Boar hunting Panoche Hills

[Deez]

Where exactly is this "drug rehab" at anyways. Are you guy's sure that those van's and/or kids are not just going to the Pinnacle's for a field trip or something? All the schools around here go there all the time.

 

[Rocketman]

Deez
The rehab was in the old mining co. buildings in the town. They fixed them up a little and I used to see 20-30 guys hanging out at any time of the day or night.

 

[bowhunting fool]

I used to go thru the town almost every weekend for years as I went up to hunt, and I have noticed some real wierd stuff there, I seen the one building where there was a pool table inside and a vending machine where a lot of real winner looking people were hanging out watching you as you drove thru like they have never seen people before,  I have seen times where there where several russian boar hanging from their meat pole in front of the most modern looking house near the beginning of the town and no one was around and the boar were covered in flys and other bugs you could see buzzing around them.And one time as I came down the mountain to head out some Black chick ran out of one of the buildings and had a pad of paper in her hand and started to write down my licence number as I can see her mouthing the numbers as I drove by, so I stopped and asked why in the hell are you taking down my licence and she said it was none of my business, Also one time I was told the reason that someone was always at the water hole was because someone a few years back was kicked out of there and for revenge he went up and severed the water line that feeds into the town and they lost all of their water, so now they have someone always there to protect it, and I have seen them armed with a shotgun there. Also one night I was there with a few buddies hunting hogs when late at night we heard these weird whistles going all around us up in the trees and they would move around just far enough into the darkness where we could not see them with our flashlights, well this went on for hours till around 3:00am me and a few of my buddies were fed up with this crap and decided to lock and load and go see what their problem was, and we caught one freak sneeking off and when he heard the action of my .06 he stopped dead in his tracks We asked him what the hell their problem was and what did they think they were accomplishing by making all of these whistleing noises around our camp late at night. My buddy told him it was a real good way to get dead fast. So as we were talking to him we heard more whistles and when we turned to look the dude we caught ran like a bat out of hell into the brush and dissapeared.and shortly thereafter the whistling stopped. I seen a couple of toothless ones from there having sex up above the town out on a an old stained mattress one day as I was glassing the area for deer.  And one day i was coming out of the mountain and as I came into the first turn towards the town I saw a pitbull dog with what looked like blood all over it so I stopped and called the dog over and he came at a trot and when he got to me i can see he had been hooked by a hog tusk and was opened like a tuna can with one rib sticking out and when he breathed you could see his lungs inflating and deflating, so I took him down to the modern house and when I finally got someone to open the door , they said yeah he had been hooked by a pig and they could do nothing for him, so I asked what their intentions with him were and the one dude said take him if you want. So I did and took him to a vet in Hollister and dropped him off and I still do not know what ever happened to that dog to this day.I also know that they were raising all sorts of farm animals there and have seen a bunch of pink baby domestic pigs running around along the road in with no adult pigs or people within sight. Also the area I was talking about "PIG VALLEY" someone posted that they thought the land was part of the 4 mile buffer zone near the town,well I was under that impression too and it turns out they do not own that land and have set up there own So called "PRIVATE" areas and I was told by a BLM ranger that they do not own the land and they try and post it private all the time and he has to go up and tear down their signs all the time. So just be safe around them freaks and watch your back and always lock your vehicle and do not leave anything you don't want to walk away out. I would continue to hunt pig valley till I was told different by the BLM ranger himself that I could not. and in all of my years of hunting there I have never had a legality issue with anyone regarding where I was hunting, and I would not worry about the furtures foundation trying to privatize areas up there as long as your map says it is BLM then it is BLM.  Good Hunting

 

[Bishop]

Reminds me of a old movie.  Anyone remember "Deliverance"

 

[shaginator]

The more I learn about New Idria, the more intresting it gets.

Deez: I don't think those vans were any school's. The kids in there looked like a work crew; in the back of one I could barely make out some tools, like shovels and picks. It was also a late Sunday afternoon and they were all driving very fast. I'd think a schoolbus would be yellow and driving a bit slower, with buttloads of signs and letters stating "be careful! there's children!" ... also don't see how a school would take a bunch of kids to what is or probably will be a superfund site, but I'm not from around there.

Yeah, Bishop, I remember that movie :hair-raisin:

 

[spectr17]

I nominate Bishop and Evan to go recon the area for a JHP hog hunt.

 

[Speckmisser]

Second the nomination.

--Is that Dueling Banjos I hear in the distance?

 

[bohunter7]

id bring more than a bow too!:smile-big-blue:

 

[colohunter]

This whole thread shows why us folks in flyover country know that you guys on the coast have a monopoly on strange.  But, it sounds like a fun hunt.  If you get something put together, I'd be interested.

 

[Rocketman]

Anyone have a map that shows the BLM land borders around Idria? Could you post it?
Thanks
Ed

 

[Rocketman]

I'm heading down to Clear creek this Fri. to do a little scouting for pig valley that Bowhunting Fool is talking about. I have a pretty good idea where he is talking about. I'll bring my GPS and let you guys know when I get back. I came across 2 maps of the area... one says it's BLM land, the other says private. I'll be carrying the one that says BLM.
Ed

 

[bowhunting fool]

Good Luck Ed, and I hope you get into some pigs I am pretty sure the area I have told everyone about is BLM so I would definately bring the BLM map and do not listen to anyone unless he wears a Dept of the interior uniform that says Bureau of land management ranger or the good old DFG warden those are the only two I would trust if someone was to try and kick you out of that area. I have spent years going down in there and have never been hassled by any law enforcement agency ever and I mean ever. So with the wet weather the state has been having I would give you an excellent chance of seeing some pigs or at least sign they are there. Write to the forum and let me know what you saw.
Good Luck

 

[Rocketman]

Bowhunting fool
I found it, your directions were great. Just as you described... green grass meadow with oak trees, and talk about steep! I didn't have time to go down to the bottom, spent most of our time there fixing my friends truck, not a good place to have vehicle problems. Gonna try again in a couple of weeks before it gets too hot. Did'nt see anyone in the town or at the lake this time.
BTW, the road turning off the main road to Spanish lake is called San Carlos peak trail, there is a sign there now.
Ed

 

[BlastinIthaca]

Anyone know which BLM map has "Pig Valley" listed as public land. I want to go and check it out and prove that i'm on public land just in case any of the locals pester me.

Thanks,
BlastinIthaca:shoot-down:

 

[bowhunting fool]

Pig valley is a name given by the locals you will not find a map showing "Pig Valley" And yes it is on BLM land, just follow the directions I gave in previous post's and you should be good. Ed posted he has found the spot so it is not too difficult to get to so your wasting your time in looking for a map listing of the name.

 

[Rocketman]

The cheapie newsprint map of clearcreek you get for free from the BLM shows the area as BLM property. I found a map on the BLM website that says not BLM. Just carry the newsprint version. You can see into the valley aways while you are driving in on the road after the town and before the lake. I was there 3-29, 3-30 and only saw 1 other truck the whole time. Only 2 people in town, does'nt look like it used to when the drug rehab was there. I was thinking of going again this weekend if the weather holds and I can figure out what the funny noise in my truck is.

 

[Speckmisser]

Hey Rocketman,

I don't know if they were all the way down in the valley, but when I came through there Sunday afternoon there were three or four trucks parked at various trailheads/campsites.  There were also several dirt-bikers parked in there, but I'm guessing they wouldn't be a problem down in that valley.  

I've often wondered about access down there, but it is clearly outside the gates of the marked BLM land.  It's not posted, not fenced, and not under cultivation, though, so I'd say it's open territory.  If my knee hadn't been aching so bad, I might've given it a little scouting run.  It sucks feeling old and decrepit.

I have had to stop and let pigs cross the road just at the entrance to the old mining town (in broad daylight, no less), so I know they're around.  

 

[Rocketman]

Speck
It looks like a steep nasty hike into the valley from the direction Bowhuntingfool describes. Almost makes you want to offer the locals a few bucks to let you walk in thru town. I would have tried to drive in more, but it's not a good place for your truck to start making funny bearing sounding noises. I'm looking at the front hubs tonight so maybe I can try again this weekend. Did you come in from the Hiway 25 side and drive over the top to Idria? I think I know where the bikers were, just over the top past the little lake headed toward the town in the grassy meadow? The map shows a jeep trail headed down into the valley from there but I don't know the condition.
Ed

Hey, what part of the Bay area? I grew up in Cupertino.

 

[bowhunting fool]

I grew up in Redwood city, and moved to san Diego 3 years ago.

 

[Speckmisser]

Hey Rocketman,

It did look like a steep hike, but I saw some spots that looked like they might wind down the side of the hill...maybe making it a little easier.

The bikes were at that little turnout pretty close to the lake.  That's the first time I've been there since the landslide, or whatever happened there.  Pretty different from what I remembered.  It looks a lot clearer around the lake area now than it did.  Not sure if it's just bad memory, or if there's been some kind of clearing going on.  From the hay bales and flats, it looks like there must've been a couple of nasty landslides.

I did come over from the Clear Creek side, since I'd been hunting near Laguna Mtn.  The last time I tried that detour, I came real close to losing my rig in the mud.  Ended up turning around and going back down.  Thankfully, I could turn around.  The snow was just starting to stick to the ground, and everything was nasty, slick mud.  I found it easier to take the dirt bike trail around the bad stuff, and actually had to widen the trail a little to get back out.  Didn't see a choice, though.  My paint job may never forgive me.

It's all dried up now.  By following the detour route, I see that I had another solid quarter mile of that bad stuff before it got better.  I think I'm glad I turned back.  I didn't have the winch then, and it being a Sunday night, everybody was pretty much gone home.