A faithful reader requested a post about my kit -- he was curious about the baggage I haul around in order to set the cameras, and the musical background to the hammer and pipe. (Go ahead and click it!)
The redhead took this picture of me a couple days ago when I got home. I had just gathered two cameras that had been out for over a month -- both had bear pictures, including (soto voce) some very intimate movies of a bathing she-bear. For those of you who are old enough to have read Frank Norris's "Octopus", they remind me of Annixter's Peeping Tom venture when his wife-to-be took her ablutions in the creek. (I think you'll like the paparazzi intrusiveness of the film, provided I can figure out how to edit the footage and post it.)
This should also give you an idea of the kit needed to set two camera traps.
To the left:
two cameras in Pelican cases (one camou, one black with cable for attachment)
two metal posts for staking cams (I can't always find a tree in the right place)
two "bear protectors" disarmed with wine corks (another good reason to drink wine)
Middle column of tiles:
Pruning shears (long and short) and folding saw for "landscaping" trails and sets,
pipe and hammer (for alerting the bears that I am coming--this is carried in my back pocket, and can used to accompany oneself singing the Happy Wanderer),
Swiss army knife (for cutting rope and as a size reference for photos of scat etc.)
Cree crooked knife (for stripping branches when you need to make a post, stake, or walking stick)
Tool roll with screwdriver, nut drivers, and ratchet wrenches (for attaching hardware)
To the right:
water bottle (filled with iced Gatorade in summer)
surveyors tape (for trail marking)
Miranda's Jim River beaver scent (a scent lure)
Plastic container of hardware (for tacking bait and jury rigging)
string and nylon cord
rope ratchet (for attaching cams to trees when using the cord)
Off Clean Feel (contains Picaridin, less mutagenic than than DEET)
Furfindr with chain
two-way radio (to call the boss in case of emergency)
Rechargeable batteries and memory sticks (for cameras already out there)
notebook and pencils (if I am feeling poetic)
compass
GPS for marking locations and recording tracks
I always carry an "Alpenstock" of California bay, and sometimes take a camera along. I gave up on carrying a multimeter -- when in doubt, replace batteries.
Thanks for the suggestion, Nigel.
