Sw Washington Field Work 2016

[SWWASAS]

I have been listening to the bird sound.   Had forgotten that my sound editing software went away when my computer died.     So I had to download Sonic Visualizer again.     When I can figure out how to cut a clip out of the audio file with the bird I will post the short clip.   Funny thing is that it sounds very much like the mystery sound that has been bothering people in a town in the Portland area.   That has made the national news.  

[BigTreeWalker]

Randy, if you can hear the bullet before the report, I would say you were not in a very safe situation. If it was just hitting soil you probably wouldn't hear it hit anything.

I would like to hear the recording. So they haven't figured that sound out yet? I haven't been keeping up with it in the news.

[SWWASAS]

I suspect you are right about the bullets.      That idiot had to know that the very road he was parked along was the same road he could see below him where I was.     I drove past them when I went out but there were two of them and I did not want to get into a confrontation.     If I had heard a bullet hit anywhere near I would have called the Sheriff.      Normally you would shoot into a upslope or enbankment but he was shooting down a slope at something.     

 

I was listening to the sound on Sonic Visualizer but don't know how to cut a clip out of it to get a shorter file.    It is one of three files and is 38 minutes long.    The bird starts about 14 minutes into it.      Before I used my video editing software to shorten audio files which I lost when my computer died.     I may need to get a new version of my video editing software.   At least I know how to edit that.    

 

That sound has not been located yet.    I think the police think it is some sort of prank.   Sounds somewhat like a steam whistle.   People from all over the world have been sending suggestions to the police as to what it is.  Everything from the 7th trumpet announcing the apocalypse to BF calls.   

 

 The bird sound, I heard,  seemed to move towards me on the recording in that it got louder.    It was not at all melodic like most bird calls.   But I think I have heard the call before but have no idea what bird produces it.  If anyone knows how to shorten a file with Sonic Visualizer let me know.     I cannot figure out how to do it.   I will post it when I can get the file smaller.   

Edited February 27, 2016 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[SWWASAS]

Out in the field again yesterday.     Been working my way East checking all the drainage patterns i can get into trying to figure out where my BF clan moved to.    Not looking good towards the East.   Too much logging and lack of cover.    I have about given up on that whole area.    I found a logging road gate open that I had never seen open before, so decided to drive in a see what it looked like in that area.     Got deeper away from the main logging road and on the top of a ridge.    I got nervous about the open gate and did not want to get locked in for the night so decided to head out.     Good thing I did because as I came out there was a forest service vehicle right behind me.   He locked the gate behind us.  Yikes that was close!.    Anyway I was just looking at Goggle Earth checking out where I was yesterday.      There are trails on Google Earth that are not on the USGS map of the area.    Because of the closed gates,  I cannot believe that humans are getting in there in sufficient numbers to keep trails free of vegetation.   It looks like I could have from the ridge I was on, gone all the way to Silverstar Mountain and well beyond that to the East.    I noticed a lot of trails that run East West on ridge lines when I was flying.    Most are not on the USGS maps.    They seem to have enough use to keep the vegetation beat down.    I cannot imagine Elk being up that high (4000+) in any numbers.   There is snow half the year too.     So the question in my mind is what is using those trails?      If you look at the area, and want an easy route East and West  the ridge lines seem to be easier once you are up there, than down below in all the drainage areas scrambling over logs and rocks.     Could it be that when BF migrates it goes to the ridges to travel East West deeper into Skamania County?   Additionally on the ridges night travel with star and moon light would be a lot easier than thrashing through the woods down below.       

[BigTreeWalker]

Yes. The use of ridges is a logical assumption. The river valleys are steep and rugged around here and very brushy. A lot of the ridges also have springs on them.

[BC witness]

SWWAS, could those ridgeline trails be mountain bikers? That sounds like the kind of area they like to ride, open singletrack with views. Did a few of those myself, 20  or more years ago.

[BigTreeWalker]

Good thought BC. I wasn't suggesting that's what the trails were. If it was a little further to the NE I would suggest motorcycles. That's what keeps a lot of the trails open between Mt St Helens and Mt Adams.

[daveedoe]

I found this trail map of the area. Parts of the trail from Bluff Mt TH to Little baldy are old fire roads. Most have grown over and are single track trails now. 

 

I like your thought on traveling those ridges.

Edited March 6, 2016 by daveedoe

[SWWASAS]

Mountain bikers are certainly possible.     I don't get up on the ridges much on foot.       It just seems too exposed to be used by BF in the daytime.     Thinking about it, putting a game camera watching those ridge trails might be a good idea.    If BF are using them at night in the summer, might get something.    There is that one Silverstar BF picture in the snow field.       That Silverstar - Baldy trail looks well used.  Last time I was on Silverstar I saw a human over towards Baldy.     I nearly got run over one day on Kloochmans butte by a mountain biker.    He was with two others so I got behind a tree to avoid being hit by them.    As they came around the tree and saw me it scared them one at a time.   Served them right for nearly clobbering me.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

[SWWASAS]

Back from a trip to Florida.   While the trip was primarily a vacation I made a point to spend a lot of travel on back roads in the interior wooded sections avoiding freeways.     Actually took an airboat ride at Boggy Creek.    Not the famous one but one in central Florida.     Anyway there are thousands of acres of wooded areas with little human presence in Florida.       It certainly looks like it could support a swamp ape population to me.   Water, deer, alligators,  lots of edible vegetation, certainly looks supportive to me.      I talked to the air boat operator and while he was a Florida native,  and been in central Florida all his life, he had not seen a swamp ape but knew people who had.     He did not even give me a funny look when I asked.    With that Zeka virus I would not want to spend a lot of time out in the swampy areas.   My hats off to those that do field work there with the snakes, and humidity.      

[MichaelX]

Welcome back Randy, hope your trip was an enjoyable one! 

 

Just read through this thread and I appreciate you sharing your exploits with the rest of us. Your analytical approach to fieldwork plus the fact that you're approaching the big "seven-oh" gives you vast amounts of respect in my eyes. I need to try to get out to Washington soon, got family on my dad's side there that I haven't seen in many years. It would be an honor to share the trail(s) with you if I ever got out there to your area.

 

Don't know if you've had any luck with Sonic Visualizer, but I've found Audacity fairly easy to work with. Then again, I work in the IT field so folks tell me all the time that easy for me can be somewhat challenging for them. Anyway, Audacity is free, has many features, and there are some good youtube tutorials out there on its use.

 

Keep sharing your reports and be careful out there!

[SWWASAS]

Went out yesterday for some field work.    Had trouble deciding where to go and remembered being down in a area into a drainage area and hearing some noise indicative of a large animal moving around.    Decided to head back there and see if I could stir up some trouble.      The area is on the upper reaches of Rock Creek out towards Sturgeon rock.    As I drove out I noticed a truck parked near a trailhead.     It was a Neon truck.      Interesting because they were a couple of miles away from the Neon site and a good hike up the hill to get there.      I thought it strange they would park there when they can drive right to the site by going another way.        So I stopped, looked in my wallet for my business card, thinking I would leave one on the truck and ask them if they wanted to chat.     But I had taken my cards out when I got a new wallet a few days ago.    So I left and I drove on to the Rock Creek drainage and went down through a clearcut that bounds the forested area near the creek.      I had one thought as I made my way down the slope to the forested area.  Walking through clearcuts is probably not something that BF likes to do.   With boots, one has to be careful on a slope to avoid breaking your leg because of scrambling over all the deadwood.     With bare feet and legs you could poke sharp stick right through a leg.     I penetrated into the wooded area hoping to flush out some movement like I did before.     The time before I got some large animal to move around and make some thumps.    No idea what but something larger than myself.    No tracks this time other than deer.     No movement heard from me poking around     Before they were deer most likely.    I came out to avoid a swampy area, when around a point and penetrated back in.    Just found a stump sat down in the wooded area, and sat there for a long time hoping to hear or see some movement.    Got none.    I thought about the Neon truck, and since I was going past it on my way home, decided to park near it and figure out what the Neon person was doing.      I parked near the truck.     

 

 

I went up the trail where I thought the Neon truck driver probably went.    There is no place to park near the trailhead.    Immediately I realized from the muddy ground, that the Neon person, had not taken this trail.     The only footprints on the trail, which was muddy from recent rains, was a single horse who headed up the trail in the same direction I was headed.     That was the only sign of human or other tracks on that trail.     I wondered where the Neon person had gone.    They must have gone the other direction and were looking around the Cold Creek area.    I thought well I will just go this way and take a look at the Neon site.   I had not been there in a long time.     I wondered if the Neon site have had curious hairy visitors that got them interested in the surrounding area.     As I was thinking about that, I found a footprint on the right margin of the trail.   Headed up trail, the same direction I was headed.    This other than my own, and the horse, were the only footprints on the trail.     That one single bare footprint, located as BF prints often are, on the trail margin.       That was the only such print I found on the two miles of trail to the Neon site.     

 

 

Not much of a print.     Partial at best but large well defined toes.    No sign of claws in the mud like you would expect from a bear paw.     The toes were pointed uphill, the trail muddy,  so that probably explains why the aft portion of the footprint is not very well defined.     The toes were being used for traction and not much foot pressure on the aft foot.        

 

Analysis:   Wide but in the human norm at about 10 inches in length.    The toe width seems very large but short for human.    Since the toe was being used to gain traction in the mud that might be expected human or BF.     Toed shoes are possible.      But I saw no sign of traction tread which toed shoes also have.     And how could a human have done a mile of muddy trail, and only left one print in a mile of travel on the margin of the trail?.   It was cold.   I cannot imagine someone running around in bare feet.     Mine and the horse shoed footprints were the only footprints on the trail to that point or beyond as far as the Neon site.   If it is BF then it is a different size footprint I have seen in the area.    A new individual for the area?.     

 

 I took pictures then continued to the Neon site.     It has a few more attachments than when I last saw it.    Here is a picture of the Neon site.  

 

 

 

I returned to my truck and hoped to catch the Neon person but no luck.      I needed to get home and mow my lawn before the evening rain so left.     

 

 

 

 

 

        

[SWWASAS]

Went out yesterday for some field work.    Had trouble deciding where to go and remembered being down in a area into a drainage area and hearing some noise indicative of a large animal moving around.     The area is on the upper reaches of Rock Creek out towards Sturgeon rock.    As I drove out I noticed a truck parked near a trailhead.     It was a Neon truck.      Interesting because they were a couple of miles away from the Neon site and a good hike up the hill to get there.      I thought it strange they would park there when they can drive right to the site by going another way.        So I stopped, looked in my wallet for my business card, thinking I would leave one on the truck and ask them if they wanted to chat.     But I had taken my cards out when I got a new wallet a few days ago.    So I left and I drove on to the Rock Creek drainage and went down through a clearcut that bounds the forested area near the creek.      I had one thought as I made my way down the slope to the forested area.  Walking through clearcuts is probably not something that BF likes to do.   With boots, one has to be careful on a slope to avoid breaking your leg because of scrambling over all the deadwood.     With bare feet and legs you could poke sharp stick right through a leg.     I pennetrated into the wooded area hoping to flush out some movement like I did before.     Before I got some large animal to move around and make some thumps.    No idea what but something larger than myself.    No tracks this time other than deer.     No movement heard from me poking around     Before they were deer most likely.    I came out to avoid a swampy area, when around a point and penetrated back in.    Just found a stump sat down, and sat there for a long time hoping to hear or see some movement.    Got none.    I thought about the truck, and since I was going past it, decided to park near it and figure out what the Neon person was doing.      I parked near the truck.     

 

 

I went up the trail where I thought the Neon truck driver probably went.    There is no place to park near the trailhead.    Immediately I realized from the muddy ground, that the Neon person, had not taken this trail.     The only footprints on the trail, which was muddy from recent rains, was a single horse who headed up the trail in the same direction I was headed.     That was the only sign of human or other tracks on that trail.     I wondered where the Neon person had gone.    They must have gone the other direction and were looking around the Cold Creek area.    I thought well I will just go this way and take a look at the Neon site.   I had not been there in a long time.     I wondered if the Neon site have had curious hairy visitors that got them interested in the surrounding area.     As I was thinking about that, I found a footprint on the right margin of the trail.   Headed up trail, the same direction I was headed.    This other than my own, and the horse, were the only footprints on the trail.     That one single bare footprint, located as BF prints often are, on the trail margin.       That was the only such print I found on the two miles of trail to the Neon site.     

 

 

Not much of a print.     Partial at best but large well defined toes.    No sign of claws in the mud like you would expect from a bear paw.     The toes were pointed uphill, the trail muddy,  so that probably explains why the aft portion of the footprint is not very well defined.     The toes were being used for traction.     

 

Analysis:   Wide but in the human norm at about 10 inches in length.    The toe width seems very large but short for human.    Since the toe was being used for gain traction in the mud that might be expected.    The rock aggregate to the upper part of the photo may explain why the small toes are not visible.      Toed shoes are possible.      But I saw no sign of traction tread which toed shoes also have.     And how could a human have done a mile of muddy trail, and only left one print in a mile of travel on the margin of the trail?.   It was cold.   I cannot imagine someone running around in bare feet.     Mine and the horse shoed footprints were the only footprints on the trail to that point or beyond as far as the Neon site.   If it is BF then it is a different size footprint I have seen in the area.    A new individual.     

 

 I took pictures then continued to the Neon site.     It has a few more attachments than when I last saw it.    Here is a picture of the Neon site.  

 

 

 

I returned to my truck and hoped to catch the Neon person.      I needed to get home and mow my lawn before the evening rain so left.     

Edited April 27, 2016 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[BigTreeWalker]

Thanks for the report Randy. That track is interesting. Looks like it's been soaked with rain so not much detail. I did notice a fresh deer track on the upper edge of it. An almost perfect 11" track was found last year in the area where we are working.

That NEON site is interesting. Those observatories are just the thing to detect the presence of bigfoot in an area. Unless because of the large structure they avoid it. I wonder what the detection range is for their equipment. To bad you couldn't locate the driver of the truck. That might be an interesting discussion.

http://www.neonscience.org

Notice the website is named different than the side of the truck. But that's where it takes you.

[SWWASAS]

I have been sick for over a month and not getting out in the field.   First bronchitis now my new thing is a severe case of gout.    Shoes much less hiking boots have been out of the question.   Had trouble walking for a few days.      Anyway as things happen something interesting found its way to me.   Need someone that is a biologist or knowledgeable to tell me what it is.    I found this single bone inside my completely fenced back yard.   Have no idea how a scavenger of any size got in there other than something like a raccoon that can climb fences.   The dimensions are in inches and the bone is very light.     Almost like a bird bone.     I have no idea what it is.    Anyone know?