Field trips 2.0

[wiiawiwb]

On 5/24/2022 at 11:57 AM, BC witness said:

That was a day well spent, cmknight. That's a great area to explore, but I don't get out that way very often. I was on a trail run with a 4x4 group on Saturday, to the same area you and I went a couple of years ago, the high ridge between Allouette and Stave Lakes. With a convoy of a dozen 4x4s, there was no chance of spotting any Sasquatch, of course.

 

Those are serious vehicles. I'd love to get a two-door Wrangler like the one in the picture above. Move about in the backcountry with confidence.  You must have had a great time sharing the outdoors with like-minded folks.

[BC witness]

I certainly did, wiiawiwb, it was a well run outing, with both experienced and new drivers. There was a brand new 2 door Wrangler, driven by a young lady who had never been on a trail run before, who did very well under the guidance of the group leaders. She came away with a real appreciation of her vehicle's capabilities, and new confidence in her own abilities to handle it in rough terrain.

[norseman]

A little less than a 1 mile hike today. 97 degrees. 😬 Not used to no water in sight anywhere.

 

Everything is shut down here. BLM. National Forest. Etc.

 

Did see some Elk in Cloud croft the other day at the city park.

[Grubfingers]

I’m heading to Northern California in July and hope to bring back some photos. I will hit as many popular Bigfoot areas as I can. I’m open for suggestions.

[WanderingLorax]

My friend and I were out snooping around a possible new area today. We found an interesting impression in the duff. A tree stuck upside down in a rock outcropping, and some very large bear scat. The outcropping was on a very steep slope and quite large. The root end was inside the rocks, and there wasn’t any evidence of a stump above it. 

I forgot a couple pics. 

[BC witness]

After 2 rainy, wet weekends in a row, we finally got some sunshine! I talked my son and his girlfriend into joining me for a bear/cougar/sasquatch outing for the day, to a location a bit further afield than my usual day trips. They were both eager to get out too, so we headed out at about 9 Saturday morning, for a 2 hour drive to the mountains a little SE of Boston Bar, in the Fraser Canyon region. The FSR system I targeted crosses the mountain range between the Canyon Hwy and the Coquihalla Hwy, and I had driven the route last fall, just before the snow got too deep to get through the pass. When we reached the turnoff to the FSR, there was a sign posted stating that the heavy storms had cut the road, making the full crossing impossible, but we headed up anyway, to see how far we could get. That turned out to be about 12 km in, where there was a locked gate to keep the public out of the work area. 

 

Since we had passed numerous side branches on the way in, we back tracked and explored several of them, leading to some interesting views, and lots of game sign. There was deer, bear, and elk scat, deer and elk tracks, and one pretty mulie doe who posed for us in the middle of the road. One power line trail led to a dead end at a very rugged cliff above a creek far below. After a late lunch in camp chairs in the sunshine and warm breeze, we called it a day, as the drive back out to pavement, and then 2 hours home would get us back in time for a late dinner.

 

The trip totalled 320 km (186 mi), and used up $100 of our $2.10/L gas, but the scenery and family time were well worth it.

 

[cmknight]

Looks like the roads were well graded. I would have been out there myself, but I had to attend a Celebration of Life for one of our Colour Party members who passed away recently.

 

[Grubfingers]

4 hours ago, BC witness said:

That looks like that gun is reliable and can shoot a pretty heavy round. I’m wondering what caliber is best when you have a Bigfoot charging you or any big animal when there’s dangerous game. I just bought a lever gun in 45 70 maybe that’s not even big enough?

[DrPSH]

@BC witness gorgeous photos, thank you so much for sharing. Glad you had the chance to get out and enjoy time with your family in such a beautiful spot.

 

@cmknight, I am sorry for your loss.

[Incorrigible1]

5 hours ago, Grubfingers said:

I just bought a lever gun in 45 70 maybe that’s not even big enough?

 

I think you've made the top choice of everything available. That historic old cartridge in a lever repeater ought to be good medicine.

[norseman]

5 hours ago, Grubfingers said:

That looks like that gun is reliable and can shoot a pretty heavy round. I’m wondering what caliber is best when you have a Bigfoot charging you or any big animal when there’s dangerous game. I just bought a lever gun in 45 70 maybe that’s not even big enough?

 

https://www.garrettcartridges.com/luposafaris.html

[BC witness]

@cmknight Priorities, brother, priorities. My dad was colour party for decades. The main road was in good shape, as they were doing some major repair work further in. There were a few sections where we were driving over obvious recent repairs, some of them 100m long. Last Nov. storms knocked out many FSRs.

 

@DrPSH Thanks, these outings make wonderful family memories.

 

@Grubfingers Your 45-70 is great, it's a major knock 'em down device. My bear stopper is a BLR in 300WSM, with a drop out mag, as opposed to the tube mag of most lever guns. It's also 3 lbs lighter and 4" shorter than my previous A-Bolt in 300 WM, so much easier for my aging body to haul through the bush.

 

@norseman & @Incorrigible1 Yes, and wow, quite an accomplishment. I considered the 45-70 before I got the 300WSM, but I preferred the short action and lighter weight.

[Huntster]

22 minutes ago, BC witness said:

.........My bear stopper is a BLR in 300WSM, with a drop out mag, as opposed to the tube mag of most lever guns. It's also 3 lbs lighter and 4" shorter than my previous A-Bolt in 300 WM, so much easier for my aging body to haul through the bush........

 

Nice. Is that a 4 round magazine? Are larger magazines available?

[BC witness]

2 hours ago, Huntster said:

 

Nice. Is that a 4 round magazine? Are larger magazines available?

 

3 round magazine for the magnum calibers, 4 for the slimmer standard ones. I jack 1 round in and carry with the hammer at 1/2 **** and the unique hammer safety on, and 3 in the mag. I've never seen any reference to an extended mag for these.

[PNWexplorer]

Got my new bike all kitted up and took it for a test ride between storms yesterday.  I had visions of exploring miles and miles of logging roads in Idaho no matter the weather.

 

Nope.

 

 

This bike is awful in the mud.  The stock tires look aggressive, but turn into slicks immediately.  I have a new more aggressive rear tire ready to put on, but it is more than the tires.

 

It is the weight distribution.  The KLR holds 6 gallons of fuel, and it is up high.  I am 6'2" and can barely flat foot the bike.  I used to ride dirt bikes in the mountains around here in the mud and was pretty good.  In fact, the flop shown above happened when I tried to get back on the bike after stopping and shooting a video for my YT channel.

 

I didn't actually crash while riding up the hill in the mud, but the bike desperately wanted to flop over.  I was trying to get back on the bike on an incline and off-camber and even though I was able to get on, the bike started to go and my left knee (which just had surgery 6 weeks ago) couldn't keep the bike from tipping.

 

I think when things dry out, the bike will be much better in the woods, but I definitely will not be going on too many trails any more severe than a logging road.  Hoping to sell the Harley and replace it with a medium-sized ATV and it will be my deep-woods vehicle.