MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 31, 2022
“I’ve been dealing with the Appalachian trail for almost 50 years. I never heard of a bear conflict on the trail,” said Lester Kenway, a volunteer with the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, which maintains the 267-mile section of the trail in Maine. It’s a different story in the 13 other states that the AT passes through, said the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, which helps manage the trail. On July 14, after years of suggesting it, the Conservancy formerly requested AT backpackers use bear canisters to store their food to help thwart the bear-human conflicts that are on the rise along the 2,200-mile trail. Experienced backpackers hang their food in nylon bags at night when they sleep, hanging the bags on what’s called a “bear line” that is set between trees more than 12 feet off the ground.