High Sierra Topix

A couple of years ago, I was sleeping out "cowboy" style at Blue Lake while my family slept in the three man tent. For the first hour after I pulled into my bag, several chipmunks decided to make my head into a spring board. They seemed to have quite a good time of it. I could hear their little feet bouncing across my tarp, then, suddenly spring off my head. Once I realized what was going on, I just pulled my beanie down over my face and let them go at it.

Jimr wrote "Once I realized what was going on, I just pulled my beanie down over my
face and let them go at it", that's funny.
I would loved to have got that on video, would have made millions.

Once I was camping on Piute Creek and hung 10 fish on a line between 2 trees about 4 feet off the ground. A weasel (It looked like a weasel to me) tore off my fish one at a time right in front of my eyes. It was very cold and each time I just hoped it wouldn't come back. I didn't want to get up in such cold. After it took eight fish I got up and salvaged my last 2 fish.

Camped along the river, deep amongst the browns and greens, somewhere between Glen Aulin and Waterwheel Falls… (This was back in the time when hanging food in Yosemite was still allowed)…BTW, that particular evening it was a truly perfect food hang…absolutely bear impregnable.


Puttering around camp, we happened to spy something large, flying overhead…must have soared a good 100 feet…came from out of the shadows, high pines, arced in, rode the wind…
The sound of four sets of claws latching onto/tearing into nylon food bags…
Turns out, it was a flying squirrel.
We sat watching, mesmerized, the bags swinging 20 feet up - the rodent now sliding down; it’s “hooks” slicing open that food bag in seconds.

Only time I ever lost anything well hung.

I've had a chipmunk jump right into my open bear cannister when I was sitting about 3 feet away and start helping itself. I've had a couple of holes chewed in packs by rodents. Not a smaller animal, but deer will also go after sweat. Up in the cascades I spent about an hour repeatedly shooing one away from my pack shoulder straps. Finally had to pull the entire pack into my tent to ensure I could carry it on my back the next day and not in my hands.
Other than ticks, yellow jackets and skeeters nothing else has done me bodily harm.

Wowie! I got attacked by a yellow jacket a couple of years back at Peter Pande. I was tying on a fly and this guy kept buzzing my ear, he came for another round and i whacked him, only to then get caught under the brim of my hat and somehow instinctively grapple his way straight to my lip. A terrible trip for me but these photos have gotten a lot of mileage.
Even mosquitoes make my lips swell up double there size, so i knew the yellow jacket was going to be a dousy. These are chronological, much of it using my camera as a mirror.
I'll have to say i let out a terrific scream after that bite that even in all the agony, made me smile as it reverberated from those granite walls.

Ouch Patrick!!!! Hard to follow your pics!! Had a girlfriend who reacted like that to bug bites. I have to admit I didnt really beleive her until she got stung on the foot by a yellowjacket. Her foot swelled up like I had never seen (fortunately not backpacking) and I quickly had to apologize for my earlier disbelief.

Like others, Ive never had that much trouble, but have had a few issues with critters. I once found my pack strap nearly chewed in half by what I suspect was a marmot as we saw several in the area. One of only 2 times I've used my heavy sew kit. Ive also had my share of finding holes in the corner of the trail mix etc. Once while camped at Sawmill Lake, we noticed my bag of nuts moving a bit. I scooped it up quickly and we watched a little mouse do high bank turns around the inside of the bag until he found his entrance hole to now exit out of.

On another trip I bivyed at Dissapointment Lk just in front of a storm. I had just enough time to set up my tarp and bivy on the lee side of a big boulder and to get some water before the deluge began. I sat boiling some water for dinner in my little shelter when a small mouse like guy appeared from beneath the rock. Not wanting to move,I actually spread some nuts out hoping the little bugger would leave my bag alone. It worked. I saw it several times that evening as it came out to enjoy another almond and in the morning my food bag was secure.

Probably the funniest issue I ever had/saw with critters was at Grouse Meadows in KCNP with a deer. I lauged at the time, as it reminded me of a similar story I had read many moons ago in an article by Mike Hayden. The Haydens had a deer come into camp and steal their soap. Certainly not good at the start of a trip. Ours seemed much more serious to us at the time. On day 2 of a 9 day trip, we had stopped for a water break and to check out the meadow views. This doe started snooping around our packs almost instantly. We had ran her off a few times, but she was persistent. She was near my brothers pack when she grabed a plastic bag and took off. My brother jumps up in full pursuit screaming at the deer at top of his lungs. It worked cuz while she did run aways, she eventually dropped the bag. What was the big deal? The bag had my brothers TP for the trip.

Wow, Patrick! That looks painful! Scott had something bite his face while on the JMT, and it got so swollen I had a hard time looking at him. He almost bailed because of the pain, but by the time we got close to a way out a few days later, he decided it was a lot better.

Last year I was with 2 friends, and a boxer ran towards us barking like it was going to attack. It stopped to sniff both of the others, but when it got to me it bit my shin. Took me by surprise, but I had a knee brace on so it bit mostly on the brace and barely broke skin with the bottom teeth. By the time we got close to summitting (Dragon Pk), it was painful. It hurt for over a month, felt like a big bruise.

A few years ago I was hiking a good distance behind my friend and he must've stirred up a few yellowjackets. I forgot my hiking pants so I work clingy exercise shorts with leg warmers that were in my bag. The yellowjackets attacked my butt cheek and back of my calf. I had never been stung before, and because it was so painful I was worried that a stinger was still there and didn't want the material to push it in. I made my friend look for the stinger. He's normally not shy, but got shy about it. We still laugh about it. I hiked out another 2.5 mi and it felt like it was sticking me with every step.

This weekend, a kit fox stole my athlete foot's lotion on Santa Cruz Island.

Snow Nymph wrote:A few years ago I was hiking a good distance behind my friend and he must've stirred up a few yellowjackets. I forgot my hiking pants so I work clingy exercise shorts with leg warmers that were in my bag. The yellowjackets attacked my butt cheek and back of my calf. I had never been stung before, and because it was so painful I was worried that a stinger was still there and didn't want the material to push it in. I made my friend look for the stinger. He's normally not shy, but got shy about it. We still laugh about it. I hiked out another 2.5 mi and it felt like it was sticking me with every step.

Yellowjackets don't have barbed stingers, so they're unlikely to leave a stinger in you. Bees on the other hand, have barbed stingers, and that's why they die when they sting.

If you're allergic, see the doc for an epi-pen, or other substitute.