read this yesterday when it says that everyone tried to "haze away the bear" does that mean they used bear spray? Or just that they did the arm wave/clap/shout thing?
Have a 2 night backpacking trip in Saguaro this weekend and a 4 day camping trip to the Grand Canyon at Mather the following week. I am excite. My buddies are doing a R2R2R and I will not be doing that btw.
REI Magma 850 down sleeping bags are going on sale 50% off Monday-Thursday prior to the anniversary sale. You won’t find a better bag for a better price.
Any advice on Flathead National Forest/camping at Flathead Lake? Driving to Yellowstone in a few weeks and it looks like a cool midpoint
When we were out there last summer we spent pretty much all of our time at Glacier, but due to airline snafus we ended up driving back and forth to Missoula a few times and got a great look at the lake and the eastern shore. Absolutely gorgeous place that is now on my ever expanding list of places I’d live if I could quit my job. Lots of family owned cherry orchards on the eastern shore, and several good breweries in Big Fork on the northern tip.
more grizzly than brown. Lots of people hiking with their fingers on the bear spray trigger; I'm surprised there aren't a bunch of spraying incidents when people come up on each other unexpectedly
I'll be closing on the new air bnb there next week! As of 3 weeks ago it was absolutely mud season and much of the gunnison was closed.
I think they are similar, but grizzlies are more aggressive while generic brown bears are pretty chill. Case in point I was 10 feet from a brown bear in Yosemite and we left each other alone. If I find myself 10 feet from a grizzly bricks would be shat.
That bear in Yosemite is a black bear (refers to the species) even if it's fur is blond brown. Brown bears are a different species and in some regions those are called Grizzlies. If I remember right, Polar bears are a branch off the brown bear tree. Been awhile since I stretched the old zoology degree muscles. Critters were definitely more fun, and lower paying, than rocks. Miss um.
Battlestar Galactica was the syndication of my childhood. Sheeba, leader of the Silver Spar Squadron was my childhood celebrity crush. I used to sketch battlestars and Cylon base stars all over my folders and wrote a short story about how the Pegasus took out all three base stars. Tried to get my dad to rename our dog to Muffit. The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet their runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious.
I've always heard of the Coastal Brown bears and the interior Grizzlies with the only real difference being Their diet and the resulting size difference (salmon >>> berries).
Talking to my osteo doctor today about how to manage pain with some upcoming hikes this summer (he prescribed me some drugs, woo), and he mentioned using a staff to alleviate pressure on my lower back. Any thoughts on staff vs trekking poles? I kind of like the idea of a staff better, but all of the research I've done so far is leading me toward poles. It would need to be something that can fold up easily enough to fit in a suitcase. I also need a new day pack, and leaning toward the Osprey Talon 22 unless somebody can convince me to spend the $50 on the Talon Pro. Waiting/hoping to get another 20% off coupon from REI in the mail before I need to pull the trigger.
I got my dad poles 20 years ago. Changed the game for him. Can't think of a single reason to get a staff over trekking poles unless you're a wizard. I've used my dad's trekking poles a few times and the difference on my legs by the end is noticeable.
I use poles nearly every time I go out somewhere. Partly to save wear and tear on the knees, part just to keep in practice and rhythm.
I’ve used a Cotopaxi Luzon 18l for over 5 years as a day pack and daily commute bag when I was commuting via transit (no laptop then). Not exactly feature packed, but it’s light, durable, and comfortable to me.
So we've decided on doing Yellowstone and Grand Teton during the first week of June. Glacier is just too far out of the way, needs to be its own trip. Drive to Yellowstone, spending a night somewhere in Montana. Spend 2-3 nights glamping here: https://www.undercanvas.com/camps/yellowstone/ On Wednesday drive South into Grand Teton/Jackson Hole. Apparently it's only like a 1.5 hour drive? Thinking about camping in Teton depending on the weather. Holy shit at the lodging prices around Jackson, was not expecting that.
I did Yellowstone and Tetons last summer. I ended up staying in a condo in Victor, ID for Tetons. It was significantly cheaper than Jackson, and added less than 30 minutes each way each day. In Tetons I'm sure you'll want to hike Cascade Canyon, it's one of the most popular and is awesomely beautiful. My biggest recommendation is that you can take a boat across the lake to take about two miles off of the hike. Take the first boat in the morning, at like 7am. You beat the crowds on the way up the trail, and it's I think $5 compared to around $20 the rest of the day.
Looks like we're going to camp at Gros Ventre campground, looks pretty awesome. https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/247661
That's probably a good spot. It's pretty close to Mormon row, which is probably the most photographed spot in the park.
Poles all the way. A staff isn’t going to help at all and it’s heavy. If you’re dead set on not using two poles, just use one.
Brown bears and Grizzly bears are pretty much the same thing. The key difference is Brown bears have a diet that includes a large amount of fish, where grizzlies are inland and lack this resource that’s why “brown bears” weigh like 1500 pounds and “grizzlies” check in at 700 on the high end so if you are on the coast: Brown Bear Inland like yellowstone: Grizzly
I just use a standard filtration system into my normal water bottle, though. My buddy who is an expert outdoorsman has always told me that if you're running out of water, go ahead and drink out of streams. It takes about 24-48 hours for giardia to set in, so you have a small window to get yourself out.
I was looking at something like a Grayl, Lifestraw, or Katadyn. I do a lot of hiking into rivers to fish in SC and didn't want to carry more than 1 bottle of water.
I use a katadyn and love it, had it for 2 years and clean the filter every month or so. No complaints:
do any of y'all trust the search function to find posts? For instance, If I wanted to read posts across the ~50 pages (or even, in the Travel thread) about say, Jackson, WY. I'm looking to plan a trip asap and wondering if I can pull together the insights over the years of TMB posts on some of the destinations I'm considering.