PNWexplorer Posted May 30, 2021 Posted May 30, 2021 1 hour ago, NatFoot said: Ground squirrels as in chipmunks, correct? I don't shoot chipmunks; I'm not a monster, lol. 1
NatFoot Posted May 30, 2021 Posted May 30, 2021 2 hours ago, PNWexplorer said: I don't shoot chipmunks; I'm not a monster, lol. Thanks @norseman as well. I was wondering what in the world was wrong with you. One....didn't think ground squirrels (chipmunks back east) lived in colonies and two....I just can't see someone doing that! 1
norseman Posted May 30, 2021 Admin Posted May 30, 2021 14 hours ago, NatFoot said: Thanks @norseman as well. I was wondering what in the world was wrong with you. One....didn't think ground squirrels (chipmunks back east) lived in colonies and two....I just can't see someone doing that! Ive seen Chipmunks in trees out here? I don’t think they live in trees. But they climb trees well. A ground squirrel is a dedicated borrower like a prairie dog. But doesn’t get as big in the body and don’t get as packed of a colony. And usually you don’t see their colonies deep in a forest. Usually it’s in fields and along roads. You would never ever see a ground squirrel in a tree. When I was working in North Dakota and Eastern Montana. You would drive for miles and miles and never see a prairie dog. And then come over a ridge and there would be thousands of them scurrying around in a 100 acre colony. 1
NatFoot Posted May 30, 2021 Posted May 30, 2021 4 hours ago, norseman said: Ive seen Chipmunks in trees out here? I don’t think they live in trees. But they climb trees well. A ground squirrel is a dedicated borrower like a prairie dog. But doesn’t get as big in the body and don’t get as packed of a colony. And usually you don’t see their colonies deep in a forest. Usually it’s in fields and along roads. You would never ever see a ground squirrel in a tree. When I was working in North Dakota and Eastern Montana. You would drive for miles and miles and never see a prairie dog. And then come over a ridge and there would be thousands of them scurrying around in a 100 acre colony. Yep. They climb trees but live on the ground in burrows. I'd never shoot one. No point! And I got fairly familiar with the prairie dogs from my time in CO. I just never heard someone call them a ground squirrel!
norseman Posted May 30, 2021 Admin Posted May 30, 2021 4 minutes ago, NatFoot said: Yep. They climb trees but live on the ground in burrows. I'd never shoot one. No point! And I got fairly familiar with the prairie dogs from my time in CO. I just never heard someone call them a ground squirrel! They are not. Different species. But similar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_dog https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_ground_squirrel 1 1
BC witness Posted May 31, 2021 Author Posted May 31, 2021 No Columbia ground squirrels local to me, on the wet coastal side of the mountains, but I've found some large colonies about 2 hours' drive east, on the rain shadow side of the Cascades, in alpine meadows and some ranch grasslands. My daughter and I went out for a ride up one of our local mountains this afternoon, and found the snow had disappeared from the plateau at the top, and the salmonberry bushes were flowering. We saw one fresh bear scat, and several turkey vultures soaring above us, but no other wildlife. Great views of the Fraser Valley from the top 1 2
BC witness Posted May 31, 2021 Author Posted May 31, 2021 The big white mountain, partly hidden in the cloud cover, is Mt. Baker, about 30 miles SE of us, in Wa. state.
norseman Posted May 31, 2021 Admin Posted May 31, 2021 34 minutes ago, BC witness said: The big white mountain, partly hidden in the cloud cover, is Mt. Baker, about 30 miles SE of us, in Wa. state. I have family in Sedro Woolley. And my old pack partner was from Deming. He passed this year. All right at the base of Mt Baker. I have not spent much time over there. Mt Baker set the world record of annual snow fall. 1140 inches in 98-99. Thats 95 feet or 28.95 meters! https://komonews.com/weather/scotts-weather-blog/the-story-of-how-mt-bakers-world-record-snowfall-22-years-ago-was-verified 1
Catmandoo Posted May 31, 2021 Posted May 31, 2021 (edited) The area around the ski area is pleasant to hike around. The image of Table Mountain and Mazama Ridge was taken years ago, during September. The postcard shows what skiing was like before rope tows and chairlifts. I think that the view is from a spot close to 'Artist Point'. The area below Table Mt. can retain snow into summer. Years ago, there was a report from persons who were at Artist Point and observed a large bipedal animal ascend the snow field from the lake up to Table Mountain at an un-human pace. Their cameras did not have telephoto capability. Edited May 31, 2021 by Catmandoo more text 1 1 2
Popular Post BC witness Posted June 1, 2021 Author Popular Post Posted June 1, 2021 Here's a shot of Mt. Baker taken from my patio at 8:20 this evening, and a little story about my first drive up the mountain back about 1964. Myself, my new bride, and another young newlywed couple made our first trip up Baker in my '49 Ford, at about this time of year. The drive to the resort was interesting, with great scenery, and lots of snow alongside the road at the higher elevations. After a lunch and making snow angels, we started back down the very twisty road, following a green VW beetle. At the 3rd or 4th hairpin turn, the VW hit an icy patch, spun 360 degrees, and punched through the snowbank on the downhill side of the road, disappearing over the edge. The ladies screamed, and I managed to pull over and stop without meeting the same fate. George and I got out and went to the edge of the snowbank to see if we could do anything, while the girls flagged traffic around my car on the narrow road. When we looked down the hill, the VW was sitting in snow up to the windows, having literally flown 20' out and 30' down, without touching the snow in between! As the 2 of us started down the very steep dropoff, we saw 2 people, a young man and woman, emerge from the passenger side window, as the doors were blocked by the snow. We got down to them, determined that there were no real injuries, and we all struggled back up to the roadway in waist deep snow, soaking wet by the time we got there. After all piling into my car, and cranking the heater up, we discussed the plan of action, finally deciding to drive to the base of the mountain to call for a tow truck, and allow the young man to call his Dad to tell him where his VW was. I left them at the service station to wait for the tow, and a ride home to Seattle, while our 2 couples drove back to Surrey, BC, with the heater blasting to dry us out. I've been back there a few times since, including on a Honda Silver Wing, which was great fun on that road in the summer, and always recall that incident on the hairpin turn. 2 4
norseman Posted June 1, 2021 Admin Posted June 1, 2021 Cutting out roads on my wifes parent old place over by Newport today! 1
BC witness Posted June 2, 2021 Author Posted June 2, 2021 Lots of fun! When I scouted a site a few weeks ago that our group camps at several times a year, there were many blowdowns blocking the trail in, most of them 16 to 24" in dia. It'll take a bit of work to clear that out. 1
PNWexplorer Posted June 2, 2021 Posted June 2, 2021 Headed pretty far East in Idaho today with my dad and brother on an ATV ride to check out new elk hunting territory. Went to an area called Jackson Mountain. Some elk sign, but more moose sign, and really fresh wolf sign. And an actual moose. Just a little guy. Temperatures where in the upper 80's and the woods were bone dry. Normally, this area is snowed in until middle of July. Only snow we saw... Some beautiful views out there and could see mountains about 40 miles away... Stopped for lunch at the site of an old lookout cabin and dad showed us his soon to be patented ATV burrito cooker... Only covered 25 miles, but they were good miles. My brother broke in his brand new Yamaha Grizzly 450, dad rode his trusty and ancient 1987 Honda Fourtrax 300, and I rode my 2018 Honda Pioneer 500 UTV. I may trade in the Pioneer on a smaller ATV; they are just so much more nimble and versatile in the woods. I barely was able to follow my dad and brother on some of the trails today. And, no Bigfoot. No tracks, no tree structures, no sightings. In this country, you can see hundreds of square miles of land from a single vantage point. It is the ideal scenario for spotting a Sasquatch a mile away that has no idea you are watching. 1 3
BC witness Posted June 2, 2021 Author Posted June 2, 2021 Looks like a great trip into some very pretty country. Good luck on future hunting trips there.
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