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The garbage bags are soft and flexible, so they'll fit around stuff a lot easier than a rucksack. As well as being stiffer a rucksack will be divided into different compartments. The volume will include the side pockets and the lid space. Something like the sleeping bag will take up a large space and then other stuff will have to fit around it. Things may ...

I think the regulations are so strict because the park service wants to keep a level of discipline about how hikers manage their food, so that none is accidentally left in a pack, and the oils and crumbs from food don't contaminate a pack. This avoids scenarios where food was left in a pack unintentionally. Bears don't hunt humans except in rare cases ...

Bear populations, bear problems, and aggressive bears are distributed extremely unevenly in California wilderness areas. There are dense populations of problem animals in a few small areas such as Yosemite Valley and Little Yosemite. These are areas with a lot of humans packed into a small space. You're going to the White Mountains, which gets very few human ...

According to Yosemite Park's website, bears have lost fear towards humans and will try to get food from whatever is the easiest way. This usually means that it's easier to break a car's window of wreck a campsite than going hunting. They have a keen sense of smell and will follow not just food, but products with various scents that we wouldn't think of as ...

Trying to stuff your gear into a plastic bag will only give you a lower bound on the pack size. As with many parameters, the backpack size in litres is more to compare different models, not to be taken as an absolute value. Also, different manufacturers tend to use different litres :) A 60–65 litre backpack with an adjustable top is a reasonable first ...

As a boy scout, I prefer the external frame backpack. The internal is more comfortable, buit on long hikes, the external is not only practical for more gear, but vents your back so its not dripping with sweat. I am not as knowledgeable as some on this page, but my strong preference is the external.

While I agree with the above comments, one thing worth noting is that, like all "luggage", there is a certain element of "stuffability" possible in a backpack, which would not be possible in a bin liner, at least not easily. You can really jam all the softer things into a backpack (like clothes, sleeping bag and liner, etc), and then cinch it tight ...