Fog & Ghosts: An Overlanding Safari thru Northern California скачать в хорошем качестве

Fog & Ghosts: An Overlanding Safari thru Northern California

Join the OTG crew as we push into the wild interior of the Mendocino National Forest for a two-night wildlife scout through some of Northern California's most underrated backcountry. Our first stop: the Pillsbury Basin — a broad, open grassland corridor tucked deep in the Coast Range that most overlanders drive right past. We arrived to find the basin completely to ourselves. The OHV network was shut down after recent storms, hunting season was behind us, and the elk didn't have a care in the world. Dozens of tule elk grazing in the open right next to camp. Three bald eagles. No crowds, no noise — just one of those days in the field that reminds you why you do this. From the basin we pushed up Hull Mountain to see how high we could get before the snowline had other ideas. It did. Day two we dropped into the deep canyon country at the headwaters of the Eel River, camping in the game refuge where a resident black bear is known to roam the hillside opposite camp. Whether she made an appearance — you'll have to watch to find out. The Eel River headwaters in late winter, completely alone, is its own reward. This isn't a technical trail run. It's a wildlife corridor scout through the forgotten interior of one of California's largest national forests — and if you go in the middle of winter when the crowds are away, you won't be disappointed! About the Tule Elk The tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) is California's only endemic elk subspecies and the smallest elk in North America. By the late 1800s, market hunting and habitat loss had pushed the population to fewer than 30 animals — one of the closest brushes with extinction of any large mammal in North American history. A single rancher protected the last surviving animals on his property, buying enough time for conservation efforts to take hold. Today the statewide population sits around 6,000–7,000 across roughly 20 free-roaming and managed herds. The Pillsbury Basin herd in Mendocino National Forest is one of the more accessible wild populations, occupying the open grasslands and oak woodland edges of the basin at elevations where the animals can move freely across a largely roadless landscape. Spring and late fall — outside of hunting season — offer the best odds of finding them in the open and at close range. Get the route guides and GPX files for the Mendocino NF https://bit.ly/overland-trail-guides Overland Trail Guides Overland Trail Guides features North America's most extensive library of curated overland routes. OTG features over 100 overland tracks across the USA, Canada, and Mexico with the internet's most detailed overland route guides. https://bit.ly/overland-trail-guides