Monday, August 23, 2010

Secret Escape


Just returned from a quick overnight to my new, secret campsite. Man, what a great spot! This is one of the cooler places I've come across. It's too bad I can't post more photos, but I'm afraid they'd give it away, and I just can't let that happen. This place is special. In just over 24 hours I got a great little reboot from city life, and even managed to come back with a new wildlife adventure - read on!

Overnight Gear

One of the main reasons I took this trip was to try out my "new", hand-me-down Gregory day-and-a-half pack. I'm pleased to report that in combo with the waist day-pack I've been using all year, it worked perfectly. A nice, lightweight alternative to a full pack for short trips and/or those with minimal extra-gear (e.g. clothing) needs.


I cruised up to the campground in blistering, 100deg+ heat in the middle of the afternoon, and was stoked to meet my friendly ranger buddy under the shaded trees. I proceeded to have lunch, set up camp, and string up my first-ever bear bag. I was pretty proud of my handiwork:


Exploring the nearby environs, I came across this Western Gray Squirrel, doing what squirrels do best: running down trees head first.

"Because I was inverted"

This is made possible by incredible range-of-motion in their hindlimb joints (I suspect mostly the hips) that allows the back legs to rotate nearly 180deg and give the rear claws grip. Note that this particular squirrel was doing so immediately after leaping about 10' (or 20x its body length) from one tree to another. I think I'd like to be a squirrel for a day.

After a beautiful mountain sunset to the west, I turned around to watch a full moon rise over the trees to the east. The moon would track over my tent throughout the night.


What makes this spot so great is its unique crossroads between the city and the wilderness. You can hear the distant hum of the city, but at the same time the eerie hoots of owls. You can look out over the vast city lights, then up to a starry sky above. Along the trail are masses in spandex and ipods, but after dark when they all retreat to civilization, the wild reclaims its space...

The Wildlife Story

As I fell asleep under the glow of the moon, I heard the owls, what I believe were the squawks of hunting hawks, scattered coyote yips, and harmonic crickets. Soothing nature sounds...

Then at about 1 in the morning I heard the loud clang of a trash can falling over. Uh oh. This could mean only one thing...Ursus americanus. Well, actually it could mean a few things, including Prycyon lotor, an unusually clumsy Odocoileus hemionus, or perhaps most disturbing, a very well coordinated group of Sciurus griseus. The sounds of heavy breathing, slow, methodical movement, and repeated tearing of plastic would, however, confirm the original diagnosis.

All of the sudden being solo in the wilderness lost a bit of its luster. With a hungry bear (lets call him Yogi) about 50 feet away, I started wondering if I'd be wiser to:

a) make some noise in an attempt to scare it away or
b) lie still and hope it didn't notice me

I eventually settled on b), figuring that even if initially scared off, Yogi would return to his tasty dinner, and I'd be better not to draw attention to myself. One thing is for sure:

I was very happy in this moment to have followed strict bear protocol, including hanging of the bag with all food/toiletries/smellys, and a fresh pair of sleeping clothes. I was not happy, however, about a sudden, imminent bladder urgency.

Unfortunately, leaving the tent was not an option.

Bear's-eye view from the trash can

So for the next hour or so I lied there and waited for Yogi to finish up, trying to convince myself that all was well and I should just go to sleep. Right. Eventually the bladder would no longer take no for an answer, and I was forced into action. The tent door was quietly opened, the water bottle inside my tent emptied, the tent door closed, and the bladder relieved.

Apparently this little noise was enough to get Yogi moving along (or he was done with dinner anyhow), as the foraging sounds quickly stopped. I took a deep breath, started my way back to sleep, and about 20min later watched as a very large shadow came by in the moonlight, took a quick sniff around the tent, and went along its way...

In the morning I found this:

Pretty tidy work, I must say, for a bear

Meal Ready-to-Eat..."Agreed," said the bear

A quick note to the Boy Scouts of America (who visited the night before):

Is there a section in your handbook about how to dispose of food scraps/trash properly, as to not get mauled by a bear? Please read it. Thank you.

The ranger told me in the morning that the bear's a regular - a goodly sized, 400lb regular. Oh yeah. In a way it's actually pretty cool to have shared the campground with this magnificent creature, and part of me wishes I'd gotten a better glimpse, but I can't say either sentiment was at the forefront of my mind in the moment. Did I mention how happy I am to have strictly followed bear protocol?

The rest of the day was great. I took a little hike down into a nearby canyon, where I found this babbling brook surrounded by green plants, butterflies, and nice boulders to sit on:


...and on the way out, I spotted this albino hawk soaring overhead:


The rattlesnakes were kind enough to continue their observance of The Pact, though I did note evidence of their presence:

Note distinctive serpentine track

What can I say? Another great outdoor adventure. Until next time, Aloha!

2 comments:

  1. A bear. Sweet! The bear bag was definitely a win. I wonder, though, that if elevating smelly and aromatic scraps high up into the canopy where the wind doth blow, helps to scatter the smell for miles. No other alternative though. Well done with the bear protocol, disaster avoided.

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  2. George would love to have a copy of the pic of the albino hawk to use for Desert museum work!
    gcarpenter@desertmuseum.org
    Leslie

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