What’s the coolest thing you found in the back country

[Maritimematthew]

Some more pics of stuff I have found. Mostly native american type stuff but I find it interesting.

Arrowheads, a drill point and a scraper/skinner all found this year. I think I have found a couple others this year but I don't have pics of them.
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I find quite a bit of petroglyphs around this area. These are some of the only ones I've found that look like a mule deer to me.
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I thought this one was cool. A lot of petroglyphs here have the sheep/goat looking critters.

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I've found other writings in the rocks.

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I found this bunker or mine in the rock and sage country. I'm not sure what it was built for.

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I've heard rumors about the Spanish burying gold along the Old Spanish Trail that runs right through this area. I'm not sure how true that is. The area below this pic was excavated out. These look like crosses/crucifix symbols to me, not native. Someone else might have a better idea than me though. I haven't done any research on those rumors either.

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Awesome finds!

Backcountry hunt for caribou. We were walking along a riverbed when I found an ancient Athabaskan stone axe head.
Big country out there.
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nice find!

 

[Maritimematthew]

Ran across a tornado track high up in the Crazy Mountains in MT. Took me a while to figure out what I was looking at- 25-30' wide swath where every tree was completely uprooted, broken and thrown in every direction. Couldn't figure out what kind of machine could do that, or why. Then it hit me (never seen a tornado or been in areas that have them). Went across the heavily treed hillside as far as I could see in both directions. Amazing amount of force to do that much damage. I'll try and find a pic or two and post them.

I guess I only took a short video and I can't post a vid here so here's a pic from the video.
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That’s wild looking.

 

[lyle_destroys]

Not really back country, but walking some foothills where I like to hunt mule deer I saw the flash of a shed. It was just a little fork but when I picked it up there was an old knife on the ground underneath it with the leather washer handle rotted away. Still have it in the shop somewhere, someday I'll put it all back together.

I found one the same way, old timer stuck in the ground, leather rotted away. I made a deer antler handle and sharpened her up.

 

[The Harbor Master]

Found a black diamond snow saw this weekend on a random finger overlooking a deep draw. Not even rusty yet, must have fallen from a snowshoer's pack this past winter. My hunting partner stepped right over it and it caught my eye next to a fallen pine.

 

[aaron600rr]

Found these old cabins. No trail system on any of my maps.

 

[HbDane]

Found these old cabins. No trail system on any of my maps.

That is awesome!!!

I found a cast iron wood burning stove about a quarter mile from a cabin that was built on forest land so was condemned. I assume it was dragged from there and then probably got too heavy for whoever. It ain’t there anymore, so somebody scored. It was in great condition. I had thoughts on jumping it out, but it would have been a beast doing that solo.

 

[eddielasvegas]

Found these old cabins. No trail system on any of my maps.

Very kewl pix.

A really simple life when these were lived in, but a much, much harder life than many of us could handle today.


Eddie

 

[Dogone]

the preppers who dream of using their “bug out bag” and surviving would be in for a rude awakening. I grew up without electricity or running water. You better be young and healthy.

 

[The Harbor Master]

Found these old cabins. No trail system on any of my maps.

That's so cool. I wonder what you'd find if you spend some time there with a metal detector.

 

[Ucsdryder]

the preppers who dream of using their “bug out bag” and surviving would be in for a rude awakening. I grew up without electricity or running water. You better be young and healthy.

How old are you? 125?

 

[2531usmc]

the preppers who dream of using their “bug out bag” and surviving would be in for a rude awakening. I grew up without electricity or running water. You better be young and healthy.

Tactical stuff is always so cool until you actually have to do tactical stuff

 

[RockAndSage]

How old are you? 125?

There are a lot of places in the rural west and especially Alaska where this is not uncommon - remote homesteads many hours of dirt road from the nearest town. It's mostly by choice of the parents, whether romanticizing a hippie back-to-the-earth lifestyle, or people romanticizing a pioneering, self-sufficient, live-off-the-land lifestyle. I personally know more than one person who grew up that way because of the choices of their parents, and the commenter is right - they'd better be young for it to work at all. If someone tells you they grew up that way, it's fair to believe them.

 

[Dos Perros]

This dude lived to be 137 years old. Without power and water.

 

[RockAndSage]

This dude lived to be 137 years old. Without power and water.

And...he grew up that way, right? It makes a difference. Separate, if it's even remotely true, of this being an all-time human exception for any time and place.

I think the original commenter's point is regarding people who think they'll just "bug out" from the cush of a job and comfortable home to living off the land - that it's fantasy divorced from reality. And he's right. That's true enough for young people without skills or the experienced-base mental toughness of having lived that way already. Not camped, but lived, for extended periods. But you throw a 60yo into the wilderness to "bug out", and they'll be far worse off physically than a 20yo, when they've got to hunt and forage daily, do meal prep, carry water...it's a harsh reality few can do on demand, for extended periods, compared to a kid.

 

[Dos Perros]

And...he grew up that way, right? It makes a difference. Separate, if it's even remotely true, of this being an all-time human exception for any time and place.

I think the original commenter's point is regarding people who think they'll just "bug out" from the cush of a job and comfortable home to living off the land - that it's fantasy divorced from reality. And he's right. That's true enough for young people without skills or the experienced-base mental toughness of having lived that way already. Not camped, but lived, for extended periods. But you throw a 60yo into the wilderness to "bug out", and they'll be far worse off physically than a 20yo, when they've got to hunt and forage daily, do meal prep, carry water...it's a harsh reality few can do on demand, for extended periods, compared to a kid.

You make some good points, but I think old and wise > young and stupid.

I say this being neither young or old, wise or stupid.

 

[RockAndSage]

You make some good points, but I think old and wise > young and stupid.

I say this being neither young or old, wise or stupid.

That's the power of tribes - older experience but less physical capability guiding unfilled brains and strong bodies.

 

[intunegp]

This dude lived to be 137 years old. Without power and water.

Just thought I'd share because I've looked into this before. From his Wikipedia:

The exact age of John Smith at the time of his death has been a subject of controversy. Federal Commissioner of Indian Enrollment Ransom J. Powell argued that "it was disease and not age that made him look the way he did"[2] and remarked that according to records he was 88 years old. Paul Buffalo, who had met Smith when a small boy, said he had repeatedly heard the old man state that he was "seven or eight", "eight or nine" and "ten years old" when the "stars fell"[2] in the Leonid meteor shower of November 13, 1833. Local historian Carl Zapffe writes:

"Birthdates of Indians of the 19th Century had generally been determined by the Government in relation to the awe-inspiring shower of meteorites that burned through the American skies just before dawn on 13 November 1833, scaring the daylights out of civilized and uncivilized peoples alike. Obviously it was the end of the world. . . .".[3]
This estimate tied to the Leonids implies the oldest possible age of John Smith at just under 100 years at the time of his death.

 

[Dos Perros]

Just thought I'd share because I've looked into this before. From his Wikipedia:

I apologize for distracting, let's get this thread back on track.

 

[Dogone]

How old are you? 125?

No electricity in rural Saskatchewan till 1957. And some folks didn’t want it then . We had a bath once a week on Saturday. Used coal/ wood and heater fuel to stay warm . Our house was like the neighbours, no insulation and drafts. All the coal oil lamps are still in my basement for emergency.
In any harsh climate most people will die. I lived it once and would not care to again.

 

[Hunt eat repeat]

Ran across a tornado track high up in the Crazy Mountains in MT. Took me a while to figure out what I was looking at- 25-30' wide swath where every tree was completely uprooted, broken and thrown in every direction. Couldn't figure out what kind of machine could do that, or why. Then it hit me (never seen a tornado or been in areas that have them). Went across the heavily treed hillside as far as I could see in both directions. Amazing amount of force to do that much damage. I'll try and find a pic or two and post them.

I guess I only took a short video and I can't post a vid here so here's a pic from the video.
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I was in a micro burst in the crazies about 7 years ago. It was unbelievable. Trees you couldn’t wrap your arms around snapped off half way up. Dozens and dozens of them.