High Sierra Topix

The goats--which are not native to the Olympics and began to overrun the place--were so thick that backpacker permits once cautioned us to urinate only on rocks. Otherwise the goats would do serious damage to the landscape. Salt is a powerful, powerful attractant to animals who live with a constant shortage of it and absolutely crave it.

I see the Park service is still advising to urinate 150 feet from trails in the Olympics to try to reduce goat/human encounters. In 2010 a mountain goat killed a man--the first animal caused fatality in the history of the park--goats were never thought to be particularly dangerous. So, it is in fact wise to trust your instincts and back off, just as you did. An odd individual animal can always be the exception to the rule. Who knows, maybe the critter has a brain parasite and simply does not behave in the ordinary way.

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On the High Sierra Trail the deer are pretty bad about this. A doe walked around our camp repeatedly until I started throwing rocks. She was really interested in a friend's sleeping bag being aired out on a tent. At Hamilton Lake, the deer and squirrels go nuts over stuff - deer will steal your shirt and chew it up if you leave it out to dry. We were entertained by a dancing chipmunk who kept running around and standing up to look at us - I threw a pine cone at the bear box, making a loud bang, and not only that 'munk but a second one sneaking in from another direction took off at top speed.

When animals get used to people, they'll chew on your stuff and test everything. Except marmots. They've never been afraid of people and never needed "taming." They'll just be brazen no matter what. I was throwing rocks at one arrogant little brat and he stood up on his hind legs like a little bear as if to show me how tough he was. That maneuver resulted in a rock accidentally striking him. He kind of reeled back a little and dropped and walked off as if miffed.

Id a doe take off with my tee shirt one time. Had to chase her down for it.

I disperse camp in my RV all the time. RVers call it 'boondocking'. At one of my favorite haunts just north of LVNP I placed some salt blocks about 100 yards from my campsite (the kind used by ranchers for livestock) to attract deer and whatnot.

The first two weekends after I placed them there were no tracks or increased sign. The third weekend about a month later the entire area was thick with deer, and tracks I believe were elk (elk are rare in this area). No bear or cat tracks I could see in the soft dirt, but I did notice more bear scat in the area. I did not expect that level of response.

I would not place salt blocks anywhere there are open range cattle because you would attract the wrong kind of critters (big dumb ones that will rub up against the side of an RV), and you cannot hunt within a 1/4 mile of a salt block.

I have to ponder whether I want to place more at some of my other frequented campsites.

maverick wrote:

VR wrote:

It was decades ago. I was alone at Benson Lake. Earlier on in this 80 mile hike I had
issues with bears at night. I literally drew a "line in the sand" with my urine and went
to bed.

That night I awoke to a strange sound. I turned on my light and looked out toward my
"line". Several glowing eyes stared back at me. It was a line of deer licking up my "line".

I even have a picture of it somewhere!

That would be interesting to see.

"I even have a picture of it somewhere!"

I vote for "it" to be defined first before any pictures are shown.

The ego will mess with you and try to get you to man up by going against your better judgment. Always follow your instincts, not your ego.

Years back I was on my way to Mineral King for a day hike. Before sunrise, I stopped at a gas station in Three Rivers to top off the gas tank. As I slowly exited the gas station, I heard an odd sound and rolled down my window thinking I had car problems.

It was then I noticed a large buck in my rear view mirror, following me out of the station with a loud "clackity clack" on the smooth concrete. As I sped up it continued to pursue me up the highway quite a ways until I sped up significantly.

After an enjoyable day hike, I returned down the mountain to Three Rivers where once again I decided to top off the tank for the trip home. I went into the mini-mart to get some road snacks. It was then as I stood there in line waiting to pay for my items that I recalled the weird deer behavior of the early morning.

As I stepped up to the counter to pay, I commented to the elderly lady working there about the deer chasing my car. I figured she would think I'm some kind of city boy nut case. Instead, she turns around to an open office door and yells "Jack, your g*d damned deer are chasing the customers again!".

You can imagine my dismay......

Later I learned that some people in Three Rivers treat the deer population as pets, providing food and shelter and so on.

I always have deer in popular camp areas loiter around me. Then I've watched them lick the pee spots. Salt.

Interesting story shawn and creepy! Spoke with a hunter today who also told me the deer is probably fed and treated as a pet since this seems to be a popular camp area at Laurel lake.

Once when I was at Spring Lake (Mineral King) I passed a camp with four women and one asked if I had seen a deer carrying a bra. What!? The deer apparently had carried away all their bras hanging in a tree to dry.