An Old Farts Outdoor Thread

[mtpockets]

I know that there are a bunch of us that are/were active in the great outdoors. Hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, camping, water sports, photography and the list goes on.

If it’s something done outside, it’s fair game and post worthy.

So burp that sh!t up



I’ll start with a shot of Last nights Beaver Moon and a story from many many Moons ago. Not the best shot, it was hazy with a light cloud cover.









This moon has a special meaning to me and brings back memories, of the “Beaver Moon” in 1978, I was setting guide poles in ponds getting ready for beaver trapping season. We had quite a bit of snow but the lakes and ponds were still open and I was using a canoe to get the job done. While pushing a pole into the mud in about 6 feet of water one broke and I went over the canoe and into the water.

This was December in the North so it wasn’t a day at the spa, Luckily the gasp reflex didn’t hit until my head was above the water or I wouldn’t be here today.

For those who don’t know cold water immersion can trigger involuntary gasping, it’s a real thing and many drown from this annually.

I was able to swim a few yards towards shore but it was difficult with my gear soaked and heavy, luckily I reached a depth where I could walk to shore and by this time the cold water was taking a toll. Once on shore I began to strip hoping to reach a dry layer of something, no such luck.

My trapping partner already started a fire and was stripping to get something for me to dry off and give me a layer. Being so close to the beaver house there was a ton of wood and he got that fire ripping and I danced around it buck ass naked trying to dry off and find warmth.

Eventually, I dried off enough to start putting some clothes on but we weren’t out of the woods yet (Literally)

We were about 26 miles from the Cabin and 30 miles from the truck and we were both on snowmobiles. (12 hp Elans) They were slow, small and tippy. (not my pic)



The truck and cabin was opposite directions and the cabin to town was around 100 miles and it wasn’t an interstate, there were washouts, lots of mud and downed trees. A slow ride that would probably take 5 or more hours if we didn’t get stuck.

A decision had to be made as to which direction to go. I chose the cabin knowing it was a gamble because if Hypothermia worsened much more I would be in a world of hurt, but I knew the truck heater wouldn’t get the job done. The only way out was by snowmobile and truck and that was many hours away. A gamble I was willing to take to hug that wood stove lol.

By the time we got to the cabin I was in rough shape, exhausted, shivering like a motherfukker, slurred speech, confused etc…

We kept the stove roaring with a tub of water on it and put towels and clothes in it to soak, I would put the hot clothes on in hopes of fighting hypothermia. Eventually, after doing this all night and part of the next day, I stopped shivering, the confusion and slurred speech went away and I was on the mend.

A lot of stars were lined up that day after the dunk to keep me alive but the one crucial thing that I consider the most important one was a cotton ball.

I always carried a 35mm container with some cotton balls, Vaseline and a few matches. It was a tip given to me by an Eskimo elder. I never left home without it and even today, you will find pill bottles with these items in all my packs and clothes. You only need to dip half the ball in Vaseline, the dry part of the ball will take any flame or even a spark, the Vaseline will keep it going for a few minutes.


We just had a foot of wet snow and everything was soaked. My partner and I were both quite capable of starting a fire in pretty much any conditions but it may take longer in some instances. These cotton balls took that aspect out of the equation and instant flame.

In the situation that we were in, minutes or even seconds can mean the difference between life and death and in this case I think it actually did.

This was in an era when no communication devices were available so we were on our own, had it happened today, I have a satellite device and can text from or send out an SOS for an evacuation. Something I would have done in a heartbeat had it been available back then.

Since then I have taken many Polar plunges (for fun of course) and none of them can hold a candle to the cold I felt on those couple of days in 78 lol

Cotton balls and Vaseline people. It’s a life saver

I am sure almost all of you have cotton balls and Vaseline at home, try it, you’ll see how fast it works.

It's a beauty day here about 10F with a bit of snow and it's time to hit the trail for a hike.

Have a great day, I hope you all get a chance to get outdoors and if you get a chance, pop a story or pic in here for us old farts to have a look at.

[Mark1T]

Mountain Man Pockets, incredible story. I read every word. Subscribed.

I have a story, but it's nothing like that. Might take me a while to write it all down.

[steffo99]

Going on a little trip saturday and sunday, so will post up some animal pics after that.

[Karl_Hungus]

Can confirm: Involuntary cold-water immersion is not nearly as fun as it sounds. When I was a teenager, I, along with my brother and two friends were walking near a large creek a couple of miles near my friend's house. He lived out in the boonies in MT. We were at the beginning of a cold snap and it was about -5 degrees outside. We came across a clear patch of snow and decided to cross. Unfortunately for us, the snow was covering a thin layer of ice where the creek had formed a small (and deep) inlet. Three of the four of us fell through -- and can confirm the gasp reflex. The thing I remember most though was taking a deep breath and being unable to exhale....I could barely even make a sound because the air was trapped and I couldn't expel it. I was trying to pull myself up on the ice but it just kept breaking off as soon as I would put any weight on it. Luckily the friend who didn't fall in was able to pull us all out.

It was very cold out and we had a good two-mile hike to make it back to his house. We managed to avoid severe hypothermia but by the time we got back all of my clothes were pretty much frozen solid. Spent the rest of the evening by the fireplace.

[IronCharles]

I was able to drive down to the mailbox today. I also threw the now empty garbage can in the back of the truck. Drove all the way back up to the house without incident. Didn't even lose a flip flop getting down out of the truck, as has been known to happen on occasion.

[Karl_Hungus]

I was able to drive down to the mailbox today. I also threw the now empty garbage can in the back of the truck. Drove all the way back up to the house without incident. Didn't even lose a flip flop getting down out of the truck, as has been known to happen on occasion.

I've never done any of that, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once.

[mtpockets]

I was able to drive down to the mailbox today. I also threw the now empty garbage can in the back of the truck. Drove all the way back up to the house without incident. Didn't even lose a flip flop getting down out of the truck, as has been known to happen on occasion.

ha ha Charles.

Can confirm: Involuntary cold-water immersion is not nearly as fun as it sounds. When I was a teenager, I, along with my brother and two friends were walking near a large creek a couple of miles near my friend's house. He lived out in the boonies in MT. We were at the beginning of a cold snap and it was about -5 degrees outside. We came across a clear patch of snow and decided to cross. Unfortunately for us, the snow was covering a thin layer of ice where the creek had formed a small (and deep) inlet. Three of the four of us fell through -- and can confirm the gasp reflex. The thing I remember most though was taking a deep breath and being unable to exhale....I could barely even make a sound because the air was trapped and I couldn't expel it. I was trying to pull myself up on the ice but it just kept breaking off as soon as I would put any weight on it. Luckily the friend who didn't fall in was able to pull us all out.

It was very cold out and we had a good two-mile hike to make it back to his house. We managed to avoid severe hypothermia but by the time we got back all of my clothes were pretty much frozen solid. Spent the rest of the evening by the fireplace.

Damn Karl, you jumped the shark on that one, a very close call. There's no cold like it is there? Glad you made it out. It could have been real bad if you all went in. Snow is a major insulator and can hide and keep ice thin.

Going on a little trip saturday and sunday, so will post up some animal pics after that.

Awesome Steffo, can't wait to see them.Hvae a great time.

Mountain Man Pockets, incredible story. I read every word. Subscribed.

I have a story, but it's nothing like that. Might take me a while to write it all down.

We got all the time in the world, look forward to it Mark..



A shot from the trail behind my place on a hike today.

[Karl_Hungus]

ha ha Charles.



Damn Karl, you jumped the shark on that one, a very close call. It could have been real bad if you all went in. Snow is a major insulator and can hide and keep ice thin.

I was actually lucky that my head didn't go under the water, otherwise I would have been hypothermic in minutes. We were definitely fooled by the snow. I thought we were walking on a bare patch of land covered in snow...had no idea we were even on ice. Lesson learned there.

[IronCharles]

ha ha Charles.

However, after that exciting journey to the highway in the truck, my tractor decided to break down in the middle of the road. So I had to hike back to the house, get the truck, and pull the tractor over to the side. Hopefully I will be able to fix it myself in the freezing weather with simple tools... otherwise, I'm going to have to call a guy, and it won't be cheap.

[OldFartTom]

Nothing as exciting as MT's story and sadly I don't get out much these days (family pressures) but I *have* to have a mini adventure now and again. Generally they are climbing (not at any particular difficult level), exploring old mines - I love that, or a tiny bit of caving. Usually with others, but about half the time as solo trips... I really need to get back into scuba and mountaineering again, just so short of time.

Last caving trip I went on was a while ago, it was a solo trip.. the caving I've done tend to be "vertical caving" so lots of rappelling down stuff, climbing up stuff as well as walking/crawling/squeezing on the horizontal, last trip had 60 foot vertical section at start but top of that was a squeeze, which is easy to rappel in as gravity helps but a nightmare climbing back out. By chance I met 2 German cavers at entrance, they travelled all that way!!! I got there first by 5 minutes, but we needed to coordinate ropes etc so as not to disrupt each other so we joined together - that solo trip became a sociable trip here's a link to a pic taken by one of the Germans, it's the UK's highest unbroken waterfall, you can only see the bottom half of the waterfall. If you look at the bottom left corner of the pic that person using a powerful light to illuminate the shot is me https://imgur.com/a/wYyx5jB

I occasionally explore abandoned mines (a lot of hazards to manage! And in old lead mines that is dangerous territory!) sometimes solo sometimes with others, here's an old pic of my son in an underground slate quarry in Wales with me, we are deep down and it's a good couple of hours to get back out from this point https://imgur.com/a/J54TSQw

I have a trip planned for a mini adventure this Saturday (not told wife yet, she doesn't approve) with 3 other people.

I just can't understand how people can live life without doing something adventurous occasionally, if I didn't at least walk outdoors some time I'd feel like I was rotting inside. You've got to appreciate nature!

Edit: the weights and running etc I do, is to keep a base level of strength and fitness so I don't die on any solo adventures, sorry if weights being a close second priority offends anyone here

Edit2, sometimes I just do blatantly stupid stuff for fun, like finding mountain railways and racing down the tracks on homemade go carts to see what time we can do the run. Here's on from this summer where I went with an old buddy to the Isle of Man (between UK and Ireland but it's not part of the UK) and we timed how fast we could descend Snaefell railway (12 minutes) at first sunrise before any trains could be on the line, the video speed has not been altered, watching it you might not be impressed but sitting on homemade rail carts it felt really fast!! Very strong wind, sorry about the wind noise

[Mark1T]

I was able to drive down to the mailbox today. I also threw the now empty garbage can in the back of the truck. Drove all the way back up to the house without incident. Didn't even lose a flip flop getting down out of the truck, as has been known to happen on occasion.

Fantasy for me. Admiring. Your story is amazing, too. Most people don't survive from what happened to you. Good thing you were and are strong.

Can confirm: Involuntary cold-water immersion is not nearly as fun as it sounds. When I was a teenager, I, along with my brother and two friends were walking near a large creek a couple of miles near my friend's house. He lived out in the boonies in MT. We were at the beginning of a cold snap and it was about -5 degrees outside. We came across a clear patch of snow and decided to cross. Unfortunately for us, the snow was covering a thin layer of ice where the creek had formed a small (and deep) inlet. Three of the four of us fell through -- and can confirm the gasp reflex. The thing I remember most though was taking a deep breath and being unable to exhale....I could barely even make a sound because the air was trapped and I couldn't expel it. I was trying to pull myself up on the ice but it just kept breaking off as soon as I would put any weight on it. Luckily the friend who didn't fall in was able to pull us all out.

It was very cold out and we had a good two-mile hike to make it back to his house. We managed to avoid severe hypothermia but by the time we got back all of my clothes were pretty much frozen solid. Spent the rest of the evening by the fireplace.

Karl, that is one of my fears. I would love to ice fish, like our resident Mountain Man, but the fear of some man-eating berserk Musky acting as a tor**** right under me to break three feet of ice is what nightmares are made of. Glad you made it

However, after that exciting journey to the highway in the truck, my tractor decided to break down in the middle of the road. So I had to hike back to the house, get the truck, and pull the tractor over to the side. Hopefully I will be able to fix it myself in the freezing weather with simple tools... otherwise, I'm going to have to call a guy, and it won't be cheap.

LOL. Breaking down in any vehicle on the highway is another nightmare. But, a tractor? People down here get pissed if you just look at them wrong. Hope you can fix it.

Nothing as exciting as MT's story and sadly I don't get out much these days (family pressures) but I *have* to have a mini adventure now and again. Generally they are climbing (not at any particular difficult level), exploring old mines - I love that, or a tiny bit of caving. Usually with others, but about half the time as solo trips... I really need to get back into scuba and mountaineering again, just so short of time.

Last caving trip I went on was a while ago, it was a solo trip.. the caving I've done tend to be "vertical caving" so lots of rappelling down stuff, climbing up stuff as well as walking/crawling/squeezing on the horizontal, last trip had 60 foot vertical section at start but top of that was a squeeze, which is easy to rappel in as gravity helps but a nightmare climbing back out. By chance I met 2 German cavers at entrance, they travelled all that way!!! I got there first by 5 minutes, but we needed to coordinate ropes etc so as not to disrupt each other so we joined together - that solo trip became a sociable trip here's a link to a pic taken by one of the Germans, it's the UK's highest unbroken waterfall, you can only see the bottom half of the waterfall. If you look at the bottom left corner of the pic that person using a powerful light to illuminate the shot is me https://imgur.com/a/wYyx5jB

I occasionally explore abandoned mines (a lot of hazards to manage! And in old lead mines that is dangerous territory!) sometimes solo sometimes with others, here's an old pic of my son in an underground slate quarry in Wales with me, we are deep down and it's a good couple of hours to get back out from this point https://imgur.com/a/J54TSQw

I have a trip planned for a mini adventure this Saturday (not told wife yet, she doesn't approve) with 3 other people.

I just can't understand how people can live life without doing something adventurous occasionally, if I didn't at least walk outdoors some time I'd feel like I was rotting inside. You've got to appreciate nature!

Edit: the weights and running etc I do, is to keep a base level of strength and fitness so I don't die on any solo adventures, sorry if weights being a close second priority offends anyone here

Tom, this thread alone is going to have me up at night. I like the idea of caving, but not sure about the danger and risks. I have pretty bad luck and I would be terrified of the rope snapping while I'm hanging 150 feet in the air. But, very cool adventures.

___________________________________

I don't have my story, yet, but this was taken on my trail cam two nights ago. Two young bucks sparring.



This snapshot is blurry because it is a buck running. My buddy and I were wondering why it was running until we got the next snapshot.





The buck was being chased by a coyote.

2 years ago I was on my porch and a massive doe ran in front of me and panting hard. Part of its right rear butt was mangled and red and bleeding. 5 seconds later a big coyote was running after it. The deer stopped to look back and then continued to the lake with the coyote on its heels and the darned doe jumped in the water and swam a quarter mile to safety. Not sure if it survived that big bite. She was bleeding pretty bad.

[OldFartTom]

Lots of repworthy stuff, but everyone here on spread

Mark, yeah sometimes on a rope you are let's say.. conspicuously aware of your mortality and there can be lots of brown-adrenaline in your pants. Oddly I find climbing up free hanging rope to be even more worrying than rappelling down.

2 trips I've found worrying, one was a solo trip in a lead mine, I'd not been there before but I had a 1912 survey of it and a compass. There had been mining until 1950s so it'd changed and some collapsed, so my survey was not current! But I knew from others that it was possible to go in one entrance (air shaft) and come out another (drainage adit) a lot lower down about a mile away. I just had to find the way myself. The entrance involved a rappel in 45 foot then pull the rope down as you need it for further rappels in the mine. When I pulled the rope down and was standing alone in a mine I didn't know, not 100% sure of the route knowing there was a lot of unstable floor above big drops... Let's say I was nervous, pulling down the rope was a really committing feeling.

One you might not like if you are nervous of ropes was a trip I did in 2021, with 2 other cavers who were local to that area, took me through "Titan thru trip". I don't have any pics taken myself, I'd worry any camera will be broken, there is a lot of water!! But here are 3 pics taken by a professional photographer of the start of the route (not our trip, but same route as we were on same location).
First pitch is a 45m (148 ft) mine shaft, not very exciting for photos
The second pitch is a BIG free hanging.one in a giant cavern, here is someone else's photo of a caver going down the second pitch at start of it
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robbie...ream/lightbox/
Then as they descend it
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robbie...ream/lightbox/
Then the third pitch you see a small figure of a caver going down that
https://www.flickr.com/photos/robbie...ream/lightbox/

The thing is that is the start of the adventure, there is hours of "fun" to get out the other end (or reverse the route back up the ropes). Lots of water, lots of crawls. There is one example, a muddy tight crawl that takes ages, it is tight and full of sticky wet mud and is 600m long and named "colostomy crawl" takes a LONG time to get through that one. Deep fast river sections, there is one short crawl that is a dip like the u bend on a toilet and full of water, take a deep breath and crawl under water, you feel like a turd going down the pan that one, also smells really bad as there was a leak at a farm high above and thousands of gallons of cow **** got down into the water, it used to have red wriggling worms in the cloudy water. That sump is called "cows' arse worms" don't swallow any water or you'll get sick. Nice cold water shock as well.

I loved that trip, I have to go back some time!!

Edit: Although I took no camera one of the other guys did so here are 3 pics from it

Me, about to enter down the shaft, which is the first pitch mentioned above
https://imgur.com/a/jtJE3H5

Some cavers put a ladder in one section called the bung. It's narrow at the top a d this is the bottom where it's wide. At the top the water takes up all the space so you need a deep breath and rush the ladder. Look how I'm hunched forwards to make an airspace to breathe in
https://imgur.com/a/Su3yqW5

Colostomy crawl just finished and survived, we're all happy as we've got that behind us
https://imgur.com/a/pyMnW45

[steffo99]

Wanted to contribute so made this important tutorial for you guys.




First time trying this AI - text to vid generator. Just typed 2 sentences and it did the rest.
https://ai.invideo.io/



Edit: This was a bit addicting so.....




Survival 101: Safe Firewood Collection Amidst Wild Beasts and...Clowns?




Wilderness Love: Finding Your Life Partner in the Forest





Deadlifts, Diapers & Cheesecake: A Unique Fitness Guide

[mtpockets]

Wow, there is some awesome reading and pics in here.. Well done Peeps. Keep it coming..

I just got home from a 4 hour hike. Here's a couple of shots from today's hike. Not much was on the move at all, it's been snowing for a couple of days.


I will answer the posts but it may take a minute.

[steffo99]

Beautiful animal shots, pockets. Wish I knew how to get birds that close as well.

[mtpockets]

I was actually lucky that my head didn't go under the water, otherwise I would have been hypothermic in minutes. We were definitely fooled by the snow. I thought we were walking on a bare patch of land covered in snow...had no idea we were even on ice. Lesson learned there.

Yep, and if that gasping occurs when you're under that's it lungs fill with water and it’s all over. I have kept holes in ice open in -30 and below by just shoveling a mound of snow over the hole. Snow is a hell of an insulator.

No ice is safe ice, We were fishing over 20 ft of water with 3+ feet of ice. It was about -20. A buddy went to take a piss and down he went. I heard him yell and by the time I got there he was climbing on the ice, he had a set of ice picks with him, we wore them around our neck.




Where he went to piss, there was what we call a spring hole, an underwater spring kept the water moving enough that with the snow cover (about 2 feet) created thin ice. He had a floater suit on. When he got topside, he said I really don’t feel well, get me to the hospital. The cold causes a spike in BP and increased heart rate, we figured he was having some sort of Cardiac thing going on.

Again we were on snow machines about 25 miles away from the hospital, my buddy's machine was better than mine and he had a 6 foot sled so got George got in the sled and laid down and off they went to the hospital.

They were in a damned if you do damned if you don’t situation, going fast would increase the windchill and slower would be more comfortable but he was in distress. When they got him to the hospital that floater suit pretty much turned into an ice cube and had to be cut off with a saw. Unbeknown to us, water had gotten into his floater suit and he was considered severely hypothermic and went unconscious. Water will make you hypothermic a lot faster than air.

After doing blood work they found he had experienced a heart attack as well and spent 2 weeks in the hospital to get everything resolved. We were fishing that area for 2 days and any of us could have stepped in that area which was only about 3 feet in diameter. So yeah, No ice is 100% safe ice.

Glad you and your buddy’s lived to tell the story Karl.

However, after that exciting journey to the highway in the truck, my tractor decided to break down in the middle of the road. So I had to hike back to the house, get the truck, and pull the tractor over to the side. Hopefully I will be able to fix it myself in the freezing weather with simple tools... otherwise, I'm going to have to call a guy, and it won't be cheap.

Charles you may need upgrade those flip flops to Crocks, if this keeps up.

Nothing as exciting as MT's story and sadly I don't get out much these days (family pressures) but I *have* to have a mini adventure now and again. Generally they are climbing (not at any particular difficult level), exploring old mines - I love that, or a tiny bit of caving. Usually with others, but about half the time as solo trips... I really need to get back into scuba and mountaineering again, just so short of time.

Last caving trip I went on was a while ago, it was a solo trip.. the caving I've done tend to be "vertical caving" so lots of rappelling down stuff, climbing up stuff as well as walking/crawling/squeezing on the horizontal, last trip had 60 foot vertical section at start but top of that was a squeeze, which is easy to rappel in as gravity helps but a nightmare climbing back out. By chance I met 2 German cavers at entrance, they travelled all that way!!! I got there first by 5 minutes, but we needed to coordinate ropes etc so as not to disrupt each other so we joined together - that solo trip became a sociable trip here's a link to a pic taken by one of the Germans, it's the UK's highest unbroken waterfall, you can only see the bottom half of the waterfall. If you look at the bottom left corner of the pic that person using a powerful light to illuminate the shot is me https://imgur.com/a/wYyx5jB

I occasionally explore abandoned mines (a lot of hazards to manage! And in old lead mines that is dangerous territory!) sometimes solo sometimes with others, here's an old pic of my son in an underground slate quarry in Wales with me, we are deep down and it's a good couple of hours to get back out from this point https://imgur.com/a/J54TSQw

I have a trip planned for a mini adventure this Saturday (not told wife yet, she doesn't approve) with 3 other people.

I just can't understand how people can live life without doing something adventurous occasionally, if I didn't at least walk outdoors some time I'd feel like I was rotting inside. You've got to appreciate nature!

Edit: the weights and running etc I do, is to keep a base level of strength and fitness so I don't die on any solo adventures, sorry if weights being a close second priority offends anyone here

Edit2, sometimes I just do blatantly stupid stuff for fun, like finding mountain railways and racing down the tracks on homemade go carts to see what time we can do the run. Here's on from this summer where I went with an old buddy to the Isle of Man (between UK and Ireland but it's not part of the UK) and we timed how fast we could descend Snaefell railway (12 minutes) at first sunrise before any trains could be on the line, the video speed has not been altered, watching it you might not be impressed but sitting on homemade rail carts it felt really fast!! Very strong wind, sorry about the wind noise

Tom, Much respect Brother that sounds very exciting, I grew up in an area with many caves, I only went in one.

It was with Mary Ellen from grade 9, gave her the best 2 minutes of her life lol

I fear caves for some unknown reason and probably why Mary Elllen only got a quickie.

Ironically when I got older I spent almost 16 years working a mile underground in a self contained Secret Facility designed to withstand a Nuclear Blast. Once in there you didn’t realize that you were underground, a modern facility with 3 levels about the size of a small shopping center, but the entire ride down the rock walls were mere inches from the bus sides. I never liked that part.

So yeah, much respect brother, keep on Caving and I and sure many others look forward to more pics and stories as well.

I echo your last comments about doing something outdoors on the regular, I also agree with weights being a lower priority than other things.

I absolutely love Weight Training, but if it was all I did, I would be bored out of my skull. I don’t give a sh!t about offending anyone though. Some may say that ship had sailed looooooong ago, truth is I don’t think it ever entered my port lol.

Fantasy for me. Admiring. Your story is amazing, too. Most people don't survive from what happened to you. Good thing you were and are strong.



Karl, that is one of my fears. I would love to ice fish, like our resident Mountain Man, but the fear of some man-eating berserk Musky acting as a tor**** right under me to break three feet of ice is what nightmares are made of. Glad you made it



LOL. Breaking down in any vehicle on the highway is another nightmare. But, a tractor? People down here get pissed if you just look at them wrong. Hope you can fix it.



Tom, this thread alone is going to have me up at night. I like the idea of caving, but not sure about the danger and risks. I have pretty bad luck and I would be terrified of the rope snapping while I'm hanging 150 feet in the air. But, very cool adventures.

___________________________________

I don't have my story, yet, but this was taken on my trail cam two nights ago. Two young bucks sparring.



This snapshot is blurry because it is a buck running. My buddy and I were wondering why it was running until we got the next snapshot.





The buck was being chased by a coyote.

2 years ago I was on my porch and a massive doe ran in front of me and panting hard. Part of its right rear butt was mangled and red and bleeding. 5 seconds later a big coyote was running after it. The deer stopped to look back and then continued to the lake with the coyote on its heels and the darned doe jumped in the water and swam a quarter mile to safety. Not sure if it survived that big bite. She was bleeding pretty bad.

Those are some great shots Mark, those damn coyotes eh? That story about the doe was incredible, I hope that she made it, probably not though.

Your story is testimony to what I tell others when they say hunting and trapping is cruel.

A well placed round or set is probably the most humane death an animal will get. It’s not like a Bambi movie out there and it’s certainly not all butterflies and rainbows.

Most animals will succumb to a miserable painful death from disease, starvation or eaten alive by a predator, none of them will die in a retirement home being pampered.

More Pics, you have some great deer down there.

Wanted to contribute so made this important tutorial for you guys.




First time trying this AI - text to vid generator. Just typed 2 sentences and it did the rest.
https://ai.invideo.io/



Edit: This was a bit addicting so.....




Survival 101: Safe Firewood Collection Amidst Wild Beasts and...Clowns?




Wilderness Love: Finding Your Life Partner in the Forest





Deadlifts, Diapers & Cheesecake: A Unique Fitness Guide

Good stuff on the Videos Steffo


That was a lot of typing, I am not checking for spelling and grammar, you fukkers gonna have to deal with it ha ha.

[steffo99]

I will stop after tonight (most likely), but remade my regular account into a channel – Strange Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/@StrangeTu/videos

Hoping to get 10 million subs or more.
Even though it's only been up for 5 minutes, there's already a testimonial from Momo the twerking monkey on how good this channel is.

Monkey Business: Twerking, Eating & Learning





Ape Your Way to Fitness: A Unique Weightlifting Guide





Ok, I will now go get a life.

[IronCharles]

Charles you may need upgrade those flip flops to Crocks, if this keeps up.

I wouldn't be caught dead in Crocs. They are a Croc of ****.

But I did put on real shoes and a couple hoodies and crawled up under the tractor and found a linkage between the pedals and the tranny had broken. So I MacGyver'd it up so it would make it back to the barn where I will make a more permanent repair.

Speaking of Bambi, she and her pals were watching me wriggling around on the ground with great amusement. They have become so used to seeing me around over the years that I can get within 10 feet of them before they amble off.

[mtpockets]

I wouldn't be caught dead in Crocs. They are a Croc of ****.

But I did put on real shoes and a couple hoodies and crawled up under the tractor and found a linkage between the pedals and the tranny had broken. So I MacGyver'd it up so it would make it back to the barn where I will make a more permanent repair.

Speaking of Bambi, she and her pals were watching me wriggling around on the ground with great amusement. They have become so used to seeing me around over the years that I can get within 10 feet of them before they amble off.

Ha Ha, I knew you would say that about the crocs, that's why I threw it in there.

Great that you solved the Tractor issue and very cool about the deer you have around there.

Charles the deer whisperer

[mtpockets]

I will stop after tonight (most likely), but remade my regular account into a channel – Strange Tutorials.
https://www.youtube.com/@StrangeTu/videos

Hoping to get 10 million subs or more.
Even though it's only been up for 5 minutes, there's already a testimonial from Momo the twerking monkey on how good this channel is.

Monkey Business: Twerking, Eating & Learning





Ape Your Way to Fitness: A Unique Weightlifting Guide





Ok, I will now go get a life.

Right on Steffo, monkeying around will turn you into a big time you tuber.. Don't forget about is little guys when those cheques come rolling in.

[Gabbar99]

Backpacker magazine did a little blurb on my research and I bought the issue. They mentioned that they were looking for trail-trackers and I applied for me and my 12 year old son. We ended up getting a deal to do GPS trail-tracking for them. They sent us a big GPS phone, a bit rare at the time 20 years ago, and paid us for the first one. After that we just did them voluntarily but had to do so many each month or something. A couple made it into the printed magazine. The others on their website.

We spent the weekends in the Ozarks going to trails with a special interest in waterfalls. Lots of caves there too. One spot we went to a cave in the deep woods with an opening just bigger than my shoulders. Had read about it beforehand and were able to find it. We squeezed in. At one point I slid on my belly and had to squeeze through a spot with back and belly both sliding against rock. Don't know how I did that without freaking out.

Got through that and it opened into a family room sized room with a waterfall about 15 feet high. My flashlight bulb died but I was able to swap it and my son had his. We'd we'd brought more light, but it was as cool as it sounds.

Started a life-long love of backpacking for my son. We quit organized sports for a couple years but he picked it back up in high school and hadn't lost anything. Helps that he could dunk at age 13.

After his freshman year in college, he took off on foot from a geology field camp in Montana and spent a few weeks alone in the mountains, walking through Yellowstone and ending up in Jackson Hole.

This past summer, he took his two younger sisters on a hike in the mountains of Montana. I'm looking at a photo of them from their hike in my office as I type this. Maybe I'll see if I can find one to post.

We now live 10 min from the Appalachian Trail in PA. It's not super wildernessy, but I like to get on the trail. I've run every mile of the AT within like 40 miles of us. I need to get back out this winter.

[weiss1967]

Wanted to contribute so made this important tutorial for you guys.




First time trying this AI - text to vid generator. Just typed 2 sentences and it did the rest.
https://ai.invideo.io/



Edit: This was a bit addicting so.....


Survival 101: Safe Firewood Collection Amidst Wild Beasts and...Clowns?

Wilderness Love: Finding Your Life Partner in the Forest

Deadlifts, Diapers & Cheesecake: A Unique Fitness Guide

this is the best mockery of AI, out of curiosity I actually did watch half of them to the end. The thing is dumb as fuск.

[IronCharles]

Charles the deer whisperer

I don't take pictures of them, because they are omnipresent and the novelty wore off 20 years ago. But here's a pic of one I took for the Misc Cologne Crew.

[steffo99]

this is the best mockery of AI, out of curiosity I actually did watch half of them to the end. The thing is dumb as fuск.

I see more and more vids like this now though, in all kinds of genres - motivation, philosophy etc. They all have this same style and feel. But I'm guessing it won't take long before it gets much better and replace half of hollywood.


It's getting colder here now and it's suddenly been snowing a lot. Got myself some merino baselayers and wool socks yesterday and waiting for some other stuff like gloves, rainponcho etc to come in. Hoping I get most before the weekend.




I don't quite trust the boots I have to keep warm enough so send for these I will get tomorrow. Hope they hold up ok - didn't cost much and rated for -40 celsius. I will only use once in a while.



First time getting cashmere socks, 70% off. It be like little cherub angels hugging my toes, infusing my feet with heavenly warmth of the lord himself.

[steffo99]

Budget version of more expensive brands, but still good quality chineese brand. Have their tripod. Like the extra screw holes for vid arm or other things like small lcd screen etc., if ever need.




Changed my photo trip this weekend to a better one next weekend. Perfect cause will also have all the new warm clothes by then. Just got the boots and seem super comfy - expected a more cheap and stiff feel. Will also try get some christmas type shots if can. If some events/markets nearby.

[mtpockets]

I spent a lot of the today sitting over the swamp not far from home. There has been a pair of otters playing in the snow around the swamp recently so I was hoping to maybe get a few pictures or video but no such luck, just birds and squirrels lol. Nice way to spend the day though, cooked breakfast out there as well as lunch (Moose burgers)




I enjoyed the story Gabbar, look forward to this pics and more.

That’s a cool shot Charles

Steffo, my man, you got some good gear, Kamik makes a good product, I am sure you will be happy.

That gimbal looks sweet, I really need one mostly for my Go pro and action Camera.




Story time…


My first GPS

I was moose hunting back in the 90's and GPS technology was just becoming available and affordable to the public.

Like deer, moose pretty much bed down midday and are most active in the evening, overnight and early morning. It was slow in my stand and after my nap I decided to leave and go for a walk.

It wasn't long before I cut some fresh sign and decided to follow, it took me over several miles of ridges before I caught up to it. Generally, being that far back I would pass on it, (moose are a lot of work) but it was getting late in the season, the weather was the sh!ts, I needed the meat, this was a nice small animal so I took it.

It was cool so I opened it up, gutted it, left the animal there and headed back to my Camp which was alongside an old logging road. There was no way that I could make it back before dark going the way I came in so I shot a bearing and used the compass to try and straight line it out before dark.

It got to a point where I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face and the flashlight sh!t the bed. So I decided it was better to just call it a night, I found a huge hemlock, the cover would keep me dry, started a fire and settled in for the night.

At one point before daybreak, I heard something that sounded like a vehicle and then I could see headlights. I thought the fukker was going to legit run me over.

I had quit my trip back to camp a few minutes too early and I was less than 20 yards from the damn road. My bearing was spot on though and I was only 100 yards from my camp.

Back in those days, I would go in the bush and not come out until I needed to bring an animal in, I was in camp for 3 weeks at that point and had not seen another person the entire time and that was the first vehicle that had used the road since I had set up camp.

My next trip to town, I bought my first GPS and have used them ever since and haven't slept at the side of the road after that. Great Rigs lol


Have a great day Friends and I hope that you get/got a chance to get outside.

[steffo99]

Yup Pockets, think the gear will be great.

Do some of you guys - pockets, Mark and perhaps a few others live right in the middle of nowhere/the wilderness? Or just a stone's throw away from nature perhaps? Almost seems like it by the posts. I just live in a suburb to a larger city and have to do some travelling most of the time to see something noteworthy.

I'd like to see some of nature and walk some trails up north in the country one day. Bring a little pop up tent or something. Never been there, which seems a shame, but would prefer to go in the summertime tbh. Haven't done anything like that since my youth and would have to take a long train ride first.

[Mark1T]

MT, I do remember when GPS just came out and it was in the IT news like PDAs were back then. Then, I had no application to use so I never got one. It is cool tech, though and Garmin I believe was the big innovator.

It is cool that you apply it to your hunting. You have the experience to not survive and not freak out if you are stuck somewhere at night. I went one year of college at Ole Miss on scholarship because I had some friends who were pulp wood loggers who cut trees and transported them on a Kenworth flatbed and sold them. Then, as per the agreement with the government, they planted thousands of trees. I personally planted 1100 pines in the dead of Winter. Somewhere around 1985.

Anyway, I was out on some federal land right at dusk and there were low spots in the land and I completely lost my bearings. I started to almost panic and then I tried to get myself together and retrace my steps back to a dirt road. It was dark and I was freaking out. I finally heard my buddies yelling in the distance and finally found the road. I really thought I was there for the night and I was not prepared. That part of North Mississippi is pretty area, but has always been depressed in local revenue. Lots of government owned land with beautiful lakes. I have been on (like you) 100 acre lakes all by myself with no human sounds at all, except for the occasional chain saw in the distance. I caught some of the biggest perch I have ever seen in one lake. They were dark, 1.5 inches thick and bigger than my hand and they fight like nothing else. Never seen them since.

_________

steffonopolis, I do live in the boonies for now. I might be here for another year. It is still my property, though and has been in my family for 100 years+. If it were not for the internet, I would not be here. Luckily I can do all of my work with colleagues in Cali, Florida and New York and they have no clue no care where I am exactly.

[Gabbar99]

(Moose burgers)

I enjoyed the story Gabbar, look forward to this pics and more.

Moose burgers. Wow.

Here's a photo from the Backpacker website. Indian Creek trail in Arkansas Ozarks. That's my son in the picture. Hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years.



Here's a photo from their trip this past summer:

[steffo99]

steffonopolis, I do live in the boonies for now. I might be here for another year. It is still my property, though and has been in my family for 100 years+. If it were not for the internet, I would not be here. Luckily I can do all of my work with colleagues in Cali, Florida and New York and they have no clue no care where I am exactly.

Neat. I'm imagining your ancestor, Mark MacLeod, arriving with the last of his clan, to escape the evil warlord the Kurgan. You're now setting up trail cams to see the enemy coming. The final Gathering is getting closer.