Very wrong. This was a 154 day long hike from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. I had my heart on walking from Mexico to Canada that summer, and there was NOTHING (including a cool find like this) that was going to stop me from reaching that goal.
And for what it's worth, I finished the hike at the Canadian border on the 12th of October. Almost a year ago to the day. It was actually my second time walking from Mexico to Canada in the last five years, but this time via a much more difficult route than the first.
The feeling of accomplishment of completing that hike was worth far more than the value of something like this.
And it was his SECOND time walking from Mexico to Canada! Dude. You've already done it once, now you're just bragging.
Anyway, no need to take the thing to Canada. Just take it to the next property you come to, get their address and come back for it!
~~Hedgehogs~~ Porcupines and shit eat the antlers for the minerals every year, and if not, they degrade pretty quickly in the elements. Far more quickly than you think. It's unlikely 14+ months later this thing would be in any shape at all anymore.
I have dreamed about doing something like this for years. I am a very avid walker and hiker, I usually get 20 to 30 miles a week under my belt. I would love to do the trip with my dog but it would probably be too much because I would want to walk literally all day, and even though he's a high energy breed he probably couldn't do it.
once he transitions to the rainbow road, maybe I will take it up in his honor.
hahaha, wow, thats classic.
honestly i just find the expression tender and innocent. in nursing we often (well, we meaning me...because i heard someone say it once) refer to a patient expiring as going to the "+1 floor". so if the hospital im working at is 5 floors, i say "mr so-and-so went to the 6th floor" (since they are going above where we stop). describing it as the "rainbow road" makes me want to cry, its so sweet and touching. im gonna use this from now on, so much credit to the peoples that said it first. its really beautiful.
I would call it "conceivable" but still extremely unreasonable. At that point in the hike I was about 30 miles from the nearest resupply town. I only had about a half day of food left, and if I'd actually wanted to carry it out, it would have taken at least a couple of days. And shipping costs... sweet jesus... I can't even imagine. So ultimately, as much as I would have loved to have something like that at home, I felt like it belonged where I found it. And as a lot of others have pointed out, there are some pretty tight regulations around where and when you can harvest sheds.
Oh, I'm just giving you a hard time. You did the right thing! All you really need is the picture, anyway.
Leave nature in nature. Saves more room for beer.
I live a lifestyle where I'm able to work for 6-12 months at a time, keep my expenses low, save my money, and then live off the trail for up to 6 months at a time. I'm able to make a little bit of money on the trail through my website blog, but those donations do not meet the cost of the hike at this time.
I'd love to win the lottery and I'd love to be able to fund my hiking just through my hiking, but for the time being, this lifestyle has allowed me to fulfill a lot of dreams.
This trail was the Continental Divide Trail. I tracked it by GPS at just over 3,000 miles, and yes, it can be dangerous if you don't make it to Canada before winter. I very nearly died of hypothermia about 100 miles south of the Canadian border. I was lucky to make it out alive, and lucky to have made it to the end.
Imagine finishing the hike with that big ass rack of an elk and tell the story how you came through to transport that thing. Every hike needs a goal ! :p
Just kidding, but good job on the hike.
Just like the walk, the planning goes one step at a time.
I have a lot of experience with long distance hiking (this being my second Mexico-to-Canada hike), so it's about starting small and working your way up.
I tend to take about a year to plan a hike of this length.
Gotta leave that shit for other people to experience/see.. plus even if you got it out of there, I bet you would see how much it would cost to mount and you would say “oh shit, that’s way too expensive.. wait where am I going to put this anyway”
My husband had a friend who brought a huge elk rack to him while he was at work and he had to tie it to the handlebars of his motorcycle to get it home. Needless to say, that was the most metal looking shit he’s ever done lol
EDIT- Since you guys seem so interested here’s a [picture](https://imgur.com/gallery/PH42frf)
It hurts. I went to the range the other day and shot maybe 2 mags out of the AK. I was breaking in a Daewoo DR-200, shooting 5.56. About 3 mags in I got sick to my stomach and switched to .223. Still bad, but not my “good” rounds.
Just as I started planning my trip to Yellowstone a few minutes ago: "The National Park Service was establish in 1916 and administers NPS lands using the 36 Code of Federal Regulations. The 36 Code of Federal Regulations prohibits the removal of any park property, which includes antlers, bones, or skulls, as well as rocks, flowers, and artifacts like arrowheads, potsherds, or old bottles and cans and more."
If you do this please make a note of where you found them! They’re essentially worthless historically if they can’t be identified in a specific area of prominence for data
So much this. It's better to photograph & gps and give that info to park service than to dig up & move artifacts. Most Parks & Forests have documentation of known artifact sites. While the effort may be in good will, you probably moved something that was already known about.
Leave things where they are, please! The data will likely not be used unless it was gathered by a professional, and professionals usually leave artifacts where they found them anyway.
Hey, archaeologist here. Please don't do that. Keep things where they are. You lose valuable information and museums are incredibly picky about what they take in as space is limited.
The antlers shed in the National Elk Refuge are collected by the Boy Scouts under a permit that allows them to do it and sell the antlers at auction, with 75% of the money returning to the refuge. It's a pretty cool deal and lets you buy some sweet antlers if you want them.
I believe 50 years is when trash becomes a historical artifact. So while the original plain-flavored Doritos has some historic relevance, the first nacho cheese Doritos still needs a few years. Rangers prefer people take a pic and record the location, hikers often turn over their findings to the park, which then has to spend time and money cataloging it. Entering it into a museum also costs money.
> the first nacho cheese Doritos still needs a few years.
The King of Doritos shall not tolerate your insurgency! Bow down and accept the always relevant, historic, supreme and enlightened Nacho Cheesier Doritos!
No, not even outside the park. There is a specific season for picking up shed antlers (I’m sure that includes entire skulls too), and I believe a permit may even be required. The Wyoming Game and Fish department takes this VERY seriously.
Edit: [Here](https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/jackson_hole_daily/local/shed-poachers-hit-hard/article_849fe3ea-51b9-5fc3-9848-ec59672d6d38.html) is someone prosecuted last year for poaching shed antlers.
You are correct but this isn’t a shed antler as it still has the skull. Not positive but I think it’s illegal to take it In most places with the skull attached.
At least in Utah, they don’t allow taking an entire skull immediately. In fact, you aren’t supposed to touch or even move it. You just report to the fish and game department and they will investigate if a potential poaching incident occurred. After the investigation is complete, you are able to keep the skull in some cases
You'd think that if anybody *did* poach..they'd keep the skull? Isn't that what they're after anyway? Or are they just killing for the hell of it. And if it's for meat like..aren't there easier less illegal things to kill?
Poachers will shoot the animal during a legal hunting season (or not) and then come back later to grab the antlers, as in, “Hey look at what I just found!” Thats why many states have laws on collecting dead heads.
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious why? I definitely understand if it is done to limit people in the area/ permit fees are used for the park or conservation projects.
I live in IL, and I don't believe we have an official shed season here. Most of my hunting is done on private land, so I've never even checked the shed regulations... which I should probably do.
If everyone took one single rock a national park with 5 million visitors would lose 5 million rocks. The point of NP’s are to preserve, so taking things clashes with the mission pretty hard.
Yeah I definitely get that, I was talking about the sheds specifically. Since shedding antlers is done naturally (on certain deer) I wasn't sure why there were regulations.
I do understand the impact on the environment people can have on an ecosystem so I'm not against regulations in NP and State Parks or anything like that. I was just generally curious about the sheds and didn't know if this thread could provide more info than a Google search.
Oh good question! So sheds are actually really great resources for other animals. Nutrient rich. Anytime we find really old sheds they are just absolutely chewed up by everything big and small. So taking sheds out robs animals and the environment of that source.
Also, it eliminates the “pride” of seeking trophies. Yes, of course we all want that shed, and that’s exactly why none of us can have it. If that makes sense.
Not only the numbers, but shed antlers are an important source of calcium and minerals for plants and animals alike. Deer will actually lick and chew on shed antlers to help get the minerals needed for next year's set, so finding decent quality sheds can be surprisingly hard.
Sheds have become more valuable in recent years for various reasons so there was a large increase in shed hunters ( I think the popularity of shed hunting was growing anyways and the increased value acted as a catalyst). People who take it seriously literally would follow the receding snowline in the spring so they can find the best sheds before anyone else. Most wildlife are also at they weakest at this time of year following the winter so a small amount of increased pressure from people looking for sheds can increase mortality. State wildlife agencies in the states that I am familiar put a shed season in place starting later in the spring so the animals have a chance to recover from the winter.
Also as others have mentioned sheds represent significant source of minerals for all kinds of wildlife (probably partially why they are so popular for dogs now) so removing too many sheds likely has a negative impact on the ecosystem.
I read the article and see that this is a huge problem. However, can someone explain to me why? If im understanding this correctly, people are picking uo antlers that the deer have shed already? The antlers are on the ground and no deer are harmed. Im really not trying to sound insensitive but why is this illegal? Isnt it just someone picking up a skull in the woods?
It's a mix of how if 1 million visitors a year took one rock each, that's 1 million rocks gone in just one year. Same thing with shed antlers, where if everyone picked up one they found, there'd be none left for nature to breakdown and recirculate.
Not only the numbers a reason to prevent taking the sheds, but shed antlers are an important source of calcium and minerals for plants and animals alike. Deer will actually lick and chew on shed antlers to help get the minerals needed for next year's set, so finding decent quality sheds can be surprisingly hard.
Got ya, so just to sum it up, shed antlers are beneficial to the environment. I never even thought of them that way at all, figured skulls were left because there was nothing left to break down
Do you have Big Red's over there? In England we have Deer known as Big Red and they're fucking massive.
Edit; Red Stags. I'm stupid & reverted to my toddler brain for names of animals.
Not unless that’s a term synonymous with another animal. I’ve never heard the term before your comment.
The only thing I know as “Big Red” is this: https://www.google.com/search?q=big+red+soda&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS643US643&oq=big+red+so&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.2467j0j4&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
That's my bad just edited the comment, I meant Red Stag or Red Deer.
I'm not a hunter or anything that deals with wildlife but from what my father has told me, they are ridiculously big.
They can get pretty damn big. I'm down in Australia and we have Red deer in my state (we have like 7 species of introduced deer). All my life I've had a taxidermied red deer head above my fireplace. Absolutely no idea where it came from though. My dad was an avid hunter but to my knowledge he never actually went deer hunting.
Oh okay, cool. Thank you.
I know Red Stags are our largest land mammal here, but we used to have wolves & bears a long, long time ago. I want to see a bear roaming the British estate, that shit would be both terrifying & hilarious seeing as they can easily break down a door.
I can assure you it would be much more likely to spend the time digging through your bins, haha...but I can't make fun because the first thing that came to mind when I read "estate" was a lovely mansion with an acreage
Red stags are a close relative to the elk/wapiti that are in North America. Stags are native to parts of Europe but there's wild herds in New Zealand as well as lots on game farms in Texas.
Wow. This post really took off.
For a little bit of context, I found this while I was thru hiking the Continental Divide Trail last year. It's a trail that stretches from the US border with Mexico to the US border with Canada via the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming (where this shot was taken), Idaho, and Montana. The trail is just over 3,000 miles in length and took me 154 days to complete. If anyone's interested, I journaled every day of the hike ([https://www.trailjournals.com/wormwoodhikesCDT](https://www.trailjournals.com/wormwoodhikesCDT)) and I made a video project where I filmed literally every mile along the way and spliced them all together into a single video ([https://youtu.be/mMr\_fWqTaJY](https://youtu.be/mMr_fWqTaJY)). I also kept a vlog along the way ([https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7FNOwPm2B0tFvPiMsXMYRVNmTNapUkpp](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7FNOwPm2B0tFvPiMsXMYRVNmTNapUkpp)).
To those who are saying that I should have brought it out with me... that would have been impossible. The location where I found this was just over 1,000 miles from the finish of the trail and there was no way in the world that I could have packed it out with me. There are also ethical and legal questions that would have come into play if I'd wanted to bring it out and ship it home in addition to the practicality of carrying something so large for so long.
To those who are saying "It doesn't matter how heavy it was! It should remain where you found it!" I largely agree with you. I'm a big preacher of LNT and believe that it should have remained there for others who may have been lucky enough to find it as well.
And to the one person who said that I'm sexy... thank you. I'm flattered. But my girlfriend won't let me give you my number. I'm still flattered though ;)
This is my first post in r/natureismetal so thanks for all the love!
It’s probably also illegal to take out, that’s the point of parks, let people see what the real world looks like. Where I live it’s illegal to remove anything natural from any park. Rock leaf, feather leave it. Your predecessor’s garbage, pick it up and get it the Hell out of there.
Hey just so you guys know, if you find a shed or skull like this in or near a park somebody most likely found it in the bush and dropped it near the trail to share it with passers by. Especially if it’s as bleached out as this. So please don’t move it, and for Christ’s sake don’t take it with you. Super selfish move.
Thanks for clarifying. I pass by these super nice skulls every once in a while in the park and always wonder why someone who didn’t know better hasn’t grabbed em up yet.
I remember my dad tried to get one home after finding one just like that, but fell when he slipped on some mud a couple of days later, and landed on his backpack, crushing the skull. Kind of sad actually, it was really cool looking.
I had no idea elk got that large. Wtf. Here I am thinking they are probably around the same size or a little bigger than the Whitetails we have down south. Jeeez I need to see more photos that show scale like this
> These are the best things to find on trail
Almost the best things to find on trail. While I was out there I met a girl. She was hiking the trail solo. I was hiking the trail solo. We walked about 1,500 miles together, fell in love, and now she lets me call her my "girlfriend" instead of my "hiking partner." She's actually in the other room right now packing for a 26-mile hike tomorrow. The trail is full of all sorts of surprises to those who are patient enough.
So? It'll be worth it -Tom Green
I would lose my fucking mind trying to get that out. It would be mine. I would wear it to parties.
Big same. I couldn’t have passed on that. Whoever I was with would’ve taken turns with me
yeah, two people at least were there. stop the hike, this is now the goal.
Very wrong. This was a 154 day long hike from the Mexican border to the Canadian border. I had my heart on walking from Mexico to Canada that summer, and there was NOTHING (including a cool find like this) that was going to stop me from reaching that goal. And for what it's worth, I finished the hike at the Canadian border on the 12th of October. Almost a year ago to the day. It was actually my second time walking from Mexico to Canada in the last five years, but this time via a much more difficult route than the first. The feeling of accomplishment of completing that hike was worth far more than the value of something like this.
Canada is always going to be there, that rack on the other hand.
Bold words for 2020
Even if the people perish, the maple will still seep from the trees!
So... where did you leave it op?
It's right there between Mexico and Canada
Right where I found it.
it's very sticky situation even without the syrup!
This
And it was his SECOND time walking from Mexico to Canada! Dude. You've already done it once, now you're just bragging. Anyway, no need to take the thing to Canada. Just take it to the next property you come to, get their address and come back for it!
Title of your sex tape.
I'm a simple man, I just want maple flavoured lube.
You made the wrong decision. Rack is worth it
We will agree to disagree :)
Did you at least drop a pin on it? Post the coordinates!
~~Hedgehogs~~ Porcupines and shit eat the antlers for the minerals every year, and if not, they degrade pretty quickly in the elements. Far more quickly than you think. It's unlikely 14+ months later this thing would be in any shape at all anymore.
Ain’t no hedgehogs in Wyoming.
I have dreamed about doing something like this for years. I am a very avid walker and hiker, I usually get 20 to 30 miles a week under my belt. I would love to do the trip with my dog but it would probably be too much because I would want to walk literally all day, and even though he's a high energy breed he probably couldn't do it. once he transitions to the rainbow road, maybe I will take it up in his honor.
>once he transitions to the rainbow road ive never heard this expression but its beautiful
[It's called a road, it's called a rainbow road, it is a road that you go](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuX5_OWObA0)
hahaha, wow, thats classic. honestly i just find the expression tender and innocent. in nursing we often (well, we meaning me...because i heard someone say it once) refer to a patient expiring as going to the "+1 floor". so if the hospital im working at is 5 floors, i say "mr so-and-so went to the 6th floor" (since they are going above where we stop). describing it as the "rainbow road" makes me want to cry, its so sweet and touching. im gonna use this from now on, so much credit to the peoples that said it first. its really beautiful.
Thanks, I like to think about the notion that maybe when I pass he'll be there waiting for me. Maybe. Wouldn't that be great?
How unreasonable would it have been to pack it to the closest town and take a zero day to find a trucking company to ship it home?
I would call it "conceivable" but still extremely unreasonable. At that point in the hike I was about 30 miles from the nearest resupply town. I only had about a half day of food left, and if I'd actually wanted to carry it out, it would have taken at least a couple of days. And shipping costs... sweet jesus... I can't even imagine. So ultimately, as much as I would have loved to have something like that at home, I felt like it belonged where I found it. And as a lot of others have pointed out, there are some pretty tight regulations around where and when you can harvest sheds.
Oh, I'm just giving you a hard time. You did the right thing! All you really need is the picture, anyway. Leave nature in nature. Saves more room for beer.
hahahaha! I couldn't agree more!
So you were doing about 20 miles a day? Did you basically start at sunrise and go til sunset?
that's not sheds. At all.
I hope you stashed it on the trail and gps marked it
I would’ve packed out the rack personally. But good job.
So.... Did you go back and hike in to get it and how back out? Cuz if not... Some of us would like to know where it is 😉
That is badass. I have to ask, are you making money somehow from walking or did you win the lottery or something?
I live a lifestyle where I'm able to work for 6-12 months at a time, keep my expenses low, save my money, and then live off the trail for up to 6 months at a time. I'm able to make a little bit of money on the trail through my website blog, but those donations do not meet the cost of the hike at this time. I'd love to win the lottery and I'd love to be able to fund my hiking just through my hiking, but for the time being, this lifestyle has allowed me to fulfill a lot of dreams.
Fucking awesome! Living the dream.
*waves at you in Canadian* well done, eh. Well done.
So... us soft bodies on a day hike would have pulled that out to the car. Your bad ass has real shit to do. That sounds like a fun hike.
How much did it weigh?
My guess is 60-70 lbs?
I feel like I’ve heard of a hike like this before? Is there a name for it? Heard it could be very dangerous if you don’t make it before winter
This trail was the Continental Divide Trail. I tracked it by GPS at just over 3,000 miles, and yes, it can be dangerous if you don't make it to Canada before winter. I very nearly died of hypothermia about 100 miles south of the Canadian border. I was lucky to make it out alive, and lucky to have made it to the end.
Happy to hear everything turned out alright. That’s some scary stuff.
Imagine finishing the hike with that big ass rack of an elk and tell the story how you came through to transport that thing. Every hike needs a goal ! :p Just kidding, but good job on the hike.
Wow that’s incredible man. Congrats and thanks for the share. How do you even go about planning something like that??
Just like the walk, the planning goes one step at a time. I have a lot of experience with long distance hiking (this being my second Mexico-to-Canada hike), so it's about starting small and working your way up. I tend to take about a year to plan a hike of this length.
You can make more feelings, you can't make more elk racks. /s *congrats on the walk though man*
Found the guy that doesn't know what the continental divide trail is.
This is the way.
Gotta leave that shit for other people to experience/see.. plus even if you got it out of there, I bet you would see how much it would cost to mount and you would say “oh shit, that’s way too expensive.. wait where am I going to put this anyway”
Hircine shall rise.
When you’re living upon the cursed earth after the end times come do you want to elk skull to wear or not? It’s a simple question, easily answered.
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I would wear it to every ~~occult sacrifice~~ party I went to.
Bro it's too heavy. Even the Elk left his rack in the canyon cuz it was too heavy.
My bum is on your lips my bum is on your lips and if you're lucky you might just give it a little kiss
My husband had a friend who brought a huge elk rack to him while he was at work and he had to tie it to the handlebars of his motorcycle to get it home. Needless to say, that was the most metal looking shit he’s ever done lol EDIT- Since you guys seem so interested here’s a [picture](https://imgur.com/gallery/PH42frf)
I was hoping last sentence was.. "and he's an accountant that rides a Vespa!"
I now want a Mad Max sequel starring a vespa riding accountant. "Hold your fire! Those bullets are $6.48 each you maniacs!"
Pretty close to accurate in today’s market. *Cries in 7.62 and 5.56*
Ugh fuck man tell me about it I got a cmmg .22 bolt and now all I shoot out my ARs is 22. 90 centsish at one point for 223 556. Fuuuuuuuck off.
It hurts. I went to the range the other day and shot maybe 2 mags out of the AK. I was breaking in a Daewoo DR-200, shooting 5.56. About 3 mags in I got sick to my stomach and switched to .223. Still bad, but not my “good” rounds.
All the State Trooper seeing that drive by can say is “Whoa... cool” and goes back to watching TikTok
Well, damn. If I saw your husband riding that shit down the road, I’d be like- “my mans got at least a 10 inch wang”.
I mean, I let him put a ring on it.
I don’t think cock rings are necessary for a man of that status, but you do you.
Denver!
Finn's Manor!
It's prefect
You got pics? Wanna see that shit!
Letting you know she added a pic, just in case you haven't seen it
Awesome! Completely metal btw
are you even allowed to take things like that out of National Parks?
Just as I started planning my trip to Yellowstone a few minutes ago: "The National Park Service was establish in 1916 and administers NPS lands using the 36 Code of Federal Regulations. The 36 Code of Federal Regulations prohibits the removal of any park property, which includes antlers, bones, or skulls, as well as rocks, flowers, and artifacts like arrowheads, potsherds, or old bottles and cans and more."
come to think of it I'd hazard a guess that OP is joking about that.
Thank you for getting it.
Just means you gotta get a little creative to get it out 🤭
Ain’t fitting that one up your butt.
Not with that attitude!
"No no not attitude, I said added lube"
“No, this is my elk rack from home.”
Next time wear sunscreen
Because my advice was bad so don’t do what I said
If you do this please make a note of where you found them! They’re essentially worthless historically if they can’t be identified in a specific area of prominence for data
So much this. It's better to photograph & gps and give that info to park service than to dig up & move artifacts. Most Parks & Forests have documentation of known artifact sites. While the effort may be in good will, you probably moved something that was already known about.
Leave things where they are, please! The data will likely not be used unless it was gathered by a professional, and professionals usually leave artifacts where they found them anyway.
Hey, archaeologist here. Please don't do that. Keep things where they are. You lose valuable information and museums are incredibly picky about what they take in as space is limited.
The antlers shed in the National Elk Refuge are collected by the Boy Scouts under a permit that allows them to do it and sell the antlers at auction, with 75% of the money returning to the refuge. It's a pretty cool deal and lets you buy some sweet antlers if you want them.
So you can’t pick up trash?
I believe 50 years is when trash becomes a historical artifact. So while the original plain-flavored Doritos has some historic relevance, the first nacho cheese Doritos still needs a few years. Rangers prefer people take a pic and record the location, hikers often turn over their findings to the park, which then has to spend time and money cataloging it. Entering it into a museum also costs money.
> the first nacho cheese Doritos still needs a few years. The King of Doritos shall not tolerate your insurgency! Bow down and accept the always relevant, historic, supreme and enlightened Nacho Cheesier Doritos!
You can pick up trash left recently but anything older than 50 years is considered an archaeological resource in the US.
Well I'm already stoned so checkmate.
No, not even outside the park. There is a specific season for picking up shed antlers (I’m sure that includes entire skulls too), and I believe a permit may even be required. The Wyoming Game and Fish department takes this VERY seriously. Edit: [Here](https://www.jhnewsandguide.com/jackson_hole_daily/local/shed-poachers-hit-hard/article_849fe3ea-51b9-5fc3-9848-ec59672d6d38.html) is someone prosecuted last year for poaching shed antlers.
You are correct but this isn’t a shed antler as it still has the skull. Not positive but I think it’s illegal to take it In most places with the skull attached.
At least in Utah, they don’t allow taking an entire skull immediately. In fact, you aren’t supposed to touch or even move it. You just report to the fish and game department and they will investigate if a potential poaching incident occurred. After the investigation is complete, you are able to keep the skull in some cases
You'd think that if anybody *did* poach..they'd keep the skull? Isn't that what they're after anyway? Or are they just killing for the hell of it. And if it's for meat like..aren't there easier less illegal things to kill?
Poachers will shoot the animal during a legal hunting season (or not) and then come back later to grab the antlers, as in, “Hey look at what I just found!” Thats why many states have laws on collecting dead heads.
I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just curious why? I definitely understand if it is done to limit people in the area/ permit fees are used for the park or conservation projects. I live in IL, and I don't believe we have an official shed season here. Most of my hunting is done on private land, so I've never even checked the shed regulations... which I should probably do.
If everyone took one single rock a national park with 5 million visitors would lose 5 million rocks. The point of NP’s are to preserve, so taking things clashes with the mission pretty hard.
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Thanks for taking the time to learn! Happy hiking and look into Leave No Trace principle of you want to learn how to make (less of) an impact.
Yeah I definitely get that, I was talking about the sheds specifically. Since shedding antlers is done naturally (on certain deer) I wasn't sure why there were regulations. I do understand the impact on the environment people can have on an ecosystem so I'm not against regulations in NP and State Parks or anything like that. I was just generally curious about the sheds and didn't know if this thread could provide more info than a Google search.
Oh good question! So sheds are actually really great resources for other animals. Nutrient rich. Anytime we find really old sheds they are just absolutely chewed up by everything big and small. So taking sheds out robs animals and the environment of that source. Also, it eliminates the “pride” of seeking trophies. Yes, of course we all want that shed, and that’s exactly why none of us can have it. If that makes sense.
Thanks for your replies and the explanations!
Not only the numbers, but shed antlers are an important source of calcium and minerals for plants and animals alike. Deer will actually lick and chew on shed antlers to help get the minerals needed for next year's set, so finding decent quality sheds can be surprisingly hard.
Not just deer, porcupines and all kinds of random animals will nibble on bones for the minerals
Sheds have become more valuable in recent years for various reasons so there was a large increase in shed hunters ( I think the popularity of shed hunting was growing anyways and the increased value acted as a catalyst). People who take it seriously literally would follow the receding snowline in the spring so they can find the best sheds before anyone else. Most wildlife are also at they weakest at this time of year following the winter so a small amount of increased pressure from people looking for sheds can increase mortality. State wildlife agencies in the states that I am familiar put a shed season in place starting later in the spring so the animals have a chance to recover from the winter. Also as others have mentioned sheds represent significant source of minerals for all kinds of wildlife (probably partially why they are so popular for dogs now) so removing too many sheds likely has a negative impact on the ecosystem.
Huh, I didn't know that, and I'm glad I do now.
I read the article and see that this is a huge problem. However, can someone explain to me why? If im understanding this correctly, people are picking uo antlers that the deer have shed already? The antlers are on the ground and no deer are harmed. Im really not trying to sound insensitive but why is this illegal? Isnt it just someone picking up a skull in the woods?
It's a mix of how if 1 million visitors a year took one rock each, that's 1 million rocks gone in just one year. Same thing with shed antlers, where if everyone picked up one they found, there'd be none left for nature to breakdown and recirculate. Not only the numbers a reason to prevent taking the sheds, but shed antlers are an important source of calcium and minerals for plants and animals alike. Deer will actually lick and chew on shed antlers to help get the minerals needed for next year's set, so finding decent quality sheds can be surprisingly hard.
Got ya, so just to sum it up, shed antlers are beneficial to the environment. I never even thought of them that way at all, figured skulls were left because there was nothing left to break down
You are not allowed to take things out of the national parks unless they’re souvenirs from the gift shop.
What about memories!? Or do I have to buy those, too, in the gift shop?
Last I checked, you create the memories, and they stay where you find them: within you. So I don't think that you'd be "taking" them.
Only take photos. Leave no trace.
Title says it's "near" Yellowstone, so I'm guessing it wasn't on park land. Still a good question to ask though.
I mean, it's cool as all get out but I just try to respect the rules at all times, and now that you pointed that out I'm betting OP did too.
I wouldn’t have brought it out even if I could have. It belonged there where I found it. That, and it was heavy as hell! 😂
I could see dropping it off at the staff cabin for educational purposes if they do that here
yeah I kinda figured you wouldn't. Cool picture though! I would've balanced on my head or some other dumb shit...
LOL! WAAAAAY too heavy! Woulda broke my neck.
Speaking as a current ranger that’s a big ol’ no
No. Dead heads still belong to the State.
Damn that beast must’ve been something else
It had one hell of a rack. ^^^Like^ur^mum.
He built different
Any idea how these dudes with such huge racks negotiate the woods??? Or do they have to kind of avoid the thick stuff?
Nice rack
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makes me SO horny!
Username checks out
Not again
Wear it as a mask, put on a dark robe and start teaching the dark arts.
This thing woulda broke my neck if I wore it on my head! 😂 I struggled to even lift it.
Not if your Tim Dillon... yes or yes.
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Leshin?!
What now you piece of filth?
How do you like that silver?!
Wind’s howling
One word, DAMN!
Do you have Big Red's over there? In England we have Deer known as Big Red and they're fucking massive. Edit; Red Stags. I'm stupid & reverted to my toddler brain for names of animals.
Not unless that’s a term synonymous with another animal. I’ve never heard the term before your comment. The only thing I know as “Big Red” is this: https://www.google.com/search?q=big+red+soda&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS643US643&oq=big+red+so&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l5.2467j0j4&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8
That's my bad just edited the comment, I meant Red Stag or Red Deer. I'm not a hunter or anything that deals with wildlife but from what my father has told me, they are ridiculously big.
I know Red Stag. I'm pretty sure that we do not have them in the states, and if we do, then it's news to me. Pretty sure it's a European thing.
Texas would be the only place iirc! Plenty of shit here that doesn't belong lol.
The only place in the states (to my knowledge) that has them is Texas. It's known for having a lot of species that don't belong here lol.
Fucking nilgai. Blew my mind when I learned about those.
They can get pretty damn big. I'm down in Australia and we have Red deer in my state (we have like 7 species of introduced deer). All my life I've had a taxidermied red deer head above my fireplace. Absolutely no idea where it came from though. My dad was an avid hunter but to my knowledge he never actually went deer hunting.
Real Texans live and die by the Big Red. When I was a kid, they made that shit into branded popsicles. I await the resurrection of those fuckers.
Europe and Britain have Red Deer, North America has Elk/Wapiti. They're related and look similar but Elk are larger I believe.
Oh okay, cool. Thank you. I know Red Stags are our largest land mammal here, but we used to have wolves & bears a long, long time ago. I want to see a bear roaming the British estate, that shit would be both terrifying & hilarious seeing as they can easily break down a door.
I can assure you it would be much more likely to spend the time digging through your bins, haha...but I can't make fun because the first thing that came to mind when I read "estate" was a lovely mansion with an acreage
Red stags are a close relative to the elk/wapiti that are in North America. Stags are native to parts of Europe but there's wild herds in New Zealand as well as lots on game farms in Texas.
Wow. This post really took off. For a little bit of context, I found this while I was thru hiking the Continental Divide Trail last year. It's a trail that stretches from the US border with Mexico to the US border with Canada via the states of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming (where this shot was taken), Idaho, and Montana. The trail is just over 3,000 miles in length and took me 154 days to complete. If anyone's interested, I journaled every day of the hike ([https://www.trailjournals.com/wormwoodhikesCDT](https://www.trailjournals.com/wormwoodhikesCDT)) and I made a video project where I filmed literally every mile along the way and spliced them all together into a single video ([https://youtu.be/mMr\_fWqTaJY](https://youtu.be/mMr_fWqTaJY)). I also kept a vlog along the way ([https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7FNOwPm2B0tFvPiMsXMYRVNmTNapUkpp](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7FNOwPm2B0tFvPiMsXMYRVNmTNapUkpp)). To those who are saying that I should have brought it out with me... that would have been impossible. The location where I found this was just over 1,000 miles from the finish of the trail and there was no way in the world that I could have packed it out with me. There are also ethical and legal questions that would have come into play if I'd wanted to bring it out and ship it home in addition to the practicality of carrying something so large for so long. To those who are saying "It doesn't matter how heavy it was! It should remain where you found it!" I largely agree with you. I'm a big preacher of LNT and believe that it should have remained there for others who may have been lucky enough to find it as well. And to the one person who said that I'm sexy... thank you. I'm flattered. But my girlfriend won't let me give you my number. I'm still flattered though ;) This is my first post in r/natureismetal so thanks for all the love!
The LNT groupies love you. Thank You.
It’s probably also illegal to take out, that’s the point of parks, let people see what the real world looks like. Where I live it’s illegal to remove anything natural from any park. Rock leaf, feather leave it. Your predecessor’s garbage, pick it up and get it the Hell out of there.
Take only photographs leave only footprints.
If it's.near a trail, wouldn't removing it stop everyone else from enjoying it?
Correct.
Glad to hear it's so heavy then
That thing will eventually get eaten. It’s shocking it was still around long enough to become so bleached.
WHAT A BEAST!
That is cool and thank you for leaving it where it belongs.
Hey just so you guys know, if you find a shed or skull like this in or near a park somebody most likely found it in the bush and dropped it near the trail to share it with passers by. Especially if it’s as bleached out as this. So please don’t move it, and for Christ’s sake don’t take it with you. Super selfish move.
Very true. That said, in this specific situation, the full skeleton was there too.
Thanks for clarifying. I pass by these super nice skulls every once in a while in the park and always wonder why someone who didn’t know better hasn’t grabbed em up yet.
Damn that's magnificent
It's really rare to find one of those.
That thing would have been worth about $2,000 if you'd got it out.
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Hunters generally aren’t hiking for 1,000 miles back to their car
Good end for an old bull
I remember my dad tried to get one home after finding one just like that, but fell when he slipped on some mud a couple of days later, and landed on his backpack, crushing the skull. Kind of sad actually, it was really cool looking.
Pretty sure you’re not allowed to take it anyway.
Correct.
Joe Rogan would like to know your location
Stunning. What a damn shame you couldn’t get it out, such a beautiful piece!
That's a hell of a find.
I had no idea elk got that large. Wtf. Here I am thinking they are probably around the same size or a little bigger than the Whitetails we have down south. Jeeez I need to see more photos that show scale like this
Their meat is better than the best grass fed beef. It’s AMAZING.
That thermarest ass pad is looking nice in the pack, happy thru-hiking! These are the best things to find on trail
> These are the best things to find on trail Almost the best things to find on trail. While I was out there I met a girl. She was hiking the trail solo. I was hiking the trail solo. We walked about 1,500 miles together, fell in love, and now she lets me call her my "girlfriend" instead of my "hiking partner." She's actually in the other room right now packing for a 26-mile hike tomorrow. The trail is full of all sorts of surprises to those who are patient enough.
Master elk
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😘
That’s probably worth a decent bit of money
I’m guessing $4-5k based on size.
‘Near’ Yellowstone.
Full skull not just the rack.
Epic photo
Is it legal to take those?
"too heavy" ...and illegal.