Yosemite Forum

Hello -

We are planning a two and half week trip to Yosemite in early June. We will be completing two 3 to 5 day backpacking trips while we are there. Being from Wisconsin, we don't have to worry about protecting our food in the car from rogue cows - so we were wondering about the bear lockers at the trailheads.

Is it safe (from other park users, not bears) to leave our food in there while backpacking? Or is it best to try and plan so we don't have any food left to leave in the lockers.

Any guidance on this or anything else someone from Wisconsin should know would be appreciated. Thanks!

I leave food in the lockers all the time without problems. There's no roving thieves that go around looking for used granola bars or oatmeal :)--there's more valuable pickings. I've never had my food bothered at the trailhead, but there's no guarantees.

Just put all your food in a bag when you leave it, not all out in the open scattered all through the bear locker.

Agree with Dan, the food will be safe. Yosemite seems to attract a different mentality of hikers, who seem to be very trustworthy and respect others property.

My wife and I have used the bear lockers at several times with no problems. We also have used them as a food cache when we have a long trip planned that crosses a roadway.

Enjoy your trip.
R.J.

I've never had a problem with the bear lockers. Like Dan said, there's way more valuable picking around for any potential thieves. My theory is that most backpackers are very respectful of other people's property. I would like to echo Dan's wishes that you keep everything in a bag though. Enjoy your trip to yosemite!

Thank you for the responses. We are looking forward to the trip.