Shaman, I think it's the idea of Texas in general. He got a real bad taste of it when his company truck was stolen 3 times in 6 months and he lost all his expensive tools and such. Course this was in Houston but he's being stuborn about it.

Hey Shaman, you talking about my Lahontan Lake?

Lots of folks from here go there, but I've never cared for the lake...its so deep and muddy and stuff....I like the mountain lakes better....

There been 2 people who haved drowned recently, 1 in the Carson River upriver from the lake and 1 in the lake 2 days ago

To be honest, that is what freaks me out about that lake....can't see whats around you....gives me the creeps

But lots o folks fish there All I ever caught was a little sunbass thingie when I fished there

sunbass thingie?

omg, you sure it wasnt a horsefish?

yes, th lahonton cutthroat trout are legendary amoung us brothers of th angle.

I think the beaches are beautiful, but give me the mountains any day. I love the mountains in Okla. and Arkansas. I can't wait to go this week end for the outing south of Mena!

Ummm, the official title is “dirty bastard”, shaman…

I feel your pain bro…

Being born and raised in Abilene myself, I can relate to the heat…

And having lived in Dallas for about 8 years, I understand what the combination of the heat and humidity can do to your mind…

And while where I am now has some of the best weather and most beautiful scenery in the world, it comes with a price… like separation from my family in Texas, like living in a state that has little pride, nothing like Texas, that’s for certain… and like all the bottom-of-the-barrel jobs I was forced to take in order to scrape out a living in the early days of my migration…

But I endured the sacrifices and hardships to obtain what I wanted more than anything else in the world… and that is to be able to hop in my 4x4 truck and drive less than an hour to be in the mountainous national forest… free and open land in the beautiful Sierra Nevadas…

It was much easier to make the change while I was young, but it was a change I had to make in order to reach my full potential…

Now I have another desire… I want to help discover and define this amazing creature… hence, my endeavors have been focused on that desire for some time now…

I am fortunate enough to be where I want to be, shaman…. but it didn’t come easy… or cheap…

But I will tell you this, shaman… anytime you are in the No. Cal area… it would be my pleasure and honor to not only meet you, but to assist your personal endeavors in any way I can… mi casa, su casa, amigo…

awwwwwwww you dirty bassid.

ya had to go and be all nice an stuff.

yeah, say howdy to th next golden trout ya pull out.

<--kickin net floats down th beach, smellin that, "everythings dead" smell of th summer texas coast and sighing

the most beautuful things can only be touched a moment and then let go of:

hence the caption of this:

"go back home feller" ausauble rainbow...hope he is still there.

I sure will say howdy for ya', shaman... catch-and-release, of course!

I gots family of family living all around where you are... and I spent several summers on the Galveston and South Padre beaches as a kid, so I know where you're coming from there...

But as an older dlb (dirty little bastard), we spent our spring breaks exclusively at Padre Island... hardly anybody there back in 73, 74 & 75... would camp on the beach for a week, good thing too 'cause there was only a couple of dinky, flea-bag motels anywhere close...

But there was always plenty of Texas beauties... and we would pull a U-haul trailer full of Coors on ice... it was a party every night... how I survived, I'll never know...

Over the winter, I had been doing some extensive gathering of map data from the area just west of Lake Tahoe... and the areas to the north and to the south of the lake as well, in an attempt to condense all the info regarding behavior, climate, seasons, food supply, the "bottlenecking" of travel routes (thanks ya'll!) and locations of sightings reports in an attempt to identify the most likely areas for prime Sas habitat in this area...

It is slow work, but for me it is fun. I have another over-nighter planned in a couple of weeks, and I hope to access some new areas for me... there is just so much of it up here... and I want to try to find an abandoned fire lookout I discovered about 20 years ago, not marked on any map, and see what I can see... seems to me I had some really spooky feelings when I was there last...

So, if I never see a Sas again, or hear one... I will have the time of my life trying...

Come on out... and we'll go squatchin'! Who knows, maybe we'll find one!

Or, just hang with me... they seem to be attracted to me somehow...

*Or, just hang with me... they seem to be attracted to me somehow... *

it could be your socks ...

*sniff* RB that was beautiful*sniff sniff*

And shaman, I was wondering about what you were saying about Lahontan having well-known fishing...didn't Pyramid Lake have like humongous something-or-others in historical times? I've seen pics and whatever they were they were around 4 feet or better....

Shaman, I like your pic above....my last "fishing" experience was 2 years ago above Lake Tahoe in a reservoir....we were mountain biking up the backside of the Flume Trail above Sand Harbor and near the top came to a tributary (?) that was really running low....like 50 rainbow trout were caught in a little pond and we just scooped them up with our T-shirts and stuffed them in our bikepacks...

Well, about 20 yards up the ridge we saw a sign warning NO FISHING from the reservoir or tributary,,,,HUGE fines etc etc

That reservoir is a fish hatchery and I knew it too, but didn't know scooping from the stream was illegal....

It was a total blast tho..

RB you prob know what lake I's talking about....ssshhhhhh

I can relate msfit...

I learned the hard way about that little law regarding some streams in California being designated as "fly only" for fishing...

Cost this country boy $85.00 to learn he should've been using a $200.00 flyrod and reel instead of a $15.00 Zebco and a worm...

Thank God I had a fishing license... he weren't happy with me as it were...

california Fish And Game officers have absolutely NO sense of humor about bein called FAG boys.

Ya know how agencies like LAPD, CIA, FBI or NYPD like to put the letters on the back of jackets in real big letters ?

Fish And Game

Airport Security Services (they changed the name shortly before they made any jackets, damnit)

Could you see those two groups working together?

I can...

awww, c'mon.... it's a joke!

That would be rather humiliating for the poor buggers now wouldn't it?

I really want to hike up to Lake Aloha this summer and just checked out BFROs database and saw some sightings and vocals there ....Dang ! Hows a girl supposed to enjoy the beautiful Sierra if I'm worried about a monster lurking behind every pinetree or boulder?

But the big furballs are friendly...

It's the hairless dirtballs you must avoid...

If these things are real, you could sleep out in the open at your camp, and all they might do is to sneak up while you're sleeping and maybe stroke your blonde hair out of curiousity...

Gee, I know you meant to be comforting, but........

Hey RB,

Look:

http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=6639

That was last month

And I just hiked a few miles from there a couple weekends ago and am going back in the next few weeks....

But what do you think about the 5'6" part? I mean it was dark....could it have been a BIG bear? A BIG deer?.....hmmmmmm...

I guess I better start looking around for tracks and such( ) when I am up there next time.....

wow... msfit maybe you ought to keep your eyes open for something there. Do you still go by your self when you go hiking?

Hey ranshirl

I hardly ever hike/mountain bike alone up in the Sierra. When I am going for a real hike up there I usually have a buddy...either my husband, sister, or some friend I drag along!

I do go on short jaunts from where we might be camping by myself, but you have to be so careful. 2 years ago, the son of my sisters boyfriend went for a 'quick jog' when we were up in a wildnerness area....he never came back and it got dark .....We had search and rescue and a helicopter up there all night looking for him....he finally was found the next evening only 1 mile from camp!!! Thats how crazy the forest can be. You have to know the peaks and gullies and alpine lakes are just crazy up there.....

When I had horses I rode alone up there all the time, but on foot my mind starts to imagine things after awhile in the forest.

Anyway I am taking my husband with me next week.....ssshhhhh he doesn't know how long the hikes gonna be up to Lake Aloha....heh hehh hee...

I only hike alone in the foothills and in the valley where I live.

Well for goodness sakes carry a camera, please msfit... and be careful up there!

Hey, my wife was in Tahoe that weekend but she didn't mention... no, that's just wrong... but she was there...

Hey, I'm telling ya'll... that area is just over the hill (to the west from there) to the area I have been checking out... to the west is Desolation Wilderness Area, and the Rubicon River and jeep trail... very remote and very inaccessable...

Also, just to the NW from that area, around the lake, is Sugar Pine Point State Park, there are several reports on the BFRO site from that area... pretty steep country though...

Lake Tahoe is Sasquatch country...

Why Lake Tahoe tho?

I've thought about it and you know RB that there are gazillions of acres of remote and rugged alpine forest all around and tons of alpine lakes....so why would a bigfoot want to wander down into an area crawling with people?

Thats been bugging me....

Wait just a minute ....how tall is your wife RB?

I am glad to hear that your husband will be with you msfit. You never know you might run into the creature we all know as bigfoot!

hehehe Like I’m some kind of expert or something…

But I suppose I can be as much an expert on something that’s not supposed to exist as the next guy… (btw, who is that guy next to me anyway?)

Let me say for the record that I reserve the right to exercise my Fifth Amendment rights in not addressing any references regarding similarities, or dissimilarities, of said individual to Sasquatch. I do not now, nor have I ever, found any evidence to support that theory. It is completely unfounded. All DNA testing supports this. Too bad really, I have some tree stumps that need to be removed…

To answer your question, let me ask you this… I believe you will see where I’m going with this…

Where do humans like to live, say Reno, for instance… are they building up the old run-down neighborhoods in the downtown area? Not much, huh? Most folks are building and buying homes on the fringes to the city… in the foothills… Why? Why not in town if you want to be close to the shopping, etc? Because it’s irritating to us, maybe dangerous… we avoid it, but it has what we want and need, so we cannot avoid the “city”… and if you live too darn far out in the sticks, it is just way too much of a hassle to make the trip very often… Lots of us like to live somewhere in between… have a little space, privacy and some sense of security… but near enough to Taco Bell to make a late night run…

Now think about the Tahoe Valley… inside the rim / valley is lots of goodies… think how many garbage cans there are in the Tahoe Valley… oh sure, most are somewhat bear-proof… but bears don’t have thumbs like Sasquatch… bears make noise… bears get caught… but Bigfoot just makes folks poop their pants, and say very little about it… If you saw one digging in your garbage can, whom would you tell? Think about it before you answer…

So inside the valley is like a 24-hour Walmart for Sasquatch… but they prefer the night… can’t say as I blame them… but outside the valley is wildlands… think about where there are people living outside, but in close proximity to the valley… a few to the south… a few over the hill towards Carson City… Northstar? How far is that from the lake? Squaw Valley? Again… how far is that from the lake… And then what borders the entire western side of Tahoe Valley… how many homes are over in Desolation Wilderness Area, or the Rubicon Trail?

I suggest it isn’t such a hike for Sasquatch to live and sleep outside the valley and shop, eat and watch TV through windows inside the valley… one of these guys could be completely hidden and safe from discovery during the day, and in less than an hour’s walk, can be eating some good Chinese food out of a dumpster…

I dunno, what do you think?

RB I didn't in anyway mean to imply that your lovely wife might look like a sasquatch!.....I just could see you putting her up to some shenanigans thats all.....

Interesting what you say about them coming in the the Tahoe basin at night for the pickens' tho.....that would make some sense I guess.....very good insight there

Does anyone know if sasquatch is known at all for dumpster diving?

Somewhere around here is a thread where we discussed the guy in Florida that staked out a dumpster and then shot at one when it surprised him...

I'll have to go look for that one...

RB - this in an incredibly astute observation. You may be onto something (i.e., location of winter habitat for a population of North American Great Ape). What bfs do in the winter has long been a research interest of mine. Obviously, reports of winter observations are practically nil...so where do they go? When do they move? What triggers the move? Do they use caves, rockshelters, old mine shafts?? Do they come together as a group to provide support for food and warmth, or do they go at it alone? Are the female pregnant at this time, in order to have their young in the spring? If so, do the male protect the females during this time?

I'm impressed with the other observations you have posted here about Tahoe and the Rubicon; some are almost too close for comfort (things I've been TRYING to keep quiet!!!). I also noted that all the BFRO reports you cite are mine.....

So, now that you have established a research area, how do you plan on testing this hypothesis? Do you plan on verifying your weather observations with your own weather station or records kept by the Forest Service? How much time do you plan on spending in the area? Do you have any lures (bait, pheromones, etc.) planned? What about traps or cameras? Are you really trying to research this area on your own??

Sorry if I have a bunch of questions, just curious....and impressed that you recognized the importance of this area.

Most excellent questions, oh Great Spirit of the legendary Hairy Man!

This thread has been idle for so long, I’m surprised you could even find it under all the dust bunnies!

You pose some most thought-provoking questions…

And after weeks of careful consideration of all your questions, I have at last come up with my response…

And that response is… yes.

I think.

I’m pretty sure anyway.

Maybe…

Damn… ok… I’ll have to get back to you on that…

Ok RB...while you are carefully pondering my questions, can I answer one of yours? Your signature states:



The answer is E, right? Right? In fact, I've got a potato in my pocket right now....

Kathy, is that a potato in your pocket, or are you just happy to see RB?...lol

Oh... I'm sure it was Craig, because she was happy to see me...

Who wouldn't be happy to see RB?

But... and I really didn't want to say anything... but I noticed more than one potato in people's pockets when I met them at the symposium...

*ahem, not mentioning any names... but you know who you are...

I was beginning to wonder if I had a stick of butter hidden on me somewhere...

RB, i remember you saying you grew up in Texas, so i thought, being your friend and all, i might point out to you to be sure you put the tater in the FRONT pocket and not the BACK pocket. It might look a little funny, if you know what I mean.
Peg

Where are we going with this? French fries or mashed potatoes?

I just discovered this thread, RB! and I like IT!
(Not the potato in the pants part...but that's funny!!)

I had nice, albeit wet, drive up Hwy 4 last Saturday to the Calaveras Big Trees S.P. and went there for the very reasons you went out - previous incident. Pretty darn cold and wet in and around the north grove. The road to the south grove is closed for winter. So, maybe a little bit back down the road towards the valley would be better.

Kathy, RB: any areas in the lower elev's or protected canyons that might be good in early Dec? I have to go and research the sightings database some more. Haven't really done my homework.

-- Tom

P.S. The coast range north of Anderson Valley up to the Humboldt Redwoods looks good for some winter outings and how about the Ventana wilderness? LOTS of wilderness there! and there was the sighting by the hunter (date?) in the last couple of years on Fort Hunter-Liggett, the southern edge of the Ventanas.
Comments, PLEASE!

And I just realized there won't be many sightings in Dec. in that area or many others! So, we're looking for habitat and weather patterns....and a food source?

Any favorite (or 2nd favorite) winter spots?

Some friends of mine recently moved to Tahoe...Tahoe City. They have a real problem with bears. Everyone in their neighborhood has to use bear boxes for their trash...locked metal boxes. But the house they bought had a wooden bear box with a simple board across which they can lock. Guess who gets their trash broken into almost once a week??? They want to get a metal box but those are pretty expensive...but those bears are tremendously strong...

I remember watching a video of bears breaking into Toyota and Honda SUV's...they would just get their claws in the doors and peel them back...was absolutely amazing.

-S

Hi sosha,and welcome....

Yes, WELCOME, Sosha (from one fairly new-comer to another.)
Think you'll like this forum...it's great!

That would stink to have a bear rip your car door off....and I know it happens.
And we were camping in Tahoe 2 summers ago and were using the bear lockers there....guess that basin has a big population of bears! bummer for your friends.


Anybody got any "bears in the field" stories? can we break away from the expedition debate and tell some yarns? good one, there....zzzzz
-- Tom

Thanks you guys I will tell you something about bears I've learned. They are a lot smarter than they look..lol!

We have a Kodiak bear where I work...he was rescued in Las Vegas along with a Grizzly from some guy who used to drag them around the country and rent them out for movies and stuff. He ran outa money and left them to starve to death in the 100+ heat in a parking lot.

Anyway...they were rescued and brought to our facility and part of my job is to photograph them enjoying their new habitat..we buitl them a big enclosure with a pool and grass and tree stumps and stuff. To photograph them I would step up tpo the fence and shoot through the chain link....this Kodiak musta been paying attention to me closely because he would know that when he came up to the fence I would back away and wait until he moved away again. Well one day he starts walkin away...after he had been up to the fence trying to get a scent of me. He had his back to me and got about 5 feet away so I approached the fence and he suddenly whirled around....and you have no idea how fast these guys move until you have one spin toward you like he was shot out of a cannon...I instinctivley jumped backward and promptly fell right on my arse He stood up against the fence and I just started to imagine that there was no fence between us and it gave me the willies...but...I learned a lesson that day...animals are totally unpredictable...and you just can't ever know what they are thinkin from one moment to the next. I guess that's why I love em so much...cause they are uncontrollable and certainly are not beholding to us...lol. Except when they eat one of us they always get shot....which bums me out...I wish animals didn't have to suffer for our mistakes...but alas...that's the way it is. Part of me wishes that Sasquatch lives on and on and we never get to prove he exists or not...he's something we cannot control...perhaps he already knows what we are all about..and he wants no part of it. He probably looks at some of us in those huge honkin RV's with the Satellite dishes on top and thinks...why are you here? and why can't you be quiet???lol!!

Oh..this is the bear I was talking about...I'm 5'2" (not a tall girl) and he is almost that at the shoulders....he's huge!!!

yikes! your bear story freaks me out. i have a very crazy fear of bears even tho i've never seen one 'cept in the zoo.

i have terrible bear dreams. like, they're tyring to kill me.

we're neighbors, btw. i'm in roseville

welcome to bff
gael

Hey Gael,

Cool! Nice to meet ya! Roseville is just over there *points*

Yep bears are a force to reckon with...but it's scarier feeding a full grown African Lioness dinner when she is really hungry I'm not a keeper now...did that for a while but now I do other stuff.

But I really love my job, and watching the animal behavior is really interesting...I have noticed that the bears do stand up from time to time...but it is always for a purpose and never for an extended amount of time...and when they do they always have their arms out in front of them for balance...they do not swing them like people do...and they look awkward when they do...like they are about to fall back on all fours any minute...I think it is uncomfortable for them to stand on just their hind feet beause of how their backs are....I've only seen them stand up when: they are scratching their backs;to see something that has alarmed them;playing or fighting....and these times they were only up for a little bit then dropped back down on all fours. Anyway...here's a pic of one of our grizzlies standing up....for an idea...I have more stand up photos I can post too.

wow! i remember i wanted to be a keeper when i was a kid. i love the big cats (and the little ones)

i also work with animal behavior. at csp-sac (calif state prison-sacramento) but i envy you your job. i'd rather work with your animals than mine.

gael

]Well the keeper work was hella hard on the body...just physically exhausting, I hurt my back and had two kidney stones while working out there (may I emphasize the importance of drinking plenty of water to everyone??lol)...so I had to quit that...so now i just do the photography and coordinate other stuff....and do computer stuff...but I love being out there with dem animals..they are great to be around! We just recently rescued 3 little 4 month old tiger cubs from someplace back east....omg they are sooooo awesome. posting a pic:-P

OK, Gael, you just gotta explain this. I know it's off topic, but what the heck...
Are the animals you're referring to the same one's I think you're referring to??

If so, then I agree that Sosha's animals are much less dangerous.

]Hahaha! Yeah my animals are in cages and they aren't let out! I think the animals Gael is talking about are the ones who would hurt ya in a variety of weird ways eh??


Here's a dangerous animal for ya! This one used to knock me down all the time!

I remember those from Scotland, and that DEFINITELY is
not an animal to mess with. In fact I remember specifc
warning signs with regard to them in certain areas.
Cute, but nasty.

umm, inmates? yup

i work in the SHU (security housing unit) which holds the most violent offenders. this is considered to be the prison within the prison. mostly lifers who have nothing to lose if they try to kill you, spit on you, throw body fluids on you. etc etc

i'm safe tho, i wear a kevlar vest and am almost always accompianied by two officers when i'm on the tiers.


i'm always respectful to them, no matter WHAT i really think of them. so i'm usually not the main target in an attack (altho i HAVE had liquified feces and urine thrown on me more then once)

its a job
gael

WOW!! Well, I, for one, want to thank you for doing what your doing! Yeah, I know, somebody's gotta do it. You know what? You and Sosha ought to team up on a Squatch hunt. Sosha could charm the Squatch, petting him on the head, while you put the cuffs on him. Bet it would work!