Tyson.g

No, they were not on an old road. The Wild Sky does have older road grades in it as do other Wilderness areas such as the Boulder River Wilderness. Hard to be "untrammeled by man" if the Wilderness was designated after heavy industrial use.

What would the Washington Mindfulness Coalition have to do with any of this?

Are there roads inside wilderness areas? Yes, in particular if the road existed prior to the Wilderness area being designated as such. That does not mean one may still operate motorized or mechanized vehicles on it.

No license plates as they were coming in from a completely different valley. I was not going to drive around to that side just to get the #'s. I had a camera and almost snapped a few shots of them and then considered my position and the fact that there were alot more of them than us and well it seemed somewhat risky to me so there is that. I am not so concerned about these particular people being directly punished, but the notification may help enforcement patrol the Beckler River road a little more. @Tvash - So you are right a couple of yahoos may not be a huge deal, but like in previous discussion regarding 4th season users they can and will throw a bad light on a whole group.

I tried to flag them down in a friendly way. All I got was the courtesy wave. Six times. I am usually not a real stickler for rules but even I have my line. Too bad though, the FS was very interested in hearing about this and said I should also expect a call from law enforcement. I would hate to see a few folks get things all f'd up for the rest of us.

Yes, it was some crud snow this weekend. We were wondering yesterday how your trip was panning out. Check my FB for some Cabin photos - 80dg in there was plenty cozy!

More than two miles in from the boundary line (and I am being generous) Yes, I am sure and I have verified my gut feeling by referencing current maps.

I was off Hwy 2. Not party of any rescue unless it was the "rescue" of some sweet ski lines as most of the sledders had sticks or boards with them and very little gear. I am all for sleds, just not in the wilderness.

Ya know, I am probably one of the lazier folks out there who loves to use mechanized transport just as much as the next guy, but am I wrong to be slightly more than bothered by no fewer than 6 sleds coming right through and across my tracks, feet from me while 6 miles from my car AND in a protected wilderness nonetheless? Sheesh.

Way to go Dan! If I had half the energy you have I would be happy little man! Nice photos too...

Well said Lowell and nice piece of writing.

Yep, that was a great show. Thanks to the presenters and to Jason and the SAC for their work.

I consider myself one of the non yahoo users of these resources. Well, I am a bit of a yahoo, but not an irresponsible one. I am in agreement with a stewardship effort by those of us 4th season users. I would be willing to offer my load hauling abilities which I think pat may be able to vouch for. If one was to be heading out to one of these locations maybe there should be a custodial contact within whatever organization or group that could give ideas of what the location may need, aside from the obvious. Another idea is to have a place for folks to post the needs of a location they have visited. This would offer more real time need information. The problem I see with the latter is the publicity aspect. Although with the newer information compiled and available out there I do not see that as the bigger issue.

Bastards - Am I that poor of company that I recieved no invite? I do have and can ski beotches. It would have been a much more satisfying trip than the one with my usual over drunk cronies this past weekend. Super Jealous!

I once hiked about 300 yards down into a hollow that had what appeared to be a nice large flat rock for me and my buddies to bivy on. When I got to it it was the size of an ice chest lid. The same trip I was able to get a view of my objective peak through the clouds and was discouraged by the remaining distance. One of my party decided he would stay put and two of us continued. What looke to be a long way off actually only took ten minutes to reach....yes the depth perception in off conditions can be horrific. YMMV?

That is freaking AWESOME! Thanks for posting! I like toward the end when the waterfall is moving back and forth. I also like watching the air traffic during the night shots. Right on!

"Got a pair of LS Makalus, bought back in 2000. Never waterproofed 'em, and they've never leaked." - SOBO Same story with mine. As to OMB's comment - never have become too dry or cracked either. I agree with Wetslide - wait..... and see, putting the stuff on will definitely change them, waiting it out means at the worst being wet once and then doing the seal, but I do not think it will come to that. my $.02

I have heard mixed reviews from my SAR friends about the reliability of the SPOT signal. In particular that the location is or has been in the past quite a bit off. That may have changed but definitely something to consider. As R said the cost of the spot is not so bad but in my opinion the one time cost of the sat phone in conjunction with a pre paid option could in the long run be more cost effective on a per use basis. Not to mention the vastly superior communication ability and versatility of the sat phone.

Hey gene, I will look at mine tonight and see what model it is and compare the specs. One thing I would highly recommend is the add on view screen as the device comes with no way to view or review the footage until downloaded to your pc. That is my biggest complaint. The button functions and operating controls are somewhat cryptic and require some memorization as to their functions. I often have to refer to the instructions.

Bye the way John looks like a good time!

Why is a group of 8 an inconvenience to other climbers on the route? Barring the aspect of being slow. Is the max group size not 12, according to law like up in these parts? How is one group of 8 more dangerous than 2 groups of 4 etc?

so I shouldn't drive by vw bus in the winter in Wyoming? If the cops see the riff raff I hang out with lately, the hippies will ignored. Hey! I resemble that comment!

Keen nailed it with the latter option.