Alaskan Tales n Pix

[hick]

Ya know, Looper, SKkin and others, (I may have said this already) the best thing about being up there was being alone.

It might sound a little hokey but once my camp was set, defenses aligned and I got calmed down, there I was with myself.

The mind quieted down and I just felt really comfortable with myself (again).

I don't get a lot of pure alone time anymore, so that was a real treat.

[SKkin]

^ I get that...

there I was with myself.

But then myself can be such a dick sometimes.

[hick]

"Hey self? Can I have another one of those granola, chocolate cluster bar things?"

"NO fat-ass! I'm saving that for the hike out!"

[hick]

[hick]

See a bear in there?

Me neither, but something big was making its way - left a helluva path.

[hick]

So, naturally I coaxed my brother into taking point.

[hick]

A few days later he left and I only had this goose (white speck / far right) to use as an early warning device...

[hick]

Good times. Caught a rainbow trout.

[hick]

Couple more shots from the float plane:

[hick]

[BaitongBoy]

A Note On Bear Spray:


Saving Lives

To find out if bear spray is as effective as guns, Servheen and colleagues with the U.S. Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team conducted a ten-year analysis in the 1990s, which found that people who defended themselves against bears with firearms suffered injury 50 percent of the time, while those outfitted with bear spray evaded injury most of the time.

“Although no product is guaranteed to work or always 100 percent effective, I’m not aware of any case, among many I’ve reviewed, of a person dying when deploying bear spray the way it is supposed to be used," Bartlebaugh notes.

A 2008 study backs up this claim. Between 1985 and 2006, scientists found that bear spray was 92 percent effective in deterring attacks from the three species of North American bear in Alaska. In the study, 98 percent of people carrying bear spray who got into close encounters with bears were uninjured.

********

Since the bear has such a sensitive nose, I can see how a potent spray would be quite effective...

Unless the furry barstard is on crystal meth he ain't gonna stick around...

[Looper]

...Could be thread of the year for me...



a thread of wilderness champions!

[Norton]

Ya know, Looper, SKkin and others, (I may have said this already) the best thing about being up there was being alone.

It might sound a little hokey but once my camp was set, defenses aligned and I got calmed down, there I was with myself.

The mind quieted down and I just felt really comfortable with myself (again).

I don't get a lot of pure alone time anymore, so that was a real treat.

Not hokey at all Hick. Glad to see you are moving on to your off the grid venture.
Great thread. Thanks for sharing.
Reminds me of my young days living off the grid.

[hick]

Appreciate you Norton. Glad to share.

[Matthew]

Great stuff j-bo. I need to spend more time with this from the beginning. Nice photo work bro

[Matthew]

However, (TBH) I was on a wildlife high at one point as a cow moose and her calf had just walked right under me while I was taking a break on a primitive bridge over a creek. Shortly after, I went to crawl under a fallen tree that was blocking the trail.

Without checking my gear, I slid my gun to the other side and proceeded to get down on all fours and my bear spray canister erupted up my side and into my face. I was legally blind for around 5 minutes and in some serious pain as a nearby squirrel tittered and laughed its little furry ass off at me.

That was kinda' brutal. Portions of my skin had a recurrence 2 nights later and just suddenly "burst into flame."

Ahhh, so that's what human combustion might feel like!

[Matthew]

I'm looking for a patch of land, yeah. I'll semi-retire there and split time between AK and the farm at Issarn.

Good luck with that - sounds like a plan to me.

[Matthew]

what month(s) were these in AK btw? i must have missed that in gliding through the thread just now

[hick]

July/August

[Matthew]

Ya know, Looper, SKkin and others, (I may have said this already) the best thing about being up there was being alone.

It might sound a little hokey but once my camp was set, defenses aligned and I got calmed down, there I was with myself.

The mind quieted down and I just felt really comfortable with myself (again).

I don't get a lot of pure alone time anymore, so that was a real treat.

Not hokey in the slightest.

Reminds me of the book I'm reading and highly recommend:


Deep Work by Cal Newport

[Grampa]

Just found this thread and read and saw, every post.

Great thread, hick.

Thank you.

[crackerjack101]

Splendid thread, mate.
One of the best.
On a par with Memocks' heli flight across Aus.
Thanks for sharing and please do us a favour and keep us updated.

Thanks.

[hick]

Well, glad you guys enjoyed it.

Yeah, crackerjack when things proceed, I'll update. I'm taking my time and waiting on that "perfect" parcel to present itself.

[hick]

Hey peeps, been awhile.

Thanks for the messages AO and Nev.
Position in Saudi came to an end last Dec., led me to LOS where I finished my MA
in Edu.
4.0 GPA thankeevleemuchee fuk yeh im bragging.

Man! Thailand (and/or Issan) just doesnt do much for me anymore .
Glad I didnt buy property hastily.
Course the wifes thai. Hopefully just need a longer break. so bored there anymore. Prolly shouldnt have ceased whorin around. I dunno

Posting on this thread cuz the wife and I are taking a jeep wrangler (camper) Ursa Minor from San Diego to Anchorage
and then around AK for a month.

will then taste Thai again (for only a month) followed by a relocation to Ecuador.

new travel thread coming ASAP

best to you all

hick aka cracker aka honky

[Neverna]

Welcome back, hick. It all sounds velly good.