council has used the canisters as the centerpiece of a relay race during its council-wide camporee, where Scouts opened and shut canisters, adding and removing Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, as the contents of the canister.
New in 2026 are canister registers specific to each canister, where users can share their trail names, descriptions of their hikes, and any stories associated with their trip that they wish to share with others. These function very much like shelter registers. As additional hikers add to the register, they become a growing “trail family” of individuals that share stories of that one canister and the fun (or type 2 fun) they experienced while carrying it. Hikers have also begun individualizing canisters they have carried by stickering the canister with stickers that carry meaning for them. Both are opportunities to grow a community and encourage hikers to connect with other hikers that are learning more about Leave No Trace outdoor ethics.
A big thank you to all within and outside of the club that have helped to establish and grow this program. A special thanks goes out to our institutional partners, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the County of Berks Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Keystone Trails Association.
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