Sasquatching Alone

[hiflier]

I might have to go with Girl Robot's comment regarding coyotes on that one Trogluddite. And after all these years I still laugh when I type your user name. One of the best there is  Thank you for your continuing work on the stats that you sprinkle in and around the Forum too. Good stuff.

Edited February 7, 2018 by hiflier

[wiiawiwb]

On 2/6/2018 at 8:46 PM, ShadowBorn said:

See the problem with this statement is that it happens now with people who have had unequivocal encounters and are still not believed. So what happens is that people are taking big chances with these creatures and doing things that they normally would not do other wise. By going alone to get the proof that is needed and forgetting what has been taught about going into the woods alone. Is it really safe to go out there and try to prove these creatures are real? We do not know this, since no one has actually brought one in either alive or dead. We have the data on them , but how much does that data really mean ? what do those numbers that we are looking at really say to us?. It does say that they are not very observing of us unless we step into there areas. 

 

 

 

I don't believe going out in the woods alone is inherently dangerous. It can become quite dangerous if the person out there is inexperienced.  Many of us here have done it all our lives. Being safe involves a lot of training and experience. Knowing what the potential dangers are, such as impending weather conditions, and how to react to them.

 

Many times, I've seen inexperienced people, even in groups, out in the woods too late to be there and had no lights or a way to start a fire.  They were flirting with danger and didn't know it. I stopped to talk to one such group and they were all graduate students in a highly-respected technical university. Obviously a collection of Mensa candidates who were profoundly naive about the ways of the woods. I found out the next morning they made it out in the dark to their cars. Miracles never cease.

 

It's people like that who underscore the notion that the woods are a dangerous place to be. They most definitely are for the inexperienced, unprepared, and uninitiated and a challenge for all others.

[SWWASAS]

Typically such groups do not make it to their cars here on their own.        They underestimate how long a hike takes,  start too late in the day,    if asked have no idea when sunset is,  are under dressed for the weather,   often are completely unaware a weather system is moving in, and have no means to start a fire.  .    They rely on their phones for navigation,   then when it gets dark they use them as flashlights and finally call for help.   Usually running their batteries completely dead.     Search parties are formed and it takes half the night to find them and walk them out getting them out at close to or at dawn.      Week after week it happens in the Columbia Gorge.  Not so often now as most of the trails are closed due to the Gorge fires.  

 

I do for the most part solo research.     I am aware of the risks.   Bear, cougar, other humans,  and BF themselves add to the overall risk.     Have had bullets whistling over my head,   confronted by a cougar,  bear encounters,  and cornered a BF who growled at me with displeasure.    Out in the wind,  a falling tree is always a danger.   Those are all knowns but can happen without any warning.   .     It is the unknown that probably worries me the most.  Hard to avoid something unknown to you.   But on the other side of the coin,  I move very quietly,  can stop and listen often,   make human smell proportional to one person, not several, and  present myself in a not threatening manner.    Have pretty well have worked out BF contact protocols that have worked up to this point.   Not that I discovered them,   but simply use what Native Americans have found works for them.   Two words describe the NA contact philosophy.    " Respectful deference."    When I have deviated from that,   is when they expressed displeasure with me.   Corner one,   trying to get it to break cover and you will find out what I mean.  

 

But quite frankly at my age,  to have some misfortune in the woods, sounds like a much better way to go out than drowning from pneumonia in a hospital bed.   I nearly took that route after Christmas.   

 

[Branco]

It took many years of walking mountains, wading swamps and rivers to be able to hear them and see their sign, both day and night, and mostly alone. About 40 years ago it finally dawned on me there was a heck of a lot easier way to actually see and hear them up close, without any aggression on their part and without any real stress on my old ticker. Now I still do a lot of walking in the mountains day and night, but stumbling onto their tracks or markings are just gravy on a good hike. The chances of having one come in close, - and making itself known in a non-aggressive manner- to a person or group that is/are "whooping", yelling, beating on trees with clubs, beating rocks together or other such methods, are slim to none. Don't misunderstand, I and others do sometimes broadcast a short audio of a BF vocalization about "dark thirty", but its primarily done to determine if particular BF or group are in specific areas of their normal hunting/foraging areas. If so, we move further away, and use a specific non-BF sound to let the particular BF or group know who I/we are. A little more to it than this, but that's the basics. (Only applies to certain areas in SE states in which no "killer BF" have been reported. :-) 

[BC witness]

SWWASAS, pretty much the same situation here in the S.W. corner of BC. SAR teams are out every weekend, trying to help those lost in the rainforest, within sight of the city, totally unprepared. Not all end well, either, as most of the terrain is steep and unforgiving. As for your last sentence, we're on the same page.

[Talmadge Mooseman]

This is a good topic for me to take heed.  I do not have much of a background in hiking or camping.  I'm only interested in the outdoors because of Bigfoot.  There has been much good information shared in this thread.

[norseman]

Assorted NE Wa outings.

 

 

[ShadowBorn]

Norseman

Those are some great pictures!

 I have done some riding on horses but not what You have done and have always wanted to by a good hood horse.  A horse makes a great cover scent for a person out hunting  as well as alerting you of danger that might be around.  You can cover some ground with a horse or a mule where most atv or utv are not able to go. But they also make great companions when you are out alone. I wish that some day I can go out into country like that ,it must be nice to roam those areas. One day I will and one day I will get my own land where I will be able to own my own horse that I can take out on Michigan lands with my dog. That'll be sweet I be a great cowboy in Michigan. Stay safe while you do your searching.  

[Twist]

Grew up with horses in Michigan and have done a lot of trail riding on Michigan state land.  It is a nice way to travel and see the land.   Not fond of mucking stalls though.  

[Guest Hellbilly]

I always carry a small container of Vaseline when in the forest. It is a big help when starting fires with or without a lighter and it soothes chapped skin!

I am usually out solo but my fiancé loves hiking and adventure stuff so she goes with me a lot of the time. 

[MIB]

Yeah.  My sisters got horses, I got a *&$%^#* shovel.   There is no justice in the world.   

 

MIB

[BigTreeWalker]

Great country you hunt in Norse, thanks for sharing! 

 

 

21 hours ago, Talmadge Mooseman said:

This is a good topic for me to take heed.  I do not have much of a background in hiking or camping.  I'm only interested in the outdoors because of Bigfoot.  There has been much good information shared in this thread.

My recommendation for anyone new to the outdoors is to get to know the area you are going into. By using maps first then by being out there. Learn how to orient yourself in the woods. Don't bite off more than you can handle all at once. It's easy to get lost, as many above have stated. Learn the wildlife and plant life in your area. Many times it takes years to learn about the noises various animals can make. Bigfoot is a good reason to be out there but very little is bigfoot. Enjoy the outdoors for what they can offer regardless if you have any BF experiences or not. JMHO. 

[Twist]

1 hour ago, MIB said:

Yeah.  My sisters got horses, I got a *&$%^#* shovel.   There is no justice in the world.   

 

MIB

 

Basically my life to a T.  I spent years trying to convince my parents to get rid of the horse and get cattle.  It made more sense, my dads a butcher.  

[NCBFr]

Would love to hang with you guys in the woods one day as long as I don't have to ride a horse.  

[SWWASAS]

Most of my field work solo is park at a trail head then head out.    Get to the area of interest and find my way back to my vehicle.   That sounds pretty simple but it is amazing how different things look just going the other direction on a trail.  I try to note significant objects that I know I will see traveling both directions on a trail.    Then as I come out it is comforting when I pass the landmarks.     Off trail you need to reference major features like ridge lines and keep oriented with either the sun or compass.   It is very important off trail to have a plan to find your way out.      The most lost I have been was on cross county skis in a snow storm.     The snow covered my tracks and I lost the trail.   I basically had to use dead reckoning and follow a compass heading to find my way out.     I hit the forest road my vehicle was parked on and had to guess which of two ways to the vehicle.    The first guess was right and with the storm getting worse the wrong guess might have been tragic.    That experience has stayed with me and I rarely go out with bad weather coming in.      My experience with hand held GPS or cell phone maps is mixed.      They can be confusing at times,    seem to run out of battery when you most need them,   in dense forest lose satellite view,    and in areas without cell coverage you need a cell phone map app that allows the maps to be prestored in memory.     When gadgets work most of the time you know where you are and don't need them.    I guess I basally do not trust them because they have failed me when I needed them the most.   I prefer a paper map and a compass for simple dependability.   

Edited February 14, 2018 by SWWASAS