rangerdanger Camping Story

Although I've camped since a child, I never went backpack camping until I was in my mid 30's (circa '79).
The first backpacking trip I took was with 2 friends, up in the mountains outside L.A. We had visited the area just for a few hours with someone else, and decieded that the next weekend (Memorial Day) we'd take a backpack trip--everyone's first.
So we borrowed 2nd-hand backpacks and cobbled together pots & pans, etc. and set out.
For some reason it hadn't occured to me to pick up a free map at a ranger station (I used to hate Forest Rangers until I became one), so we had no idea where we were going except downstream in this canyon. We figured we'd hike downstream for a day and a half and then if we didn't find another way out we'd simply return the way we came.
The first day we didn't do far and camped out on a sandbar next to the stream. The next day we continued and found a bitchen 2-story high waterfall and hang out with some cool people. They told us about a fireroad up to a paved road where we could hitchike back to our car.
So we went a bit further downstream and found a cave. It looked like a totally ace place to make camp. It was next to the stream where it widened into a wide deep pond, and soft sand to lay our sleping bags in the sheter of the cave.
We didn't know there were any fish in this stream, and we didn't have any fishing gear. But in splashing in the pond we see a 14" rainbow trout!
Well well.
So we chased it a bit downstream were the pond ended and the water got shallow, and were able to flip it out of the water with a stick (I swear to ganja this is true). So now we have a trout, but nothing to prepare it with. We had a pot but no grease or butter.
What to do?
We had brought along a bottle of blackberry brandy to drink the 2nd night. So we fillet the trout and poach it in the brandy.
Oh man that red flesh was mighty sweet & tasty.
So now we have a pot full of brandy that we had poached the trout in. It's all we the booze we had. Might as well drink it, right?
DON'T TRY THIS!!!
Oh man that tasted foul, so we said fuck it and sparked a fattie.
We had set up a rock-ring in the cave, which only went back about 10' (I guess it was more od a cavern?). We assembled our firewood, got it all ready to do, and at dusk lit it.
The second the smoke hit the cieling of the cave, THOUSANDS of spiders came jamming out of every crack and crevice and almost instantly we were covered in spiders!
YIKES!!!
We tear off our clothes and hit the pond.
After awhile, we take all our clothes and gear out in the open and shook them out and made camp outside the cave.
But we had failed to notice that
A. We were right in the middle of an ant trail, and
B. About 500' directly above us was the edge of the canyon.
So ants were crawling on us and stuff like leaves and pebbles (and once something soft and alive I don't know what) were falling on us all night long.
The next day we went further downstream and found another killer 3-story high waterfall (with 2 cascades!) and explored around and when it was time to leave hiked up the fireroad.
It was only 2 miles, but steep, and we weren't used to hiking with packs (fully loaded they weighed about 35--40 lbs) so it seemed like FOREVER.
But we get to the road, drop our packs and I hitchhiked back to the car and came back and picked up my 2 friends.

P.s. 2 weeks later we deciede to go again, and we unrolled the sleeping bags to air them out.
And out come these ants and spiders, still alive after 2 weeks rolled up in a sleeping bag!

P.s.s. We never camped out at Spider Cave again. But we did find a delightful little shady area in soft sand next to another pond that was usually good for a few trout (we brought fishing gear with us after that). In became my #1 camping spot for the next 20 years, until I moved.

 

That was a great camping story...thanks for sharing it

 

Knowing me and my friends.....We'd have drank the brandy anyway!!. cool story, dude, are you still a forest ranger?

 

Thanks.
I have tons of camping stories which I'll share from time to time.
I'm no longer with The Forest Service. I took an early retirement and now just lay around the house and smoke marijuana .

Here's another one:
For decades I grew marijuna in the Nat'l Forest. Not a plantation or anything, just maybe a dozen or so plants per season to supply myself and give any excess to friends.
I always went into the area silently, and one day when I went in to tend my garden I heard a voice say "Hey I found 'em!"
I was taking a shortcut down the side of a hill and I ducked down and saw 4 people in my garden, hacking down my plants!
Now, there were 4 of them and one of me.
But I was pissed. If I couldn't enjoy the fruits of my labor they sure as hell weren't.
I quickly went back to the trailhead where I had parked. There was only one other car there. I took down the license plate # and called some ranger friends of mine, the guys in law enforcement (my job was fire patrol) and reported marijuana growers.
Then I left and the Ranger leo's were waiting there when the rustlers got back to their car, and busted them for cultivation.
Serves the fucking thieves right.

 

Loved reading your story. After over a dozen rainbow gatherings it heartens me to know there were at least at one time some cool heads in the FS. (I know there still are, it the incident response team that patrols the gatherings, not the average ranger)
And I'm a big fan of Ed Abbey, so I know not all forest rangers are evil...

 

Fishing: During the day it was strickly catch-and-release, using single barbless hooks. Occasionally one of those stupid trout would swallow the hook so deeply that we couldn't get it out without fatally wounding it; after removing the hook these would be an extra treat for my camping dog.

ound out 5 or 6 we'd return to the area we had the most luck with catch-and-release, except this time with treble hooks.

We almost always caught a few nice 10"--12" 'bows each. We'd take these back to camp live in a bucket of water.

See, trout is best when cooked fresh, the fresher the better.

So we'd spark a fattie, start the fire and get everything ready.

About the time we put the cast-iron skillet on the coals, we'd kill and gut the trout and cook them in a variety of ways.

Sometimes we'd fry them in garlic butter, other times we'd fillet them, dip them in beer, put them in a plastic bag containing flour and spices and shake it up baby, and fry them up wrapped in bacon.

Fishing Ettequite:
-Always burn (or pack out) any uneaten parts of the fish. If you leave them they will attract stuff (like bugs and rats) that would be unwelcome in/near camp.
-Don't leave snarled line in the water or laying around.
-Never ever leave a hook in a fish. I once saw someone catch a fish that was way to small. He just cut the line and threw the fish back in the water.
Well likely this fish died soon, washed up onshore and was eaten by a savenger like a coyote or bobcat or mountain lion. Whatever eats the fish will ingest the hook, which can cause THAT animal to die.

-And please don't leave trash like empty bait containers, etc. behind. If you can bring it in full you can certainly pack it out empty.

Tending a pot garden, a day spent hiking,fresh trout dinner, and getting drunk around the campfire with your crew--doesn't get any better than that (except maybe if strippers show up).

In fact, at a big party I threw down in the canyon one year, 2 girls, members of our extended group and strippers in real life, put on quite a show.

 

At my favorite backpack camp, there was a waterfall about a 20-min hike away. At the bottom of the waterfall was a nice pool. Not deep enough to swim in (maybe 3'-4' deep depending) but it was full of fish.
Fish that I put there.
The steam that forms the waterfall come from a spring not too far above it, so fish didt come in that way.
And they couldn't swim up from the main part of the river--the stream from the pond to the river was too shallow.
So whenever I caught a fish too small to keep, I'd haul it in my bucket to the pond.
There was food there and the fish thrived, and reproduced.
The only time I fished there was when I wanted food quick. I never failed to catch a fish there.
Until one weekend when I invited some people along for a fishing/trout dinner trip.
We arrived to find that someone had caught all the fish (all 9) and left them dead on the shore, with the hook still in each fish.
I have never understood what motivated a person to do this.
In addition, leaving a hook in a fish the way the person did almost ensures that the fish will kill/injure whatever eats it (coyote, racoon, bobcat).

 

The 10 Essentials

What you should carry whenever heading out on a trial

Extra clothes inc. rain gear
Food
Water & water filter/iodine tabs
Map & compass
Matches & firestarter
Mirror (signaling device)
Whistle
1st aid Kit
Shelter (tent/tarp)
Knife/multi-tool

Not essential but extremely helpful:
toilet paper

And always let someone know where you'll be going and when you intend to return.

 

I've been trying to get into the forestry service for a bit now..... any helpful hints?

 

If you want to get into the U.S. Forest Service I suggest calling up the nearest Forest Service station and volunteer.
Attend an orientation meeting and ask them for suggestions of what branch of the Forest Service you should get into. There's firefighting, patrol, law enforcement, admin., etc.
You need college.