Sasquatching Alone

[norseman]

I never muck stalls either. My stock range on 350 acres. I have two stalls in my barn in case of a emergency. Probably have seen use a handful of times in 25 years. They have had more pigs and sick calves in them than horses or mules. They are full of kids crap right now.

 

Thanks for the well wishes!

[wiiawiwb]

On 2/13/2018 at 5:21 PM, BigTreeWalker said:

Great country you hunt in Norse, thanks for sharing! 

 

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. 

 

Before I ever go out to a new area, I pull up a topo map and carefully study the terrain and its features. I envision what the map would look like were it in 3D and where I am and where I will be going. I always mark the map by drawing magnetic north lines on it. That way, in the event I do need to use a compass, I can take readings on the fly without ever having to orient the map. That saves time and accuracy especially if it is raining, snowing, very windy, or you're heading toward hypothermia. Moreover, it avoids the problem of putting a map on a rock that is loaded with metal and throwing off a reading. With the map marked with magnetic north lines, I could take accurate readings even if I set the map on the magnetized hood of a car.

 

With practice, you can navigate solely with just a map and terrain association. The compass stays in the pack.  It is liberating.

[BigTreeWalker]

Some good advice there wiiawiwb. Topo maps might be old school, but if you want to know the terrain for an area they are still the most dependable way to go. Easy to carry and no batteries required.

[wiiawiwb]

Topo maps are old school and their math will always work. It is timeless.

Edited February 16, 2018 by wiiawiwb

[MIB]

Two is one, one is none.   I use both topo maps and GPS.  Either can fail, each in its own way.   Dead batteries ... water damage.   For me, both are best used while building ground knowledge ... three is also two.

 

MIB

[BigTreeWalker]

If I covered all the various orientation items I carry on my person or in my pack it probably comes to 5 or 6. Always figured it's good to be safe than sorry (interpret as dead or lost). Topo maps, a couple compasses, GPS, tablet or phone with downloaded ariel and topo maps, extra batteries and a small battery pack (for phone charging), and a wrist watch (makes a good solar compass in a pinch).

Then I get into the other survival items.

[SWWASAS]

Lots of good ideas here from experienced people.     Hopefully the casual researcher who is not taking these precautions will examine their own methods and pack contents and make changes.  it is also a good idea to do an inventory to periodically know what you have in your pack.     I wear a different pack for the fat tire bike than I do for hiking on foot and transfer a few items back and forth.       Another word of caution there.    One can ride out further on a mountain bike than you can walk out should you have tire or mechanical problems.    In a way you are at more risk anytime you rely on some sort of mechanical conveyance.    Breakdowns,  bike accidents,  and getting too far out to walk back are all factors.  

[MindSquatch]

1 hour ago, SWWASAS said:

Lots of good ideas here from experienced people.     Hopefully the casual researcher who is not taking these precautions will examine their own methods and pack contents and make changes.  it is also a good idea to do an inventory to periodically know what you have in your pack.     I wear a different pack for the fat tire bike than I do for hiking on foot and transfer a few items back and forth.       Another word of caution there.    One can ride out further on a mountain bike than you can walk out should you have tire or mechanical problems.    In a way you are at more risk anytime you rely on some sort of mechanical conveyance.    Breakdowns,  bike accidents,  and getting too far out to walk back are all factors.  

Good advice on the bikes! I use my mountain bike in spring when the gates are still locked. I can go about seven miles or so into some nice areas and have the place to myself. Fortunately there's a hidden hunter's cabin that few know about where I could take shelter if needed. Otherwise it's a long walk back to the vehicle if something goes wrong. 4-6-17 bike ride in Sierras.MTS4-6-17 bike ride in Sierras.MTS

4-6-17_bike_ride_in_Sierras.MTS

[MIB]

One of the things I've started doing is mapping out old cabins, mine shafts, and stuff in the areas I explore.   Anything that represents shelter from wind and rain might come in handy.   Such a place is likely on gov't maps as well so if you can get word out, you're easier to locate at such a place.

 

MIB

[MindSquatch]

25 minutes ago, MindSquatch said:

Good advice on the bikes! I use my mountain bike in spring when the gates are still locked. I can go about seven miles or so into some nice areas and have the place to myself. Fortunately there's a hidden hunter's cabin that few know about where I could take shelter if needed. Otherwise it's a long walk back to the vehicle if something goes wrong. 4-6-17 bike ride in Sierras.MTS4-6-17 bike ride in Sierras.MTS

4-6-17_bike_ride_in_Sierras.MTS

Not many would go on a stormy day as in the video, but I find these type of days bring out the wildness.

4-6-17_bike_ride_in_Sierras.MTS

Edited February 16, 2018 by MindSquatch

[SWWASAS]

I guess I treat the bike like I do when I fly.     A pilot has to be very careful about stretching fuel and running out before you get back.       On the bike the danger is being as far out as you can get, and having a mechanical issue and not being able to get back in before dark.   

 

MIB finding shelters is a good idea.    Perhaps you might find something else sheltering in the same places?    They hanker down someplace.   

[MIB]

Possibly.   The area I focus doesn't have much in the way of ground shelters.   Rock is volcanic and a little rotten ... I don't trust it overhead.   I found a snow survey shelter that's on the national registry of historic places ... unsigned to hide it from potential vandals but still in use.   It has firewood, places to set up temporary shelter, and in truly dire emergency I'd break in.   Another place I found the remains of an old pole lean-to.   I could probably have shelter with those poles and a tarp in short order.   Another spot there was an old cabin.  It's flat but the poles are not completely rotted and the shingles are good enough to either enhance a shelter or maybe dry enough to burn 1-2 to start a fire.   Another place .. don't know how the got there, but there are a couple old tires.  Hey, in life or death emergency, if it burns, it burns.     It is a good idea to keep an eye out for trailhead outhouses, low bridges, large culverts ... any kind of shelter.

 

Down where I grew up there are some mine shafts, not many, but a few.   I wouldn't expect anything to be in them because the floors are wet but they'd be a place to get in out of the wind long enough to come up with a plan.

[BigTreeWalker]

In the GPNF where I go most of the time there aren't many man-made shelters. But I do keep an eye out for big down trees and undercut root balls. I've actually found quite a few that would make dry somewhat comfortable shelters from inclement weather. Also found a few leaning slab rocks that would make good shelters. Just make sure they are well planted before crawling into something like that. I found one that looked like it would make a nice tomb if there was an earthquake.

[MIB]

Growing up in the coast range, we had douglas firs.  Many root balls, trunks spanning small gullies, and so on.   A lot of things to get under for cover.    The higher elevations of the Cascades where I'm researching now present a very different situation.   Appears to be noble fir, shasta red fir, ... true firs, anyway, not douglas fir.   They seem to rot while standing and break off just above the ground.   Root balls are fairly unusual and small.   Tree trunks fall clear to the ground and shatter.    I noticed this first when I was starting to put up trail cameras and finding no logs to suspend them under where they'd be sheltered from snow.    It has forced a change of plan.   Very much the same thing so far as shelter for a person.   Need to be able to fall a green tree, not rely on Mother Nature to have provided one ready for use.

 

MIB

[SWWASAS]

I went looking for an old mine I found on a topo map one time that was in my research area.    Figuring that BF might use old mines for shelter.       Got to the area where it should be on my GPS,  there was a very old overgrown road leading in but I could not find any sign of the mine.     Then I got thinking,   the entrance may have been covered over and for all I know I am standing on a mine shaft with rotting support timbers.   I got a bad feeling about the whole thing and left.   Many a time flying,   bad feelings have saved my tail.