Mountain Men, what are they doing up there?

While not a 'mountain man', I quite often go bush for weeks at a time when I have the chance, and the one thing that annoys me is when a group of drunken campers set up their tent anywhere near me.

You can hear them for miles around, and alot of people there to enjoy some silence and nature get annoyed at having to hear a bunch of drunken people talking loudly thru the night. Usually, I'll just pack up and move to a quiet area, but you'll be surprised just how far voices can travel at night in the wilderness, especially when the voices are coming from a lower elevation.

Sounds like somebody having a bit of fun at your expense. Good on them.

Cheers
Shane

Steered away from a few renegade ...weekend worriors myself lol
that was their time.
and in as much as i felt disrespected..i still love em'

Most are good...just out to have fun..albeit..with too much beer lol

Love and light

reply to post by GreenBicMan


They're growing pot up there. What do you think they are doing.
Didn't you watch Grizzly Adams? There was a reason those mountains were green and him and that indian were always smiling.

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Nice story. I know the area around that campground and nope there's no mountain men there. It's all private farm country and during those shows some people camp on other properties sometimes with & sometimes without permission to avoid the $20-30 per car fees at the camp ground which is nothing but a field with a few port a potties brought in for the shows.

However the Pacific NW does have areas that are not easily accessible due to steep terrain, covered in snow pack much of the year & washed out roads that never get repaired due to regulation or no longer economical until the next timber harvest in 50 years etc.

I've met plenty of part time mountain men, but never a full timer that I'm aware of. Perhaps the good strong ones get mislabeled as Sasquatch.

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Space Cadet beat me to it:

Originally posted by space cadet
Those in the woods have an agenda. Meth making, pot growing, or a moonshine still, all of which will get your ass shot if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I can vouch for that.

There's a certain mountainous region a bit north of me that you just don't go screwing around in.


TheAssoc.

reply to post by verylowfrequency


So I wonder who was up on that huge hill?

You don't think there are mountain men around that area?... Or you just haven't met one?

reply to post by Marrr


Oh I don't doubt they are my friend.

From what I saw while I was in the area there is plenty at cheap prices to go around.

Real nice people too, I just think some mountain men like to play games with visitors. I was hoping someone else would have a story like mine.

reply to post by shamus78


Sounds cool.

While we were drunken and having a good time, this guy was intentionally in that area where the campground was. I mean this guy was looking for us.. we didn't go out in the middle of a huge vacant lot and cause disturbances if you get what I am trying to say.

reply to post by Fryaga


Wow I would of shot someone if they poisoned my dog and fired shots over my house. Then just tell LEs they snapped and I had to kill them.

Weird.

reply to post by space cadet

I have stumbled across a few stills and made it out alive just because they belonged to my cousin. Most mountain men just want to be left alone and stay away from all the hussle and bussel I should know I'm 9/10ths mountain man my self if I could do away with my lights I would be a hole MnM.

reply to post by hillbilly4rent


If you saw another mountain man would you probably stay away and keep silent, or would you say something?

reply to post by GreenBicMan

Most of us MnM will say hello or are you lost and be kinda nice but have you herd the term "I hear banjos paddle faster". It can get quite funny seeing city folk run. I had to take shellter one night under a rock ledge it was raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock so I hunkerd down for the night when I herd voices not in my head but real voices it was a young couple hiking the Appalachian trail that had gotten lost. I yelled and told them there was a dry place under this over hang. when they came down the mountain and crawled under with me the look on their face was unforgettable kinda like a deer in the head lite look. We exchanged names and pleasantries I told them if they wanted to stay there for the night I would move along and find some were ells to hunker down at.
They said it was fine there was enough room for everyone so the fire was going really good and we talked for an hour or two I told them my story of how I chose to live the way I do and so on. We started getn sleepy the lady's husband said he was going to bed and told his wife to come with him
to the other side of the over hang. they started whispering I couldnt hear all the conversation but I did hear "AX MURDER" the lady said "no hes not hes a nice guy watch this" she started asking questions who I was my brothers and sisters she asked me about my mom and dad I said they are dead I killed them with a ax just joking around and before I knew it I was under that over hang by my self never herd or seen that couple again.

Originally posted by GreenBicMan
reply to post by LadySkadi

 

Could def. be drugs. What do you all think about these guys like preying on people in the campground at night? I mean they can totally scope you out with their binoculars and their voice amplifiers etc. Thank god for intoxicants because I would have never slept that night.

Hmm, did it aoccur ot you that he could have been there for the music?

reply to post by I_AM_that_I_AM


Well I mean in order to get to the amphitheater you have to pay and all that. Are you assuming this guy carried a ticket or cash? Then yeah, I suppose. But I don't know how he would know they are coming unless he had some sort of contact with people on the "other side".

reply to post by hillbilly4rent


Haha, oh man you should have totally went after them too. Just to mess with them. A lot of spitting while you yell would have been a good affect as well. What kind of stuff do you keep at your site? Like an ax? Maybe that is why she thought she was getting cut.

reply to post by GreenBicMan

Not that I doubt your story, but there aren't any really "massive hills" around the George, Washington. Anyways, isn't it a possibility that maybe just some other campers went hiking up that hill?

reply to post by harrytuttle


It's pretty massive IMO. It was right behind the campground which led back into the wilderness area. Just like pretty much a massive hill with shrubbery type stuff coming out of random areas and all of that.

Maybe about 30 minutes or so from the gate of the amphitheater. There is no way it was other campers because there was no easy way to make it up that hill and I really doubt others were because I mean we were only one of the very few awake and partying still.

Yes, the Gorge is a pretty strange place when there is a big even going on there... I've been there more times than I can count, but never once met these mountain men you speak of. The surrounding area is pretty scrub medium desert, so they can't be true forest dwellers..... could have been a scout or recon.

Back in 2006 I was there for the Tool concert, I went to get some beers for my group while the opening band was still on set... on the way back the lights went out. I spent a good half-hour climbing the concrete / grass terraces and working my way through the crowd to find 'em. Good times.


Back on topic:
Real Mountain Men do exist, when I was really young my father had a good friend that we called "boatman" that lived in a cave that he had converted into a bona-fide little house, complete with a door, window and stove. He's moved back into society now, but the place remains, and the man is a wealth of knowledge... and master of scrimshaw.

From experience I'd say that real Mountain Men just want to be left alone, and most are really nice people so long as they don't deem you as intrusive. Oh, and they will see and smell you long before you know they are even there.

Tread Lightly, and good story.
T-

reply to post by telemetry


Yes, it is pretty odd terrain. That is why I was wondering what the hell was going on out there. I wish I remembered the name of the campground..

I live in a state with a max elevation of like 15ft so anything seems "massive" to me ha. Where did you stay out there?

Most of the time when we were camped out, our base would be setup on the right (as you are looking at the stage) but a little further down the trail past the "foot bridge" and main parking / camp area where the majority of the people were. We usually tried to stay away from the craziness at the main camp, as you know.... it's hard to sleep with all of that going on.

If it was a multi-day event, I'd just book a room up at the super 8 in Moses Lake.. just in case I needed to bail out for some R&R time.


Regards,
T-