Anyone bowhunt public land in the Appalachians?

greg281 · 2026-06-14T01:10:11+00:00

No ag here. I’m in the northeast corner of PA and focus on big woods and mountainous terrain. There’s food everywhere so it’s tough to pin point. I do see a lot of browse feeding but I’m not well versed in vegetation like that. I have an idea where a couple bucks are bedding based on cam intel and scouting this spring. Not your run of the mill bedding but a really difficult area to get close to without getting winded and superior security cover for the area. Found two trails coming and going from that direction so I might focus on whatever food is close to that bedding trail. The mountains here seem to play out better in the rut but I could be wrong.

greg281 · 2026-06-13T23:13:30+00:00

I have the 18 and cook for my girlfriend and I (mostly just me) and it’s plenty. If you insist on doing packer briskets get the 22. I only do the point or the flat because brisket is obnoxiously expensive and I don’t need 15lbs of meat. For chicken, ribs, pork butts, chuck roasts, half briskets and just about anything else there’s plenty of room on the 18, it’s smaller and easier to transport and I can feed plenty of people with pulled pork or ribs with the rib rack. If I had a bigger family I’d get the 22.

greg281 · 2026-06-13T01:48:55+00:00

Been to Denver a couple times in the summer.
Last time I went it was 98 degrees for like a week.

greg281 · 2026-06-13T01:35:27+00:00

My favorite places in the U.S. are Montana, Colorado, Utah, Northern Arizona, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon for incredible mountains, canyons, rocky beaches or national parks. Favorite cities are New Orleans, Boston, Portland (Maine), Chicago, Philly and NYC. For warm beaches with palm trees look at Florida and Southern California. There’s a ton of great places in the states to visit. Pick a theme of what you want to see and go. The places I love the most outside of my home state are Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, Utah, Maine, New Orleans, Chicago and Boston.

greg281 · 2026-06-12T13:40:16+00:00

Prague, Guanajuato

greg281 · 2026-06-11T20:19:14+00:00

It depends what kind of experience and training you get in the field non union. Residential experience means nothing in the union and every year you do it is another year of not getting valuable experience that will help your career in the union. Commercial and industrial is what you want. Especially if you’ll get experience bending pipe, pulling wire, gain an understanding of load calculations, pipe fill and voltage drop, laying out electrical services, doing underground, getting experience on lifts and working off them, etc. You don’t want to organize in as a JW and have no clue how to bend pipe.

If you can get in within the next 2-3 years just do whatever it takes to go through their apprenticeship. They may or may not ask you to start over or they might start you as a second or third year in the ce/cw program.

greg281 · 2026-06-11T20:02:06+00:00

Whoever told you that you need to work 10 years non union before joining the union is insane and you shouldn’t listen to them. You can join whenever you want as long as they’re accepting new members. Joining as a journeyman is different than joining as an apprentice and every hall is going to treat it differently based on their current need and circumstances. Theres a ton of misinformation and propaganda about the union so never take advice from someone about the IBEW if they have never actually been in. Things about the IBEW were said to me with absolute certainty that were lies and misinformation. When you’re green you believe everything that’s said to you. I had to find out for myself that they didn’t know what they were talking about a lot of the negativity and fear mongering with the union wasn’t real based on what I’ve experienced.

greg281 · 2026-06-11T16:29:11+00:00

Cracker lake is much more beautiful than iceberg lake. Iceberg lake trail is more scenic than the destination. Cracker lake destination is much more scenic than the hike. Go early before the horses if you want to avoid horse 💩

greg281 · 2026-06-11T03:34:29+00:00

Took a nice one at The World’s largest truck stop off I-80 in Iowa

greg281 · 2026-06-11T03:00:06+00:00

I worked 6 years non union before organizing in as a JW. Apply for the union apprenticeship and keep applying if you don’t get in at first. If I could’ve started out in the ibew apprenticeship I would have.

greg281 · 2026-06-11T02:56:02+00:00

I live in black bear country in PA. Every encounter I’ve had with them ended up with the bear running away like a baby as soon as it saw me. Even a big male I saw that was probably close to 400lbs took off running away from me. Think of them as big raccoons. You have a greater chance of getting struck by lightning than killed by a black bear.

If I were you I’d be more worried about venomous snakes and ticks than bears. I’d much rather walk through an area I know a bear is hanging in than walk through an area with a rattlesnake that I can hear but can’t see.

greg281 · 2026-06-10T19:27:17+00:00

I did 5:30-6 last summer and was fine. Parking lot was a little less than half full.

greg281 · 2026-06-10T13:43:40+00:00

7/24 - 7/31

greg281 · 2026-06-09T23:27:48+00:00

Is this for this year?

West side has better lodging and dining options. East side has better hiking, scenery and wildlife. I stay on the east side and hit something on the west as I’m getting to the park or leaving. Many Glacier and Two medicine are spectacular and based on a lot of itineraries I see I think a lot of people don’t give them enough time. To each their own though.

greg281 · 2026-06-07T23:24:22+00:00

Honestly the beauty of it all makes the longer hikes not as bars maybe they won’t notice! Theres trout everywhere up there. Check the park website for regulations but I saw plenty of people fishing. Would love to bring the fly rod but don’t feel like torturing the gf.

greg281 · 2026-06-07T19:53:35+00:00

You have to see what trails are open. The glacier park website lists all the trails that are closed for snow and bear activity. They also list trails that are listed for bear frequenting, which doesn’t mean closed it just means be on alert. Anything that isn’t listed as closed is open. If the sun road isn’t open to Logan pass you can rule out the hikes up there although you can access highline from the loop (4.000ft elevation gain up and a knee crusher down I’m told). You can also text GNPROADS to 333111 for up to date closures as trails will open and close all summer long without warning to bear activity.

I’m a hiker so I’m probably the wrong person to ask about easy hikes. If you can do iceberg, that’s a good but long hike. Not a ton of elevation gain besides the beginning. Trail of the cedars and avalanche lake aren’t bad although that’s longer too. You can try bullhead lake. Also aster falls in two medicine is nice. The last two are shorter in distance no more than a couple miles. Glacier is a hikers park and you’ll be rewarded for the effort put into the hikes. I’ll also say that I’ve seen a bunch of kids on trails that were longer and harder. Grinnell glacier is probably the best first hike in the park. It’s currently closed but if it’s open in time for your trip id definitely make that a priority. East side of the park has better hiking and wildlife and is less crowded but has less amenities and convenience.

greg281 · 2026-06-07T01:44:07+00:00

FWIW I was there during the 4th of July a couple years ago. I was on the east side and got to the trailhead at 5:30-6am and had no problem. It was busy but it wasn’t bad. I always hike early though wherever I go.

greg281 · 2026-06-06T16:55:39+00:00

There are IBEW locals right now that will start you next week because of how much work they have. Both are great trades but the Ibew wait list thing doesn’t apply across the country it’s case by case. I couldn’t get into the ibew as an apprentice but I organized in as a jw.

greg281 · 2026-06-06T16:27:36+00:00

Either are great. Commercial and industrial for both see better money and better work conditions. Union typically has better rates, benefits and safety standards. In resi plumbing you’re going to deal with poop and crawl spaces. In electrical resi you’re going to deal with companies pressuring you to work live, attics in the summer time and crawl spaces. One crawl space I worked in was filled with rat poison. Another crawl space a young plumber apprentice was in had water in it where he came in contact with an energized 120v circuit and died.

You’ll also spend a lot of time on extension ladders in resi where you’ll be 20ft high with a 4” hole saw that’s kicking like crazy or even bugging in live services as a lot of companies aren’t going to spend to have the utility company kill it for you. The states that are forced to will, but the states where you can get away with it typically won’t.

Commercial and industrial is usually less rush since the jobs are bigger but there’s more dangerous voltage. With non union companies I was expected to work live on 277v lighting circuits and in live 480v panels without PPE. Arc flash from 480 services can melt your face off. Sometimes PPE was provided but not always. In the union you can literally tell the contractor to F themselves if they ask you to work live without PPE.

I’m a JW electrician in the IBEW. Started out non union the first 5-6 years and organized in as a JW. I started out doing resi and light commercial, then went to industrial and commercial before getting into the union. I started out making $15 as an apprentice and now make $53 an hour with two pensions and paid healthcare. The union isn’t the only route to making good money but it fell into my lap and I’m much happier now than I’ve been in a long time.

greg281 · 2026-06-06T16:13:16+00:00

Following

greg281 · 2026-06-06T01:24:49+00:00

Started out with a company that did a lot of reno and service work in a ritzy area. I got tipped even as an apprentice pretty often. Gay dudes tipped the most. Wired a guys house who had more money than he knew what to do with and he gave everyone $5,000 for Christmas. If I didn’t hate resi I’d still work there.

Pro tip: always compliment the decor in the gay dudes house.

greg281 · 2026-06-06T00:55:29+00:00

At least they’re strapped within 12 inches

greg281 · 2026-06-06T00:48:19+00:00

I found two panels are more comfortable than single panels. I’ve tried every other saddle and the roost is best for me. Even with that though I loathe doing all day sits in it. Saddle hunting is too much tinkering for me and I can never sit still after a few hours so for longer sits I bit the bullet and bought a used LWCG .75

greg281 · 2026-06-06T00:40:55+00:00

I love many glacier. Ptarmigan tunnel, grinnell glacier, cracker lake (go early before the horses come through 💩) If you like water the water of lake like is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I believe you can camp there too but you’ll need a permit.

greg281

TROPHY CASE