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Got up to the North Maine Woods last weekend, 5.5hr drive for a short stay. Did a topping off of fluids in the Rover day before heading up, had hoped to adjust the valve lash but got a thunderstorm with hail instead. Anyway after a 2.5 hr trek up I-95N to Millinocket, filled up the tank, took off to a thwapping top end...hmmm Lost a valve cap it had gotten so sloppy, it didn't get far, had spares anyway. 45 min layover to do what I should have made time for prior to getting underway. Happily purring afterwards. Gotta love the simplicity of an all mechanical diesel. Passing Katahdin and a bit of snow from the night before: Scanning for tracks along the way. This road was clear but spent a lot of time cutting the tops of blow downs with the Sven saw to allow passage. The cribworks, I've rafted through, can't tell from here but there's a 4-5' drop in the mix, good fun: And some flatter stuff My favorite camp spot had 4 large trees come down across the entrance, managed to fit between. Need that battery powered chainsaw! Years ago I had some large critter stomp at the head of my tent here, knocking over an 8-10" dead snag on the way out of camp Heard a few coyotes, barred owls, Kingfishers and the above gaggle, otherwise quiet night. I forgot my recorder! Following day, patrolling shoreline for tracks, oodles of moose everywhere, found coyote and fisher here, no big guy. Water is surprisingly low for Spring: We only saw one young moose on the way out. Good showing of bald eagles though.

The 80s van steals the show!

Polaris gets a well-deserved bad rap in many respects, but my RZR-S is a mountain goat (it is tricked out for rock climbing - UHMW skid plate under entire frame and A-arms, lifted 2", bead locks, disconnected sway bars, rear springs to front, new springs rear).

That was an impressive way to get your rig out of the ditch without dragging it along the bank!

Since I go way out in the Alaskan wilderness alone annually (or more often), and have gotten myself in several pickles out there, emergency communications has been a big thing with me. Trying to avoid subscription services, I had considered a HAM license and handheld radio to communicate with passing aircraft, but I've given up on emergency radios (even though a federal wildlife officer using his radio saved our bacon just the other day). I finally broke down and bought an iridium satellite phone. The service will cost me @ $41 per month, and the roll over terms will allow the accumulation of up to 1200 minutes of airtime. Combined with a personal locator beacon kept in my pocket at all times, I'm covered, and all over the planet. Granted, that really doesn't do any good for a group operating in a few square mile area. In all honesty, the best option in that case are handheld CB radios. Their power and range are as good or better than the other unlicensed public bands, and they are excellent while on the road because truckers use them extensively.

Lol. You are probably blacklisted by AAA for life at this point! Good to see you out and about!

Estimated 500 bucks outta Priest River. Could be worse. Once my dodge is set up I will be self recovering hopefully.

Yep, very curious thanks!

****, that sucks! I found a local area volunteer 4x4 rescue and recovery group that helps out in cases like this where I go; maybe there's something like that where you are? Tow companies around here want a grand or more to go out on the logging roads, especially if they're cross ditched. Good luck tomorrow.

Stuck....again. The road sluffed off the edge and I was stuck in the bar ditch. Lion crick road. Also explored two mouth crick. On the east side of Priest lake. Lion crick road the state put some ridiculous water bars across the road. Like a million of them. The uphill side was the short side of the berm. Guess I should have hit em dead square. Any how I hiked out 8 miles down to the Lionhead state park and then started hiking south to Coolin before a Construction crummie picked me up. Otherwise I would still be hiking..... Gonna ride back up tomorrow with a tow truck out of Priest river. AAA told me to get lost.....

You can see some bone structure in that track. Kind of seems like this creature did not have any padding on it's foot. Those toe's are very spayed out and that's where you can start to see that boney feature of this track. Was this the only track or were there a line of tracks. Is there more pictures . @skinwalker13 You have always come through with some great evidence. Keep up the great work out in the field and stay safe.

I would skip the FRS radios and go with CB or ham. Bigger, weigh more, but work considerably better. I'm not sure what's current now. I used to sometimes lug my father's Midland 40 channel portable along with its bucket load of AA batteries if we knew we'd need communications. It was good for 5 miles or more essentially always and at times, closer to 15 miles. I don't have personal experience with ham radios but friends who four wheeled had them, usually portables, and they seemed better yet.

The backpack aspect of bigfooting can present a challenge especially when you stay overnight. In addition to hauling in trailcams, thermal imagers, sound recorders, all of which are extra weight, you now have to make room for a tent, pad, sleeping bag, headlamps, flashlights, and so much more. It's a challenge but one that is a blast!

Nice score Madison. Plenty of space and lots pf places to store items. It has good-sized hipbelt pouches too. I also like the dual mesh face pockets. Quick access. Keep us posted how it works out. Kitty seems to like it!

Went out today to a new area to try and find some mushrooms. This area is known as McCroskey State Park right on the border of Washington and Idaho. Not a particularly remote area, but I recall a rather large clear cut area that would make for an excellent spot for morel mushrooms. It's also about 7 miles as the crow flies from the Bigfoot sighting at my dad's property, and about a mile from a friend who lives off-grid and shot and killed a wolf/coyote hybrid. Weather was a perfect 65 degrees with light wind. Found some likely wolf tracks, but they were a little small, so either another hybrid, or someone's dog. But, no human tracks in the area I was in. No luck finding mushrooms, or shed antlers, or Bigfoot sign out in the clearcut area, so headed up into the timber and found some interesting things. This looked like a makeshift shelter that was created by pushing a few trees over. But, no tracks or hair found. This was another bedding spot created by a downed tree that was used by something big, but again, no hair or or other sign. Found some Trillium flowers, which are a sign of morels nearby, but no morels. Still, great day in the woods.

Went out yesterday with a bunch of old HS buddies. Good times! Couldn't get to the top of little Boulder. Too much snow. So we came down to a old gravel pit and ate lunch and started a fire. The Roxor did good, but would like a lift, better tires and lockers. That little diesel just chugs along and sips fuel.

Aside from the unlikelihood of an almost herbivorous animal surviving the Baring landbridge journey through cold terrain, etc. A humanish offshoot just makes more sense.

https://youtu.be/5_jm15jl9wM