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We’ll have to introduce more spiders to eat the mosquitos, but then we’ll probably need more birds to eat the spiders, and then cats for the birds, and pretty soon we’re at a critical mass of horses and who knows where we go from there
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Sep 5, 2023 16:17
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As the victim of a recent invasive spider species introduction (joro spiders), I'm here to tell you to be careful what you wish for.
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Sep 5, 2023 16:31
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Simply introduce leopards.
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Sep 5, 2023 16:31
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Hey thread; any Adirondack recommendations? I kinda feel like you can't go wrong no matter what you choose but  I'm not even sure where I'm staying. A friendly acquaintance is organizing a climbing trip somewhere the weekend of the 23rd this month but I still don't really have any details so I guess I'm just going to find a camp site where ever I can and then just drive to where ever we'll be climbing. That's only a 1 day thing but I'll be there all weekend so I obviously want to get some hiking in too. Any recommendations for an easier hike that I could wake up early as gently caress for, do in the dark and enjoy a sunrise from the summit?
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Sep 5, 2023 16:54
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Chugach state park again, this time I went back to hanging valley lake which is in a split from the south fork valley   It had rained the night before so 8 of the 10 miles I had wet feet, but the running compression socks did their job. Truly a miracle of modern design and engineering
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Sep 5, 2023 18:06
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We backpacked the Sisters Green Lakes trail, after getting smoke/fired out for the same permit last year. It was amazing! 4 miles (and about 1k ft gain) through some of the nicest sub alpine forests and meadows I've been through with cool lava flow features, then up into the spectacular green lakes basin. Our 4 year old handled the hike like a champ and our 9 month old... is a big heavy boy, let's just say my load was well balanced between front and back and I am very sore today considering it was only 4 miles in and 4 miles out. We got fairly lucky with no smoke and mostly sun. The only bummer was up at the lakes it was very exposed and hella windy and cold - luckily 90% of the hike was sheltered and pleasant but the very last bit up at the lakes, oof. Also rain clouds were constantly pouring over south sister, but we were in the rain shadow and the rain never reached us, but it was raining a mile away and constantly felt like it was about to hit us. We did not get to enjoy the lakes that much as we hurried to find the most sheltered camping spot, cook dinner, and get warm and cozy in the tent. Anyway none of this is super surprising, i know those conditions certainly happen up there, but I've also been at similar alpine lakes in luckier weather and it's glorious. Ah well. Still an amazing hike and conditions were nicer in the morning.  
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Sep 5, 2023 18:27
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Verman posted:How do people feel about folding vs wadding when it comes to tents etc? I've heard repeated creasing of waterproof fabrics in the same way can cause leaks in those creases vs randomly wadding it up and stuffing it. For something like waxed cotton it totally makes sense, maybe older technology dwr tents ... fwiw I've been stuffing the same DCF pyramid tent directly into my pack for ~7 years and there hasn't been any shrinking or other problems.
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Sep 5, 2023 20:17
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ive always used the same system which is to fold the tent into thirds, put the poles in the center, and then roll it up with the rainfly on the outside also folded into thirds
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Sep 5, 2023 20:39
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WoodrowSkillson posted:ive always used the same system which is to fold the tent into thirds, put the poles in the center, and then roll it up with the rainfly on the outside also folded into thirds This is exactly what I do.
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Sep 5, 2023 21:23
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Fitzy Fitz posted:As the victim of a recent invasive spider species introduction (joro spiders), I'm here to tell you to be careful what you wish for. Ok I wanna hear the story, even though I’m terrified of spiders I’m definitely morbidly curious about this situation.
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Sep 5, 2023 22:58
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liz posted:Ok I wanna hear the story, even though I’m terrified of spiders I’m definitely morbidly curious about this situation. Supposedly they showed up in Georgia about ten years ago, but it's only been in the last couple that they've really started spreading. I guess the population reached a tipping point. But anyway, in 2021, out of nowhere, every outdoor surface was covered in giant golden spider webs, usually with multiple spiders per web. The spiders are several inches in diameter. They don't look too different from the naturalized golden orb weavers that everyone is already used to, but their numbers are way higher. People couldn't leave their houses without batting down a bunch of them, hiking trails were practically impassable without constantly swatting with a stick, etc. I had to free some hummingbirds from their webs on my porch. Their numbers seem to go down and stabilize in subsequent years, but they still suck. If you live in the eastern US you will probably encounter them soon.
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Sep 5, 2023 23:14
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Fitzy Fitz posted:Supposedly they showed up in Georgia about ten years ago, but it's only been in the last couple that they've really started spreading. I guess the population reached a tipping point. But anyway, in 2021, out of nowhere, every outdoor surface was covered in giant golden spider webs, usually with multiple spiders per web. The spiders are several inches in diameter. They don't look too different from the naturalized golden orb weavers that everyone is already used to, but their numbers are way higher. People couldn't leave their houses without batting down a bunch of them, hiking trails were practically impassable without constantly swatting with a stick, etc. I had to free some hummingbirds from their webs on my porch. Their numbers seem to go down and stabilize in subsequent years, but they still suck. If you live in the eastern US you will probably encounter them soon. Do they eat spotted lantern flies?
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Sep 5, 2023 23:56
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I made a new friend today
COPE 27 fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Sep 6, 2023 |
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Sep 6, 2023 00:27
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That moost be nice. Cow did you two meet?
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Sep 6, 2023 00:34
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armorer posted:Do they eat spotted lantern flies? We don't have many of those down here yet. I've never seen any. We do have brown marmorated stinkbugs though, and joros seem to eat them.
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Sep 6, 2023 01:10
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Moose scare me more than bears, mostly because no one else is scared of them and will happily inch closer trying to fill the frame on their cell phone. And once you push a moose past its comfort zone they go from cute and docile ungulate to stampeding murder hooves.
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Sep 6, 2023 03:31
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 From July in the south fork valley. He walked across the trail about 50 feet in front of me and booked it down the hill. After that my head was on a swivel until I was above the tree line
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Sep 6, 2023 04:40
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Yeah I'd be much more scared of moose. They have a higher injury rate than bears and get very aggressive.
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Sep 6, 2023 05:36
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Yeah she popped out like 15 feet in front of me on the trail and took a couple steps in my direction after she noticed me, thankfully got distracted by a branch and took off.
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Sep 6, 2023 12:21
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Moose are also way less predictable than bears in my experience. When I lived in Alaska and saw a grizzly 99% of the time it would turn and run. A moose seemed like it was as likely to charge you as it was to run and they were just way less scared of people in general.
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Sep 6, 2023 12:46
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Sab669 posted:Hey thread; any Adirondack recommendations? I kinda feel like you can't go wrong no matter what you choose but I haven't been to the dacks this year (its pretty far from Seattle) but I practically grew up there and my parents summer there. As I understand it, it's been an outrageously wet summer, so bear that in mind for all activities - the Northville-Placid Trail, muddy at the best of times, is apparently just 3 feet deep in some places. General hiking recs in the Adirondacks are always going to include the high peaks in the Lake Placid area, which will be very busy on the weekends. For an easier hike, I'd skip the high peaks themselves entirely and do the Mount Jo hike from the Adirondak Loj - 2 miles round-trip, with a sunrise over the high peaks if you timed it. The park is very large, though, so you could easily be climbing 2 hours away. I feel like the place I used to always see climbers was kinda down towards North Creek (looking at a map, I think Starbuck Mountain and Black Mountain)? If so, Moxham Mountain is RIGHT there, and recently became one of my Adirondack faves - good mix of everything nice about Adirondack hiking, with decent views at the end, all in around 5-6 miles, and no crowds. That said, once you have a better idea of where you'll be, I can probably give more recs!
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Sep 6, 2023 15:42
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xzzy posted:I try to neatly fold up everything because that's how my dad did it and now it's programmed into my personality. After a trip I'll unpack everything when I get home and spend way too much time getting things neatly folded up as a present to future me (and making sure I don't store it damp, but the folding is the main motivation). Sup long lost sibling from another nibling.
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Sep 6, 2023 19:21
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any scramble heavy trail recs in the catskills?
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Sep 7, 2023 05:31
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I have bought https://www.splash-maps.com/ as gifts for some (non map using) people and they really seemed to have liked them. Only problem is you have to know well before hand the areas you will be traveling. For the hardcore navigators you will need laminated maps that you can mark/erase is the way to go.
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Sep 7, 2023 05:49
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Morbus posted:This summitpost page has a list of all the major eastern sierra trailheads along 395. I would add Piute Pass Trail to this. Relatively low effort, with quintessential Sierra Nevada scenery beginning only a few miles in. The weather over Labor Day weekend was a bit moody, but currently there is only a smallish field of snow before the pass.
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Sep 7, 2023 20:24
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Came up from Echo Lake through the Chicago Lakes to get to Mt Evans. They had already closed the last five miles of the road to the summit even though it was perfect weather today   Also there were goats, goats, and more goats   
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Sep 10, 2023 03:47
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  Hiked the Caribou Rock trail and parts of the Border Route Trail in the BWCA. 10/10 would recommend! Even though I got rained on the whole time.
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Sep 11, 2023 18:03
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Mokelumne Trekka posted:I would add Piute Pass Trail to this. Relatively low effort, with quintessential Sierra Nevada scenery beginning only a few miles in. The weather over Labor Day weekend was a bit moody, but currently there is only a smallish field of snow before the pass. I agree, It almost made the list lol. In particular peak 12,123 by Muriel lake makes for a nice dayhike. I am like 3/3 for hitting the mosquito jackpot every time I've been in the humphrey's basin area recently though, lol.
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Sep 12, 2023 22:05
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Hiked the Franconia Ridge Trail last week, which was cool. Being in not-great shape, it was honestly a bit much... used all my energy on the three ascents and could barely make it down by sunset. Anyway, I did it, and while visibility was poor most of the day, I ended up with a few decent shots:     
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Sep 12, 2023 22:54
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realistically, how worried should i be about bears, wolves, and lynxes in the alps? i live in innsbruck and i want to go up to nordkette this weekend, but realistically if i come into contact with a predator ill pee my pant
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Sep 12, 2023 23:15
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w4ddl3d33 posted:realistically, how worried should i be about bears, wolves, and lynxes in the alps? i live in innsbruck and i want to go up to nordkette this weekend, but realistically if i come into contact with a predator ill pee my pant Like zero. I think theres only 100 wolves total across France, Germany and Italian alps. Lynx, you'll probably never see. Bear I dunno. I feel like there are enough fellow hikers and park attendants that will warn you if a bear is in the area. Just be smart with your food (hang it in a tree at night) and be smart if you do see one. Don't try to get close for a picture.
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Sep 12, 2023 23:20
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w4ddl3d33 posted:realistically, how worried should i be about bears, wolves, and lynxes in the alps? i live in innsbruck and i want to go up to nordkette this weekend, but realistically if i come into contact with a predator ill pee my pant the marmots ate them all and they're coming for you next
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Sep 13, 2023 02:02
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Bloody posted:I haven't been to the dacks this year (its pretty far from Seattle) but I practically grew up there and my parents summer there. As I understand it, it's been an outrageously wet summer, so bear that in mind for all activities - the Northville-Placid Trail, muddy at the best of times, is apparently just 3 feet deep in some places Looks like we'll be climbing in Keene, but a twist of plans has me carpooling instead of driving on my own so I don't think I'll be able to get in my solo sunrise hike like I wanted to  We'll probably just hit whatever high peak is closest.
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Sep 13, 2023 02:24
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Morbus posted:the marmots ate them all and they're coming for you next I've never seen any animal more fearless around humans than a marmot. Probably because the hikers keep feeding them!  One of them chewed through my hiking backpack and ate all my snacks while I was going to the summit on Mt. Whitney. My friends are idiots and novices and, in retrospect, I should have trusted my own instincts and should have never have left my backpack behind.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:02
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They should rename the bearvault to the rodentvault.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:07
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sb hermit posted:I've never seen any animal more fearless around humans than a marmot. Probably because the hikers keep feeding them! One of my good friends has holes in her pack with exactly the same story, she was summiting mt whitney and she could actually see them biting into her pack from way above but couldn't do anything about it lol
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Sep 13, 2023 05:17
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w4ddl3d33 posted:realistically, how worried should i be about bears, wolves, and lynxes in the alps? i live in innsbruck and i want to go up to nordkette this weekend, but realistically if i come into contact with a predator ill pee my pant There have been brown bears and wolves moving through the Alps a lot more the last decade or so, but I think the come to just make the farmers lives miserable by eating their sheep. It is nothing compared to similiar enviroments in the US though. Tyrol and the Alps in general are so heavily managed in regards to wildlife/forestry, that if you see one of these predators and manage to take a picture you will make headline news. Most people are attacked and injured by the cows.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:29
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alnilam posted:One of my good friends has holes in her pack with exactly the same story, she was summiting mt whitney and she could actually see them biting into her pack from way above but couldn't do anything about it lol
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Sep 13, 2023 05:39
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They were also everywhere at the summit of half-dome in Yosemite. Probably because that's where hikers were eating snacks and feeding the marmots!
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Sep 13, 2023 05:41
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I didn't see the marmot at the Mt Whitney trail crest junction but I've heard it's incredibly fat from all the food people leave there. I haven't had any issues with wildlife eating through my stuff but a deer in Olympic NP yoinked out one of the trekking poles holding up my tarp and dragged it a few feet away while I was sleeping. Pretty rude.
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Sep 13, 2023 05:59
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