Cyrus Legg and his friends noticed they frequently had the same issue at their Yosemite National Park campsite. It was difficult to get the heavy cooler out of the bear box. Legg, an engineer, and his buddy decided to do something about it. They designed and built a sliding shelf that fits perfectly inside the bear box, allowing them to pull out the shelf and access all the food inside, including the cooler.
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Legg says they’re now on version two of the design, and he’s super proud of the result. Now that he has a working prototype, he plans to build it out of a lighter material. Due to popular demand, he also intends to sell the build plans.
[RELATED: State Park Shares Image of Locked Cooler Destroyed by Bear]
The response to Legg’s sliding shelf has been very positive.
“Putting one of these in every bear box in every national park is how I want my tax dollars to be spent,” wrote one person in the comments section.
“How . . . am I supposed to go back to Yosemite without this now? Even better question, how have I been going for 45 years without this?” wrote another fan.
Watch Legg show off his sliding shelf for Yosemite bear boxes below (or see it here).
Header stock image by Steven White/Getty Images
