An Old Farts Outdoor Thread

[Mark1T]

Mountain Man, thanks for the ice-fishing tips, although I will never experience it down here I would love to up there, though.

Here is a great trail-cam shot of the Fox running. Pretty thing. It is a trail cam, so it is a little pixelated.

[paulinkansas]

So, I guess the question is, what the heck do you shoot tranquilizer darts with? You have Lions up there? Bears? Mountain Lions?

The owner of the high fence exotic game ranch shoots his animals every now and then to give them a physical examination while they are unconscious. Checks the teeth, eyes, ears, hooves and takes a blood sample to check for parasites. All the animals are 4 legged herbivores from places far away. He charges $1500 to harvest a ram, and there is a taxidermist about 5 miles away.

The guy that took me dove hunting out there got a water buffalo last year at the preserve. It died in a pond. He had to wade in there with some logging chains and pull it out with a tractor. It weighed 800 pounds.

The guy is a refinery contractor. His company pays him to guide his companies clients from Louisiana for trophy deer hunts here in Kansas on private land. It's not a high fence thing. His company puts up the clients in my rental houses while they are here for the hunt. The guy just hands me a company credit card and says "charge whatever you want". The company probably does $500,000,000 of work a year.

[Mark1T]

Paul, that answered my questions, lol. Very good use of land in a very respectful way.

Nice to hear and see.

[OldFartTom]

"Interesting" Saturday outdoors had a quick a easy trip somewhere, a LOT of driving but the outdoors bit easy. Not going to share too much detail so as not to embarrass anyone involved. I'm happy just wandering about relaxed on my own in that location. It's not "extreme" or any cause for concern, or anywhere I'd expect trouble

Went with 2 other people. 1 guy very experienced in a variety of different stuff, very resourceful - I have total confidence he can look after himself no matter what. He's the kind of guy no matter what happens, zombie apocalypse, flash flood, he'll survive and do so in control.

The other guy is a top bloke but less experienced and a bit out of shape. Relevant to the story... he weighs 115kg and I weigh 76kg, he's a big guy and >=1.5 times me. So when I'm away with others, less so the experienced guy, but I have to think, if this person is in trouble here how do I rescue them, if that happens there what do I do, etc.

We got down some entrance shaft, it wasn't anything dramatic but it was about a bit more than 60m or 65m (190ft) vertical drop in that section but due to the layout the top 1/3rd was a different section and easier, like easy mountaineering really, and the lower 2/3rds was just free hanging rope. So viewed bottom of that section up, to get out there's 20m or so vertical to underside of a huge block of rock (rope clips to bolt) and it then goes up in another 25m or so again hanging in free space to some solid anchor bolts on a ledge.

When we got down the area I described, my spider senses were tingling, I somehow knew it wasn't going to be an easy trip and I managed to tell my trusted buddy to leave a rope in a bag on that ledge, which we needed for continuing so that would Fk up continuing the trip to our aim, it was an odd request but we'd rock climbed together and trust each other so he knew something must be going on and left a rope there.

The other guy, a very good bloke and a fighter survivor too, his knee and hip decides they're going to stop working. No idea I'm not a doctor I just know this guy is suddenly unable to do anything strenuous, I think there must have been a hint before that set off the spider senses but it was unexpected and sudden.

It's no longer a leisure trip, it's a rescue. My (mobile) buddy went up the first 20m past the bolt and up the next 25m. He's pretty strong and agile and could climb rope in his sleep so very fast he's up to the ledge. Meanwhile I need to haul 115kg up to that halfway bolt and I'm only 76kg. To make it way worse it's a hanging stance, I'm dangling on the rope underneath the block 20m above the "casualty" so nothing to stand on. My buddy lowered down the spare rope to make my life easier (possible without the extra rope, but I wanted anything that might be of help)

Wow, I'd not had to rescue haul in a hanging position like that before, it is 10x harder than if you can stand on a ledge. I got him up that first 20m and I was exhausted. I climbed up the next 25m and setup a haul from there, wow I was feeling it! My buddy took over for that next 25 up to that ledge. This ledge was open to the outside another 20m above us and it had started to snow heavily and the snow was making it's way down to us, yes it'd gone dark too so no natural light.

You know people workout to failure and say I couldn't do another rep. Well on the way out I'd exercised so hard I had things like a arms completely stop working and the biceps start to cramp. More left than right but a bit of both. So I'd have to stop and stretch the muscle and pummel it with a fist and shake the arm to get another 5 minutes use out if it, then the other arm might do the same a minute later. Repeat that process every 5 or 10 minutes. Lots of work to keep getting the arms working. Now THAT'S working muscles to failure!

We all got out to find the car stuck in snow! (Snow not that deep, but steep slopes and it's front wheel drive with non chunky tires) and it was a long long journey home. Finally got to a nearby pub 15 minutes before closing time, we were planning to be there about 5 hours earlier! Didn't get home until 04:30.

That was a good arm workout! Still feel it now. Gym might not be the same as "real" exercise (like working on a farm type exercise) but it saved my azz on Saturday for sure!

[mtpockets]

Hey Tom, I enjoyed the story, keep them coming. Your buddy picked the right people to go with. Hope it's a speedy recovery for him.



Did some biking/hiking yesterday and had a great lunch in the bush (bear sausage and baked potato's over the fire)



Spent most of today walking the ridges and marking waypoints for Chaga that I found, some I will harvest this winter and some in the coming years. It's best harvested when the sap isn't moving for top quality.


Here’s a little info on Chaga for those who are unaware. It’s a Mushroom that grows on certain trees in colder climates, mostly on Birch and that’s the only trees that I harvest it from.

It's not found on every tree either, you may look at 100's trees without seeing any, it can be small or quite large so bring a sammich if you are going Chaga hunting.


It’s an antioxidant that has been used forever by indigenous people for its health benefits and to treat some conditions. Some of you may have heard of Chaga tea that is sold in health food stores, it’s pricey stuff. I have never purchased any so I don’t know what it looks like, but this is what it looks like growing. Kind of like a lump of bear sh!t on a tree.








When you break it open it’s a light brown in color, don’t throw away the black stuff though, it may not look appealing but that’s loaded with the good stuff









Don’t just gnaw on a hunk of it though, it needs hot water or alcohol to make the magic happen. I break off a small chunk and make a tea out of it. It’s pretty good, I have given it to many people and no one spit it out yet.

Enjoy your day peeps.

[mtpockets]

Good day Outdoor people.

This is the first time the lake behind my place has seen ice since last May.







We got 1.5 inches of wet snow last night and with some mild temps and rain in the forecast in the next couple of days, I don’t expect the ice to make it. Only 24 days until the trout fishing opener and I can’t wait to get on that hard water and pierce some lips.

If Mother nature is kind enough to give us ice before that I will be on it targeting perch and releasing any Trout that I catch. I am a catch and release guy anyway. I keep a few meals and release everything else, especially the bigger fish.








It was a pretty hike this morning, didn’t see much wildlife or wildlife signs but I think most of the snow came down in the early morning hours. The birds were active, here’s a video clip of a chickadee that I talked into coming in to say hello.

https://imgur.com/KrKLoFA

[Mark1T]

Tom, amazing story. You are much more brave then me. I have a problem with heights - not flying, though. I know my limits

MT, great info on the outdoor tea. I would like to try it. Great pic of the ice. Good to see. That is your element. Such beautiful country.

I have a few pics.

This Roadrunner was right in front of my vehicle on the way into my property. They are very naturally camouflaged and blend in perfectly. Even here they are rare to see.



The is Sarg, my next-door neighbor's pooch. He is over 100lbs and can run like the wind. He's a lot of fun and instead of sticks, he likes to run after tree branches, lol.



These are two River Otter that I am going to try and trap in the next couple of weeks. They eat fish and fresh water clams like candy. They have to go.



This is a full-sized Nutria and yes, that is my shoe to show scale. Trapped him.





MT, putting out 4 Conibear 330s today for beaver.

[Gabbar99]

Outdoor, schmoutdoor. Here's a photo taken from my kitchen window in the suburbs:


Also, I put out a trail camera last night. See if I can catch the fluffy fox we've seen.

[Mark1T]

Gab, beautiful backyard.

[mtpockets]

Outdoor, schmoutdoor. Here's a photo taken from my kitchen window in the suburbs:


Also, I put out a trail camera last night. See if I can catch the fluffy fox we've seen.

Very nice Gabbar, I hope that Trail cam gets the shots you are looking for.

This Roadrunner was right in front of my vehicle on the way into my property. They are very naturally camouflaged and blend in perfectly. Even here they are rare to see.

Beep Beep.... Such a cool bird.

The is Sarg, my next-door neighbor's pooch. He is over 100lbs and can run like the wind. He's a lot of fun and instead of sticks, he likes to run after tree branches, lol.

Sarge look muscled up... Beautiful dog.

These are two River Otter that I am going to try and trap in the next couple of weeks. They eat fish and fresh water clams like candy. They have to go.

Cool otter shots, yep, they can do a lot of damage to the fish population. Get those buggers.

I have trapped many Otter in my trapping days and I have had wolves, Coyote and Lynx steal them from my sets for a free meal. Now, this I will never understand, all the carcasses that I didn't eat was used on my trap line bait station, I would throw everything in there, squirrels, birds, wolves, fox, lynx, mink, marten and weasels and Otters, all of those carcasses went into the pile and everything would get cleaned up except the otter carcasses. Absolutely nothing would touch them. They would sit there so long they would mummify lol. Weird.

Good luck cleaning up the otter Mark.

This is a full-sized Nutria and yes, that is my shoe to show scale. Trapped him.

Damn, much bigger than I expected.

MT, putting out 4 Conibear 330s today for beaver.

Well I bet you get some suitcase catches with the 330's. Beavers beware, Mark is slinging steel and he knows how to do it.

[Mark1T]

MT, funny you said nothing went after the Otters I noticed the same thing last year after stalking one down and shooting it and also trapping another.

Even the Buzzards shied away from them for a week, but then went after them. I am guessing it might be because of their oil glands. Different than beaver.

Anyway, good to have a buddy who also knows what a conibear trap is

BTW, I set three traps for beaver today and used some castor oil for bait. We will see.

[steffo99]

This is a full-sized Nutria and yes, that is my shoe to show scale. Trapped him.



MT, putting out 4 Conibear 330s today for beaver.

Nice views, guys. Mark, I was wondering what that thing was. Here is a guy catching and cooking one - have you tried eating some? Lol.

[Mark1T]

steffonopolus, I have not tried eating one of those things, but next one I am shipping to MT

After I trap these beavers, I might use some apples to get more Nutria.

[weiss1967]

people do eat nutria in places where I grew up. I never had a chance, next closest thing I ate was gophers. Shot quite a few one day, and it was time to prove hunting ethics to my son, you eat what you kill. Was good actually.

[Gabbar99]

people do eat nutria in places where I grew up. I never had a chance, next closest thing I ate was gophers. Shot quite a few one day, and it was time to prove hunting ethics to my son, you eat what you kill. Was good actually.

In Belize they eat a big water rodent called a gibnut. It's everybody's favorite food. It's quite tasty. They also eat armadillo. I had armadillo once at an expensive restaurant. It's okay, kinda pork-like. A friend from there came up with us in Arkansas for a few months and couldn't believe armadillos were laying all over the roads, "like crabs" he said.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road?

A: To show the armadillo it could be done.

Armadillos have two defenses: did down into the ground, or jump out to bumper height. Neither work well on a highway.

In Pennsylvania now, seems groundhogs are not much better.

[Mark1T]

people do eat nutria in places where I grew up. I never had a chance, next closest thing I ate was gophers. Shot quite a few one day, and it was time to prove hunting ethics to my son, you eat what you kill. Was good actually.

I suspect Nutria tastes similar to Gopher, but I would need three tequila shots to make sure.

[OldFartTom]

OK, it's not a Gopher or a nutria, but did you guys ever see that research on Prairie dog language. I was ******* astonished, I had no idea. As far as I know this is legitimate and they have a complex language in sentences with nouns and verbs, seriously...

[Gabbar99]

OK, it's not a Gopher or a nutria, but did you guys ever see that research on Prairie dog language. I was ******* astonished, I had no idea. As far as I know this is legitimate and they have a complex language in sentences with nouns and verbs, seriously...

Cool. I've translated the call of one of those prairie dogs:

TAKE ME DOWN TO THE PRAIRIE DOG CITY
WHERE THE GRASS IS GREEN AND THE GIRLS ARE PRETTY
OH WON'T YOU PLEASE TAKE ME HOME

[Mark1T]

Tom, very interesting. I have been wanting to learn a new language and why not Prairie Dog? How many people know that?

[mtpockets]

Anyone know of a host that has bbcode for embedding mp4 to this site?

Imgur mp4 embedding doesn't show up so I am guessing this site isn't allowing it.

[mtpockets]

Pull up a stump and have a helping of this, I'll tell you what it is after you're done licking your plate.

[tripod29]

I'll be heading to a tree stand in a few hours for a late season bow hunt. Srs, vry srs.

[Mark1T]

Pull up a stump and have a helping of this, I'll tell you what it is after you're done licking your plate.

Nothing better than a bowl of Bear Stew

[mtpockets]

I'll be heading to a tree stand in a few hours for a late season bow hunt. Srs, vry srs.

Most excellent, I hope that you have a wonderful sit.

Enjoy my friend, that's a great way to spend time.

Nothing better than a bowl of Bear Stew

LMAO, das it

[Gabbar99]

In Belize they eat a big water rodent called a gibnut.

Worked with a national park there for a number of years. One year, 15 years ago, we put out old film trail cameras. Slow trigger so we got the back of a lot of things. Here's a shot we got of a gibnut:



This is an internet photo of one:



Also got armadillo, agouti, curassow (a big ground bird), otter, anteater, maybe tapir (sorta see back of one), and this pretty kitty:

[mtpockets]

[Mark1T]

I have been frantically searching for a Gibnut recipe. First time Google failed me

This is how MT killed his last Bear. He don't play:

https://twitter.com/Culture_Crit/sta...04608065908862

[mtpockets]

I have been frantically searching for a Gibnut recipe. First time Google failed me

This is how MT killed his last Bear. He don't play:

https://twitter.com/Culture_Crit/sta...04608065908862

LMAO Mark............




Over the years I have slammed a ton of beaver meat down my neck and still eat it often. It's one of the finer cuts of meat and ranks right up there not far behind Moose (my favorite) as far as I am concerned. If you put deer meat and beaver on two plates, I would choose the beaver plate every time. I would most likely take it over any domestic meats.




Here is a video I stumbled up that is pretty close to the way that I butcher a beaver in case anyone is interested. It's a fine cut of meat..

[mtpockets]

We were on a 2 week fly in fishing trip, after we set up camp we noticed a pair of eagles had a nest about 300 yards away. The area was fairly barren, I would keep a fish carcass and bring it to the area for them. At first it would wait until I dropped the fish and left before it would grab it, eventually when we would get back in camp for the day it would fly to a tree closer to the camp, call and wait for the carcass. By the end of the trip it would fly down to this rock near camp and wait. I actually fed it by hand on the last day but my buddy accidentally turned the video camera off and missed the video. Magnificent bird.

[Gabbar99]

I have been frantically searching for a Gibnut recipe. First time Google failed me

Here's one: