Sw Washington Field Work 2016

[daveedoe]

nice pictures for sure. Thanks you two for the field report from the air! makes me want to get out there.

[MichaelX]

I think a nice slow, stable 2 place ultralight would be a great platform for our type of aerial recon. Maybe even an autogyro, that could land and take off from a decent logging road. Well, I can dream, anyway.

 

If I had some disposable income I'd probably be looking into buying something like this:

 

  

 

Or this:

 

 

First one is a Quicksilver MXL Sport II while the second is a Lockwood Super Drifter. 

 

Apparently the MXL Sport II is a discontinued design, Quicksilver's updated version is the MX II Sprint. They advertise that you can get one built and flying for less than 20K but you know that doesn't include any of the "extras" like floats, digital instruments, etc. The Super Drifter's base price is $48K but that doesn't include the floats or any other upgrades.

 

Like BC says, we can dream, anyway. 

[SWWASAS]

The floats would be a performance detriment in the mountains.   The other factor is that people that have ultralights in this area do not fly if there is much of any wind at all.   BTW and I picked a day with abnormally light wind at altitude.    It was remarkably pleasant in the mountains.    One area he wanted to see, when I attempted to get there before, the turbulence was so bad that I turned back before getting there.   That level of turbulence could destroy an ultralight or at least put it in a situation where it gets in a downdraft that it cannot overcome.    For those non pilots out there, the mountains of the West are positively scarey for pilots from back East for good reason.   There are mountain flying courses conducted for those that do not have experience flying in this area.     A helicopter seems to be the way to get into some truly remote places and perhaps increase the chance of an encounter 100s of times just because of the lack of human presence in an area.   Fly into a remote area,  land, hike around, and get out or camp.      If someone wants to invest the money and learn how to fly one,  I think the helicopter is the way to go.  Grover Krantz actually built a helicopter to use in BF research.   I don't know if he ever got it to fly.   

Edited June 14, 2016 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[norseman]

Be careful where you land concerning the Forest Service.

[SWWASAS]

^^^^In a truly remote area the forest service has no access either.     You are correct that such a landing is not legal.  Unless of course the engine did not seem to be running right and you put it down to check the engine and make sure it was OK.      Just that pretty much allows landing anyplace where it is safe to do so, including a Walmart parking lot or freeway.      Pilots have considerable emergency authority.        In the last two years where I go on logging roads, I have seen exactly one forest service vehicle.    I nearly got locked behind a gate that ordinarily is not unlocked.    Their budget cuts or whatever their excuse is for not maintaining roads, is restricting their access too.    For them to enforce anything they have to get there somehow.       What they are doing by letting roads go out of service,  either intentionally or unintentionally is creating bigfoot reserves.   

Edited June 14, 2016 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[JKH]

I thought it might be a scapula and you are right in that it looks the same on Google.    Is is the size consistent with deer or elk?    I am suspicious when deer parts show up after that carcass was put by my truck door.  At least it was something a small scavenger could carry to get through my fense.   I live so close to my encounter locations  (about 8 miles as the crow flies)  and on the same river through the area,   I would just as soon not get visited by anything lurking about in the dark and join the ranks of the habbers.  

 

In that case, I would bet a large amount on you having occasional bipedal visitors.

 

Cool story about the fledglings and cool snake solution, as well.

[SWWASAS]

Well the three robins left the nest and we thought we were done with that.      Waited a few days, and it looked like one of the larger fledglings, a female from the coloring, started building a nest next to the old nest.    That did not go over well so both nests were taken down.    But within a half day the fledgling started rebuilding the nest again.    I hate to be a big meany so let it continue.     Then yesterday the nest builder was not seen at all nor did it return today.    Not sure what happened.    Perhaps some predator got it or maybe it had a breakup with the male bird?    .    Anyway will wait a couple of more days and remove the nest if there is no activity.       I need to find me a rubber snake.    

 

I have had no indication that BF has visited my yard.    As evidence of that I frequently have deer that bed down back there.       Getting here would require crossing a State Highway about a mile away.   That crossing near the river takes a heavy toll on deer hit by cars.   Speaking of BF at night,   I had a dream last night that I was being chased by King Kong.     I had my trusty sidearm but I could only get off two shots before it jammed.     I woke up when Kong was trying to reach under a bridge or something and grab me.    For some reason my gun is never very reliable in my dreams.      

Edited June 14, 2016 by SWWASASQUATCHPROJECT

[SWWASAS]

I have been at the Oregon Coast for several days.     Spent some time yesterday doing field work in the Kilchis rover drainage in the Oregon Coast range North of Tillamook.    No reason for going in there other than I have not been into that area and it looked interesting on the map.       It gets pretty wild quick as you go up river.   The big danger was that there were a lot of logging trucks and the logging road was very narrow with few pull offs.   Nearly had a couple of headons.     Was hiking along the river and heard an interesting vocalization.    Have no idea what it was and I have never heard anything remotely similar.  It kept repeating so I am thinking bird of some sort but it was deep in pitch and not like anything I have heard before.     It continued for a while and I could not help myself but whoop at it.    Of course the vocalization immediately stopped and did not start again.     Whatever it was did not like my whoop.      The river was incredibly clear.   You could see deep into all the pools in the river.     I would like to get some waders and just walk up the river in the dryer months just because there is not much in the way of trails other than around the campground there.   

 

I would really like some big tired thing that both floats and rolls to get up some of these shallow rivers.     Some places the rivers are the only way in.    It is exactly those places with no road or trail access that are likely to be BF friendly areas.   

[MichaelX]

^^ Checked out the area you mentioned on Google maps Randy, like you said not much in the way of access up above Kilchis County Park. Plenty of water sources up there as well which would make it prime BF territory.  

[SWWASAS]

The Kilchis Forest road is on the other side of the river from the County Park.    That allows access considerably further in.    That however is the narrow road that had all the logging trucks.    Twice I had to frantically drive off the road to avoid head ons with logging trucks.   Sunday when the loggers normally do not work would be a good day to go in there.    An active logging area probably is not the best location to go looking for BF.   Too much human activity during the day time.  

 

Back in Washington.      Went into the field yesterday to check out an area that has a lot of salmon berry bushes.   I had been in there during the winter and was fairly easy going then.   Yesterday it was impossible.     Thick brush 4 and 5 feet tall.  I bushwhacked for a while then gave up and came out and just went down to the river where I could get down to it looking for footprints.   Basically a big bust for the day.     The forest road going in there in the GPNF is getting nearly impassible.     Potholes are getting 2 feet deep.   I have a high sitting 4 wheel drive off road truck and had concerns at times that I would high center.    It is getting so bad that I can make better time parking and riding my fat tired bike over roads like that.      

 

One area of interest East of Mt St Helens still has the access road closed.    Apparently the road washed out last winter.   I wonder if I could get around the washout with my bike.     Designation of Wilderness areas is no longer necessary.     All the forest service has to do it not maintain the roads and make them impassible.   They have all these rules about what sort of vehicles are legal on forest roads but when the roads fall into enough disrepair that the Forest Service can no longer patrol them, who is going to enforce their rules?      I am getting to the point I really don't care what their rules are when they don't maintain the roads.   Block them all off and I can go where I want with impunity because they cannot get in there either. 

[SWWASAS]

Nursing a wrenched back but did get out in the field yesterday.    Figured using the fat tired bike would be better than hiking with a backpack on.      So decided to check out a chute down a steep cliff that I have been watching for a couple of years now.      Last time I was there is was winter and no sign of activity.   But yesterday,  saw all kinds of evidence that the chute was being used for something to come down the cliff and get down to the river below.      I took some pictures of the smudges in the mud but nothing was definitive other than something that did not have hooves was sliding down the chute.  Has to be at least a bear because it left pad or toe like streaks in a couple of places.     Interestingly the cave above the area seems to have had recent use also.     I know a bear can traverse such a steep descent because I spooked one a few years ago and it went down a similar slope with great speed.     As I was standing there, trying to figure out where to put a game camera,  a woman came by, and asked me what I thought was using the chute.     She said it sure is well used.   I agreed and said I had not seen anything definitive as to what might be using it from footprints left behind.  .   She asked me if I had seen the huge scat pile back a ways on the trail.   I said I had.    That looked like bear to me but it was spread around,   as if the bear was running or fighting when it dumped.   When the women left I wondered if she had noticed my Sasquatch brewing company T shirt.    From her comments wonder if she is a closet squatcher.   She seemed to know what I was up to.   I will take a look at the pictures I took but it is unlikely they will show anything.  

 

    I could not imagine, even if something uses the chute to get down to the river, that it uses it to return back up the cliff.     So I looked around the area trying to figure out how it could have gone back up.   I found several well used places where something could have gone either direction.    I want to get on the cliff above the chute but that will take what amounts to a technical rock climb to get up there.   Not sure I want to tackle that solo.    Certainly not without using ropes.  At my age I should not be doing that stuff anyway.   While looking at the cliff face, found what looks to be a fairly large cave.   However did not really see how anything could get to it from either the bottom or the top.     The cliff face is nearly vertical in that area.    

[SWWASAS]

Here are the pictures.    They barely show the vertical streaks that were the only evidence of whatever is using the chute to get down to the river.      The streaks are vertical and wider in wide side to side than my hand.    I have no idea other than bear or BF what they might be.    I did use exposed roots for handholds to climb as high as I could looking for something definitive.   Probably not a smart thing to do because the exposed roots are from a tree that has been undercut and is about to fall off the cliff face.  One of the streaks was on the left side and one was on the right side of the chute face.   

 

 

[hiflier]

Must've been mighty thirsty, or mighty hungry, or mighty spooked to take that route down. Could've been an escape route from something larger than it was as well. IMO animals meander unless those reasons present themselves. Kind of off season for mating? Although......

 

Once on the chute it looks difficult to control speed of descent too. Seems more to be a sudden decision as opposed to simply a convenient way down. Sometimes too, it's too easy to anthropomorphize how animals think and this may be a perfectly natural maneuver that means little beyond getting from here to there in the shortest amount of time.

Edited June 30, 2016 by hiflier

[SWWASAS]

The river below has to be a draw since it is clear and clean year round.   I would drink from it myself if I did not have filters etc.   The route down may have been at night and whatever did it was not aware of the angle of the descent.   I think it was about 50 degrees.    I know bears can do that without problem.   I sent up 15 or 20 feet looking for footprints and the climbing was not bad using tree roots for handholds.  .  Getting down was the problem.   I was afraid I would fall and break something.  I have no idea what has been using the chute.   I would guess bear.  Mostly because I would think that BF would use a more safe route down.   There are several routes down within 1000 yards either way that I would pick.   I think BF is not going to risk injury if there are other ways to do something.   

[BigTreeWalker]

We found something similar today. It was a steep bank down to the road. I spotted the tracks as I went by. Checked them out. They turned out to be wide flat skid marks down the bank. Pretty sure it was a big bear. The marks were side by side like front paws would be. It appeared it had gone down the bank a couple times in slightly different places. There were elk tracks on the bank too. But it was easy to tell the difference. When I first saw them they were wide, about 6 inches and long. That's what caught my eye. But I could see where they had skidded thus elongating the impressions.