Finding Wilderness

I got a flat this morning on a vaunted Specialized Armadillo tire.  It was a typical winter flat – a large piece of glass stuck to the tire that gradually worked its way in.  Still no flats this winter on the much cheaper Michelin Erilium 2 on the front wheel.  I’ve been comparing the Armadillos against the Eriliums this winter.  The Armadillos are tougher, but the well-kept secret of the Erilium is the microbead tread on the surface of the tire that hits the road.  This seems to prevent the glass from sticking, which is the key, especially on wet roads.  I wonder if Michelin even knows this.  This is my third season with the Michelin Eriliums.  I hope they keep making them.  I hope the other tire companies start considering the surface of the tire with this function in mind.  The flat sticky tire that is perfect for racing in the summer is the worst thing for commuting in the winter.

There was a a previous cougar attack in British Columbia on December 31st, this one in Danskin. Two cougars attacked two young children playing outside while there mother was cleaning a church. The mother rushed out, saw that one of the cougars had the head of her seven-year-old boy in its mouth. She hit it on the head with a rag and it ran away. Her five-year-old daughter said that there was also another cougar. The family appears lucky. Attacking cougars are usually more persistent than this.

A golden retriever defended an 11-year-old boy when he was attacked by a cougar in his backyard in Boston Bar, British Columbia. The dog rushed to intervene as the cougar was going for the boy. While the cougar turned its attack on the dog, the boy ran into the house and the family called 911. The dog undoubtedly saved the boy from serious injury, if not his life. What is amazing to me is that the police were able to arrive soon enough to shoot the cougar and save the dog. (Arrived within one minute according to the CTV News report.)

Kids and adults try biathlon for the first time

This year the US Biathlon Team is celebrating a historic first — Tim Burke, from Paul Smiths, NY, will start the new year wearing the Yellow Bib as the World Cup leader. Never before has an American led the overall World Cup.

This is an accomplishment given that biathlon is much less popular here as it is in Europe and Canada. Biathlon is said to be the most popular winter spectator sport in Europe. Large crowds assemble there to watch their favorite athletes speed around the ski course on fast skate skis, interrupted by tense shooting bouts that frequently cause the lead to change several times during the race.

Though participant numbers here are small compared to other sports, there are actually two active biathlon clubs in Washington. The Methow Valley Nordic Team has a biathlon group that caters to youth, but has adult racers as well. A few of the teenagers in the club are nationally ranked. Last weekend (see picture) my kids and I participated in a biathlon in Methow Valley and we had a blast. (No, not literally. The .22 target rounds barely make a popping noise.)

The other local club is the Washington Biathlon Association, based in Seattle. Each year they host six winter races at Stevens Pass and four summer races (run/shoot and mountain bike/shoot) here in Seattle.

They WBA welcomes new participants and is hosting a beginner’s training clinic on January 9th at the Stevens Pass Nordic Center. For more information contact WBA President Bob Vallor, whose contact information is in the linked flyer.

There are a few cases where people have successfully fought off an attacking mountain lion with a pocket knife.  The victims usually end up on the ground with animal, and the cats are relentless until killed or severely injured.  I just came across this attack from 2007 in California.  A 65 year-old women used a ballpoint pen to fight back against a mountain lion that was attacking her 70-year old husband.  Here is the pertinent part of the story as reported by Paul Bright of Associated Content.

Jim Hamm of Fortuna, CA, and his wife, Nell, were enjoying a hike at the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park near the California north coast when a female mountain lion suddenly pounced on him. His wife, walking ahead of him was unaware of the attack at first until she heard him call for help. Nell Hamm quickly attacked the lion with whatever she could get her hands on as Jim’s head was in the lion’s mouth.

Nell first grabbed a branch and began to beat the mountain lion, but it wouldn’t let Jim go. Jim told her, “I’ve got a pen in my pocket and get the pen and jab him in the eye,’” she said. “So I got the pen and tried to put it in his eye, but it didn’t want to go in as easy as I thought it would.” When the pen failed to work, Nell picked up the log and began to beat the lion again. The mountain lion released its grip, stared at Nell, and slowly walked away as she screamed at it.

A few interesting reports about mountain lions this week:

As reported by KUSA TV, in Colorado, a 12 year old snapped two photos of a mountain lion with his cell phone camera from his car in a suburban neighborhood near Denver.

A female mountain lion was killed in Iowa County.  One of the residents had been saying for years that he had seen a mountain lion, but no one believed him.

But the top story is this man, who defended himself last July (2009) with a chainsaw when a mountain lion rushed at him while he was sawing wood near Grand Teton National Park. His young child had been with him just a few minutes before the attack.

This is cross posted from News Channel 9 in Chattanooga, Tennessee:

Susan Cenkus of Clyde, Ohio, survivor of the April 2006 bear attack at the Cherokee National Forest in Polk County, will share her personal story of how she risked her own life to save those of her children on the Animal Planet’s I’m Alive, Friday, December 4 at 9 p.m.

Susan Cenkus and her son, Luke, and daughter, Elora, were hiking near the Chilhowee Campground near Benton Falls when they were attacked by a black bear. Cenkus’s six-year-old daughter Elora Petrosek was killed in the attack and Susan and Luke were flown by LIFE FORCE to Erlanger in critical condition. Both Susan and Luke continued to receive treatment for several weeks at Erlanger.

Susan has returned several times to the Chattanooga area over the past three years to thank all the many first responders and medical personnel that she credits for saving hers and Luke’s life.

Susan’s story will air Friday, December 4 at 9 and 11 p.m. on Animal Planet.

This looks like it will be an interesting program.  I am looking forward to Susan’s insights.

Here is another incident that shows why handguns work better than pepper spray or rifles as a last resort to save your life after a bear has already closed the distance and is on you:

The key graph from the article:

In a phone interview with WJZ, Ruth says he is alive because he went for a walk armed with a hand gun.

“All of a sudden the bear came out of the bushes and it was really thick cover. The next thing I knew the bear was on me, was shaking me and had a hold of my face in its mouth. I could feel the bones in my jaw crushing. Fearing the bear was going to come back and finish me up, I shot the bear and killed it,” Ruth said.

From the attack description, it doesn’t appear that he would have had time to deploy pepper spray if he had been carrying it.

Here is how Greg Tuttle of the Flathead Beacon described it the encounter:

Jerry Ruth saw the grizzly for just a fraction of a second before it was on him.

Within seconds, the 275-pound animal had crushed the Wyoming man’s jaw when it bit him in the face, fractured his rib and punctured his lung and left deep bite wounds in his thigh and scratches across his back.

After the attack, the bear left him for her three cubs that Ruth saw for the first time as he lay bleeding on the dirt. When it reached the cubs about 15 yards away, the bear turned toward him again, “squaring off” as if to charge, Ruth recalled Friday.

Ruth grabbed for the .41-caliber magnum revolver he was carrying in a hip holster and relied on his training and experience as a police officer to save his life. He fired three times, saving three bullets in case his first shots failed.

But the bear dropped and didn’t move, ending the furious encounter as swiftly as it started.

So far, I am not aware of any case where someone who is armed with an accessible large-bore handgun has not survived a bear attack.  On the other hand, I am aware of numerous cases where people armed only with rifles have been killed by bears.  People armed with just pepper spray have also been killed by bears.  I contend that if your pepper spray fails, the best backup is a large bore handgun.

Winchester Wasteway is a great single or multi-day float in a wildlife-rich high desert environment. Located in Western Washington near Moses lake, it flows through sand dunes to Potholes Reservoir. Here is a map of the location. The shuttle is about 13 miles whether you do the close takeout or the full trip. If you do the full trip there is a waterfall at the place where the canal flows into the reservoir that must be portaged, then a three-mile paddle to the takeout at Potholes Reservoir State Park.

Sea kayaking on Winchester Wasteway. Photo by Dave Elton

The area is called the Potholes because of the many ponds and small lakes that are scattered throughout the sand dunes. A couple of small lakes are crossed when floating the canal, and campsites can be located near other larger lakes within portage distance. It makes for an even more varied trip.

Entering one of the lakes that must be crossed. Photo by Dave Elton

The canal picks up speed after the alternate early takeout at the end of Road C SE. It takes on more of the character of a mountain stream, and there are rocks to dodge.

Just below Road C SE. Photo by Dave Elton

Lime Kiln Point, on the west side of San Juan Island in Washington state, may be the best place in the world to view orca whales from shore. The best viewing is from the rocks around the light house.

Viewing orcas from Lime Kiln Point

This orca came within 20 or 30 yards of the rocks we were standing on. San Juan County Park is a great place to stay if you want to camp.

The view from San Juan County Park

Close enough to recognize the saddle patch.

Orcas among the kelp.

The orcas fish for salmon among the kelp, right next to the rocks. An orca’s white patch can be seen beneath the surface in the above photo.