I don't see why an article's failure to mention something means it didn't exist. In fact, like you, I suspect he had neither a bear canister nor special dispensation. I don't know either of those things to be a fact, of course; I just suspect it. But I am not about to label someone a law violator based on facts that are unknown to me.
Regardless, based on the text of the regs that Salty found, even if he lacked a canister and lacked special dispensation, he may be okay depending on where he camped, a/k/a where he "store[d]" his food, as opposed to where he "transported, consumed, or prepared [his food] for consumption," a distinction made by the regs themselves.
