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Gunkie
Trad climber
Valles Marineris
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A Bull Shark swam past me in crystal clear water three or four summers ago while surfing in North Carolina. Probably a 6 footer, three feet to my side. Beautiful animal. Just cruised by me, two of my kids and three or four others out surfing in about four feet of water. I feel fortunate to have seen the creature in its natural environment.
...and Ghost for the win.
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hailman
Trad climber
Ventura, CA
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Well, this thread is AWESOME!
I would have to choose basically everything I saw on the Lost Coast Trail a few summers ago. That part of California thankfully remains largely undammed and undeveloped because it would take massive pumps and/or tunnels to get the water over the Coast Range to the cities.
I chose the Lost Coast Trail because it opened my eyes to the power of conservation as applied to large continuous stretches of land and river. (The trail is within the King Range National Conservation Area)
It was so special to see so much wildlife going about their natural way...completely oblivious to our presence...a rare place where people have had very little impact!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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I would have to choose basically everything I saw on the Lost Coast Trail a few summers ago.
I wandered a bit of the Lost Coast 25 years ago. Didn't see much in the way of wildlife, but... Hmmm... What is that smell? OOOhhhhhhhhhhhh. Gross to the max!
So we wandered a bit further upwind, trying not to puke, until we saw a huge mound on the beach. Not wildlife, but wilddeath. Yup, a Sea Lion carcass in advanced stage of decay. That is, it was still huge, and hadn't fallen in on itself, but it was full of holes, and, yeah, smelling like a rotten sea lion carcass.
We wondered if the holes had been pecked by birds. A lot of the interior was missing, and, if we had been bent that way, we could probably have crawled inside.
What a monster.
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mongrel
Trad climber
Truckee, CA
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These bits about the Lost Coast bump it up the bucket list. A long time ago, after I found out about Sinkyone St. Park, I checked it out and found it to be absolutely first rate, so then I bought some USGS maps (yep, it was that long ago) and the first thing I saw was the name of a feature: "Point No Pass" and within a nanosecond, just like almost anyone with any level of enterprise, my first thought was, I gotta go hike past that point. Definitely on the list.
We did have a bit of an encounter with the resident Roosevelt elk in that park. The herd (one of several??) happened to be occupying the whole area of the trail, and it's really steep terrain, not much option to just avoid. After slowly and calmly walking and letting them pass around us, Big Bertha emerges from the middle of the herd making a fast beeline straight toward me. We skedaddled at as fast a walking speed as was reasonable.
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stevep
Boulder climber
Salt Lake, UT
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I did a solo loop backpack on the Lost Coast 25 or so years ago. Started by walking north along the ridgeline, then dropped down to the beach, then back south.
It was very cool, but speaking of wildlife, there was a part of that where I heard a few noises and had a very distinct feeling of being stalked. Never saw anything, but was definitely a bit creeped out.
And going up the Buck Creek trail is pretty brutal. Climbs roughly 1000 ft/ mile.
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john hansen
climber
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When I was 10 years old I set a snare on a trial next to a creek.
Standard Boy Scout stuff
The next day me and my younger brother and my cousin went to check it out and lo and behold there was a fox hanging with its feet barely on the ground.
Now what to do...
I chopped down the small tree that was the spring , with my machete that I always seemed to carry back then in the woods, and then moved out to the end and cut the rope .
The fox ran off. I hope that rope did not get snagged on anything and that he got it off his neck.
Never set a snare since.
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couchmaster
climber
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Rottenjohnny -sorry to hear about your mom, hope you're doing OK. Mines ready mentally, but when I asked the hospice nurse how she was doing last night, she replied: "It's serious but she's not on the banana peel yet".
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plund
Social climber
OD, MN
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GREAT thread!
I'm fortunate; I see bald eagles almost every day, roosting, soaring, etc. Once drove by one sitting on a road-kill deer, right on the shoulder -- yeah, they're BIG!
Best / oddest one though, was one I saw while boating on the St Croix. I caught sight of something in my periphery, slowed the boat & cruised closer to investigate. Sure enough, there was a baldie with its head barely above water. It beat a froth trying to take off, failed, and was pulled completely under, to emerge looking PISSED. I watched this scene repeat a couple of times, then moved on -- I figured the bird was under enough stress without me gawking. I can only surmise it had locked onto a fish larger than its lift capacity; I've heard their talons are 'self-locking' and take time to relax once they've fastened on (but don't know this to be a fact). I thought about trying to 'help', but the thought of netting that BIG bird & pulling it to shore didn't seem realistic; as big as they are they're still fragile. I've always wondered how that fishing trip ended...
The St Croix valley & river system are great for wildlife -- I've seen baldies, goldens, peregrines, osprey, beaver, otter, fox, deer, not to mention the abundant waterfowl. Was once scooting around in the late fall, ice just forming in the still spots, and when I turned south for Stillsville & came around a bend I spooked THOUSANDS of assorted ducks, who ascended in a rising spiral wall all around me. It was a true National Geographic-type scene; the sound of all those wings actually was louder than the (INSANE) quacking!
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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plund, even more than the insane quacking here? 😳
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ec
climber
ca
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Whale and calf within 100’ while kayaking off of SW Maui...
...a cinnamon brown bear after a bee hive in a pine tree, a ferruginous hawk taking-off from a snag and several puzzled dear, all within a mile after entering Tehipite Valley from the west.
 ec
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plund
Social climber
OD, MN
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Reilly, the Croix quacking was so intense you could almost feel it, while the ST quacking feels like it induces increased intracranial pressure & the desire to tear one's face off.....
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aspendougy
Trad climber
Los Angeles, CA
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Was meditating, opened my eyes, and a weasel was about two feet away. Incredibly graceful and beautiful up close; moved like a living slinkey.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Start with a disclaimer: This is not my photo.
Follow with another disclaimer: Thank god!!!!!!!!!
Thinking about being attacked by a mountain lion is scary enough, but at least they're solitary and you only have to fight off one of them...
...uh, in Washington, they're not always solitary.
Remote cam night photo of eight of them one night:
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the Fet
climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Petting the whales in Guerrero Negro, Baja was incredible. Awesome trip I'd recommend to anyone who appreciates wildlife and doesn't mind an adventurous road trip.
My son was about 11 at the time and they said the whales are attracted to kids. Sure enough they would surface and put their noses right up to him. So cool that such magnificent, giant, wild animals want to interact with people like that.
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OnsightOrGoHome
Trad climber
Fair Oaks
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Awesome stories that reflect why we do what we do. Beauty, adventure, and excitement merging together.
Hiking solo many miles from the nearest road I had a bear running down a steep slope toward me, a quick yell and loud clapping stop him mid-stride. It was a long night sleeping under the stars alone.... no human company that is.
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Scole
Trad climber
Zapopan
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Jan 10, 2019 - 09:07am PT
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1. 20' GWS off Catalina Island at 14 y/o on my final scuba certification dive
2. Andean Condor while taking a break at Paso Superior on a Fitz Roy attempt. I was taking a siesta mid day, when a huge shadow woke me. I never knew how bad they smelled, but a 5' its hard to miss
3. While scouting a rapid on the Merced with Jim Olsen and Walt Shipley, I stepped, barefoot, into a nest of baby rattlers.
4. Taking a shortcut back to the Torre Valley after soloing a new route on Mojon Rojo, I was knee deep in mud, still wearing harness and double boots, when I spotted a Puma 30' away, watching me and licking its paws.
5. Riding my motorcycle to work at a remote ranch in Wyoming, I watched an adult Wolverine descend a hill, cross the road 20' in front of me, and keep on going.
6. Floating the Green River above Warren Bridge, I saw a Fisher on the bank.
7. Last summer, while playing tourist in Grand Teton with my family, I met a grizzly cub at about 10', way too close for comfort.
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Inner City
Trad climber
Portland, OR
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Jan 10, 2019 - 09:30am PT
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Scole,
Grizzley range is moving back to the south then? I had thought that the big guys were only found north of there now..hmm, I'll keep that in mind next summer when heading back there for my 20th Anniversary..
This thread keeps on giving great stuff. thanks all
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jan 10, 2019 - 09:35am PT
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Amazing shots of Pumas in Chile/Arg in this month’s Nat Geo.
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madbolter1
Big Wall climber
Denver, CO
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Jan 10, 2019 - 09:36am PT
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There was this nude beach in SoCal. I'm not gonna tell you perverts where.
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ionlyski
Trad climber
Polebridge, Montana
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Jan 11, 2019 - 12:46pm PT
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watch this! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hURgA_BNSGc
Wasn't my wildlife sighting but I wish it was. Think grizzlies can't climb trees? Think again.
I suggest muting the audio for the best experience.
Arne
looks like a grizz to me but the videographer's description calls it a black bear sow.
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