Scouting & hiking

[Guy Miner]

Yesterday I went for a walk through one of my long-time favorite hunting areas here in Washington, not far from home.

Maverick ALMOST got himself a grouse! He's not supposed to chase after gamebirds but he made me laugh so much I forgave him.

We saw a half-dozen mule deer, including one young buck with antlers just getting started.

I found bear tracks in the mud on a gated-off dirt road...

Have hunted there in the past, and I'm sure that we'll be there again for grouse season, with a bear tag in my pocket as well.

Old bear tracks, but bear tracks! I've run across bears several times in this area over the years.

Oh, and I managed to get the Jeep stuck in some deep, muddy ruts. Ended up winching out. A winch is a wonderful thing to have along.

Guy

 

[salmonchaser]

That’s a good day.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[1100 Remington Man]

Guy have you tried traction boards ?

 

[DrMike]

As always, Guy, some great photos that reveal very attractive nature of your AO. Maverick appears to have enjoyed himself to the point of exhaustion. The photo-essay is first rate.

 

[Guy Miner]

Guy have you tried traction boards ?

Yes! A pair of them live permanently in my Jeep, and I've used them several times both for my own vehicle and to help others. My son also keeps a pair in his Jeep. In this case, the winch appeared to be the better alternative, but I was ready to break out the Max Trax boards if needed.

My Jeep and I in a rough spot a few winters ago. Several of us had gone in to recover a Toyota Land Cruiser which had gone off the side of this hill. There was a layer of ice concealed by that snow. It got my Jeep too! We used winches and traction boards to get both my Jeep and the Toyota back on the road.

And another time when the lead vehicle stopped, while all of us following were on a hill... I think we ALL needed help getting going from a dead stop on that hill. My boards got used by at least two or three vehicles.

The price for a pair of Max Trax seems high, but we've seen the cheaper Chinese imitations break on one use, so I feel fine about the cash I spent for these boards. They can be really quick to use and effective. Once Josh and I got them for our Jeeps, our winch use dramatically declined.

Regards, Guy

 

[1100 Remington Man]

Excellent Guy. Jeeps are the bees knees off road. Just not a lot of load carrying of additional gear inside them.
I was thinking about a TRD Pro 4Runner but don’t think I can haul all my gear and buddies gear in one.
So I’m looking for a new truck.

 

[Guy Miner]

Hiking with Maverick again yesterday, not far from town... More bear tracks!

Not big bear tracks, but bear tracks. In an area I can reach easily. I often fish and hike there. Oh, Maverick found grouse there yesterday as well. That was fun. Maybe not for the grouse.

Guy

 

[Elkman]

I saw my first bear of the year, a couple of days ago while on my morning hike. I have also seen a couple of fawns, and some very young Turkeys. Its still pretty green but natural water sources are drying up in our area. Slightly earlier than normal, and temperatures have been much cooler than normal. We have had new snow on both Mt Adams and Hood in the last few days with more in the forecast.