Pdub Posted August 9, 2018 Posted August 9, 2018 Explorer - excellent pics. Next adventure for me - heading to Isle Royale next week. Hoping for some moose sightings.
NatFoot Posted August 24, 2018 Posted August 24, 2018 Spent the week in the Outer Banks, NC. No sightings.
wiiawiwb Posted August 24, 2018 Posted August 24, 2018 This is my favorite area where I backpack into to go squatching. The forest is thick and not easy to get through. There are several very secluded ponds in the same area and you have to bushwhack to get to most. These three are my favorite and the ones I keep going back to. The bottom picture is my new backpack. I have six or seven, including a McHale, and this is by far my favorite. It's a Seek Outside Revolution Fortress that has a 125-liter capacity, weighs only 4lbs 2oz and can carry 125-150lbs. A dream to carry. 2
ShadowBorn Posted August 24, 2018 Moderator Posted August 24, 2018 Great pictures from all ! I really love them all and I am not kidding. Pdub For an eight year old girl who likes black and white pictures which is great photography from some one that age is great. she should keep pursuing that goal . My seven year nephew wants to hunt with me so bad that this year I am thinking of taking him with me on a ground stand. I want to be his mentor till he reaches twelve years old so that he can take his hunting course and be able to get his first hunting license like my son. There is nothing like being with your kids out in the woods and how they are so willing to learn about what is out there. I want o just teach him every thing I know and have learned .They have such small minds but want to learn so much what we do not know. My nephew is my love of my life and I will protect him and show him every thing I know. Our children is our future so we must protect them and give them understanding of our surroundings.
BC witness Posted August 25, 2018 Author Posted August 25, 2018 wiiawiwb, I can see why you like those lovely secluded ponds, very nice pics. I hope those sites are productive for you. That backpack looks very capable; I need to get a good one, though my days of packing much of a payload are about over, at 73 and post surgery!!
wiiawiwb Posted August 25, 2018 Posted August 25, 2018 (edited) BC...I use this backpack for both overnights and extended trips. I never carry more than 40-50lbs and that's in winter (as in 0-5F). I've paired down my tent, pad, sleeping bag, and other equipment so that I minimize the weight I carry. The bag on my Seek Outside can be removed and replaced with a 3.3oz, 4,000cu in cuben fiber (Dyneema) bag by Zpacks. It can be used on days trips once I'm out in the field. Alternatively, it could be used on an overnight or two as well. That shaves over another pound from my total weight. https://seekoutside.com/lightweight-backpacks/ http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/airplane_case.shtml Edited August 25, 2018 by wiiawiwb
Caenus Posted August 25, 2018 Posted August 25, 2018 Evening everyone. I thought I’d share a few pics from my Mogollon Monster expeditions! I have a Jeep for longer outings, this was just a quick overnighter. The NC700x is NOT an off-road bike, lol...except when some guy like me makes it go off-road. It did well enough on the 2 1/2 hr, 65mph+ ride there and tackled the high clearance roads north of the rim family decently that it has earned its spot in the stable. I chose a spot towards the north end of Turkey Ridge for this one. I’ve typically stayed farther west in the past, but I’ve been hearing vocalizations east at night and things seem pretty West so I thought I’d scout a few miles east...it’s been worth it. Some pretty significant tree breaks in the early evening, some unidentifiable growls, and what you see below. This spot was pretty close (within a few hundred yards of an elk bedding area so I thing the growl was from an elk...didn’t sound like a bear. It was about 100yds from my op at the time and accompanied by a crash through the woods. Anyway, First pic is camp the first afternoon. Second is camp in the morning. 3rd are a couple cubs (circled as one was really interested in the underside of that log) and momma bear following the creek bed below camp. The photo of momma bear is too big so I left it out. They passed within about 30 yds of my spot while I was video recording the creekbed. I waited until they were 50 yds or so past before I switched to my dslr so as not to give myself away. If you stare at the pics long enough you can almost hear my prayer to the cubs “go the other way...this way is boring...”. Lol, the G20SF never felt so good on my hip and the photos were taken from roughly 80yds away with a Nikon D3200 and 300mm Lens. They did not seem aware of my presence as I was fortunately downwind. 4th pic is a track that was in the middle of a two track fire road. The 5.11 light is 5 inches long putting this track around 14”x 8”? The ground is pretty well covered in leaves and the two road tracks fill up with mud when it rains (every afternoon). Whomever, or whatever, made this track obviously either hopped across or stepped across. I went 100 feet on either side of the road and there was no other ground conducive to tracks. 5th pic is interesting. A fairly long tree (30-ish feet) laid across a log about 4 feet across that was rotten. A rock was placed on top of where they met. That drew my attention. The log looks like it was gutted by something looking for grubs perhaps. There were pieces of the log scattered around and several undefined indentions that could have been large prints immediately in front. I am up at 3 am to head back out to a nearby spot with the family so I hope the pics all come through! 3
bipedalist Posted August 25, 2018 BFF Patron Posted August 25, 2018 As part of the PCTA trail crew recently I did not encounter anything unusual other than some elk calls a few nights with odd barks, screeches and whistles that were fairly explanatory. Checked mud around lakes for prints. Mostly elk with one canine print likely a coyote. Why one, prolly more a function of me not wanting to get quagmired than a spirit coyote. More than one crew member experienced a loud thud near their sleeping area which could not be explained apparently. I saw three snakes, numerous frog species, a duck or two, a couple birds of prey, numerous chipmunks including young crawling down into a hole near a tree on alert from mom; but no bears or larger mammals. A few pika were seen by others higher on the trail than me on an off day. No goats. Lots of frustrated PCT hikers due to fire closures. A squad of hunters got a bear kill while they were around town. Despite the haze from smoke several bluebird days were great for field and trail work. Bugs were present but the flies were worse than the mosquitoes in my neck of the woods. Yes, I got yellow jacket stung doing my pick/mattock work---took five or six good thunks to find where they were at---one sting through a glove was enough for me---haven't moved that fast in ten years. These crews would only make it deep into the backcountry to maintain trail with the assistance of the Washington Backcountry Horsemen/women that make provisioning remotely possible. Kudos to the cooperation of those dedicated individuals. (and thanks for the watermelon). The large group of international hikers coming through were quite inspiring: Germany, Netherlands, UK and many well known trail angels from parts south. We had one international member on our team. Many of the thru hikers were profuse with the thanks. The platform is playing havoc with my ability to post pictures. I will have to post them up as able. We had two wilderness med trained persons and several MD or physician extender types on the trip, that reassures and great radio communication with USFS everyday by the leaders. Smoke from wildfires was troublesome several days but the blood-red moonsets were nice and several red sunsets. 1 3
norseman Posted August 25, 2018 Admin Posted August 25, 2018 Thanks for sharing! The Back Country Horsemen are a great group of people!
BC witness Posted August 25, 2018 Author Posted August 25, 2018 Thanks for those beautiful pics, and the excellent write-up, bipedalist. And thank you very much for your trail maintenance efforts, those great hikes don't happen without guys like you! 1
bipedalist Posted August 25, 2018 BFF Patron Posted August 25, 2018 (edited) I neglected to add that the PCT northern terminus is closed due to fire as is some of the area north of White Pass proper and penalties are severe if you do a work around and get caught in the closed areas. Some of the thru hikers were fairly depressed knowing that. Thanks for the feedback, it is a very dry year out there right now and the conditions were powdery dust with low stream levels but some springs are still flowing. Edited August 25, 2018 by bipedalist
BobbyO Posted August 26, 2018 SSR Team Posted August 26, 2018 Some from WA earlier in the month. The Olympics and MRNP. 1 3
daveedoe Posted August 27, 2018 Posted August 27, 2018 Beautiful pictures Bobby and biped! Bobby did you see any wildlife? I spent a couple days on Hood Canal, but wasn't able to get out in the forest, there was a fire up the Hama Hama recreation area. The air quality was to bad for me and my wife to go hiking. Been a crazy wildfire season for sure. I'm going to try and get out in the woods this September. Been a tough year for my health but I plan on getting healthy and getting back out there. Keep the field trips coming love them. 1
BobbyO Posted August 27, 2018 SSR Team Posted August 27, 2018 We went out on a Whale Boat in the San Juan's which was the highlight Dave. Orca's and Bald Eagle's, beyond beautiful.. 1 1
Pdub Posted August 28, 2018 Posted August 28, 2018 Was Isle Royale National Park about 2 weeks ago, what a beautiful place. Had a great time. My 8 year old even made it all the way on a 10 mile day hike with minimal complaints. This bull came out into this creek right next to our campsite and fed for about an hour. He was about 40 yards away down a steep bank. Just got home from my annual fishing trip to Voyageurs National Park with my college buddies. Epic fishing in between heavy rain. I was the Bass Master this weekend but my good friend had caught the nice northern.
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