LOST BearVault 450V Lake Colden

[Bolewg]

Placed bear vault between two trees at campsite behind leanto at lake colden dam. Climbed mt colden, was gone from 3-6:30 August 22, 2016. Came back to find bearvault missing. Assumed bear batted it away but a 2 hr search that evening and another 2 hours in the morning found nothing. Hoping the 'bear' isn't human. Contained small folding stove, pot along with food. Please keep an eye out! Willing to hike back in to pick it up.
Thank you!

[Trail Boss]

There are four lean-to's near Colden Dam.

North of the dam are Beaver Point and Cedar Point.
West of the dam is McMartin.
Southwest of the dam is Opalescent.

I assume you camped at one of the two designated sites southwest of the Beaver Point lean-to. Is this correct? If yes, which one was it? The one closest or farthest from the lean-to?
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=18/44.11957/-73.98195



For future reference, don't secure or encumber a bear canister in any way. Otherwise you run the risk of providing the bear with a mechanical advantage. Think of bobbing for apples. Canisters should be like free-floating apples and not moored to anything.

[Bolewg]

It was the Oplescent lean to, and the campsite just behind it. The bear vault wasn't tied down or anything, and in retrospect I should have coved it in reflective tape and painted it bright orange!
Thanks for the map!

[Trail Boss]

Of cold comfort to you but there have been many reports of bear activity this summer. I recall one report mentioning a group had stayed at the Opalescent lean-to and they didn't have a canister. Naturally, they were fending off a bear late in the evening. They also reinforced the bear's need to return to the area because it offers something to eat.

In addition, the BearVault and the L'il Sami canisters are made of polycarbonate ("Lexan") and the material has proven to be no match for Adirondack bears. Until Yellow-Yellow's death (a clever female with two yellow ear-tags) BearVault canisters were forbidden in the Eastern High Peaks zone. Apparently, Yellow-Yellow defeated the lid's latching mechanism (it was redesigned and was defeated again).

After her death, the BearVault was permitted but there's evidence that it, and the L'il Sami, continue to be flawed designs. The bears chew a hole in the polycarbonate material. There's one on display at the Hiker's building (HPIC) at ADK Loj and the L'il Sami failure is described here (with photos of the enormous hole).
http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=23269

At first I thought the L'il Sami's base, flared like a bottle cap, was the problem (it gives the bear's teeth something to hook onto). However, after seeing the same damage inflicted on the BearVault (which doesn't have a flared base) it seems the material simply can't withstand a persistent Adirondack Black Bear's teeth.

Of course, as you mentioned, there's always the possibility that two-legged critters walked away with it. The only justice we can hope for is that they lose their food to a BearVault-chewing bear.