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Spending Time In The Gifford Pinchot National Forest


BigTreeWalker

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Makes one wonder what could be watching from above. I need to look up in them big trees more. 

 

One Summer i planted trees for the forest service. We were planting a clear cut and on the edge was an old growth cedar. Someone spotted an animal about 30' up sleeping on a big branch. As I recall the fur or hair was a medium brown color. We all observed it. The one thing no one could figure out was what it was. Just this big ball of fur sleeping next to the trunk on the big branch. I've wondered ever since if it was a wolverine, not sure they climb trees. Most likely it was a cat or bear or maybe a small Bigfoot.

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I walked all around that big cedar and checked it out. Didn’t see anything, but some of those limbs are a hundred feet off the ground. Some of those old growth could hide a lot and support a lot of weight. But you would have to have claws or really strong fingers to get up into them. On most of them the first limbs are over 40' off the ground. And their a little big for shinnying up.

These are some photos of area where we heard the loud knocks while calling elk.

http://bigfootforums.com/index.php/topic/51063-gifford-pinchot-encounter-april-21-2015/?p=928864

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This track was the only one found nearby. Pretty sure it was an elk, but don't know how old it was. We sure weren't leaving any impressions in the forest duff.

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We figured if it was an elk it must have went under something to make the knocks we heard. This next photo was all I could find. It was about twenty yards from where the knocks came from and I'm pretty sure we could have seen it if it was there. There were no marks where an antler would have went under it and in the next photo the ground wasn't even disturbed under it.

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I went up there later and looked the surrounding area over and took the pictures. I also took my recorder and did some experimental knocks with my recorder laying on a log about 30 yards away. I used a branch I found laying on the ground and gave one of those little trees in the first photo a couple hard wacks. Then I used an elk femur I had found on the way up and gave the tree a couple more wacks. When I got back to camp I played the recording back to my hunting partner. He said the last couple sounded like what he had heard but it wasn't loud enough. I still have that recording but haven't downloaded it yet. The whole experience was definitely interesting! I have heard elk thrash the brush but never heard them make definite knocks.

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Makes one wonder what could be watching from above. I need to look up in them big trees more. 

 

One Summer i planted trees for the forest service. We were planting a clear cut and on the edge was an old growth cedar. Someone spotted an animal about 30' up sleeping on a big branch. As I recall the fur or hair was a medium brown color. We all observed it. The one thing no one could figure out was what it was. Just this big ball of fur sleeping next to the trunk on the big branch. I've wondered ever since if it was a wolverine, not sure they climb trees. Most likely it was a cat or bear or maybe a small Bigfoot.

I have to keep reminding myself out in the field to look up.   It is just not natural to do that because we normally associated threats to something else on the ground with us.    That cougar that jumped off the little cliff the other day in front of me is a good reminder that danger can be above too.      I don't think a BF near adult size would be in a fir tree.     Just don't think the branches could support their weight.    But juveniles could be a different story and adult BF may encourage their young to climb to get them out of danger.       One could probably take a tree and conduct some tests using ropes and determine some sort of average breaking force on a sampling of limbs in the tree and have some idea the largest BF a tree might hold.     Sometime someone has to rig a camp to get weights of BF exploring the camp.   We have all of these sightings and their weight is just guesses on the part of everyone.      One hears stories of them exploring camp after everyone is in bed.     Some sort of pressure pad covered with pine needles would do the trick.   Of course BF would probably watch that being set out then refuse to step on it.   But then again, it might not be something they see as a threat.   But a female BF might not want humans to know what they weigh if they are like human women. 

Edited by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT
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Lol. Interesting idea. They seem to be pretty picky about where the step. I wonder if one has ever wondered across one of those lonely truck scales you see out along some of the secondary highways? That would definitely be a good way to get a weight on one.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fungus, lichen and mushrooms. Since there were few blue huckleberries in the woods this fall, there was plenty of other forage in the woods if you knew what was edible.

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This bolete weighed about 2 to 3lbs. Had it for dinner one night.

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One of my coworkers was telling me about a mushroom picking experience he had in September. It turned out to be within a couple miles of our research area. He was hunting King Bolete mushrooms. He found a recently picked bolete with the cap missing. The root end had been bitten off. He asked the person he was with, who would do that? He could see the teeth marks but didn’t look any closer at it. I'd been telling him about the bones. He now wishes he'd taken a closer look.

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Some of those on trees like that would be a good thing to model and hide a camera inside. I have seen some really huge ones over near the Oregon coast.

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None of those fungi were real big, but if you had a small enough camera it would be a good place to hide one. If you used a real fungus it would probably help hide the scent of the camera as well.

On the ridge above camp which is in the smaller timber just right of center. The hill is where we had the knocking experience.

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Maximum zoom on my camera looking at the Red Mountain lookout south of Indian Heaven Wilderness.

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Looking south toward the Indian Heaven Wilderness area.

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Looking to the north and the Mount Margaret high country.

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Beautiful pictures BTW.

 

Great location, on a clear day must be able to see Rainier, Adams, Goat rocks, St Helens, Hood and Jefferson? Not to mention all the other lesser peaks. Is Lemi Rock in the center of the picture of Indian Heaven? 

 

The area where you heard the knocks, it appears whoever logged it left seed trees. Do you know if the bigger trees in the area old growth or second growth? I just wonder how much old growth is left in the GPNF.

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Thanks Dave, can't see to the north very well (Rainier, Goat Rocks), the Dark Divide ridge is a couple miles to the north so it blocks the view that way. Might be able to see Jefferson on a clear day but it's usually pretty hazy that direction (Portland smog? :))

Bird mountain and Lemei Rock are in the center. Lone Butte to the right. You can also see East Crater and Gifford Peak behind Lone Butte.

The hill at the back of the first picture is where we heard the knocks. You can see the strip of old growth down the center. Logging began in this area in the 80s. The forest service must have got an infusion of money after the mountain blew. They began building paved logging roads off the Lewis River Rd, FS 90. They don't reach all the way into this area and they are getting in dire need of repair. The logging continued into the 90's when the spotted owl halted the logging of old growth. All the larger trees in the area are at least 500 year old trees interspersed with replanted clear cuts. The one I am standing above is about 20 years old. Just to the right of where I'm standing is all old growth. To the left of that hill is another large patch of old growth. I think a fire burned through the area in the 1800's on the other side of that hill which is the Lewis River Valley.

I remember in the 60's and seventies they were just starting to open logging into the east side of Mt St Helens. Before that, access was by pack trail. One of which passed through the area behind where I was standing to take the pictures. Vestiges of it still exist but logging destroyed most of it. Then when they thinned the trees that messed up some more of it.

A couple more of Hood and Adams.

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  • 4 weeks later...
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Since we just had a tornado go through Battle Ground WA today, wonder if I should be out in the woods looking for a BF under a down tree? It headed out into the NE from there. I heard the thing go past.

Edited by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT
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I don't like being in the woods during a wind storm because you cannot hear anything moving and there are a lot of trees knocking together. Perfect conditions for BF to move around and not be heard doing it. A large tree breaking off makes a very loud crack and then the thud when it hits the ground is quite remarkable. I lost several trees in my yard and in the surrounding area in one big blow we had. Not something I like to hear going on. Woman in Kelso was killed last night when a large tree cut her house in two. I hope you didn't know her BTW.

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Hope not. I'll be catching up on the news for the next few days.

Had a huge tree fall in the woods about 200yrds from me once, it shook the whole area.

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