Leaderboard

Huntster, I've been guilty of this too, as I am sure many people have. I just wanted to let you know that there's a great book available about how and why to listen to your instincts. It's called The Gift of Fear, by Gavin de Becker, if you are a reading kinda guy. I recommend it. https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Survival-Signals-Violence/dp/0440226198/ref=asc_df_0440226198/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312142103956&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=296801871825249699&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1024453&hvtargid=pla-436387740663&psc=1

Before they identified the moths I figured it was picas and other small rodents in the rocks. Joe Beelart theorizes that BF go through rock piles looking for them. Indeed Silver Star Mountain has rock pits that the forest service claims were made by Native American Tribes but the tribes themselves claim no knowledge of the pits or their use. One of my theories about BF are that larger animals like elk and deer are only caught by adult or near adult BF. Perhaps only males. If bears are the model, the males probably don't share very well. Juveniles and females may only get leftovers. So smaller animals that are not as fast as deer may be the prey of juveniles and females. Even primitive human hunters have a pecking order in which prey is shared. Females traditionally have harvested roots and plants. I would guess, and that is just a guess, that the Native American model of food gathering is very similar to BF. Here is a picture of the rock pits on Silverstar. The grave picture was buried in my field notes during that time frame. Without the picture date stamp I am not sure where to look. At that point I was not very good about backing up my pictures. I lost about a third of them when my computer was hacked. The terraces in this picture had me interested for a while. It looked like Mayan agricultural patches in the mountains. But a forum member recalled that the forest Service used heavy equipment to till the slope for replanting after the Yacolt Burn. You can see that some trees are growing in the till lines. This kind of stuff can only be seen from the air. If someone has an area of interest in SW WA that you cannot get to, give me the coordinates and I will check it out for you.

I just got home from a truly rotten camping trip. The goal was to use a metal detector to find a revolver I lost over 5 years ago. The trip grew to an extended family camping trip, with different members coming and going at will, and the Mrs. going sooner than planned, and with an attitude. Well, at least my last night there was quiet and peaceful. It started with the search for the gun. I didn't find it. I found a brown tarp covered with brown leaf litter, and covering bones. The weren't moose bones. Before I instinctively threw back the tarp completely searching for a skull, I realized tgat regardless of the species of the bones, foul play was pretty apparent with the tarp scenario. The bones looked like they could be pig, goat, sheep,..........or a smaller human. Had to call the Troopers. The Troopers called in a federal Refuge LEO, picked me up at the campground, and met the fed near the site. I led them to the find. Did they look like they were concerned about "contamination"? Not one bit. They threw back the tarp and began digging through the leaf litter with their bare hands collecting bones. They didn't care when I joined the bare hand digging and bone collecting. There was no skull, and there were thankfully too many ribs to be human. Their quick determination was that somebody had poached a Dall sheep or mountain goat (both of which are plentiful in the immediate area), took the head, and dumped the carcass for me to find in the future. They arranged the bones on the forest floor, with bare hands, took pics of the bones, and said that they'd send the wildlife enforcement guy back to the site for "further investigation". The "contamination" line is just that; a line of bs they use the contaminate a ruling they don't like. The only saving grace regarding the trip was that it wasn't human. There will be no more nightmares (I had a doozy the night before I left on the trip...........got into a fight with a freak at my Mother's front door, and in the imaginary scuffle, I fell out of bed...........never did that before), no trips to the DAs office or courtroom, etc. Imagine the big time trouble a sasquatch carcass would get ya'.........even if you just stumbled upon it.

I discussed retrieval with Mendrum one time. The context was bones and what would be the priority for furnishing him proof of existence. He suggested if possible to leave it in the ground. Cover and mark it then call him in. This has advantages and disadvantages depending on who owns the land where it is found. If it is federal land it is a problem. The people that found the T Rex Sue on Federal land ended up gong to prison for two years for violation of federal laws. Leaving it in place allows strata dating and context as to where the bones were found. Clean, probably least likely to get you in legal trouble, but risky in that you could loose the location and the bones to authorities. If you decide to collect the bones the skull is highest priority. Next would be hands and arm. Femur is next then feet. Document the bones in the ground and remove everything if you can. Body parts would be in the same order if you find a body and cannot bring everything out. Calling in Meldrum might be a problem if the location is not Idaho. He has standing there being associated with Idaho State University and probably knows who to talk to in dealing with authorities. Outside of Idaho he has no standing other than academic credentials. He may know who to call in Washington or Oregon and bring them in. But my opinion is that calling in someone in a University from the finding State might be a great advantage in dealing with authorities. Otherwise it is very likely when word of the finding gets out, the bones or body will be taken away from some lay person finder, who in the opinion of the state or federal authorities has no right to possess the bones or body. In the best of cases, the academics will give you finders credit. In the worst of cases, you will end up in prison for violation of antiquities or NA object or body possession. I put out feelers and have found a Washington University PHD level biologist who might be a good person if I can get him to believe what I have found. I was able to establish email contact and actually have a conversation with him. He would be my starting point for a contact in my State of Washington. It might take a photograph of a bone to interest an academic. Anyway my point is that if you are in the hunt for body or bones, you best grease the skids and have contacts in mind to call should you be successful. Finding something first without a contact could be a race with a rotting body. Smedja comes to mind when I think about these issues.

She's been found alive.