Unusual Animal Treats

[Bibsoutdoors]

What is the most unusual/neat thing you saw an animal do while you were out hiking, backpacking or camping?

I hiked such a tough stretch once, even the birds carried knives and wore ankle monitors!

Bibsoutdoors

 

[killeroy154]

I like the crow. I can't realy say that I have seen to much unusual while camping. Maybe I am the unusual looking thing out there?

 

[Bibsoutdoors]

Other than the black bear incident, I've never encountered anything unusual either. Even then I suppose the bear was just doing it's thing naturally and I was in its way. I got such a kick out of the photo I had to share it. Lol.

Bibsoutdoors

 

[Northern Dancer]

...I don't know if anyone would consider this unusual but I use to put a small plastic tripping barrel into the ground to keep food items cold. One early evening as I sat there with my dog sipping a hot cup of java a raccoon came down from out of the tree. Blazer lifted his head and began to sniff but didn't respond to our intruder. As I sat there he raced to the canister, unscrewed the top, put his hand in and scooped up two of my bananas. Blazer just laid there unruffled by the whole incident. I was on my feet more amazed at the ingenuity of this creature than the fact that he was robbing food.

On another thread I talked about a wolf who came through my base camp. Now that was unusual.

 

[Northern Dancer]

...and then there is always this for discussion.

So...what's for lunch?

 

[Bibsoutdoors]

You have got to hand it to the coon! That was brilliant on his part. Do you suppose he actually watched purple perform this maneuver to get the lid off, remembered it and used it? Crows are another animal that blows my mind. There are just so many that seen to have far more intelligence than we seem to give them. As for the fella wanting lunch, newsreel what you feed him, he may want to show his appreciation!

Bibsoutdoors

 

[Bibsoutdoors]

And again I failed to spell check or should I say check auto correct!

Bibsoutdoors

 

[Northern Dancer]

...don't worry about the errors. I see all kinds of mistakes in my threads but I'm not able to correct them. Let it be - this is a fun place for us, let's not get caught up with trivialities.

Actually the raccoon unscrewed the top of the canister in a fraction of a moment. Almost like he had done it before which I believe to be so.

This is a large olive barrel that I picked up for free at a local grocery store. I cleaned it out and use it for a variety of needs. It was this one that the raccoon removed the top and helped himself.

This is the barrel I use for canoe trips. Takes a lot of stuff, keeps it dry and it is easily hung from a tree to protect the contents from creatures.

 

[killeroy154]

As far as you know the blue barrel you hang isn't tampered with....?

Cheers!

 

[Northern Dancer]

...when we string up the barrel in the evening it has a bear bell and a sensor light. We have never had a problem though we have watched as a raccoon try to figure how to get to it. He definitely didn't like the light going on.

 

[Bibsoutdoors]

I can really appreciate canoeing especially since you can take more gear. But my confusion is when you have to

how is it getting that 'extra gear' to your end point, especially on those long hauls?

Bibsoutdoors

 

[Northern Dancer]

...we do everything possible to get rid of the extra gear.
You can only carry the prescribed weight. Some canoes will have a greater capacity than others. It's all in the planning and planning is to be adhered to. I have a thread that goes into detail about canoe trip planning.

A rule of the trip is - Everyone is responsible for their own equipment and everyone is responsible for group equipment. Your brought it - you carry it. When we hit a portage every man has a duty to perform and these are changed so everyone gets equal time. The is no space for extra anything.

 

[Bibsoutdoors]

So you carry virtually the same gear canoeing as you would backpacking? Your packs are then around 50 - 60lbs (If my math is correct I believe that equates to @ 23K - 27 kilograms?)

Bibsoutdoors

 

[Northern Dancer]

...you are doing well.

The kind of canoe trip determines what one carries. For the most part in the last little while we tend to enjoy a lot more of the trip rather than making it a marathon experience like we have in the past. By marathon I mean a different camp site every night and cover as much territory as we can.

If we have four guys there are two packs between us with two tents. There would be two barrels that contain all the food stuffs and the other would contain equipment agreed by the group. The largest group I've been with was twelve and organizing that one was fun.

We need to keep in mind we have six paddles, four life jackets, two safety containers and often there are seat pads too. We try to run a neat ship. Of recent date we have been avoiding long and treacherous portages that defeats the ego.