Writer in the Wild

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Reflections

Lakes of the Seven Devils range in west/central Idaho. Photos Taken August 2011.

Gem Lake

Echo Lake

Baldy Lake

Monday, October 1, 2012

Javelina Hoedown: Fossil Creek Overnighter

*Note: The title for this blog sounds cooler if you know that Javelina is pronounced with an "H", and sounds like Havelina.

Top of the canyon

Ever since I moved to Arizona, Sarah has been talking about Fossil Creek. She would talk about the splendor of it's falls, and the beauty of it's banks. She would tell me how perfect the water was for swimming. Unfortunately we never had a chance to go because the Forest Service closed it, on account of all the trash and overcrowding. You see, although the Fossil Creek area is a designated "Wilderness" and the creek itself is a designated "Wild and Scenic River" there are roads leading down to the creek at the canyon bottom. This makes it easy for people to access the creek with minimal effort. As a result the area has seen an epidemic of litter, trampled vegetation, and general misuse. They finally opened it back up in September, and since we had a free weekend, Sarah and I decided to hike in for an overnighter, and we brought her dog Rocco.

The hike got off to a bad start before we even made it to the trailhead. Driving through Payson I suddenly had this sinking feeling that I forgot my hiking shoes. I pulled over and searched the car. Sure enough, my Merrell's were nowhere to be found. For the first time in my life I actually forgot my damn boots! I couldn't believe it. Sarah suggested we swing by Walmart and pick up a pair of cheap shoes, which is what I did. Fifteen dollars later I was the proud owner of a pair of Starter tennis shoes that were a half-size too big. They looked like they were made from plastic, and the tread on the soles were non-existent. I wasn't looking forward to hiking in them.

The trail was all down hill. We passed several signs warning hikers to be prepared. Apparently every year people hike down to the canyon with flip-flops and no water. I read online that Fossil Creek can draw up to 4,000 people on the weekends. The evidence of overuse was plain to see. We saw beer cans, water bottles, toilet paper, food cans, clothing, and just a lot of garbage on and near the trail. It was pretty pathetic. The worst I've ever seen. The trail itself was a gradual descent, dropping 1500 feet over 4 miles. The parts of the trail made of soft red sand was really comfortable. The parts that were rocky and boulder strewn - not so much - but my new shoes held up, and we made it to the bottom relatively easy. We found a perfect little campsite near the water and set up shop, and from what I could tell we had the entire place to ourselves. We didn't see anyone down at the creek that first day.

Fossil Creek

That afternoon Sarah and I were lounging around on some big boulders down the trail from our camp. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye, and when I looked up I saw a huge javelina coming down the hill. For those of you unfamiliar with a javelina (also called a peccary) they look like a big wild pig, except they aren't pigs, they're peccaries. They are shaped like a pig, covered in hair, and (this is the fun part) have huge sharp canines that stick out on top and bottom. So here I am watching this javelina gallivant down the hill and it looks like a big boy to me. I guessed it was at least 100 pounds. It looked that big. Definitely the alpha male of it's peccary pack. Sarah and I are watching this javelina (who is oblivious to us) and I see that it's headed in the same direction I saw Rocco go just a couple minutes before. Then I see Rocco walking up the trail toward us, near the javelina. At this point I blew my cover (I was sneaking around trying to get a clear shot with the camera) and called out to Rocco because I didn't want him to attract the javelina's attention and get gored. I swear they passed within 20 feet of each other and neither of them even knew it. I guess the rushing water sound of the creek drowned out the noise.

Boiling water for dinner that night I noticed a white powder in my water, that resembled salt. It worried me because earlier in the month biologists poisoned the creek to kill non-native bass. Even though the Ranger had told me the water was safe, I was still a little bit apprehensive. Sarah thought the sediment was just a mineral in the water, and she was right. After researching for this blog, I found that Fossil Creek is "super saturated with calcium carbonate", which explains the milky water. The interesting thing is that the water in the creek is crystal clear, and doesn't become milky until heated.

Collared Peccary (Not my pic)

The full moon lit up the valley so well that I could see clearly in the dark. We were camped with the rainfly off and the moon was directly above us. It was pretty awesome. Rocco was sleeping outside the tent at our heads. Sarah was sound asleep too. All was quiet. Then I heard squealing. Pig squealing. Peccary squealing. Loud squealing, like screaming. It was coming from the spot near our camp where we saw the javelina earlier. It sounded like some javelina hoedown or peccary pit fight. It went on for 5 to 10 minutes, and then just as sudden as it began, it stopped. Rocco was freaked. He started whimpering and pacing around the camp. I was freaked too. I kept thinking of an episode of Survivorman that I watched last week. Les was in the Sonoran Desert, and he mentioned several times how aggressive and dangerous javelinas could be... Sarah slept through the whole thing.

About an hour later, I was still awake. I heard screaming in the dark. I thought the javelinas came back. I sat up in the tent and listened, and then I heard voices. In a couple minutes a large group of teenagers came walking through our camp. About 10 in all, being loud and obnoxious. Two were even carrying a cooler. How they carried a cooler all the way down from the trailhead, in the dark, I don't know. I suspect they knew of another way in. I thought I heard the sound of car doors shutting. It was weird. They set up camp in the spot next to us, where I had heard the javelinas. Then they proceeded to party all night. It was pretty lame. I wasn't very happy. In fact I spent the next hour laying in the tent thinking about the letter I would write the forest service. Personally, if they want to keep Fossil Creek clean and pristine, they are going to need to make the hard decisions. Like closing all roads leading to it for starters. Make people hike to it. It will weed out the undesirables, like those who would fill the place with garbage.

I was awoke by voices the next morning. Apparently the portion of the creek we had camped by was a popular swimming hole. There was a large group of people in there swimming at 7:30 am. We spent the day hiking and swimming ourselves. Saw some beautiful scenery, and an awesome waterfall. Found some interesting litter, like a pair of shoes, a couple sleeping bags, and a tent, among other things.

The hike out was tough in the blazing sun. Rocco needed lots of brakes. By the time we made it to the car I had a blister the size of a dime on my left big toe. All things considered, an excellent trip. The truth is, that even with all the people and all the trash, Fossil Creek is a beautiful place, and very much worth a weekend backpacking trip.

Waterfall

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Lost and Found

Last July I went hiking with my friend James near the Mogollon Rim in Arizona. He took me to a really secluded spot; to this pretty little creek that flowed at the bottom of a dark, rocky gully. We found a perfect little swimming hole, and since the temperature was hovering around 100 degrees we decided to take a dip. I stripped off all my clothes except the shorts portion of my convertible pants, and jumped in. When I got out, after a very refreshing swim, I noticed I couldn't find my knife. I knew I had it, because I always carry it, not just into the wilderness, but everyday around town as well. After an extensive search I concluded that I must have jumped into the water with the knife in my pocket, and it came loose from my pocket and sank to the bottom. I vowed to return with snorkeling equipment.

Benchmade 530 serrated Knife

Normally I probably wouldn't have fretted too much, but this was no ordinary knife. This was a Benchmade 530. The nicest knife that I ever owned. I bought it at REI a couple years back with my dividends for around $90.00, and I love it, at least about as much as a person can love an inanimate object. It's just so perfect for backpacking and as an everyday knife. At only 1.8 oz it's so light you don't even notice it's there - hence, why I jumped in the pool with it in my pocket. It's super sharp too, and the locking mechanism is so easy and fluid...

Anyway, for the last couple months I've been really brooding about that knife. I fantasized regularly about buying snorkeling gear or some type of high-powered underwater magnet so I could go find it. I've reached for it, absentmindedly, only to find my pocket empty. I prepared myself never to see it again.

Fast forward to yesterday. I pick-up a couple stray articles of clothing from the closet floor to do laundry, and what do I find sitting on the floor of my closet under a pair of shorts? My dang knife! I couldn't believe it. I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. Don't ask me how it got there because I have no idea. But I sure am glad I got my knife back. Woohoo!

The swimming hole where I thought I lost it.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Solitary Man

I love nature photos, but I love photos of people in nature even more. A person in a picture can tell a story that might not be there otherwise. I can really imagine what they are thinking and feeling...

Luke looking out over Saint Mary Lake - Glacier National Park, MT

Stevie and the low tide - Olympic National Park, WA

Roby at Buttenhook Bay on Lake Pend Orielle - Farragut State Park, ID

Steve at Heart Lake - Great Burn Wilderness, MT
( I know I've shared this shot before, but It's one of my favorites and I had to post it again).

Friday, September 21, 2012

Budget Gear Review: Suisse Sport Adventurer 30 Sleeping Bag

The Suisse Sport Adventurer is a 30 degree synthetic sleeping bag that the manufacturer describes as "ultra-compactable". I purchased this bag really as an impulse buy due to my obsession with gear, because frankly, I didn't need it. I had been eye-balling it on Amazon.com for a couple years, drawn to it's relatively light weight, supposed compactability, and low price. Somehow it wound up in my "Shopping Cart", and before I knew it, it was at my front door. I actually purchased this bag for $40.0 about a year ago, and I know that it's been as low as $30.0, though currently (on Amazon) you can only buy it from a third party seller at $79.99. After reading this review, if you're still interested in purchasing this bag, hold out until it's sold by Amazon, as I'm sure the price will drop. Or shop around the web, I'll bet you can find it for a lower price than what it is currently listed on Amazon.

Suisse Sport Adventurer 30

The Suisse Sport Adventurer is a plain looking bag. Nothing fancy. No bells and whistles. The first thing I noticed about this bag when I pulled it out of the stuff sack, was how flat it looked. It doesn't have much loft. After feeling the bag, it seems that there is just one long thin layer of MicroTekk insulation (which Suisse Sport describes as "down like"), sewn into the bag.

It makes for a very light sleeping bag for the price. On my scale the bag weighed 46.2oz (2lb 8.8oz), and the compression sack weighed 3.4oz, for a grand total of 49.6oz (3lb 1.6oz). Now, that wont be considered "ultra-light" but it's not bad for 30 or 40 bucks. The best part about this sleeping bag is how compactable it is. In the provided compression sack you can get the bag down pretty small, and won't have any problem stuffing this thing into your backpack.

This is the part where I go against the grain. If you look on Amazon this bag has an overall 4 star rating out of 458 reviews. That's a a whole lot of good reviews by people that bought this bag, and I imagine most of that has to do with the price.

The first night I used this bag I ran into 2 problems, and they have been plaguing me ever since to the point that I have decided I am not going to use this sleeping bag any longer.

1) Cheap zipper - It's stiff, and it snags worse than any zipper I've ever used. In fact every time I've used this bag the zipper has snagged. "Pay attention when you zip up the bag" you might be saying. Well, I do, and it doesn't do any good. It is a source of constant frustration.

Compressed in the stuff sack.

2) Narrow cut - I am a broad shouldered man. Not big by any means, just wide shouldered. I've never had a problem fitting in a sleeping bag, until now. The first night I could barely zip the bag up passed my shoulders. I struggled and squirmed and fought with the zipper until I finally got it zipped all the way up. Boy was it uncomfortable. My hands and arms had virtually no freedom of movement, and I had to sleep with them pinned to my body. I actually felt like a mummy. Well, this same night after I somehow managed to fall asleep despite how uncomfortable I was, I awoke in the middle of the night cold. After feeling around in the dark as best I could, I discovered why. The zipper had actually split, and from my shoulders down to my waist were actually protruding from the bag, exposed to the chilly night air. Oh, the actual slider body was still clasped in place, but the teeth had somehow came apart. I had actually burst out of the bag! Then of course I had to squirm my way out, find my headlamp, and fix it, which was a total pain in the ass.

Since then I quit trying to zip it up all the way, afraid that I would burst out again in the middle of the night. Luckily it was summer in low country, so with a baselayer on I slept okay. Until my last backpacking trip to the White Mountains in north/east Arizona, where the temps can drop into the 30's and 40's at night in summer. The second night of that trip I awoke cold, and decided to zip the bag up all the way. After all, for a sleeping bag to perform to it's temperature rating (in this case 30 degrees) it has to be used properly. While trying to zip it passed my shoulders the zipper snagged, and it snagged so bad that I couldn't get it unstuck. Finally I lost my patience, and slept exposed from my shoulders up. Luckily my girlfriend was next to me (sound asleep in my good sleeping bag) to share some body heat, or I would have been even colder than I was.

Which brings me to the 30 degree temperature rating. I couldn't accurately test it because I couldn't get the zipper passed my shoulders. But I will say other than the Whites, where the temperature dropped into the 40's, I slept warm, even with my arms and shoulders exposed.

Lastly I want to comment on the quality of this bag, and that is to say that there's not much of it... Quality I mean. Other than the piece of junk zipper, I can see stitching coming out in various places already (especially around the zipper), and I've only used it 5 or 6 times. The compression sack it comes with is already splitting at the seams, despite my gentle treatment.

Bottom Line: If you are broad shouldered do not buy this sleeping bag. For everyone else - As long as you can get it for under $50, it may be worth buying as a back-up, or a loaner, but personally I would not trust it for your main 3 season sleeping bag, and I doubt it will stand up to prolonged use.