I recently was able to watch a presentation by an “Outdoor Team” sponsored by a national magazine and several national gear manufacturers. Let me rephrase there – the presentation was at my place of work so I had to watch it.

The talk covered backpacking and was engineered to help encourage and enable people to get outside and explore the nation.

Sounds great, right?

I helped the couple unload their gear and set up; watched as a crowd of roughly forty people showed up to increase their outdoor knowledge. From all appearances, not a very savvy outdoor lot, but then again it is Texas.

The presentation was trucking along – it soon became very apparent that it was geared to neophytes… most of the topics were things any self-respecting Montana pre-teen would know.

I need to keep a spare set of dry clothing while on the trail? Really?

You need to bring water to drink and to cook with? I never would have guessed.

Most of the audience were the less-outdoorsy type and very much got into the talk, nodding and murmuring their surprise at these jewels of knowledge.

I, however, nearly jumped into the presentation at the next words that came out of the presenter’s mouth.

“We’ve hiked everywhere you need to hike in the US and you just don’t need to worry about bears. We’ve never seen one.”

What. The. Hell.

There were several things worth arguing about in that statement. And while the rest of the room was nodding complacently, I stood mouth agape, wondering if I could have misheard.

Never run into any bears? Well clearly this “team” had not spent much time in Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho… and let’s not even bring up Alaska. Last fall I went 3/3 (three bear encounters in three days) with the Chiwulff crew. I can guarantee that if you are about and about in the West you are bound to have a bear encounter.

Likely more than one.

Back to the pre-teen Montana kid… we’re taught early on to keep a weather eye out for bears. The feelings on bear spray are mixed, but most of us carry some form of… ahem… stronger protection out in the backcountry.

It’s just a way of life.

I did not end up interrupting the presentation… after a scan of the crowd that was present I decided it would be a lost battle and, in the end, simply not worth my time.

I’ll keep an eye out for Texan / bear encounters next season.

Tags: Critters

Several days ago we posted a series of images which appeared to show a fly fisher having a close encounter with a herd of elk, including a fair sized bull, on the Big Thompson near Rocky Mountain National Park.

The pics generated a smatter of commentary and quite a bit of email. The consensus opinion was unquestionably that we were the dumbasses of the month for presuming the images were indeed real; some (mainly women) seemed to think we were being too hard on the fisher with our commentary.

While there are a multitude of reasons we could (and perhaps should) be nominated as the dumbasses of the month in a host of venues, we determined we’d take no more than one man hour and do some further research regarding the pics.

It became readily apparent that the images had traveled far and wide among various hunting and outdoor forums and blogs; a very unscientific, shoot-from-the-hip summary of several hundred perused comments confirmed a very high suspicion that the images were indeed photoshopped.

With a bit of digging further this link surfaced on the Denver Post site – with a note from the photographer suggesting the images were indeed genuine.

With information obtained on the Denver Post site and some lucky guessing, it was actually pretty easy to track down the fisher – ML – who happens to be on the pastoral staff of a church in the DFW metroplex. ML was kind enough to answer my ‘here’s a silly question’ email with this (and kindly offered permission to post it here):

It was me, and the pictures are 100% authentic. I will forward you some of the others taken by a photographer from the Denver Post who happened to be driving by when the elk decided to join my friends and I in the river.  There were a total of five elk with us.  A cow moved into the river about an hour into our fishing trip (it was my first time fly fishing).  The next cow joined her about 15 minutes later.  We heard the male bugle, but my friend assured us he was up the hill on the other side of the road.  10 minutes later the third cow arrived, followed soon thereafter by number four.  They stood together in a group about 25 feet behind me.  A lot of people were stopping to take photos of us with the elk when I heard rustling behind me.  The bull was twisting his way through the trees to join his herd.  One of the cows walked between a friend of mine and I (we were 25 feet apart) and the bull kept eyeing us both to see what we were going to do (it was mating season, I wish I had known).  The bull then walked up to the cow and nuzzled her.  That put him about 10 feet from me and I knew it was time to move out.

I would be happy to talk to you if you want.  I was blown away by the interest in the pictures. We made the front page of the Denver Post, an article in the Dallas morning news, and in Outdoor Life magazine.  God blessed me with an incredible experience.

We hinted to ML that he’d had an extraordinary encounter with a mating bull and his harem on the river, the fact of which he’s well aware by now.

We didn’t tell ML that we’ve spent many a hour in Yellowstone wagering which tourist would be charged first/next as they pestered the elk and bison roaming the Park (a favorite sport of the locals as you might expect).

While it’s easy to poke a bit of fun at the outrageous misperception that large wild animals aren’t potentially dangerous and are in fact as tame as the critters at the petting zoo, it can be and often is a very serious issue.

The good folks who run Yellowstone have this to say about close encounters with critters in the field.  Simple rule – 100 yards for bear and 25 yards for everything else, though a bison lumbering your way looks damned imposing even at 25 yards.

In ML’s defense, most urban dwellers these days simply don’t have any opportunity to enjoy a close encounter with large critters (last time we were lost in the DFW metroplex we gazed upon many a strange sight but no elk, bison or bears).

We’re increasingly astounded at the gaping disconnect from the natural world that most folks seem to exhibit today. Most denizens of urbia and suburbia haven’t ever even seen a large domesticated critter up close (much less a wild one), sadly missing the enlivening experience of being chased across a riverside pasture by a snot-bellowing, enraged cow or bull.  Early fishing companions, chortling SOBs that they were, introduced me to that pleasure on my third fly fishing outing.

(Wiping warm bull snot from the back of your cap as you survey your latest pattern of barbed wire induced extremity and torso wounds, rightfully earned while diving over / under / through said fence, is a right of passage all fishers should experience. Come to think about it, everyone should experience the joy of winning that race; the character building benefits to the nation would be enormous.)

Imagining ourselves in ML’s shoes, the wildest creatures he probably encounters on a routine basis are caffeine-addled soccer moms driving their spotlessly clean Suburbans and Tahoes at breakneck speed around town.

Given a choice, we’ll take our chances with the elk or the slobbering bull any day.

Finally, to be honest, we’re a little envious. ML had the chance to see a mating bull up close and personal, an honor typically reserved for hyperfit, camo-clad, scent-masked bow hunters who have worked their asses off (dodging hyperphagic bears) all day to get up close.

We’ve invited ML for a day on the river back home any time he’s in the neighborhood.

(Image Credit:  Joe Amon, Denver Post.  We’re still trying to track Joe down, he’s not responded to queries thus far….)

Tags: Critters

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Being in the right place at the right time (the River Shannon in Ireland) can make up for a little rough camerawork. The shot of the young girl’s face at the end is a great reflection of why we all need to spend a little more time in the great outdoors. Damn well done and two thumbs up from our crew.

Tags: Critters

1000 lbs Blue Fin from Eric Kulin on Vimeo.

Tags: Critters

Via the Chive

Tags: Critters

Wolves are still a hot topic in states surrounding the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

For years in Bozeman we’ve been subject to the fulminations and pontifications about the wolf from our sham of a newspaper – the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.

A digression – You have to grant them this – the BDC is unfailingly consistent in their approach to reporting the news.

Whatever the critical news of the day is, whether it’s local, state, national or global in nature, they will lead with a guaranteed fluff piece(s) and blithely ignore the hot topics.  (Their website portal links aren’tpermanent, so I can’t link as an example to their lead today – a story about groups suing Ted Turner over an aspect of the Bison management plan….).

The paper leans so far left they make Nancy Pelosi look like Nancy Reagan; they are a poster child portal for hardline eco-news and opinion.  Another unendingly repetitive topic is how the bad guy red shirts pick on the noble blue shirts.

Of course there are some positives to the BDC.  The police roundup is probably the most popular section of the paper and the paper stock does work wonders for lighting lump charcoal for the smoker.

Back to the wolf story – since the reintroduction of the wolf to YNP and Idaho beginning in 1995 suffice it to say that not all of the regional population has rejoiced (notable understatement).

Folks in the neighborhood haven’t yet swallowed the irrational ruling last summer put forth by Judge D. Molloy in Missoula regarding wolf protections either.

Perhaps that’s what led to the latest dustup over in Grangeville, Idaho.  Seems a raffle the local sheriff is putting on over there has stirred the wolf pot a little.

From Spokane’s Spokesman-Review -

GRANGEVILLE, Idaho – A northern Idaho sheriff said he is not advocating the illegal shooting of federally protected wolves by offering a hunting rifle and a shovel as the prize in a raffle called “.308 SSS Wolf Pack Raffle” in a region where SSS commonly stands for “shoot, shovel and shut up.”

Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings said the SSS in the raffle stands for “safety, security and survival.”

“We knew that this would stir up some interest,” Giddings told the Lewiston Tribune.

The newspaper reported that the SSS in the wolf-shooting context often appears in the area on bumper stickers.

Raffle tickets went on sale Friday for $1 each, or 11 for $10. The prize is a Winchester .308-caliber Model 70 Featherweight rifle and a shovel. The drawing is planned for March 8.

So the sheriff’s being disingenuous you say?   We’re all for folks who want to further the ideals of safety, security and survival.  If you’d like to buy tickets, you can do so by mail here.

It seems this story has sprouted legs over the past few days.  As always it’s quite instructive to read comments from those ‘have a dog in this hunt’ so to speak ( IMHO folks who live in the area) in contrast to those who like to yip and yaw about the wolf from a distance.

Tags: Critters

We weren’t the only ones out enjoying a bit of sun yesterday – Jake grabbed some snaps of a moose cow and her yearling calf near Specimen Creek in the Park yesterday….

Tags: Critters

Ended up taking a business meeting on the road through Paradise Valley and then on into the Lamar Valley of YNP yesterday afternoon.  Pre-storm temps were relatively toasty – pushing 50 leaving Livingston right after lunch, and 42 in Gardiner an hour later.

On the way out a nifty sunset….

The Soda Butte / Lamar confluence is still there….

Bison are fat and happy and grazing on the fall’s abundant grass….

Life in the neighborhood is rolling along right on schedule.

Snowing all morning today in Bozeman makes for a decent office day – back to the desk and computer and a taste of the real world.

Tags: Yellowstone National Park

Jess has been out having some fun – some nifty coyote pics from the Lamar Valley taken a few days ago.  Still down with the flu…tomorrow will be a recovery day.  Pheasant hunt in the morning and turkey in the afternoon, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.

Tags: Critters

Tags: Culture, Books, Art

Tags: Pic of the Day

Eat your dog (or cat) and save the planet?

So say Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, a pair of university based architects who specialize in topics related to sustainable living.

A friend, who begged to remain unnamed and will so as she has private land connections to a little known regional spring creek, and who holds a major university post  (University of Utah) in environmental biology, sent this email and link to the following article –

…check this out – Bozeman is such a dog crazy town what the heck do you think the Prius driving dog owners will think of this?  I can hear the gasps as I write this note, and can imagine the defenses that are rippling around the world as their book and premise gains some traction this week.   Interestingly their book is available on Amazon but neither B&N nor Borders carries the title as of this morning.  Somehow I doubt the independents in Bozeman will have it either…..

From today’s Dominion Post in Wellington, New Zealand comes a provocatively titled article  – Save the Planet, Eat a Dog? Here’s an excerpt:

The eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year, researchers have found.

Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits, in their provocative new book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.

The couple have assessed the carbon emissions created by popular pets, taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them.

“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said.

“A lot of people worry about having SUVs but they don’t worry about having Alsatians and what we are saying is, well, maybe you should be because the environmental impact … is comparable.”

In a study published in New Scientist, they calculated a medium dog eats 164 kilograms of meat and 95kg of cereals every year. It takes 43.3 square metres of land to produce 1kg of chicken a year. This means it takes 0.84 hectares to feed Fido.

They compared this with the footprint of a Toyota Land Cruiser, driven 10,000km a year, which uses 55.1 gigajoules (the energy used to build and fuel it). One hectare of land can produce 135 gigajoules a year, which means the vehicle’s eco-footprint is 0.41ha – less than half of the dog’s.

They found cats have an eco-footprint of 0.15ha – slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf. Hamsters have a footprint of 0.014ha – keeping two of them is equivalent to owning a plasma TV.

Professor Vale says the title of the book is meant to shock, but the couple, who do not have a cat or dog, believe the reintroduction of non-carnivorous pets into urban areas would help slow down global warming.

My first thought in reading the article was to see if the more “enthusiastic” proponents of anthropogenic global warming would be willing to, pardon the irony here, “put their money where their mouth is” and follow the admonition proffered in the book.

In the interest of complete disclosure, my family has over the years owned a number of dogs and cats, in addition to a number of horses, chickens, turkeys, fish and birds, and unwillingly sponsored the livelihood of legions of gophers, moles, ground hogs, mice, elk and deer who trespassed upon the grounds of our various residences.   With livestock roaming the place we couldn’t hunt the game; the tropical fish were too small to eat as were the songbirds.

We happily ate the chickens and turkeys although never went as far as contemplating horse, though there were a couple of times I’d have sent a stubborn steed to a boucheries chevalines had one been readily available.

Now that I think about it, my favorite grad school Chinese eatery (San Antonio) was busted years ago for serving meat predominantly harvested from stray neighborhood felines;  well seasoned in the various Chinese dishes we enjoyed it was just another white meat.  Friends in the food industry suggest that the practice still survives and in places thrives today.  Yum, and pass the chicken kitty curry please.  The eatery, remodeled and renamed, is still in business today.

Finally, the bold band following Lewis and Clark across the nation were apparently particularly fond of dog for dinner and were introduced to what they often wrote of as a delicacy (roast dog) by more than one of their Native American hosts.   The Vales would call the behavior of these men well ahead of their time in terms of environmental stewardship.

Food for thought by a couple of rational, forward thinking scientists?  Maybe.

Likely to happen in our neighborhood?  Not a chance in hell.

Tags: Culture, Books, Art

Rigging on the Firehole late Wednesday afternoon we noticed a small bull bison had drifted in out of the trees just across the road from the car.

Neither party flinched as we rigged and he grazed on down the road – there were white miller caddis coming off and we sure as hell weren’t leaving…..

Tags: Critters

Tags: Pic of the Day

Yesterday Mark and I drove through the Gallatin Canyon on the way to West Yellowstone to meet with John Juracek before his trip to England.  The number of folks fishing the Gallatin was impressive – there were people on the water from the confluence with Fan Creek basically all the way down through the Canyon.

Maybe even more impressive were the several big mud plugs (at least two different discreet ones) that we saw.  Yesterday morning one was below Big Sky and the other above.  The worst one (the upper) was a several mile stretch of pretty much chocolate milk, though as always the river was in pretty much pristine shape above Taylor Fork.

I know we say it every year, but the Gallatin fishes really well this time of year when the water is dropping and clearing – this may in fact be the time that the Gallatin gives up some of the best dry fly fishing she’ll offer all year.

There are still PMDs, Yellow Sallies, Caddis and Green Drake in the Canyon, and even some hoppers lower.  Ants and beetles have been very useful throughout the river.

Didn’t see Yellowstoner’s bears but they’re sure warning folks about them (here’s one at the Bighorn Trailhead).  The upper river valley is in great shape for this time of year with a great display of wildflowers.

Tags: River - Gallatin