New Pics on my remote WY mtn survival retreat ( 2013 Pic Heavy )

[Mtnman Mike]

Here is a new pic thread that I hope some of you will like. I don't think I have made any new pic threads for a year or two.

This first post will show a couple buildings that I made. The 2nd one which is fancier, I only helped build. The first one I show cost me less than $80 to build, mainly for 20 new 2x4's which I had to buy just to get that log / lumber "garage" which I had to build to protect the black SUV - Ford Explorer from deep snowpack.

I tell more about the other protective covering for a new neighbor's large RV later in this post.

And the 2nd post shows some wildlife I saw on my retreat last summer.

This first pic is what I had to do in late October when I was building the log / lumber garage over the black Ford Explorer or Wolverine which WR named it. For a couple days when building with a foot of wet snow on the ground, my boots got soaked even though on the boots it said they were "waterproof."
Since I had no extra boots I used tennis shoes but to keep the wet snow from soaking those also I put 4 white 13 gallon trash bags over each shoe.
Which worked well. The top bag or two got torn off by the end of the day but even after walking a mile each way from where I had to park my pickup truck and walking much when building the "garage" the tennis shoes did not get wet. What they looked like that afternoon in late October 2013 >

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The Wolverine a few days after I got it winched up to the top of the driveway and when I began to add lumber around it. Maybe you can see the dark blue foam that is on top of the Wolverine and it all is covered in snow. >

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Too bad this pic is small but I got it off my cell - tracfone. It cost me 3 minutes for each large pic and only one minute off the tracfone when I sent a small pic to my email. And one more reason I should try to post all the pics I did send to my email since over half of them were from my tracfone. The Wolverine and the blue foam cushion tied to the back >

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A pic of the Wolverine taken by WR the summer of 2012 in the driveway of my Greeley, CO place. And the best pic of that foam cushion which could be used inside of a large tent. But so far only to help cushion the Wolverine. >

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It took a few days to get that Wolverine up the mountain driveway since I only had a 4,000 pound winch from Harborfreight but the last 10 feet I used an 8,000 pound new winch / come-a-long.
I had been in Greeley almost all of Sept. as I told about earlier in this thread and I bought an 8,000 pound rated large nice winch which should handle all of my needs for the unforeseeable future.
All 3 winchs on my land are operated only by hand. Maybe someday I will get a motorized winch.

Wish I would have had that 8,000 pound winch all summer and I could have gotten much more done much faster. Next summer it should come in real handy with the large logs, steel beams etc.
A pic of the Wolverine up the driveway and I had to keep blocking the tires so it would not roll down the mountain.
If anyone has not read earlier, I had to winch that black SUV / Wolverine up since the transmission went out. Maybe next summer it can be repaired. >

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Here is an olive drab vehicle that I saw in Saratoga, Wyoming in early Oct. when I had to get more lumber and supplies. That military type vehicle has been parked there in downtown Saratoga for several years and I think a store or bar owner owns it. >

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The crude lumber garage I had to build in 4 days in a foot of wet heavy snow, hiking a mile one way each day from my blue pickup truck near the state highway 70 to my mtn place. >

First I had to winch the black SUV - Ford Explorer up the driveway into place. That took 3 days off and on. Not 8 hour days since I did have many other things to do also. That winch also jammed and even broke once so that took more time and effort.

It is ok that the license plate is showing since it expired over a year ago and I will not re-new the plates nor will WR the English guy who mainly owns that vehicle, WR camped and worked up there in 2012 and will again this coming summer helping me build a new cabin.
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One of the first of several logs I put into place. The large logs are to support the walls and the roof and are all I had available. If I had more time I would have put many more logs in the walls and roof. I was not on my mtn place almost all of Sept. since my 80 year old Dad had another operation. It was on his prostate but not too serious and no cancer. He is doing well now.

I did get back up there on Sept. 30th but it snowed some and kept snowing almost all of Oct. 2013. I did have a couple warm sunny days in early Oct. to do the following.
This pic shows the beginning of the "garage" with some of the logs and old fencing I had plus the 2 x 4's etc. >

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This pic shows more of the roof with its many 2 x 4's and the one sheet of plywood on top. I put all the plywood sheets I could find on the roof plus much more than is shown in the pics. >

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And more fencing and whatever else I had available to finish the "garage". The green door was strong and should work ok as a partial wall and the red sheet is actually a heavy oak floor with the red bottom showing in this pic. The red is new paint I had used earlier in the summer when I did much painting in various areas of the retreat. I had put all the camo and other plastic tarps on the roof as well as a 25 foot long by 10 foot wide 6 mil thick clear plastic sheet. Which is slippery so the snow likely slid off at first. And the snow should also slide off fairly easily when the snow begins to melt in May >

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Above is the way I had to leave the black SUV and hope there would not be a winter with record breaking snow pack.

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The pic right above is of the back of the "garage" - lumber covering over the black SUV that WR called the Wolverine. I think the snow from the first few snow storms will easily slide down but then it will pile up. They are flexible plastic panels I obtained for free so no big deal if they get crushed. There are 3 hardwood boards seen under the gray panels and I doubt those boards will break, unless there is 20 or so feet of snowpack. Usually no more than "only" 10 or 12 feet of snowpack by April.

And anyone who thinks that I have no camoflage or don't know how to do anything then please tell me what is shown here. I suppose if someone used binoculars they might see possibly some lumber but almost everyone would just drive or even walk on by not noticing anything. The thick trees on the left part of the "garage" are good camo and even form part of the wall.
The dark part in the very middle of the pic is the "garage" and just to the right is the snow covered A-frame shed. Maybe some can see part of the green roof where there is no snow? >

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I do not want the Wolverine to get crushed or have any of the windows break though. I used all the materials, 2x4's and 2x6's I could find in the foot of snow that late October week of 2013. I also had bought 20 new 2x4's and had covered them with a large plastic tarp just before the foot of snow so I was fortunate and barely had enough to build the garage.

That is the way up there and if I have barely enough it is much better than not enough to build with etc.



Hope everyone can see the Wolverine at the top of the snowy driveway. Might have to zoom in to see it better. This pic was taken in late Oct. 2013 I think on the 2nd to the last day I was up there. I put the back wall on the next day.
I took this pic standing at the beginning of the driveway, across the spring - moat and I was on the edge of the private dirt - snowy road.

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This was a pic I took just after it snowed and after I had the one wall up. Fortunately I had put a large plastic tarp over the Wolverine and then only had to remove the tarp and snow fairly easily.
I know I should have had these pics in more of a time line order but I am just putting them up anyway.

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[Mtnman Mike]

Here is another pic on the mtn place after the foot of wet snow fell that late October. The dark green tuff shed is in the background and the heavy floor which was red on the back and which I showed in a previous post showing the "garage." It was not easy like usual, to move that heavy floor as well as some other things but I needed it as part of the wall on the new garage - lumber covering. It was covered in a foot of snow in the middle of this pic. >

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The next pics show across the road. And mainly of the new neighbor who is from Pennsylvania but he was on his land quite a bit in July and from late August to mid Sept. In Sept. he and his friends from Cheyenne, WY were hunting elk and black bear. I did hear they got 3 elk and only wounded a bear. Which is one big reason I don't like bow hunting since it is too easy to just wound animals and might never find them again.

Rifle season for deer and elk in Wyoming is in October. The last two weeks in October are rifle elk hunting season.

This first pic shows the sun coming up to the east. I really like that my land faces the rising sun. This pic shows the new logs the neighbor put up as a gate way to his land, which is only 3 and 1/2 acres but it is nice although most of it is steep. He said he knows how to build a cabin etc. even on steep land.
He is a contract builder in PA and even had a couple guys who worked for him also up there to build the new covering for his large RV which is shown in the following pics.

The sunrise pic which was taken with me standing on my driveway. >

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The PA guy's RV etc. looking down from the private dirt road. In July and until he got back up there in August he wanted me to keep an eye on it. Which I did and a couple times a week I ran his generator to keep his refrigerator etc. cold. >

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You can see the private dirt road above and his RV down below. I had to take some of these pics with my laptop so unfortunately some of my cap is shown. >

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I helped him for a hard working hour unloading a large trailer which was filled with the lumber shown here >

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The back of the large RV and after we had put up the 21 trusses >

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Glad I did not have to climb that ladder and get up there. I did climb it some handing tools up to the PA guy and his friend or sometimes two or three helped. The front of the RV >

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Sorry but I only have a small pic of the completed lumber covering showing the RV inside. He did not cover this part but the other 3 sides were well covered. This is mainly a covering to protect the RV from the heavy snowpack which most years is about 10 feet deep. In 2011 it got up to 22 feet of snowpack, which was an unusually snowy winter.

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I must show one pic from July 2011 of a cabin which is one mile up the mountain from my mtn place. It is a 20 year old cabin but it could not handle the 22 feet of snowpack that terrible winter of 2011. Even one of my sheds got crushed some but the underground bunker only had a 6 inch crack in part of the concrete roof, which I easily patched.

I am shown in dark brown to the left of this crushed cabin by the old snowpack in mid July 2011. >

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And the last pic showing the front of the new lumber covering which is lumber underneath and a green metal roof with dark brown metal on the sides. The large white RV is, of course underneath, possibly not to be removed for many years. >

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And If anyone wishes to post any of their retreat / BOL / homestead pics or videos or even tell about some experiences then please post. It will make me feel like I am not the only one doing something different. Although I have seen quite a few links and others places I don't get tired of looking or learning about what others are also doing.

The next post will show some wildlife etc. I saw last summer while up there from mid June to late Oct. although I was not able to be on my mtn retreat in Sept. much since I had to go back to Greeley, Colorado and help my elderly mom and dad.

Any comments or questions are welcome and I will eventually answer.

[Mtnman Mike]

This post will show many of the animals that were on my mtn place the summer of 2013. Or at least the animals I fortunately got pics of.

This first pic is of a fox which I was fortunate to get when I was eating supper inside my old pickup truck. I just happened to have a disposable camera nearby. And quickly snapped the pic just as the fox looked right at me.
Foxes and other wildlife are not too easy to get pics of since they are almost always moving

You can see the rear view mirror to the right and you can see the fox better if you zoom in.

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I have quite a few pics of gray jays, called camp robbers by hunters. I don't see them too much unless I put out bread or some other food such as leftover spaghetti. I think they might think spaghetti is guts or something since they really like it. Gray jays hang most of their food, such as spaghetti all over high up in trees. I guess they never forget where they hang or store their food, no matter how many different trees they store it in.

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Grayjays and even a chipmunk or two follow me around sometimes like I always carry food with me. >

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A really nice flowered and other wild plant area with my largest spring running through it. Perfect for all kinds of wildlife and butterflies etc. I have even chased cattle, even one large bull out of this spot >

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One of the only good pics of a brown Black bear that was around my mtn place. The lady who was my only human visitor that summer of 2013 took this pic. She said she was not afraid of the bear but she said she could not sleep knowing it was around and she left a day or so after taking this pic. I did chase that bear far up the mountain but she did not want to follow and so getting what could have been a great and exciting video.
I am sure many would not have liked it or thought that I was reckless, crazy or living dangerously. But that is the way it is up there and bears and such are a big part of remote wild areas, even people's cabin or campsites. Bears etc. were there first after all.

The one good pic of that bear taken on June 19th, 2013. >

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A pic later in the summer when the bear had torn off this strong plywood covering over the outside tool box. At least the lock held but as you can see the bear ripped the plywood in half >

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As you can see the snow so I actually did not get around to taking the pic until a month or so later in late Sept. just after it had snowed some.

Me looking into a bear's den that is a few hundred feet above my mtn land. It was a fox den for years until the black bear took it over a couple years ago>

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That pic reminded me of this one but I did not want to stick my head inside the bear's den >


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This is a new pic of an elk head that I was able to obtain for free when hiking on and near my private property. It was actually about a mile up the private dirt road which was covered in a foot of snow last October 2013. I dragged this elk head with its heavy antlers, a mile down the snowy private road to the bunker. >

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In the middle and near the bottom of this pic is shown on the snowy road where I dragged that elk head. >

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I let that elk head lay for a few days and thought it looks like no one is going to pick it up so early one morning in late Oct. 2013 I dragged that elk head one mile on the private road to my land and put it in the bunker. Which was not easy by myself.
I also think that some neighbor who I know had been hunting for elk like he usually does that time of the year with friends very likely had left that elk head for whomever wanted it.
IF I had not taken it then weasels, fox or bear likely would have eaten or moved that elk head. Or at least the elk head would have laid there all winter until next June when the snow would have melted.

I think all this winter, until June, mice, weasels and other critters will eat - clean all the meat off of that elk head. They can access the back of the head, mainly the neck from a space I left under the front steel door of the bunker. And so I should have a nice skull with the large antlers attached and put it up in the new cabin.

Not the best pic and I just used a flashlight to light it up and for some reason I could only get a small pic but it shows what the elk head antlers look like inside the underground bunker >

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That elk skull after all the meat etc. is gone, will hopefully look like this >

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I could post more wildlife pics but many are from 20 plus years ago and I would have to buy a scanner to get the paper pics up. But plenty of pics on the net. I posted mainly the few good pics I took this past summer. Wish I could or would have had a camera when I have seen some very interesting sights such as a pika ( I call it a rock rabbit ) and a weasel = marten face each other by a large pile of logs. I will never forget that even though it happened over 20 years ago on the edge of my mtn land.


But here is the best animal track I did take that late October day when hiking back the mile down the private road to my pickup truck where I slept in the back in a camper shell with a small tent and warm sleeping bag. There was a foot or more of icy snow on that road and I only had my old 2 wheel drive pickup so I did not dare drive down the private road but parked near the state highway 70 which is always plowed until mid Nov.

And here is the one good animal track I took on my last day up there which was Oct. 28, 2013. It looks like a cow track but no cattle up there after hunting season begins on Oct. first. It is a bull elk track since I never see cow elk walk alone. I followed these tracks which were going along the private road for half a mile then they went into the woods. >

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I think where I drew a red line around, looks like a bearded face, with the one nice elk track forming the eyes. But maybe I was alone a little too long up there? >

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The deer are sneaky on my mtn place usually going just around it on my border and just in the national forest borders two sides of my mtn land. >

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This is one of the only good chipmunk pics on my mtn place >

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The neighbors who have a weekend cabin near my Wyoming land but who live in Colorado are a bad influence on a chipmunk or two up there. Kidding although some of those CO people are a bad influence although no one can influence me. And just one more reason I like WY better than CO. >

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Here is a nice fishing pic taken near the Grand Teton's in NW Wyoming about 300 miles to the NW of my mtn place.

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A couple trout caught near my mtn place >

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I am holding a trout just before cleaning it >

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[Mtnman Mike]

A bluebird nest and I have at least one robin family who keeps coming back every year or at least robins who use the same tree and nest area. But I did not get a pic of the robin's nest. Maybe next summer. But here is the bluebird nest >

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I think I have seen every Rocky Mountain animal on or near my mtn place except a grizz or wolverine. I have seen mountain lion tracks near in a rocky drier area not too far from the mtn place / hold and I would just as soon never see a grizzley bear or wolverine. I did see two very large gray dog like animals that were tracking a herd of cow elk a few years ago.

I was inside my pickup eating, which is one of my best places to see much wildlife and I saw first the herd of cow elk with some calves then a few minutes later the very large gray canines which I know were wolves.

The summer of 2005 I had a good wildlife book on birds and all Rocky Mountain animals and plants. I did identify all the animals but not all of the plants on and near my mtn land.

I could post many pics especially from off the net showing the many kinds of animals and plants. Maybe someday. But here are the only two pics that are not mine and what I found on the net showing the most colorful bird that I see almost every summer especially on my sunny hillside where I am building the new cabin. I do also have some pics of what I have done in building that new cabin but I think I will wait until later, maybe even this summer or later when I will have many more pics to show, especially about the new cabin.

But here are a couple pics I found showing the most colorful bird I have seen on my mtn land, which is called a Western Tanager. The female is more camo colored shown feeding a baby >

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I Really like this quote and I think it also tells what makes up a great survival retreat / BOL / hold / human or wildlife refuge or even homestead >

"Birds are like people. The bird is here because it's a good place. There's food and there's safety. When a bird doesn't like a situation, it protects itself and stays away.
No matter where you are in the world, if you see a bird in a place, it's a good place, a safe place, a place that sustains life." Enru Lin, bird-watcher, in the China Post

One more pic showing some "wildlife" in a McDonald's in Greeley, CO where I have spent too much time this past winter on the net. I am sure he did not see me take this pic with my laptop. And I don't know his name or anything but he was interesting with his camo coat and fox fur hat!

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More pics later or maybe even not til next year. MMM

[welderguy]

WOW Great Looking location, Sorry to see the cabin didnt hold up to the show! Thanks for posting.

[Jager]

Loved the pictures, looks like you've got a nice piece of paradise up there.

[Mtnman Mike]

WOW Great Looking location, Sorry to see the cabin didnt hold up to the show! Thanks for posting.

And thanks for the quick response. I don't get on the net too much, especially from June to Nov. for a remote mtn retreat reason. And I have to even go to a library or coffee shop to use the free wifi even when I am here in the stinkin city of Greeley, Colorado in the winter until June....

And I could post a few more pics of crushed structures, mainly I have somewhere a pic of a crushed trailer where a guy had moved a trailer house up there. He did have sort of a log and plywood covering but not enough. I just hope that the log and lumber covering will keep that black SUV from getting crushed. I think it will although I am sure some of it will get damaged at least around the edges. I also put all the foam padding I had over the top of that vehicle. And I used the most boards over the windshield since I did not want it to even get cracked.

My "crude" structure is much less expensive than the fancy covering over the RV. I had to build mine in 4 days of snow and cold although a couple days were sunny. And here is a snow survey station that is about half a mile up the mountain from my mtn place. There is "only" 105 inches of snowpack up there now. Which is the usual amount for early April > http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/reportG...ue,TOBS::value

I do have some snowy pics from up there though.

Me snowshoeing next to my A-frame shed. That shed is 14 feet high >

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A neighbor's cabin, in January 2009, about a mile down the road from my place >

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What the top of my bunker looks like in the winter up there.

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Here is the only fairly good pic I could find of Greeley, Colorado where I was born and where I spend from Nov. to June. It is not too bad for a city but it is growing way too fast. Nice farmland all around and about a one hour drive from the beautiful Rocky Mountains to the west. >

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This next pic is showing where my very shortest spring flows from. It is less than 40 feet long and pours out of the mountain side. Where the thickest plants are is where the spring is underneath >

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Here is a better sunrise pic taken in late June 2013.

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And sort of a fantasy image that I must share. > I have had a couple people, even 20 or so years ago, ask me, "Is this place real?" Mainly they were talking about the bunker but also the mtn retreat in general.
Maybe this summer more of the mountain "hold's" secrets will be revealed! Maybe not.... But I do know that English world traveler guy named Watch Ryder on the net will be creating more videos this summer of 2014. I think he made 40 vids the summer of 2012 up there. I have had several visitors over the years but Watch Ryder who has Many youtube videos, has helped more than most. He also helped me dig the 20 x 12 foot hole for the new partially underground cabin which I hope to mostly complete by October 2014.

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[Power Giant]

Really like the Western Tananger photo. Here is a shot from our place:

image (4).jpg

[hunter63]

Thanks for the up date.....Very cool pic's.

Some times it's tough logging on a lot when you are actually out there "doing it"....so a new group of pic's is welcome, thanks for the effort.

Our "Place" is to the point where it is mostly complete as is, although it will never be done......seems like a long journey and a lot of time....but looking back our at ours reminds me of seeing what you have done, so far.

That journey is part of the "fun" and you will look around and remember every little detail, and when , how a why it happened as it did.

Keep 'em coming.

BTW...I laughed when I saw the garbage bag over the tennis shoes.....do what ya gotta do....LOL
I once used the bread bag I had carried my lunch in, to put between my foot and the wool lined of my sorrel boots after crashing thru thin ice in a swamp....boot and liner was wet, but with the wetness away for my foot work good enough to walk back to camp.
I carry garbage bags with me to this day.

[crashdive123]

Thanks for the update and pics.

[Grizz123]

Wyoming is beautiful, thanks for the pics and story

[Mtnman Mike]

Really like the Western Tananger photo. Here is a shot from our place:

image (4).jpg

Thanks for all the good comments everyone.

And Power Giant, when I first looked at your pic I thought it was from over a hundred years ago, only in color. At least most of the people in the pic look like they are dressed sorta old fashioned. Very good and interesting photo.

[Mtnman Mike]

Thanks for the up date.....Very cool pic's.

Some times it's tough logging on a lot when you are actually out there "doing it"....so a new group of pic's is welcome, thanks for the effort.

Our "Place" is to the point where it is mostly complete as is, although it will never be done......seems like a long journey and a lot of time....but looking back our at ours reminds me of seeing what you have done, so far.

That journey is part of the "fun" and you will look around and remember every little detail, and when , how a why it happened as it did.

Keep 'em coming.

BTW...I laughed when I saw the garbage bag over the tennis shoes.....do what ya gotta do....LOL
I once used the bread bag I had carried my lunch in, to put between my foot and the wool lined of my sorrel boots after crashing thru thin ice in a swamp....boot and liner was wet, but with the wetness away for my foot work good enough to walk back to camp.
I carry garbage bags with me to this day.

I like all the posts but your comments hunter63 sound quite a bit like me. I also do not think I will Ever be finished since I will likely always want to improve, add a room or shed or even dig over 100 feet into the mountain, which would take a Great deal of time. I only have dug into the mountain about 20 feet especially when building the bunker. Maybe I have another thread on this huge forum but for now all I can find is this one with some "old" pics of my BOL = remote mtn survival retreat which I hope someday to make into a permanent homestead. And on page 3 are a few more of the bunker although I do have better pics of it. > http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...an+mike+bunker

I just found this one from a while back which has a couple videos and pics of the "bunker" which is I mainly use for secure storage and a storm shelter. I have kept warm in quite a few blizzards and below zero temps when I am up there sometimes from Oct. to April. > http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...read.php?21986

And Hunter, you are the only person in 3 forums where I post the most, who has mentioned the garbage bags over the shoes. Glad to see that I am not the only one who has done that. I am sure several have though but just have not told about it.

And hunter and anyone else, I will post some more new pics but not maybe til mid May when I will be finished with my seasonal temp job that I have done for ten or so years at the corn research place in south Greeley, CO. Very busy until May setting up experiments and getting it all ready to plant.

Well all for now, maybe not til this coming May.

[Solar Geek]

MM, your pictures literally let me take a walk through your land.

I think one either loves deep snow and the solitude and toughness of winter where you are, or they should get out. I cannot fathom such a deep snowpack but I love the mountains and hiking and "make do, make it work" lifestyle.

Most of us are so spoiled or set in our semi-civilized ways that we cannot think as you do in the mountains in winter. And I love our 4 seasons here in WI where our 3'-5' snowpack makes most of the state whine "oh winter is too long and hard and cold". But my DH and I love it, love the fact we cannot see out our living room windows when the snow is high from sliding off our metal roof (metal to prevent collapse under the weight of snow and prevent our having to "shovel or rake our roof" as most do here).

Thanks for taking the time to give us this glimpse into the beauty and roughness of your mountain. I cannot pick my favorite picture as they all are excellent, but I do LOVE the fishing shot with the mountains in the back.
Best of luck this summer.

[hunter63]

Thanks for the good words,.....I can feel your love of the land, and activities that go with it.....and yeah, sometime, "No matter what".

Just a "can do" way of looking at things......by some one that has, is, and will continue.

Good luck, my friend, I wish you well, ......enjoy your dream.....we are enjoying ours.

[payne]

I can't see any of the pictures.

[hunter63]

Yeah I can't either....... the "guest bug" has struck again......

[crashdive123]

Hopefully I was able to fix the pic thingie.

[hunter63]

Looking good at the moment...Thanks.

[payne]

Same. Thanks.