[Queso]

met this guy on mission st. in santa cruz today talkin' about he used to live on the tallest mountain in big sur...talked about the freshest water and how it infused, talked about the bears, mountain lions, rattle snakes, and wolves.
Big sur is on the pacific ocean, and is immediately followed by redwood forest and thousand foot elevations. There is where he dwelled.
Should I fear these creatures being near the coast?
What are some precautions I should take to avoid these amazing beasts?

[freeztar]

Awareness is key. If you are aware at all times (much more difficult than it sounds), then you will have more warning time. Listen to the birds, they are some of the best sentries. Carry a stick with you and do not back down if approached by a wild animal.

And most important of all....enjoy yourself! Very few people die from the animals you listed.

I love Big Sur!

[Turtle]

Sounds inviting. I second the stick idea, and expound on it. Make it a BIG stick. At least shoulder high, and head high is better. Tie a thong around it near the top and you can use it to loop around your wrist if you need to let loose the stick, and you can use it to hook or loop things from a distance when you hold the 'ground' end. On steep hills, you can reach down several feet with it and find support, then slide/jump down the staff to a landing & repeat. Tie a bell to it and as you walk you will scare off pretty much all the creatures you list. In the unlikely but possible event you are attacked, the staff is the weapon you think it is. Bear encounters during the day are pretty much you surprised them, but at night they may come into camp if they smell food. Cougars on the other hand will hunt you during the day and either wait in a tree or on a ledge over a trail to attack or follow and come up behind a hiker to attack. It is good practice to frquently stop and turn around on a trail, not only to look for danger but to see the trail as it looks when you return. That's a rap Sur.

[Cedars]

orbsycli said:

met this guy on mission st. in santa cruz today talkin' about he used to live on the tallest mountain in big sur...talked about the freshest water and how it infused, talked about the bears, mountain lions, rattle snakes, and wolves.
Big sur is on the pacific ocean, and is immediately followed by redwood forest and thousand foot elevations. There is where he dwelled.
Should I fear these creatures being near the coast?
What are some precautions I should take to avoid these amazing beasts?

Fear is not the right word. Be aware is a better description. Black bear are usually not a problem unless cubs are around. For this area, mating season for bears is June (another risk time). How is the natural food supply going in that region? Oh, and when I used to take trips up to the Boundry Waters, I would stop at the regional office and talk to the guys there about where the problem bears had been reported (camp raiders) and I would suggest you contact some of these guys to see if there have been any issues with wildlife in the area your headed into.

For the BWCA campers are told to hang their food supplies up in trees, out a bit from the trunk (like 6-8 feet). You might want to run a few google searches on camping in the Boundry Waters Canoe Area for some clues.

The stick idea isnt a bad one, but for me, the jingling of bells would bum me out. But I like to listen to the forest. For snake it would be helpful though. You poke the stick around ahead of you as your walking, almost in the same fashion a blind person uses a cane. Most snakes will slither away. Most rattlers will warn with the rattle first. As I understand it, most snake bites are from someone stepping on/too close to the snake where it felt it had to strike to protect itself. The poking stick gives them a warning.

My brother chased a very large rattler one time thinking it was a bull snake. It was trying to sun itself on the top of his tent. Bull snakes can rattle, but they hit their tail on the ground to make the noise. Rattlers hold their tail up and shake it.

[Turtle]

Cedars said:

... The stick idea isnt a bad one, but for me, the jingling of bells would bum me out. But I like to listen to the forest. For snake it would be helpful though. You poke the stick around ahead of you as your walking, almost in the same fashion a blind person uses a cane. Most snakes will slither away. Most rattlers will warn with the rattle first. As I understand it, most snake bites are from someone stepping on/too close to the snake where it felt it had to strike to protect itself. The poking stick gives them a warning.

I love stick staff stuff talk! The jingling does bum if overdone. Strickly an option for high-likelihood of bear encounter; it just gives the cougars a little more time to hide 'til you pass so they can attack you from behind.

Absolutely agree with your poking techniques and applications you describe for snakes. Note to newbies: Do not poke the snake!

Another advantage of a long staff is that you can grasp it at the level of your heart and this reduces the swelling in the hands one experiences on long hikes. Use the staff in both hands, that is to say for a while in the right hand and for a while in the left hand and so on.

The long staff affords another advantage when crossing streams that a shorter stick goes lacking; both giving a means to measure a depth to several feet as well as a means to gain support in it.

With a long staff, one is able to vault narrow ditches, creeks, and swales.

[Cedars]

Turtle said:

I love stick staff stuff talk! The jingling does bum if overdone. Strickly an option for high-likelihood of bear encounter; it just gives the cougars a little more time to hide 'til you pass so they can attack you from behind.

I guess we need to debate the bells themselves.
Cowbell? Pro: Deeper ring
Con: Heavier

Sleighbells? Pro: Noisier
Con: Noisier

Turtle said:

Note to newbies: Do not poke the snake!

LOL good point!

Turtle said:

Another advantage of a long staff is that you can grasp it at the level of your heart and this reduces the swelling in the hands one experiences on long hikes. Use the staff in both hands, that is to say for a while in the right hand and for a while in the left hand and so on.

Could be that Orby wont experience the dreaded hand swelling. Us experienced by years people forget some of the things that Didnt impact us in our youth.

Turtle said:

The long staff affords another advantage when crossing streams that a shorter stick goes lacking; both giving a means to measure a depth to several feet as well as a means to gain support in it.

With a long staff, one is able to vault narrow ditches, creeks, and swales.

Swales.... thats a good word.

For measuring depth and support when wading thru a babbling brook, I agree.
I stopped vaulting a long time ago. I like the feet on the ground when hiking. Couple of things happened when trying to vault that turned me off. Once or twice I didnt have enough speed and fell back to the bank I was trying to leave. The other time I was vaulting snow melt. Unbeknownst to me, the water was flowing just as deeply under the pack I was vaulting to. Once I could see again (you get that same flash of light as if hit on the head hard), I found myself almost belly button deep in slushy ice cold water. It wasnt as bad as DiCapprio described in Titanic (a thousand knives stabbing you) More like a million pins being stabbed into you with an occasional knife wound.



Oh and as a side note.
Moccasins are useless in wet conditions. I dont know how the hell Indians managed to keep on their feet around water... Might as well be on roller skates or skis. I bet they took them off when fishing or traveling on foot around water. Thats what I ended up doing.

[Zythryn]

Turtle said:

... Make it a BIG stick...

And walk softly:)

Actually, don't, I was kidding.
The awareness will do you the most good, the stick is an excellent idea as well, but awareness is your first defense.

Remember, bears have an amazing sense of smell. If it is bear season, don't be walking around bear country with a pack of donuts. Doesn't matter if they are in plastic, or you can't smell them, the bears can.

[Queso]

[Queso]

can someone give me some advice on how to cook meat over a flame?
I'm familiar with fire as a source to cook with, as well as hot rocks in a hole.
I've read that cooking the meat too long destroys the nutriticious value of the food,
therefore,
what are some good techniques I should apply to cooking game?

[Cedars]

orbsycli said:

can someone give me some advice on how to cook meat over a flame?
I'm familiar with fire as a source to cook with, as well as hot rocks in a hole.
I've read that cooking the meat too long destroys the nutriticious value of the food,
therefore,
what are some good techniques I should apply to cooking game?

What kind of game?

[Queso]

hypothetical game, like
an owl

[TheBigDog]

orbsycli said:

can someone give me some advice on how to cook meat over a flame?
I'm familiar with fire as a source to cook with, as well as hot rocks in a hole.
I've read that cooking the meat too long destroys the nutriticious value of the food,
therefore,
what are some good techniques I should apply to cooking game?

I like the meat cut pretty small and thin, then braze it over a flame. You need to be aware of what you are eating if you want it on the medium to rare side; if you are not sure it is best to make sure it is cooked through. I usually don't use any seasonings when cooking this way. The meet will be as juicy as you like it. Play with putting it in flame or over coals to adjust how it cooks.

I did this with the kids a few weeks ago when we camped in the yard. Bought a package of stewing beef and it was fantastic!

Enjoy!

Bill

[Cedars]

orbsycli said:

hypothetical game, like
an owl

Cute...

Ok, based on this response I would suggest you do your game hunting here:

Welcome to Cub Foods Homepage
Or here if cub doesnt appeal to you:
SUPERVALU INC.

Look for this:

Welcome

Or have a backup plan that doesnt include meat for your adventure.

[Loricybin]

i think something that would be especially helpful in such an adventure may be resources (books would be preferable, as they can be brought along) concerning wilderness survival, or particularly north american wilderness.
northern-california mountains (big sur, the santa cruz mountains, etc.)

anyone have any suggestions as far as that goes?
(i'm similarly interested in an adventure such as this, in the same area, quite possibly with orb at first or otherwise.)