Thursday, February 26, 2015

Vernal Pool survey & pics

Vernal, or Ephemeral, pools are temporary ponds which form due to wet weather conditions, and provide critical shelter for animals and plants.  Because they are small and shallow, they cannot support fish populations from year to year, which makes them prime breeding areas for amphibians.   With the worldwide crash in amphibian populations (climate change, pollution, environmental estrogens) each pristine vernal pool is literally an oasis in a desert.   That these pools remain unspoiled is critical, only cool clear water will effectively support the reproductive cycle.   They also provide critical protein sources to other woodland animals such as racoons, skunks, mink and coyote.

A while back I got to volunteer as part of the Wood/Pawcatuck Watershed Association (http://www.wpwa.org/) who was conducting a field survey of all identified vernal pools in the watershed.   They were doing this off old aerial photos - anything dark and pond-like from the air got GPS coordinates determined, and then pairs of volunteers went out and did surveys for things like water clarity and temperature, count and description of animals, lists of any environmental threats like dumped trash or runoff, etc.   It was a blast, and I got to walk around on a few thousand acres of privately held and protected land.   My partner and I had good luck and got a lot of data.   I'm attaching some pictures.

Frog eggs:

More frog eggs:

Box turtle carapace:

Great Blue Heron nesting ground:

Beaver activity:

Saturday, February 21, 2015

1 less "grander" Blue Marlin out there

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/28161879/teen-reels-in-1058-pound-blue-marlin-off-kona-coast


A giant like this is precisely the fish you want to keep alive, breeding.

Meanwhile:


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120920-are-we-running-out-of-fish

And
http://ecologicalsociology.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-managed-annihilation-unnatural.html


Second quinzhee attempt, Winter: 1, Ed: 1



As I previously wrote here http://faint-traces.blogspot.com/2015/02/first-attempt-at-quinzhee-winter1-ed0.html, I have been looking to sharpen my winter hiking skills.   The first attempt consisted of piling up snow, letting it sinter, then hollowing it out.  The results were positive, although I learned that a) you get soaked and b) to do it right you need a big pile and c) I was a little too claustrophobic.

Today's attempt was a sort of modified design, basically a glorified tunnel into a snowbank, the remains of multiple storms' shoveling off my back patio, which has had a few weeks now to compress.  The bank is about 3-4' high.  The plan was simply to cut a tunnel through it, to provide a sleeping space that was ~90% enclosed.  I have a fear of being buried, and I don't want to learn how to build a proper snow shelter the hard way.  I cut the tunnel N-S through the bank; the prevailing wind here is west.   This will help keep it ventilated without turning into a wind-tunnel.  The tunnel is about 10' long.

Things I learned:
  • You need to make the tunnel high enough for both you and your sleep system.
  • You get soaked - today was about 30 degrees and sunny, so I was wearing cotton-based 'yard' clothes.  I was pretty wet by the end.
  • It doesn't take long if you have a good snowbank, maybe 30 minutes.
  • The middle of the tunnel narrows as you lose the right angle for shovelling.   This isn't a bad thing, as it helps preserve body heat.
  • You really need a shovel; there's no way I could have done this by hand.
  • A snow shovel makes a lot of sharp, stress concentrating edges.   Use your boots. knees, hands to smooth/round the tunnel to help distribute the weight more effectively.


I'd feel comfortable in this shelter, at least on a sleeping pad.   If you're not expecting snow/rain, this sort of shelter is fine, you can sleep mostly covered, out of the wind, but still have fresh air.

Friday, February 20, 2015

Seriously, who shoots a whale?


I think this guy has some other problems.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2015/02/cape_may_fisherman_charged_with_firing_at_pilot_wh.html

Seriously, who shoots at whales?

"Defendant Archibald claimed that he had 'sprayed' bullets at pilot whales in a an effort to chase them away and that at times the whales might have been close to the Capt. Bob."

Pilot whales pose no danger to boats, or people... because they eat squid.

A NYT article (not linking to it, they paywall and are weird) writes that he was trying to chase them away from his lines.   He'd be better off with some kind of cannon or other noisemakers - which would also probably scare off the fish.

From another article:
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/down-the-shore/78722-jersey-shore-fisherman-faces-criminal-charges-for-shooting-at-whales

Also, nearly a month before the pilot whale washed ashore, defendant Archibald posted a Facebook photograph of a tuna head on a hook with the caption, “thanks a lot pilot whales.” 

Sounds like this guy got sick of them eating his tuna, so he shot one.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

MSR Revo Explore 25 review

Disclaimer: I've never snowshoed before, and have no experience, other than selling them when I worked at an outfitter a very long time ago.

Before I begin, kudos to LL Bean - for the 10% off online shopping, the free shipping, and the 2-day delivery even though they had said 7 days.

I bought the Explore vs. the Trail shoes because the Explore ones seemed a little more heavy duty.  I've never seen the Trail ones, so I can't compare.

First impressions:
Took them out of the box, they seemed light.   The 'toothed' aluminum frame isn't nearly as sharp as I feared or that you might think.   I didn't bother with the instructions and went outside.

Fit:
I couldn't tell if there's supposed to be a right and left.  There's a ratcheting mechanism which can be used easily with gloves to snug the two attachment points, one across the toes, and one around the heel.   They say not to adjust the heel once once you've dialed it in, but in the few times I've used this, it's been tricky to get OUT of the shoes, so I ended up loosening both the toe and heel straps.   Loosening them is easy.  My only worry is that the material is plastic, and plastic+cold usually equals fail.  Time will tell.



Performance:
I tried these on rolling terrain with about 2.5-3' of virgin powdery snow.   These will not make you walk across the snow like Legloas in the Lord of the Rings, but they DO keep you from postholing.  I'd say the worst I sank in was about 8-10 inches.   Doing about 1/4" mile walk was fun, not tiring; previous treks on just boots in the same area left me gasping for breath.  The 25" shoes are supposedly good for weight up to 220lb, I'm a good chunk below that, and in this snow, I'm glad I'm not heavier.  The shoes do have optional 5 inch "tails" which add more area if you're heavily loaded, or the snow is very light.


Conclusion:  Snowshoes are awesome.   Could you buy cheaper ones or a knock-off brand?  Sure.  The fit and build quality on these seem good, the traction is excellent, and I trust both MSR and LLBean.   Well worth it.  

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Sometimes properly planning for a trip means to skip the trip

You can know and trust your equipment as well as possible, but there are limits to human endurance and capabilities.  Kate activated a GPS tracker beacon when she got into trouble, but it's not a sure thing.   In this kind of weather, maybe bring a buddy.  When it's 30 below out, maybe stay indoors.

"Unfortunately, a lot of the coordinates that we received over the night are all over the place within a mile circumference," said Lt. Jim Goss of New Hampshire Fish and Game.
Crews were forced to suspend the search because of the extreme conditions.
"Well, I think the temperature last night was 30 below, and there were winds of over 100 mph on the summit," Goss said.

RIP Kate.


(pictures from other sites)

http://www.wmur.com/news/rescuers-search-for-missing-hiker-near-mt-adams/31294362

Thursday, February 5, 2015

First attempt at a quinzhee; Winter:1, Ed:0

With all the snow on the ground I thought I'd practice some winter skills, so I decided to build a quinzhee.  Yesterday I shoveled fresh snow into an approx 5' high pile, maybe 8' around.   Today I began excavation.   It's a good idea to let the snow sit, as it sinters together.

I began with a snow shovel, digging on the leeward (and slightly downhill) side of the pile, taking pains to minimize the size of the hole in the side.  I eventually got to the point where I couldn't really reach any more snow inside the pile, scooping out what I could.  I slithered into the hole, and just began chipping away at the inside walls with my gloves.  As a bunch of powder accumulated on the floor, I pushed it down towards the opening and kicked it out with my feet.

I worked my way into the pile, until my feet were at the entrance; I figured in a real scenario a) you'd want to conserve energy, b) probably would be curled up to some degree, c) I felt safer with at least some part of me near the open air.  I excavated upwards perhaps 2 feet or so, the point where I could sit in a slouching position, propped on my elbows.

While building it I noticed immediately that the temperature inside got to the point where I could not see my breath; dangerous, because this means you're melting the snow, weakening it and sintering it further, which reduces its insulating properties.

I slithered back out of the hole, then went around to the side opposite the hole and gradually 'screwed' the handle of the shovel down into the hole until I met the inner chamber; this would be my air ventilation.

I was doing this solo, so I didn't spend a lot of time sitting in it, I didn't want to tempt fate and have 200 lbs of snow dump down on me.  But, it was definitely warm in there, and out of the wind.   I think since the entrance was on the leeward side I probably could have used a larger opening as well.

The downside?   I did it wearing jeans and a cotton/polyester coat, and fleece gloves.  When done, everything I was wearing, down to my shorts, was wet.  My jeans were frozen at the cuffs.  In a real survival situation, you'd be dead from hypothermia.   The lesson - wear proper clothing, it gives you a much better chance, even if separated from the rest of your gear.

Monday, February 2, 2015

The problem with zoos is that you have to keep them open

2016 Update: It's still happening, to the surprise of no one:
http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2016-01-22/animals-at-gazas-zoos-die-of-hunger-diseases
"The same story is playing out across Gaza's six makeshift zoos. Years of conflict, cold winters, longstanding negligence and outbreaks of disease have killed many animals in captivity."
-and-
"Of the six ostriches, only one is still alive. The lions and the only llama died in December. There are no more crocodiles. The dead animals are primitively stuffed and stacked in a corner of the zoo."


Original post:
I saw this online today, and couldn't help but think that if the zoo didn't exist in the first place, this never would have happened.   Why does the tiny Gaza Strip need FIVE zoos?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2936551/Sentenced-death-world-s-worst-zoo-Dozens-animals-starve-animal-attraction-Gaza.html
(warning more graphic pictures in linked article)

Taken from their natural habitat, these animals were 100% dependent on people, and people let them down.  From their poses, it's nice to think that the animals simply went to sleep, but I doubt it was that simple.