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I remember camping in Big Bend and seeing something in the distance on the crest of a hill just far enough to not be able to make out the shape and with it being dusk it was getting tricky to determine what it actually was. I could have sworn it was a largeish animal trotting straight towards us but being the desert surely it wasn't a bear but a javelina and that would definitely not be ideal. We starred at it for 5 minutes and determined it had to be nothing, but still wary. We woke up the next morning and saw the hill we were looking at and lo and behold that "javelina" was just a loving shrub waving in the breeze. Nature is simultaneously hilarious and frightening.
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Jun 4, 2021 23:05
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We were camping on BLM land near Capitol Reef in Utah and woke to something pushing the side of the tent in and sniffing my wife's head. She screamed, I grabbed my headlamp and hit the car horn alarm. Heard big footsteps scurrying off, jumped out the tent and saw a huge cow hauling rear end. 
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Jun 4, 2021 23:14
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I took my wife to Denali for her first backpacking trip and we would have walked straight into a momma grizzly with two cubs if it wasn't for the only two people we saw all day warning us.
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Jun 4, 2021 23:50
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Kananaskis Lake a couple years ago, was sleeping in my car because a summer snow was coming through and I didn't have the tent for it. Late at night something woke me up and it sounded like something big was sniffing around the car, checking the area out. All the windows were covered in snow so I couldn't look around. Sat frozen for at least ten minutes and eventually I realized the noise wasn't moving around and no animal would hang out that long before moving on. So I finally rolled a window down and turns out it was just wet snow sliding off the branches of pine trees.
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Jun 5, 2021 00:13
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Hammock camping in the Pecos Wilderness in NM last summer, woke up to rustling nearby. I turned on my headlamp and saw what I assume was a packrat. I whispered angrily at it (to avoid waking my friend nearby) and it ran away, but at some point in the night it managed to completely devour the straps on my hiking poles. Luckily I had my pack hanging on a tree or the hike out might have been much more challenging.
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Jun 5, 2021 00:16
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Pham Nuwen posted:Hammock camping in the Pecos Wilderness in NM last summer, woke up to rustling nearby. I turned on my headlamp and saw what I assume was a packrat. I whispered angrily at it (to avoid waking my friend nearby) and it ran away, but at some point in the night it managed to completely devour the straps on my hiking poles. Luckily I had my pack hanging on a tree or the hike out might have been much more challenging. I'm heading back to isle royale this summer and the red squirrels there will absolutely do this, and it's safer to keep everything in your tent as a result lol ( no bears on IR)
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Jun 5, 2021 00:31
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Slimy Hog posted:I took my wife to Denali for her first backpacking trip and we would have walked straight into a momma grizzly with two cubs if it wasn't for the only two people we saw all day warning us. Pretty much same thing happen to us, but it was black bear with 2 cubs in the Smokies. We were in the middle of a 8 mile day hike when someone warned us. We went ahead thinking they would be gone (at that time I have never seen a bear while hiking, only while biking in Cades Cove), but when we turned the corner and there they were about 75 yards up the trail. Another couple was on the other side of the trail and they started to make noise to scare them off the trail. Well then the momma bear stood up her hind legs and started to head towards us . We started to back-up slowly and once we were out of her sight we moved a little fast back to a dried up river bend with boulders. We climbed the boulder and waited (typing this I feel like an idiot). Finally the other couple came around and said the bears got off the trail. I will be honest I was scared shitless for the next mile. This was late spring in the Smokies and it was like a green laurel tunnel during that whole mile. We could have passed within feet of her and never known. I now carry bear spray. Honestly it is for my peace of mind more than anything. I think the state of Tennessee has only had 2 people killed by a bear since they started keeping records. Which is amazing considering how many bears are the region. Still there are bear attacks almost every other year and a lot of them make no sense why the bear attack.
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Jun 5, 2021 00:33
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Thinking about making a trip to Colorado to backpack through some 14ers in the southern half of the state in July. Is this a stupid idea because of the potential for storms?
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Jun 5, 2021 01:32
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i was bikepacking through slovakia and decided to head up a logging road in the dense woods somewhere near banska bystrica. bushwacking a bit off the road, what do i find but a nice neat clearing to set up in. "what luck!" i think to myself. despite wearing earplugs, i wake up around midnight to the sound of deep snorting and sticks breaking beneath massive feet. ah of course. this isn't a clearing - it's a den. i am an idiot. whatever it was, i think it was confused by the presence of my tent, because it just kind of paced around for maybe 10-15 minutes, what felt like to me 3 hours. i was using a big agnes sleeping pad at the time that squeaked like a motherfucker upon the slightest movement so for the duration of that thing's presence i was locked in a dracula pose bug-eyed staring straight up. "you idiot. absolutely no one knows where you are. you have no cell signal. you are a dead man." i never managed to catch a glimpse of it before it sauntered off, so i'm not sure whether it was a bear or a boar. can't say which would have been worse.
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Jun 5, 2021 03:40
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Slimy Hog posted:I took my wife to Denali for her first backpacking trip and we would have walked straight into a momma grizzly with two cubs if it wasn't for the only two people we saw all day warning us. 
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Jun 5, 2021 04:06
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ROFLburger posted:Thinking about making a trip to Colorado to backpack through some 14ers in the southern half of the state in July. Is this a stupid idea because of the potential for storms? July 1st is the absolute beginning of hiking season. It's a little bit on the early side, but there's basically always a chance of storms. You gotta pick whether you want the storms to be snow or rain
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Jun 5, 2021 15:27
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Happiness Commando posted:July 1st is the absolute beginning of hiking season. It's a little bit on the early side, but there's basically always a chance of storms. You gotta pick whether you want the storms to be snow or rain Don't forget smoke from forest fires, which is now something we get to dodge from June to September.
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Jun 5, 2021 16:15
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My wife and I were camping in Michigan, and we woke up to what sounded like people walking through our campsite. She was convinced they were; I tried to tell her that no, it was just some animals. Lo and behold, when we woke up, some very tiny raccoon prints were found on the garbage bag I had forgotten to deal with that night.Bottom Liner posted:We were camping on BLM land near Capitol Reef in Utah and woke to something pushing the side of the tent in and sniffing my wife's head. She screamed, I grabbed my headlamp and hit the car horn alarm. Heard big footsteps scurrying off, jumped out the tent and saw a huge cow hauling rear end. 
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Jun 5, 2021 17:45
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EDITED.
BaseballPCHiker fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Feb 2, 2022 |
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Jun 5, 2021 20:07
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Moose just behave like giant squirrels, and that is terrifying.
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Jun 5, 2021 20:10
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They're like a deer the size of a horse with the protective instincts of a territorial dog. So many moose attack videos. People severely underestimate deer/moose as far as dangers go.
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Jun 5, 2021 20:36
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I got within 10 feet of a moose once growing up, was hauling rear end down a bike trail in Anchorage and come around a corner to spot one munching on a tree. Didn't give a gently caress about me, I did a 180 as fast as I could and didn't stop pedaling for a while. Moose seem to be about the same as horses until the instant they've decided they've had enough and it's stompy time. Which I guess is true for pretty much all wildlife.
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Jun 5, 2021 21:47
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It seemed like a moose killed at least one kid a year in Anchorage, like just kids waiting for the bus or walking to/from school. Seriously give moose a wide berth.
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Jun 5, 2021 21:52
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im too lazy to actually make an Animal Danger Ranking but moose would be near or at the top. ive only seen moose in person once but they're terrifyingly massive, horse-sized really undersells how enormous they can be
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Jun 5, 2021 22:11
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Chard posted:im too lazy to actually make an Animal Danger Ranking but moose would be near or at the top. ive only seen moose in person once but they're terrifyingly massive, horse-sized really undersells how enormous they can be Yep, I saw one tear off at full speed in a meadow at RMNP, and even from a hundred or so yards away how much power the thing has was apparent.
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Jun 5, 2021 22:15
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As an added bonus if you hit one with your car at highway speeds you die! (because the bumper takes their legs out and their body goes straight through the windshield)
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Jun 5, 2021 22:16
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I have close encounters with 12+ ft gators every bike ride around the lake near me but my friend saw a python out there this week (florida  ) and now I'm fuckin' terrified of camping out there. 20ft 200lb snakes are firmly in the territory of NOPE.
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Jun 5, 2021 22:33
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Happiness Commando posted:July 1st is the absolute beginning of hiking season. It's a little bit on the early side, but there's basically always a chance of storms. You gotta pick whether you want the storms to be snow or rain I feel like this is an exaggeration, the hiking is already getting good in CO. You still have to deal with some snow currently but the weather is getting really nice. If you’re fundamentally opposed to touching snow when hiking I guess you can wait a while.
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Jun 5, 2021 22:55
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Chard posted:im too lazy to actually make an Animal Danger Ranking but moose would be near or at the top. ive only seen moose in person once but they're terrifyingly massive, horse-sized really undersells how enormous they can be I've only been camping in Africa once, but 10 days with a guided group out in the Okavango Delta in Botswana taught me that you really really don't want to stumble on water buffalo or elephants while walking around, and you desperately want to avoid hippos if you're in the water. Lions and crocs are very much nbd in comparison. We had elephants walk through our campsite multiple nights. They are quiet until they decide to eat a tree or rip rear end. Waking up to elephant farts and lots of quiet shuffling and breathing sounds is both hilarious and terrifying.
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Jun 5, 2021 23:39
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Speaking of Africa, one of my dream trips is to hike Drakensberg. That poo poo is gorgeous, it's like 5 days of hiking the edge of a 4000 foot cliff.
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Jun 5, 2021 23:47
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On our safari in Kruger, we were in between the morning and evening drives and our guide Willis asked me "Would you like to go out on a walk?" gently caress yeah. We drove 30 minutes away and got out of the open top land cruiser (coolest vehicles) and he grabbed his rifle. We just walked around in the bush. Showed me some elephant tracks, a foot long millipede. He told me about all the loving snakes in the region. Thankfully it was winter and they weren't out and about. He showed me a photo of a huge snake all wrapped up in the engine is one of the trucks. That gave me all kinds of nope. We saw some rhino tracks (we hadn't seen one yet) and then saw fresh rhino dung and realized it was too fresh so we backed off as to not walk up on it on foot. We went back that evening and spotted it at sunset. Found a wathog den. Saw a termite mound. Heard a rustling in the bushes, some grunts etc. Willis aims the gun just in case and out jumps a springbok (antelope). Their grunts sound terrifying when you don't know what it is. He laughed pretty hard. We get back to the truck after an hour or two of walking. Sure as poo poo he turns the truck on and puts it in gear, a young make lion walks into the road 50 feet ahead of the truck staring straight at us. No idea how long he was there. Going on a safari was by far one of the greatest experiences of my life and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Watching elephants knock trees over with their trunks was mind blowing. And they're so quiet. You can barely hear them walking around.
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Jun 6, 2021 06:46
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That sounds awesome, and scary. Saw a video recently of a mom elephant peeling the hood off of a furiously reversing jeep when he turned the corner on a road and got too close to her baby. My first big camping trip, I was 16 and thought if I woke up early enough, I could have a cigarette at camp without anyone noticing. Dawn, Boundary Waters, and I am sitting on the dirt by the fire I was starting. A moose walked straight through the camp, not 6 feet from me. I was only up to his knee joint. Moseied down to the waters edge, and let out a firehose volume of piss. Right where we had been dipping water from ... I stayed right still until he was gone swimming off.
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Jun 7, 2021 19:03
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update: I didn't get eaten by a bear, the trip was a lot of fun, and we mostly just heard frogs and birds 
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Jun 7, 2021 20:23
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I was swarmed by pigs late at night near Pinnacles. That was startling but cool. They rooted around the tent.
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Jun 8, 2021 05:27
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Bloody posted:update: I didn't get eaten by a bear, the trip was a lot of fun, and we mostly just heard frogs and birds welcome back! hope you had a good time not being devoured, it almost* never happens Guido Merkens posted:I was swarmed by pigs late at night near Pinnacles. That was startling but cool. They rooted around the tent. dang that's pretty wild. i don't know if we get the kind of super-boar in CA that they do on the east coast; i'd still rather run into a black bear than angry boars, they'll gently caress you up just for fun as i understand it
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Jun 8, 2021 05:36
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Boars will gently caress you up AND wait for you if you run and they are interested. Sure you may be safe in a tree or big rock they can’t climb but they got nothing but time to be angry and sit around.
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Jun 8, 2021 13:53
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What do you all like for MREs? I bought a case years ago and kept them in my apartment just in case before eventually eating them so they didn't go to waste and am now looking for more. Apparently they're very overpriced now and hard to get a hold of?
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Jun 12, 2021 15:55
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I bought a pack of 12 maybe 2 years ago and still have about 9 left. They're not great for backpacking (I'd imagine) due to the weight and all of the packaging. I'm sure you could break it down into the individual items though. I like them for car camping when I'm super lazy. They'd probably be good for a long day hike too when weight isn't much of a problem since you won't be carrying much. They're also 1,200 calories so that's good if you're really moving. I went to a marksmanship meet when it was like 30F out and I wanted a hot meal since we had to bring our own lunch because there's nowhere to buy food nearby. It's an 8 hour day outside in the cold the whole time so I thought I was being the smart one. The heater didn't work. :| Also a woman laughed at me for bringing it. gently caress her my idea was great until the heater fiasco. I've seen people bring crazier poo poo before (I've been to 3 of them). Including two nerds in WWII regalia who brought the old mess kits and cooked food with esbit stoves. One guy had a swastika emblem on his uniform and the instructor had a look on his face like "Are you serious?" Pennywise the Frown fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Jun 12, 2021 |
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Jun 12, 2021 16:26
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MREs are pretty heavy as is most ready to eat food due to the moisture content and as said above, they have create a lot of trash. Plus they're not cheap or eat to find. They're also really bulky and take up a lot of space in your pack. What you get is convenience. (They also notoriously plug you up) Most I've had were pretty tasty though and it feels slightly more like normal food than a lot of dehydrated backpacking food, but there are so many options for backpacking food now that it's not just backpackers pantry or mountain house anymore. Honestly though of all the changes I've made to my gear, I've stopped bringing those things and just bring normal food as much as possible. Tortillas, sausage, jerky, rice, Cheese, mashed potatoes, pasta sides, soup mixes, peanut butter powder, Nutella packets, etc. It tastes better, ready to make, cheaper than specialty foods, and easier to find locally unless you have a good backpacking shop nearby that carries a wide selection of foods.
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Jun 12, 2021 18:15
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Also with MREs there has never been a person who was interested in eating every single item in every meal so now you are packing out uneaten food in addition to all of the trash.
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Jun 12, 2021 18:33
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Pennywise the Frown posted:and all of the packaging. Along these lines, anyone got sources for bulk freeze dried food and do their own recipes in reusable cook-in-a-bag bags? The garbage generated by the meal kits is definitely better than MRE's but it's still a ton of garbage which feels really at odds with being a nature nerd. Like I've got outdoorherbivore bookmarked because they have some ingredients available, but I've not been able to find much else. There's some good vegetable soup stock on amazon that I also use that works okay. Obviously the 'best' solution is to dehydrate my own stuff, but I'm not sure I want to get that deep into it.
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Jun 13, 2021 00:24
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I should have clarified that these MREs would just be for in the house in an emergency scenario.
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Jun 13, 2021 01:16
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withak posted:Also with MREs there has never been a person who was interested in eating every single item in every meal so now you are packing out uneaten food in addition to all of the trash.  Except the drink mix and coffee sometimes.
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Jun 13, 2021 02:53
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If you’re just looking for in house emergency meals you can do better than MREs. Your standard freeze dried is a good option but you can get some better meals with a camp stove and some real food tucked away.
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Jun 13, 2021 03:00
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Also, MREs only last 3-5 years (unless you're youtuber Steve1989, then they last 120 years).
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Jun 13, 2021 03:24
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