Fall Trip

A strange thing happened recently. I was able to skank a couple of days vacation time and at the same time, we entered a period of stunning fall weather. Low 40's in the mornings, low 70's during the day, with blue bird skies and dead calm evenings.

A perfect time to bag some dirt time.

This is the same property I visited during my Spring Trip, BTW. There is a noticeable difference in the scenery.

Here is the start of a day hike, with the morning fog starting to burn off...

In addition to the great day, and getting some exercise, I was trying out a new pack on this trip. It is called the "GearSkin", and is made by Moonbow. In essence, it is a nylon "taco" that surrounds your gear, using your bedding as the frame and padding. You lay out your body bag, ground pad & sleeping bag, place your other stuff in the center, fold it up, and wrap the GearSkin around it. The contents of the pack are accessible around three edges by simply opening a couple of the straps. A good concept for a light pack, however I stuffed about 35 lbs inside, and found that after a while, the shoulder straps hurt the shoulders somewhat, as the waist belt does not completely support the soft pack. For it's intended purpose though, (ultralight hiking), it should work just great. The construction is first rate.

You can see the tube from the Blackhawk water bladder, and the Simonich Aurora alongside.

Some of the scenery on the hike....

Somewhere up in the head of this canyon is a spring...

I had to share the trail with a fuzzy friend...

Some of the gear. A Wilson customized Colt, and a Simonich Aurora. Worth their weight in gold, when you need to rely on the very best.

Here are some pics of an old homestead.

Here is the doorway into an old dugout... Nothing left now except for these rocks, and a depression in the ground.

While I have not yet tramped over the entire 13,500 acres of this property, I have only been able to find three locations where any Mugwort grows. In each case, it is at the base of multi-trunked Sycamores, amid a tangle of California Rose, in the flood plane of this seasonal river.

The ranch has a healthy herd of Tule Elk. I saw over 50 one day.

Here are 5 cows...

There were several bulls, tending to small groups of cows. While they are not as impressive as other species of elk, this bull was a 6X6, and still a neat sight.

The elk has a stately way of moving that makes the deer look like grass rats. Still, here is an impressive buck, for our small coastal Black Tails.

One of the things I wanted to do was to play with the off-road recovery gear. I found an isolated trail, and backed up to a likely tree, chocked the wheels, and set up my toys.

One of the things I practiced with is a Lug-All come-along. A friend of mine works the hills for oak wood, and has several years of snaking big oak logs out of canyons. Along with an occasional vehicle, I might add. One of his most frequently used tools is this come-along.

It will pull/lift a load of 2000 lbs single pull, and 4000 lbs when using the center pulley.

Here it is doubled up with a tow chain. The effort to winch the truck was cut in half.

Here is the come-along hooked to the tree. Note that this is a dinky tree, as far as trees go. Yet this is a 6 foot strap, and it barely reaches around the tree! I guess I need a couple of longer ones yet...

One of the most valuable things I have discovered is these waterless hand cleaners. They are absolutely fabulous for getting the oil and grease off your hands. You NEED some of these in your vehicle recovery kit!!

Well, that about taps me out for this trip, I guess. I'll have you know that I did more than hike, gather Mugwort, and play with the recovery gear, however....

I got in some really awesome naps, too!

Bill

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