A ranger in the Sierra Nevada told me my bear hang was a total joke
I was at the Mineral King ranger station last August getting my permit, and the ranger asked to see my bear can. I said I was hanging my food. She looked at me and said, 'A proper hang needs to be 12 feet up, 6 feet out from the trunk, and 4 feet down from a branch. Your 8-foot hang is just a snack delivery system.' I switched to a bear canister that same day. Has anyone else had a piece of trail advice completely change their routine?
Just going through the motions" is so true, I did the same thing with my tent stakes for years. A guide saw me just tapping them in and said I was basically building a kite, not an anchor. I started actually hammering them in all the way after that, lol.
Notice how this happens with stuff we learned as kids. We get shown the right way once, then just coast. Makes you wonder what else we're half-assing without knowing.