I noticed the new bear canister requirements myself! A mere day after I wrote this article. I agree with all your sentiments. Aptly summed up by the Yogi quote. (short, Italian-American ballplayer… not the bear. 😉 )

Personally, I take requiring canisters as a symptom of the fact that there are too many people in the area: too many people overall, with too high a percentage of people who do not know about or use low-scent-profile practices. Ignorant or irresponsible backpackers, spotty ranger education or enforcement, assign blame as you will, the result is the same.

So, I take growing canister requirements as a sign to avoid a place; not because of bears, because of crowds. I hiked Lassen last summer, and it was beautiful, but it was crowded. And in the end, that made the experience a lot less pleasant.

As Yogi once said, “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too popular.”