Sourdough
05-12-2009, 08:31 AM
This is my "Bushwhacking" season, the period before the leaves unroll, and obscure forward visibility. There is a narrow window if the snow leaves on schedule, and the leaves are just hints of green buds, when I can super hardcore "Bushwhack". I avoid the moose and bear trails, and just cut straight through the alders, and willow brush which typically grow along the creek sides. The creek sides are where you find 110 year old cabin sites from the Gold rush period, and they can only be found during the 10 to 14 days after the snow leaves and before the grass explodes from the ground, growing 1 1/2" per day. This is also the narrow window to find tools embedded in trees.
So, getting to the point....this is also when the Brown Bears, are feeding on winter moose kills, avalanche Mt. Goat kills, plus the moose & caribou calves will be born next week. These are easy harvests for the predators. This can all lead to a condition known as "Brown Shorts'ittis". This is what happens when your attention is 100% on finding signs of old Gold Prospecting, and you hear the expelling of a large volume of air. The trick is the birds......if you hear or see a large concentration of birds, this is the Early WARNING that there is a large chunk of dead meat, and the birds are being denied access by a Bear.
So, getting to the point....this is also when the Brown Bears, are feeding on winter moose kills, avalanche Mt. Goat kills, plus the moose & caribou calves will be born next week. These are easy harvests for the predators. This can all lead to a condition known as "Brown Shorts'ittis". This is what happens when your attention is 100% on finding signs of old Gold Prospecting, and you hear the expelling of a large volume of air. The trick is the birds......if you hear or see a large concentration of birds, this is the Early WARNING that there is a large chunk of dead meat, and the birds are being denied access by a Bear.