Sasquatch Sighting?

                

  On May 3, 2014 I was reading a story on the news about some hikers who shot some video near Squamish, British  Columbia. Having done several hikes and peaks in that area I clicked the youtube video. They are on a  mountain hike looking down where, far below something is walking across the snowfield . They are unsure what it is but due to the location ["remote"] and the way it moved, they suggest it may be a Sasquatch.   As I watched, he mentions that he is on Tricouni mtn., it is 2011 and he does a quick pan across the valley. That was when my jaw dropped and eyes opened wide. I stopped it right away and looked back at my hiking photos. Sure enough, I was up there during the last week of July 2011 gathering video and still photos for another episode of Ridgewalkerpete. There was a huge snow pack left over from the winter that year. It was sunny and warm way down at the bottom by the high falls and well up the trail until you got to the higher elevation where suddenly it goes from grassy with plants to one meter of melting snow.

   I was extremely concerned about avalanches so I stayed away from the steep slopes and after a few tries decided not to go up to the peak. My main objective is get back safely, particularly so the nay-sayers who think you can't go solo without disastrous consequences don't get a big 'I told you so'.

For about six days I was walking all around exploring the valley, stubbornly holding that altitude even though there were summer conditions lower down the mountain. On my 2011 blog entry I told the story of my lone water bottle sliding off the cliff where I was camping. It took several searches over a few days to find but as I think back it was good to have a task, something to take my mind off not going to the peak. Tricouni mtn' will be the next video. I have most of the editing done but have not worked on the music. Now I have more for the story and have a better angle to cover.

           Sasquatch today?

Something I think a lot of people don't realize is that for a large critter like Sasquatch to survive today it would have to have a viable breeding population which would require a lot of food, year-round water , housing, paths to get around and they would tend to live on the valley bottoms where humans are likely to go. During several decades of hiking around in the back country as well as working in the bush I know that there are all kinds of people who poke around  the nooks and crannies of wilderness looking for minerals, oil, stands of trees, archeological artifacts, accessing climbing walls or just enjoying some of the last bits of old-growth forest. Somebody would have discovered a colony or a dead one. I am aware of the theory that  those who see a Sasquatch are viewing something from another dimension but I'll leave that for others. I will keep an open mind, continuing to watch out for whatever crosses my path.

If it was during the last week of July 2011, that critter might be me!

Rocky Peak

                                                             ROCKY PEAK
                                  This is my latest solo hiking video with original music   
                        

   


.     It was a cool fall day at a mid-elevation lake where I stopped to cook some pasta on my stove. I try not to scatter things around when I'm cooking in the back country because on past trips bears have quietly crept way too close investigating the food, before I even spotted them. As I took in this beautiful scene everything suddenly changed when I spotted a big Grizzly bear foraging along the lake about 100 meters away. It must have been in the bushes when I arrived. First, I turned off the stove then I made sure the bear spray was handy as I scrambled for the camera. Too bad I don't have a good lens for this but great news not to need the bear spray!

                                                                    Silvertip Grizzly?
 As it moved around I was surprised to see some white on its shoulders. I think they call this a 'Silvertip'. It was with enormous relief that I watched  it wonder AWAY from me and my tasty 6-day stash of food. I saw another black bear on this trip but there is plenty to eat so they left me alone. It was my job to avoid them.These solo trips have taught me to relax but always be ready for situations to change quickly. It always feels better when I have eaten and the food is all tied up far away.
                                                         

Up above the treeline where snow collects, reluctantly melting during the brief summer, there are small open areas where I like to check out the moss and small plants.They have to be tough to survive this environment. In some places you see several varieties with different colours all jammed together..

 In the example below there was this strange pattern with open strips exposing the fine gravel below. Maybe someone scratched it up or it is naturally occurring, This is know as biovermiculations.

In the video you can see the emergency locator 'Zippy'  that my family got for me. It doesn't make any sounds by the way but is sure is great to have, particularly on these long solo trips into the mountains.I can send an 'I'm alright' message with a GPS location each day or send an emergency signal that will go to my contacts as well as Search and rescue. On a couple of trips it indicated a signal sent that wasn't received [yikes!], hopefully that was due to low batteries. Once again I am reminded that I must make smart choices that will get me out in one piece.
The music. This time I decided to keep it simple.Whenever I have music ideas I capture them on video showing the fingering on the guitar. This time I decided to use an open E tuning EBEEBE [ the palindrome of tunings?] for the acoustic guitar. After developing some short bits I added the mandolin. and then electric guitar for fun.
I hope you enjoy the video. If you are out hiking and think you see a Sasquatch...look again because that scruffy critter loping around is probably me working on the next exciting episode of Ridgewalkerpete.

BEYOND THE WEBB

                          

   A triple-peak hiking adventure set to original music.

                                                                                                                                                                          

A week of great fall weather and some time up on the peaks really got me going on this triple-peak episode. The trail starts by crossing the Chilliwack river and heads on up. After a while you cross a cable suspension bridge. The first day usually feels a bit slow with a heavy pack as I get into hiking mode. One thing I really like about these longer trips is that after  few days I adjust to all the climbing ,camping and cooking routines. Everything seems so much easier when it is dry. This trip was nice and dry, to a point where I picked up my rain gear and for a moment actually contemplating the need for this weight in my pack. I only had to think back to all the cold, wet trips over the years to remember why.
The hikes I like to do involve gaining altitude, camping at higher lakes, then heading out on day trips from there. Exploring the ridges and peaks.

Route finding is a handy skill to have off-trail as you have to anticipate the lay of the land to find the best way. Often I will look for a game trail to get through the really nasty lower valley vegetation. As usual I enjoy checking out all the cool plants through the climate zones. Although I push along when I'm climbing it is worth it to stop and check out the sights.Patches of snow remain from last winter even though it is so hot during the day . This gulley is an example of the kind of challenges I find while I scramble up to the peak.

Above the tree line the sky opens up for great sunsets and star-gazing. When you fold back the fly on my little tent you get good view on those warm nights. When the weather changes, places like this can get blasted by wind and might even get a sting of lightning. Situations I try to avoid. You can see my trusty bear spray, always handy. The bear in this area is mostly interested in the berries on a slope across the valley. One day I came upon a patch of wild Lupines as I heard the Marmots whistling to each other. It seemed like they were commenting on my presence.

 

The music comes from a composition that I wrote as an exercise for my drum student in which I used different time signatures.At first it was intended to become several songs but I liked how they fit together. After I did the first tracks of drums, piano and rhythm guitar I decided to add a few more instruments for fun. Enjoy the video 'Beyond the Webb'.
 

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