June 23, 1999 - Wednesday Camera Sets in Big Bottom Hot, sultry, alone. Steve or Cliff couldn't come along. Roads: 224, 46, 4650, 4651 (closed, walking only). Set up the I-R operated cameras. Put one where the growling happened. Put up a feather lure and spread some raccoon trapping scent (sweet, peppermint). Walked at least another ½ mile south on 4651 to where there was a backbone and part of the rib cage of an elk whiting in the sun. Went down toward the river. Old growth. Big downed trees. Very green, green all over except for the tan of fallen and broken wood. Big game trail here too, but like the one further north, well-used with no tracks. Decided this was a good place. Set up the I-R camera and put out a couple of lures and the scent. Got a little of the scent on me. Swell. Went back up to the road and then went for a long walk south on it. Gravel crunching against my boots, the pack was getting a little heavy and it was hot. By the time I got back to the truck, I was gone 4 hours total. Set-up time was only about ½ hour each, if that. I was hot and just about used up my water - I had a liter and a half. Forgot my bug juice and paid dearly. Many vicious bites on my lower arms. For some reason, I used orange archer's tape to mark the basic locations of the cameras on the road. Kind of dumb, but at least it would give Steve a starting point if he had to go up alone to get or maintain them. Exhausted. No more exploring today. Not even the driving kind. Too tired to cook, had some beer and a drink and went to bed dirty. SLB was traveling to San Jose. I could wash the sheets later. Bad me. Had tested all the gear before going. Steve had loaned me his canvas Duluth cruiser pack. It was a pleasure to use. A little cutting toward the end from the unpadded shoulder straps, but I was wearing it a long time. All website content is © Copyright 2000, Joseph Hector Beelart, Jr. unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Pages created and maintained by