Backcountry Forum
Backpacking & Hiking Gear

Backcountry Forum
Our long-time Sponsor - the leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear
 
 
 

Amazon.com
Backpacking Forums
---- Our Gear Store ----
The Lightweight Gear Store
 
 WINTER CAMPING 

Shelters
Bivy Bags
Sleeping Bags
Sleeping Pads
Snow Sports
Winter Kitchen

 SNOWSPORTS 

Snowshoes
Avalanche Gear
Skins
Hats, Gloves, & Gaiters
Accessories

 ULTRA-LIGHT 

Ultralight Backpacks
Ultralight Bivy Sacks
Ultralight Shelters
Ultralight Tarps
Ultralight Tents
Ultralight Raingear
Ultralight Stoves & Cookware
Ultralight Down Sleeping Bags
Ultralight Synthetic Sleep Bags
Ultralight Apparel


the Titanium Page
WM Extremelite Sleeping Bags

 CAMPING & HIKING 

Backpacks
Tents
Sleeping Bags
Hydration
Kitchen
Accessories

 CLIMBING 

Ropes & Cordage
Protection & Hardware
Carabiners & Quickdraws
Climbing Packs & Bags
Big Wall
Rescue & Industrial

 MEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 WOMEN'S APPAREL 

Jackets
Shirts
Baselayer
Headwear
Gloves
Accessories

 FOOTWEAR 

Men's Footwear
Women's Footwear

 CLEARANCE 

Backpacks
Mens Apparel
Womens Apparel
Climbing
Footwear
Accessories

 BRANDS 

Black Diamond
Granite Gear
La Sportiva
Osprey
Smartwool

 WAYS TO SHOP 

Sale
Clearance
Top Brands
All Brands

 Backpacking Equipment 

Shelters
BackPacks
Sleeping Bags
Water Treatment
Kitchen
Hydration
Climbing


 Backcountry Gear Clearance

Topic Options
Rate This Topic
#160374 - 01/14/12 04:58 PM Rodents Of Unusual Size [Re: wandering_daisy]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Originally Posted By wandering_daisy
Phat- your marmots look different than ours. We have the brownish red ones. The one you show is gray. Cute little rodent in photographs.


I think he's actually a young one, late in the season.. Ours are all Hoary Marmots - I believe you get Yellow Bellied Marmots down south.. Here's a few more random canadian rockies marmots to compare wink








That last one has me and my dad sitting on the ground in the background, it's in height of the rockies in BC and they are completely fat and fearless wink


.


Edited by phat (01/18/12 09:35 AM)
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


Top
#160414 - 01/15/12 09:40 AM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: phat]
BrianLe Offline
member

Registered: 02/26/07
Posts: 1149
Loc: Washington State, King County
Yup, same animal, and nice pictures!

I've run into some of the "fat and fearless" types, but mostly I find marmots to be a bit elusive. In Colorado this year the few that I saw just ran on sight of me. Most commonly I see them somewhat in between in a sort of "I'm safe here at a distance on a rock", but they won't let you approach. I can think of a handful or less of experiences where they just hang around and you can get relatively close, and those mostly seemed to be places where I think they just get used to a lot of people coming through --- JMT (Sierra Nevadas), Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier, Guitar Lake near Mt. Whitney --- those all had relatively fearless marmots, but overall this seems to me more the exception than the rule (?).

I really just don't see marmots much; quite a lot actually in my own back yard so to speak (naturally in quite rocky areas), but overall on trails I don't think they're that common. There's so very much trail I've never been on however, and what I have seen I've mostly only seen once so this is just a 'best guess' in terms of what's "normal" ! It's certainly true that a lot more animals see me than I see the animals.
_________________________
Brian Lewis
http://postholer.com/brianle

Top
#160426 - 01/15/12 12:22 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: BrianLe]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Originally Posted By BrianLe

I really just don't see marmots much; quite a lot actually in my own back yard so to speak (naturally in quite rocky areas), but overall on trails I don't think they're that common. There's so very much trail I've never been on however


Well, see there it is Brian, We've now established that you absolutely must schedule a GDT thru-hike ASAP so you can be properly exposed to frequent Marmots wink

_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


Top
#160458 - 01/15/12 07:05 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: phat]
wandering_daisy Offline
member

Registered: 01/11/06
Posts: 2865
Loc: California


Here are two of our Sierra marmots. They do look similar.

Top
#160503 - 01/16/12 01:54 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: wandering_daisy]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
You all and your marmots. I see a lot fewer marmots when I bring my dog. I can hear their alarm calls, so I know they are still out there. This makes sense though doesn't it, dogs look like coyote and fox (and wolf).

I wonder if any people tried eating the things. Guinea pig is considered a delicacy in Peru.

Top
#160516 - 01/16/12 06:54 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: skcreidc]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Originally Posted By skcreidc

I wonder if any people tried eating the things


Yes, they are delicious and rather fatty.. kind of like cross between pork and Castor Canadensis. A haunch of marmot is not bad.

And yes I've eaten Castor Canadensis. and yes I'm using the latin name to avoid confusion...



_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


Top
#160553 - 01/17/12 03:53 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: phat]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
Castor Canadensis? I had to look that up. Basically a marmot is a large squirrel, right. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. I've got recipes for those.

Top
#160555 - 01/17/12 06:38 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: skcreidc]
aimless Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3292
Loc: Portland, OR
Castor is perfectly plain latin for "the world's largest rodent".

Top
#160561 - 01/17/12 08:39 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: aimless]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
Actually, wouldn't that be the capybara?

Top
#160562 - 01/17/12 08:46 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: oldranger]
aimless Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3292
Loc: Portland, OR
Dang! I must have missed the memo! Capybaras can weigh up to 100 lbs, so it is clearly the champ compared to the puny 40 lbs or so a beaver can manage.

Top
#160563 - 01/17/12 09:00 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: phat]
Jimshaw Offline
member

Registered: 10/22/03
Posts: 3983
Loc: Bend, Oregon
Marmots are official pests here (yellow belly). Anyone can kill them them on their land by any method no limits and otherwise anyone with a hunting license can shoot as many as they want. We call them Whistle Pigs around here. I neve heard of anybody eating one. Hmm - maybe a market exists?
Jim
_________________________
These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.

Top
#160566 - 01/17/12 10:07 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: Jimshaw]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
Ah, thread drift. Gotta love it. Capybara isn't that just a really large guinnea pig that swims? Back on track here...I'm still thinking marmot filet wrapped in bacon (everything is better in bacon). The problem is all my rodent recipes involve soaking in whole milk for 2 days. Hard to arrange that backpacking. Jimshaw, if you market this right, you could corner the high end market.

Top
#160575 - 01/17/12 11:54 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: skcreidc]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
threads either drift or end quickly....

Top
#160576 - 01/18/12 12:02 AM Rodents Of Unusual Size.
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
We seem to have drited onto this topic... and this drift is bad even for us.. yep... ok I just sorta fixed it.


Edited by phat (01/18/12 12:04 AM)
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


Top
#160581 - 01/18/12 02:02 AM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: wandering_daisy]
kevonionia Offline
member

Registered: 04/17/06
Posts: 1322
Loc: Dallas, TX
Here are three Colorado Rockies marmots (not to be confused with our indoor LaCross team, the Colorado Mammoth.)

Note the sleek, well-manicured, full-length coat of fur, taking Colorado Rockies marmots to the fashion forefront of North America.





_________________________
- kevon

(avatar: raptor, Lake Dillon)


Top
#160606 - 01/18/12 01:15 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: kevonionia]
aimless Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3292
Loc: Portland, OR
That scenery looks nothing like the Fire Swamp. (OK. I'll quit drifting the thread now while I'm ahead.) smile

Top
#160628 - 01/19/12 10:30 AM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: aimless]
Tye Offline
member

Registered: 09/15/11
Posts: 76
Loc: Texas
Where I'm from in South Louisiana, we have Nutria rats. Basically the same as a mormot, but it lives in water. To the cooking quest, never eaten a mormot, but I have eaten a nutria; not too good. Really "wierd" tasting. Some critters just ain't worth cookin', like nutria, coons, turtles, etc.


Top
#160646 - 01/19/12 05:51 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: kevonionia]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
If I am not mistaken, the natives here in Utah call marmonts "rock chucks".

How much rock could a rock chuck chuck, if a rock chuck could chuck rock?
_________________________
I've taken a vow of poverty. To annoy me, send money.

Top
#160653 - 01/19/12 08:57 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: Tye]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Originally Posted By Tye
Where I'm from in South Louisiana, we have Nutria rats. Basically the same as a mormot, but it lives in water. To the cooking quest, never eaten a mormot, but I have eaten a nutria; not too good. Really "wierd" tasting. Some critters just ain't worth cookin', like nutria, coons, turtles, etc.



Yeah, but I've been to Louisana - got relatives there who own a swamp smile

the diet of a nutria probably affects a lot of how it tastes. Marmots are nice alpine herbivores where I am - and usually chubby - nutria look like overgrown rats - and I think pretty much eat the same things wink

Now mind you, why would you eat nutria when you can eat alligator or crawdads or catfish.....them's tasty eats down there.


_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


Top
#160706 - 01/20/12 02:09 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: phat]
billstephenson Offline
Moderator

Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
To extend the drift a bit more, I have to say that our Ozark crawdads are the biggest you'll find anywhere and tastier than Maine Lobster and those mudbugs they have down in Louisiana wouldn't stand a chance in a crawdad cookoff laugh
_________________________
--

"You want to go where?"



Top
#160743 - 01/21/12 12:39 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: Tye]
skcreidc Offline
member

Registered: 08/16/10
Posts: 1590
Loc: San Diego CA
For some reason this thread reminds me of the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" and the scene where all three of the main characters are hunkered around a fire cooking a gopher...hungry as can be.

Top
#160770 - 01/21/12 04:18 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: billstephenson]
Tye Offline
member

Registered: 09/15/11
Posts: 76
Loc: Texas
Originally Posted By billstephenson
...and those mudbugs they have down in Louisiana wouldn't stand a chance in a crawdad cookoff laugh

. . . come on Bill, what your crawdad's are missing is the wonderful taste of herbicides and pesticides that our La crawfish have. They get that great taste since they are grown and raised in the same fields as the rice crops. The crawfish live down in the dirt and absorb all those spicy chemicals, then grow, pop out, and are caught in a net then eaten. In all honesty, Bill, I bet your crawfish are better, the La have been getting a lot smaller and wierder over that last decade or so. The "chemical" thing is just my opinion and observations over my life.

Top
#160776 - 01/21/12 05:10 PM Re: Basic attire and hygiene questions [Re: Tye]
billstephenson Offline
Moderator

Registered: 02/07/07
Posts: 3917
Loc: Ozark Mountains in SW Missouri
That's too bad, and I really am sorry to hear that. I've read a quite a bit about some of those issues and it's just heart wrenching to see some of the more obvious problems we've caused.

I don't know if So AR is any better, it's a whole different world once you get down out of the Ozark/Ouachita Mountains.

Last year the floods were so bad here I couldn't get out to set any traps. Hopefully this year will be better. Two years ago I finally did get out and set some. It took me a few shots to get it right, and I learned what I was doing wrong by reading advice by a crawfish trap builder from Louisiana. After that I did get a trap full, sort of. That's another story, but I did get to eat some of our crawdads and they were delicious. Boiled, then sauteed in butter, my gosh, I really would take a mess of them over lobster!
_________________________
--

"You want to go where?"



Top
#160967 - 01/23/12 03:43 PM Re: Rodents Of Unusual Size [Re: phat]
phat Offline
Moderator

Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 4107
Loc: Alberta, Canada
Originally Posted By OregonMouse


Phat, I believe your marmot is a pika! It sure looks like our pikas!



Nope, the one you're referring to is a marmot. here's a pika


... He was in one of the most nice places to stop on earth for lunch.. Start at

http://pics.obtuse.com/maligne-nigel-2010/0801-102031.html

and click next a few times to see lots of pics of him and his surroundings. (Top of Jonas Shoulder in Jasper)



Edited by phat (01/23/12 03:46 PM)
_________________________
Any fool can be uncomfortable...
My 3 season gear list
Winter list.
Browse my pictures


Top

Shout Box

Highest Quality Lightweight Down Sleeping Bags
 
Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bags
 
Lite Gear Talk - Featured Topics
Backcountry Discussion - Featured Topics
Make Your Own Gear - Featured Topics
Featured Photos
Spiderco Chaparral Pocketknife
David & Goliath
Also Testing
Trip Report with Photos
Seven Devils, Idaho
Oat Hill Mine Trail 2012
Dark Canyon - Utah
Who's Online
0 registered (), 160 Guests and 0 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
Noodles, McCrary, DanyBacky, Rashy Willia, WanderBison
13240 Registered Users
Forum Links
Disclaimer
Policies
Site Links
Backpacking.net
Lightweight Gear Store
Backpacking Book Store
Lightweight Zone
Hiking Essentials

Our long-time Sponsor, BackcountryGear.com - The leading source for ultralite/lightweight outdoor gear:

Backcountry Forum
 

Affiliate Disclaimer: This forum is an affiliate of BackcountryGear.com, Amazon.com, R.E.I. and others. The product links herein are linked to their sites. If you follow these links to make a purchase, we may get a small commission. This is our only source of support for these forums. Thanks.!
 
 

Since 1996 - the Original Backcountry Forum
Copyright © The Lightweight Backpacker & BackcountryForum