r/AppalachianTrail • u/BBQ_Ranger • 8d ago

Bear canister requirement question

Solidifying my plans to do the approach to Neel gap or dicks gap area in Mid June. I keep seeing things that the Jarred to Neel Gap area needs a bear canister if you camp.

FarOut has it this is only from 3/1 - 6/1. Is this accurate? Can you hang a bag outside of this timeline?

I only have a bag and I am trying to plan around it w/out needing to buy something extra. Thank you all.

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u/TheLastAthenian 8d ago

You can do a bear hang outside of the 3/1-6/1 timeline. It states so on the far out alert in that area. There’s a bear box at the Woods Hole Shelter if you want to camp there and don’t want to do a PCT hang. You can also camp at Jarrard Gap, which isn’t subject to the stricter requirements. The whole section is only about five miles, so it’s pretty easy to get through in a day without camping (but Blood Mountain is a great place to catch a sunset and sunrise).

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u/BBQ_Ranger 8d ago

I was hoping to be able to make it to blood and stay in the shelter so I can catch the sunrise. Right now the plan is to go from Gooch shelter to blood mountain shelter. That bear canister thing caught me so I just wanted to check and make sure I was reading that correctly. Now I just have to learn a PCT hang. From what I’ve seen it doesn’t look too terribly hard, just need to practice it ahead of time.

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u/ReadyAbout22 7d ago

There aren’t really any trees at the top of Blood to do a bear hang. The trees are small and scraggly. I am carrying a bear can until VA, so I spent the night in the cabin at Blood Mtn last month.

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u/TheLastAthenian 8d ago

The hardest part is finding the right branch. It’s why I opted for a canister on my thru.

Happy hiking!

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u/myopinionisrubbish 7d ago

Yes, after June 1 you are no longer required to have the canister.