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High End Research Gear And Equipment


NathanFooter

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I was in my active area once and had a front tire go flat when I was off hiking around.     I carry an inflater but the tire had gone completely flat and was leaking around the rim so I could not pump it up.    It was getting dark, no cell coverage,  and the vehicle was parked so it was very difficult to get a jack under it to change the tire.     I had to move the truck to get the jack under it.     On the jack the tire inflated somewhat and I decided to drive it out as far as I could before it  went flat.    I only got a few miles because it had a large nail in it and I ended up having to change it anyway.       Someone stopped but did not even offer to help.      When I did,   I barely got done before dark.    I really did not want to be in my active area after dark.     I replaced the tires with some very thick treaded aggressive mud and snow tires which I should have been running anyway.     Anyway now I try to time things so I can at least walk out to a major road before dark sets in.   

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On 12/27/2018 at 2:09 AM, wiiawiwb said:

Did Santa stop by with research equipment for anyone this Christmas?........

 

I got a lump of coal for my next campfire. 😪

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Probably would have built a fire and stayed the night.     I was summer so the nights were short anyway.    Given what had happened to me up to that point in the area doubt that I could have fallen asleep anyway.    The glitch with that is being overdue.     I leave a note about where I am going to be in case I don't get back.    I do carry an personal ELT but have instructed those on my call list that I only activate it when having an emergency.     The call list has been instructed to call the Sheriffs Dept with my location.      I don't consider a flat tire an emergency.    I suppose if things got unfriendly in the woods, I would consider that an emergency.  

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I always let someone know where I am and they also know I have a PLB and, like you, will activate it if I need the cavalry. 

 

Interestingly enough, I have a general area that I go to that has produced eyeshine, woods knocks, tree branches been ripped while at the campfire, footprints, and more. In one location, every time I go there a tree comes down during the night. The chances of that occurring naturally is pretty low.  Having said all of that, I have never felt menaced or threatened at any moment. I can't imagine going to areas where there has been any threatening behavior.  It would make me rethink my game plan and always have another person with me at night.

 

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7 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

.......The glitch with that is being overdue.     I leave a note about where I am going to be in case I don't get back.    I do carry an personal ELT but have instructed those on my call list that I only activate it when having an emergency.     The call list has been instructed to call the Sheriffs Dept with my location.......

 

That is a huge problem. Once, hunting caribou with Mrs. Huntster, we broke down in our Argo on our way out, some 15 miles from the highway and our parked rig. It was a fuel problem. We had been in the mountains for 3 days, and were due to pick up our kids at a caregivers house that night.

 

That caregiver’s husband was an Alaska State Trooper. That meant that being late would result in helicopters dispatched, at least the next morning. 

 

We weren’t in danger. Just broke down. I didn’t want Troopers flying around looking fo4 me under those circumstances.

 

As it was getting dark I told Mrs. Huntster to try to find a level spot for us to bed down for the night (we were on the side of Monument Mountain, a rather infamous hill of misery). I was going to pull the carb and try blowing it out one more time.........

 

It worked. We rode out in the dark and picked the kids up just a bit late, but were able to call ahead from Eureka Lodge to tell them what happened.

 

I can’t justify the expense of a satellite phone, so have been looking at options. I had a Personal Locator Beacon, But it was ruined when it went to the bottom of Big Lake in my truck and stayed there until it was recovered several months later, which didn’t help my confidence in it, especially at the near $300 price. I’m looking at InReach units, since one can text with it, but I’m really not impressed with them.

 

 

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^^^^ Batteries, extra batteries. Minimum 3 times what you think that you will need.

Padded case.

UV/ protector filter for the lens and a lens cap.

 

Just curious, you did not want a DSLR with video capability?

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Santa brought me a new clear WF 4 "lake" fly line.  

 

How is this research gear?   Fishing gets me out along streams and lakes.  I check the banks for tracks, run audio for whoops and knocks, etc.    More fishing time = more bigfooting time.     Lake fly fishing is pretty new to me so it represents a serious expansion into options I haven't check into before.

 

Santa is probably going to be late with it, but I predict the appearance of an ultralight packraft, light enough to attach to my old frame pack for hiking into remote lakes (we have a couple with small islands) .. more fishing, more audio, more opportunities.  

 

MIB

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Sounds like good tactics.      I  have always theorized that being near a water source is probably the best way to encounter BF.     Something that big has to need a lot of water.    All of my experience and footprint finds have been very near water.  

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2 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

Sounds like good tactics.      I  have always theorized that being near a water source is probably the best way to encounter BF.     Something that big has to need a lot of water.    All of my experience and footprint finds have been very near water.  

 

My one good sighting, 40 years ago, was on the banks of a large mountain creek, so I agree completely with the logic that a water source is a great place to look. The only problem with that tactic here in the rainforest of coastal BC, is that creeks, rivers, lakes, and ponds are everywhere. It would take several lifetimes to visit all of those within a days travel from my home!

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12 minutes ago, BC witness said:

 

My one good sighting, 40 years ago, was on the banks of a large mountain creek, so I agree completely with the logic that a water source is a great place to look. The only problem with that tactic here in the rainforest of coastal BC, is that creeks, rivers, lakes, and ponds are everywhere. It would take several lifetimes to visit all of those within a days travel from my home!

That's the rub.    But MIB's research area is in Southern Oregon where water sources are not as common.    I had one active area not very close to water and it seemed to not follow my theory of being close to streams.    However I noticed what looked like a collapsed lava tube running through the active area.   That interested me in that I wondered if there was some opening into the lava tube and the BF  had a den in it.   So one day I followed the collapsed lava tube and discovered a pure artisian spring bubbling up out of the collapsed tube.    That spring and the pure water were probably why the BF frequented the area.    I know if I wanted a source of water likely to be uncontaminated I would choose the same place.  

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