Yonder Journal

Words by Kyle von Hoetzendorff. Photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

If you do a giant gainer off a 40’ cliff into a bubbling blue pool the size of a hot tub surrounded by jagged rocks and come up smiling then you deserve some acknowledgement. We may not be best friends or even know each other if we met on the street—we may hate each other. Still, I feel the need to acknowledge the doing of something that, when done wrong, has such obviously dire consequences. I too have a death drive albeit one that may be forever stuck in second gear.

Choosing the right form of acknowledgement is paramount. The potential types of praise are wide ranging, existing on a continuum with the demure and potentially antagonistic head nod on one end to the wild exuberance of a spastic high five on the other. Factors of intimacy, feat, and surroundings must be accounted for; miscalculation can derail the energy of the event with the potential to send those involved into a spiral of shame. Fortunately there is a gesture that stands on solid middle ground, the fist bump.¹

Pugilistic in essence, the fist bump honestly conveys goodwill while giving each actor the ability to maintain a cool emotional distance. It is a safe play. Once used strictly by boxers to test each others strength and will, this versatile and easily-learned gesture has since been co-opted by mass culture; sports stars of all stripes can be seen spudding, celebrities, grand parents, social workers, dog walkers, truck drivers, rodeo clowns, and airline pilots can all be seen giving props, even President Obama can be seen regularly giving respect to notable dignitaries.

Fist bumps have acquired universal status, sign language slang of the first order, utilized alone and in gestures such as dap.²

If you haven’t yet try it out, knock your own knuckles together, feel the connection. Experiment with your friends and family to find out when a fist bump is appropriate for you, and then branch out to neighbors and colleagues. The risks are low and there will come a time where the fist bump is assimilated into your communication resources, alongside those other venerable hand signs: the wave, handshake, high-five, thumbs up, middle finger, devil horns, and peace sign.

As for the gainer guy, after our fist bump we sipped on beers while he explained that he normally does his gainers with a chest mounted GoPro. I commented that I bet the footage was pretty amazing, and his buddy who was wearing bone-dry cutoff jeans reflected that the footage was indeed a, “mother fucker to see." I wasn’t able to find the chest mount footage, but I am pretty sure the guy on the left in this video is the same guy that I shared a fist bump with, and I have to say this is a mother fucker watch.

1. Also known as fist pound, bro fist, spudding, fo’knucks Bust, pound dogg, props, or respect. Fist Bump, Wikipedia [↩]
2. "Dap is a form of handshake that has recently become popular in western cultures” Dap Greeting,Wikipedia. A video on the subject, The Dap Project, is a video documentary ca. 2006 from High School of Commerce, Springfield, MA. [↩]

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

The A-Frame shelter (or double lean-to) is particularly useful given it's ease of construction and low material requirements: two shorter branches¹ and one longer branch form the frame of your shelter, while the walls are simple stick-and-leaf constructions—the more leaves, the more insulation. In addition, the shelter is well-suited to the human shape: narrow near the feet and wider at the head, double lean-tos make efficient use of space, making it easier to find a suitable location to place the shelter. The small volume of the shelter also makes insulation more efficient.

1. Finding one branch with a y-notch is preferable, as it avoids the need for cord and lashing—just drop the second branch into the notch. [↩]

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

The Sacramento, California's largest river,¹ finds its origins in Northern California between the Coastal and Klamath mountain ranges to the west, and the Cascade and Sierra Nevada ranges to the east. More importantly and more specifically the Sacramento springs into existence from a wet hole in a City Park at the base of a stratovolcano in the town of Mt. Shasta.

There is a playground, a footpath, four picnic areas, a gazebo and a handful of reservable public buildings in Mt. Shasta City Park.² Footbridges and steps have been built around the headwaters/spring/wet hole to accommodate the hundreds of locals as well as travelers—the City Park is just off Interstate 5—who daily frequent the park to drink, visit, splash and fill various jars/bottles/cups/mugs/buckets as close to the source as possible.

What water doesn't get consumed on the spot eventually travels 400 miles to the Suisan Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay.

1. 30,000 cfs annually [↩]
2. "The land, which ultimately became the Mt. Shasta City Park, was once part of the hunting grounds of the Wintun, Maidu, and Okwanuchu Indian tribes and was first crossed by explorers around 1841." Mt. Shasta Parks [↩]

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

8. Release

After the Processing Crew is done collecting data, taking measurements and attaching a Radio Collar, the animal is carried (by stretcher) to the edge of the processing area and released. There is a proper way to release an animal, otherwise both the animal and members of the processing crew can become injured.

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Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

7. Radio Collaring

The Radio Collars are lined-up on the ground next to the vehicles. Those in the Processing Crew in charge of recording data are instructed to select the collars in order from left to right. In this particular study two different Radio Collars are being distributed throughout the study/range. Each type of Radio Collar requires specific hardware and tools. Properly fitting the Radio Collars (not too lose, not too tight) is critical.

"You have to fit each radio collar so that as the animals put weight on the collar wont become too tight, but the collar can't be too loose either, so it’s a bit of an art. If the collar is too loose they can get a hoof caught in it, or it (the collar) might bounce around and irritate the animal and in some cases a loose collar can even cause hair loss. These collars are programmed to automatically come off in three years. I’ve wondered how strange that and the whole collar thing is for the deer. They finally get used to packing around this foreign object and then one day the darn thing just up and falls off - that’s gotta be a relief." - Jeff Short, Wildlife Population Biologist.

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

6. FECAL SAMPLE

Collect a fecal sample. Make sure the bag is sealed tight.

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

5. BLOOD SAMPLING

Blood is drawn from each animal. Under the supervision of someone in the Processing Crew with experience those who have not drawn blood before are encouraged to do so. With that said, after two or three unsuccessful attempts the task is then turned over to someone with more practice.

"Blood allows us to sample for disease. We also use it to cross reference pregnancy rates against hormone levels." - Jeff Short, Wildlife Population Biologist.

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

4. MORPHOMETRICS

Within each Processing Crew group there is at least one member who knows how to take and record morphometric measurements; morphometrics refers to the quantitative analysis of form: a concept that encompasses size and shape. Morphometric analyses are useful in analyzing the impact of mutations on shape, developmental changes in form, covariances between ecological factors and shape, as well for estimating quantitative-genetic parameters of shape. Morphometrics can be used to quantify a trait of evolutionary significance, and by detecting changes in the shape, deduce something of their ontogeny¹, function or evolutionary relationships.²

"We take some body measurements; chest girth, length of metatarsal, overall body length, the weight of the animal, etc. Some of this analysis is related to the animal's health, but a lot of this work helps us when comparing one area (range) to another." - Jeff Short, Wildlife Population Biologist.

1. The development of a life form. [↩]
2. Morphometrics, Wikipedia [↩]

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

3. Ultrasonography

After the animal’s abdomen is shaved an ultrasound is performed.

"The ultrasound is used to measure fat depths, muscle mass and if the animal is pregnant; an ultrasound can tell us how many fetuses there are as well as measure each fetus’ eyeballs to determine when the fawns will be born—the same way an obstetrician measures the head of human baby to dertmine the due date. The twinning rate is 90+%, usually you see one of each sex.” – Jeff Short, Wyoming Population Biologist

Words and photograph by Daniel Wakefield Pasley.

2. TOOTH EXTRACTION

An incisor, a non essential tooth used for tearing and not chewing, is taken from each animal in order to properly age it. First, the animal is administered lidocaine to numb the jaw - it takes five minutes for the animal's jaw to numb completely. Each animal is also given a shot of Penicillin and a shot of Banomine during extraction. The extracted tooth is sent to a lab where they soak it in acid and cut it in half; once bisected, growth rings (not unlike a tree's growth rings) are visible. From these rings the animal's precise age can be determined - the process is called Cementum Annuli. Side note: This field procedure is fundamentally no different from the type of procedures preformed daily by modern-day first-world dentists, in say Austin, Texas for example.

"Different regions have different carbon isotopes. The isotopes end up in a animal's bones and teeth. Because of the differences in regional soils soon we will be able to map a deer's entire life - where's it's been and when it's been there - all from a single tooth sample." - Jeff Short, Wyoming Population Biologist