wiiawiwb Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 My preference is to go out for a weekend. I would love to go out for a longer period of time but that's not always possible. In the end, my typical soiree is an overnight. I will leave early on the morning and my research areas are ~ an hour from where I live. I'll backpack in and be at my designed spot by noon, or so. Then it's time to get my tent up, camp ready, and find wood; lots of wood. Once that's done I poke around streams and creeks for footprints, broken limbs, depressed grass, or any other sign that something has been through the area. I'll set up a trail cam, put out some apples, maybe hang a glittering cd from a tree limb, and get my surroundings ready for the night. When evening begins to fall, a fire is crackling and I'll stay with the fire for a little while hoping to experience the proverbial rock throwing. I'll let the fire wane and out comes the thermal to see if the flames have attracted anything in the surrounding woods. At this point I will normally do a single wood knock. No repeat knocking...one and done. My eyesight is normal but my hearing is legendary and I'll move away from camp and just listen. The kind of listening where you close your eyes and focus on all the sounds around you. A faint twig snap, a bird moving from the nest, crickets, a mouse, a chipmunk, an owl, and more. I'll stay up until midnight then head for the tent. Sleep is out of the question as I want to hear everything the woods have to offer. I will usually stay up for hours listening and occasionally poking my thermal out of the tent. The next morning, I'll get up and break camp. The backpack to my car is usually slow and I'll poke around looking for more signs of movement off-trail. During my drive home, I'll analyze what I did, what I should have done, and what I'll try next time. There's is always the lure of next time. Can't wait for next time. To get back out and explore and experience. It never fails to stimulate all of the senses and makes me feel alive and fully aware. Srping can't come soon enough for me. How about you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHawk454 Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 I’m jealous. Rocky Mountains have like a minimum 16” of snow. I don’t mind negative degreee tentncamping but i can’t stand that much snow. Are you doing this in the south? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiiawiwb Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 I've always believed that in winter sasquatches will move to warmer areas whether that means lower altitude or a form of mini-migration. I do not venture out in the bone-numbing, cold months of winter because I don't believe it will be productive. I'm geared up to do so with a hot tent and woodstove but save my energy for Spring. I'm always game to go out for a day hike in the snow looking for tracks but that's about it this time of year. Come April, the overnights begin in earnest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiflier Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 The earlier the better. I have always been of the mind that Sasquatches do die and perhaps not everyone gets found dragged of by others to be buried, hidden or eaten. Winter can be harsh and the weak may not survive due to several factors: unintended/unattended injuries, not being in good shape to forage or run down food or just plain old age. Nature will make quick work of the carcass and even bones will disappear fro various processes including being simply covered by forest duff and detritus by the following Summer or Autumn. Spring time is reasonably the best time to look for dead ones or at least the bones from one. In this case overnights are good just to have a base to remain in an area in order to conduct daytime searches. Sasquatches can die anytime of course but late Winter/early Spring may be the best chance to fine one somewhat intact? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntster Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 The longer my outdoor adventures, the better. So far, my longest trips have been @ three weeks. As you've noticed, the longer you stay out, the more you get out of your investment of time, effort, and investment. I've always wanted to go into a very remote setting and stay for the 40 days and 40 nights of biblical reference, just to be able to say that I did so. Staying in a cabin or rv wouldn't count. It would have to be tented or natural shelter, like a cave. So far, my favorite longer term outdoor adventure has been a week (6 days) camped solo on a frozen lake ice fishing, even though I ended up very sick and bed ridden nearly the entire time. Temps dropped well below zero at night. I felt a noticable sense of accomplishment not only surviving the adventure, but even still catching a couple nice burbot, doing it all with no significant fear or worry, and being in relative comfort the whole time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison5716 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) Wii, your overnight plan sounds solid. The longest I've been out was six weeks car camping in the Maine woods (outside Augusta/Belfast/Ellsworth/Bangor) alternated with a Wal-Mart parking lot every third night, but we were homeless and I didn't believe in Bigfoot then and my focus was on survival, not research. Never experienced anything, regardless. Might be fun to car camp way out there for a few days with a new focus. I love camping. I go out during the day. I'm having tremendous success in winter here in Oregon. My friend likes to go out at night for walks. He keeps asking. I've only gone once and it freaked me out, lol! Edited February 8, 2019 by Madison5716 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted February 8, 2019 BFF Patron Share Posted February 8, 2019 With former active areas relatively close in, I had no need to camp. However those areas have gone inactive due to logging and likely my presence so I need to incorporate camping because of the distances involved to go out further and get in adequate field time. I doubt that I will change methodology and primarily look around in the daytime. I would just as soon not have nighttime visitors when I am solo camping. I have avoided weekend field work because it has been evident that if there is much human activity, there is no BF activity in the daytime. The days where things have happened I never see another human. Of course being retired makes that possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWind Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I too am looking forward to getting out for a few days when it warms up. I live in Oregon. Locally a few times here in the Cascades, and then later this summer up to Mt. Hood area for a few days. I will couple squatching with a bit of treasure hunting that I like to do every year, as there is supposed to be some lost gold buried in that area. Mainly, it's an excuse for me to get out into the woods for a couple of days. 😁 I have a couple of new ideas I want to try this year regarding squatching. One thing is that I want to see if pointing a "dark" trail cam at a mirror so the "eye" is not pointed directly at the area I am interested in. I have a piece of front surface mirror in hopes that will minimize distortion of any images I might catch. If funds allow, I may set up another one in a similar manner so that it can watch the other camera in case something messes with it. Has anyone tried this or heard about it? It may have been discussed here before, but I haven't seen it because I am relatively new here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted February 8, 2019 BFF Patron Share Posted February 8, 2019 I have thought about using a half silvered mirror box and simply putting a camera in it. Another thing that has been discussed is deploying a ring of game cameras so that approaching one a BF would be in sight of another. Or walking through the ring would be observable from at least one camera. With all the new hidden camera things you could just have cameras planted in the clutter around camp. I would guess that most of human gadgets are a mystery to BF. But they seem to have issues with cameras. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthWind Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Yes, they do seem to have issues with them. So, I would like to know what it is about a camera that is disturbing to them. Is it the "eye"? Is it the smell? The IR lights? Something else? Perhaps if we could get that figured out, a person could get images of one of these grand beings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWWASAS Posted February 8, 2019 BFF Patron Share Posted February 8, 2019 I think they can see into the IR range. So IR flashes are disturbing to them. That is just a theory. I have advocated for someone having frequent interaction with BF to conduct experiments to see of they see an IR illuminator. It could be a simple as an IR beam between two trees that when interrupted makes something happen. If they avoid breaking the beam that means that they see it. It could be that like their eyes, they understand a lens on camera is seeing them. It would not take a knowledge of photography to come to that conclusion. All theory and conjecture. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NathanFooter Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I lived out of my Honda CRV for about 6 months, I was researching almost full time ( 5 days a week at the base camp ). This time frame was including the last few weeks of the Falcon Project ground team assembly. I stayed in a single area and I did have 3 significant events place over that time frame. I experienced 2 camp approaches and one approach by a subject as I was exploring an area about a mile from the camp. My normal daily routine starts out with coffee and breakfast, I then like to get out and walk the camp perimeter looking for any sign of disturbance ( I walk about 80 yards out from the camp and do a circle for about an hour and a half. I then like to go out and walk the logging roads just outside of camp to evaluate the banks and softer areas for prints, I do this about another hour and a half. I get back to camp and gloss over my maps to try and figure out what sector I want to cover that day ( this can be subject to change based on any noted wildlife activity that may have taken place the evening prior ), after I review and decide I go through my gear list, outfit my daypack and head out. When I arrive I focus on looking at the terrain, I like to find a contour of relief and follow it from the top. I try to make note of any game trails, sign or potential food sources along my way, I always look for areas of soft ground in the attempt of locating prints. I will do this activity throughout the rest of the day up until the last 2 hours of daylight. When I leave a sector I like to make a load of noise and disturb the area in the hope that a subject follows me back to the camp. When I arrive back at my camp I turn on my audio recorder, start another pot of coffee and begin collecting wood. I break the wood up into sections over the next hour or so, I then start a small fire and get food on the grill as it gets dark. I never use white lights in my camp, this is very off-putting for an observer trying to remain hidden. After I have eaten I then get my FLIR Vue running, I set it up pointing at any location that I believe has a high probability of approach ( I evaluate the high ground, the cover density and natural escape routes before dark ). I will sit in camp until about 11:00 pm and then I get up and walk about a mile of the logging roads for about another hour, I like to bang random objects on trees as I complete my walk ( such as a pan or piece of metal ) in the hope that the sound is interesting enough or obnoxious enough to provoke a response or escort. I make my way back to camp and when I arrive I sit and listen intently for about 15 minutes, after this I make a big loud scene about going to bed. I stay awake another hour listening through my recorder ( I plug in my earbuds and listen to what the recorder is hearing outside the tent or car as I position my external mics on top of my car or tent ). If nothing happens I go to sleep until about 6:40 am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiflier Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 (edited) Just a reminder to everyone that a FLIR is a 24 hour device that "sees" just as well in the daytime as at night. But if days are warm there will be less of a temperature difference and that's why night time use is better. Warm objects at night will contrast better with the cooler surroundings but unless it is a hot summer day temperature differences in the other three seasons can be different enough to easily show a living creature. That's why thermal imagers are not like night vision devices and so can be used anytime day or night. Edited February 8, 2019 by hiflier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NathanFooter Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 I do occasionally change this strategy, I do a fair amount of daytime driving to checkout larger areas especially when snow drops. I now am out about 3 days a week in the field, if I had the funding I would be out for much longer periods of time but there is no money in the exploration of this subject it appears. Maybe someday. 🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted February 10, 2019 Admin Share Posted February 10, 2019 I often times go for a 2 week pack trip. I strike as far back into The backcountry as I can go. With central Idaho and Western Montana my two favorite places. Sometimes 60 or more miles from the pickup and horse trailer. My usually companions are 3 mules and a dog. I plan on doing some more Cascade and Olympic incursions in the future. I also need to figure out a more comfortable sleeping arrangement as I get older. Sleeping on the ground under a tarp no longer cuts it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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