Water-barrier you ask? Well, sort of. The rain got quite heavy at times and was on occasion driven at an angle which would have made it all the more uncomfortable given the small square footage of our tarp canopy shelter.
I personally found it unusual that there was a noticeable silence and lack of animals in the areas that we visited. I know that the weather had something to do with with it but I still felt that there was something unusual about the surroundings. Now, with that being said, we did see a deer (doe) and a fox, but nothing really more than that. If it wasn’t for Tim on his “lookout” perch which consisted of standing, or should I say leaning against the roll bar of a Kawasaki Mule, we might have driven right by the deer without noticing it.
The fox on the other hand was weird. Now I know that foxes can be crafty and sneaky, that’s part of their nature. The thing is, the first night we were up there Tim & I were talking back and forth and he looked beyond me at something which turned out to be a fox, however, it was approaching me from behind in sort of a stalking mode. It’s head was slung down and it’s tail was straight and parallel to the ground. I immediately got up and scared it off but that only lasted a few seconds. It turned around and came back, same sort of body language…like it was hunting prey. Once again we scared it off and for one final time it came back around and we really tried to scare it away, this time it worked…we had hoped. Thinking about it afterwards, it may have been that someone was feeding this fox so it was somewhat used to humans…or….what I feared to think about yet had to consider, it was rabid and delusional. Who knows?
And here is another thing - it's easy to get lost and even easier to become hidden. The leaves were still on the trees but they were at the metamorphical stage of change; they did a hell of a job hiding things. Take a quick glance here....See how easy Tim blends into the background?
Some good lessons were learned during the course of this trip. One thing that I would like to share is the actual field use of LED lights as opposed to regular incandescent bulbs. These LED lights are really great, especially for battery life and longevity of the actual bulb. At first I recognized these lights as being expensive, at least when they began to appear on the market, but now you can even find these things in the dollar store and they work well. Now, I wouldnt recommend dollar store flashlights when you are looking for reliability and so the term “you get what you pay for” casts some truth about the quality of your equipment. Give me a light that’s waterproof or at least has good water resistance, durable case, long life on/off switch, easy to use, great battery life and you’ve got a light that should be a winner. Personally I had a handheld LED light from “The Source” (AKA Old Radio Shack) located at http://www.thesource.ca plus a couple of other items.
My handheld light was on sale for $5 and it was worth it!!! Bright light for the entire weekend and the batteries are still strong. I used this guy the most.
My trusty backup did not require batteries or have any wearable components…which by luck was also on sale for a mere $10 (regular $30). A solar LED flashlight. How simple is that? Works great!
Now here is the thing. When you are in the field working a night scope or using a knife or just trying to tie a rope, the hardest thing to do is to get your flashlight mounted in such a way that it gives you the light you need when you need it and where you need it. I wanted to get a headband light that would allow me the dexterity that I needed to do other things without being held back by planting a light on the ground or in a tree or having someone hold it, plus when I came across this little gem, I couldn’t pass up the price. $19 for a sports headlight (9 in 1) that worked beyond my expectations. http://www.walmart.ca/Canada-FeaturedPage.jsp?selection=listingDetails&assetId=45807&imageId=63173&departmentId=211&categoryId=1244&tabId=7
Walmart is the place for this gem. It not only has a bright white LED light on it but it also has a rear red light (flashing or steady, for tracking,etc) and a blue, green and red front beam which are all great, in particular the blue light. You can draw eyeshine from many yards away with the blue on. Best of all, the battery life is fantastic!
In closing; while there was nothing that I would consider as being conclusive evidence that a “sasquatch – like” entity exists in this area, we did notice a few things that stood out.
First, on Saturday we were driving back in the Mule to our vehicles when we approached a section of trail that was within some pretty dense bush. The trail was cleared itself and in good condition, as you will note in the video, but moving to either side gets you into some thick forest. As we approached this one area, I heard a loud series of brush snaps and I immediately signaled to stop the mule. It was dead quiet afterwards and we scanned the area pretty intensely. Whatever was moving around had stopped and therefore could have possibly been observing us. I do not believe that this would be typical behavior of a bear or deer. They would run for cover until they felt they were completely out of harm’s way (unless the bear was with its cubs).
Second, on our last day (Sunday) we were on our way to retrieve our trail cameras and as we approached the area, the same thing happened again….loud snaps then silence. We immediately dismounted the vehicle and approached the bush. More snaps were heard, then complete silence. Once again, whatever it was stopped and was observing us, yet we could not see a thing.
In closing, we enjoyed ourselves and had a great time.Looking forward to our next expedition (or “mini-expedition”) taking place in a few weeks. North-bound again!!
Until next time……
