my camera survey trip

Author: Treya Wilds, 9th grade student at the Center For Agriculture, Science, and Environmental Education, Battleground Public Schools

​Hello world! This is Treya Wilds working with Cascadia Wild here (ironically we have the same name).  I am a freshmen at the Center For Agriculture, Science, and Environmental Education, or CASEE for short. On the thirteenth of April, I went with a group of friends on a little adventure to check on the Gate Creek trail camera. ​

Things went relatively smoothly. It was quite a long drive to get there though, so we stopped at Skamania Lodge overnight. It’s quite a nice place; great food and a dazzling view, not to mention exhilarating activities (which we sadly did not have time to enjoy). Ever since I visited last year I have wanted to return. Skamania Lodge has a wonderful atmosphere, kinda like you're staying in an oversized five-star cabin. They have some great outdoor activities, such as a treetop obstacle course and zip lining, the latter of which I got to enjoy on my first visit. For the record, I highly suggest the zip lining if you don’t mind heights and a good rush of adrenaline. It was a very nice stay on our little journey.

Once we left Skamania lodge, and traveled south of The Dalles, we officially entered what felt like the middle of nowhere. I highly suggest you get familiar with your GPS before heading out to these remote places, whether you’re checking on a trail camera or not. The roads to Gate Creek are very hard to navigate if you don’t know exactly where you’re going. Some of the roads you’re supposed to take don’t have very obvious signs, causing us to get turned around quite a bit. But despite the nightmare of navigation, it was worth it! The hike to the camera is actually quite short and rather scenic. I had some fun identifying the trees. Though I am not quite an expert, I might know more than the average person (CASEE has taught me well). From what I saw, it was mostly Douglas-Fir, Grand Fir and Oregon White Oak, and I’m pretty sure there were some Ponderosa Pines as well, though they could have been Western White Pines. I only had my memory for reference after all, and I can’t recall if it was the whites or ponderosas that had five needles in a bunch. I very much wish I had my tree ID cards from school.

When we actually made it to camera, we followed the instructions provided, gave it some fresh batteries and replaced the memory card. We made sure it was angled properly and was actually capturing images. Once its functionality was confirmed, we called it good and headed back the way we came. 

The more interesting part actually happened on the way to the cars… we found part of a Deer. The key word being “part.” 

It was likely an unfinished meal of the Mountain Lion of which the camera snapped a few photos. ​The big cat visited two separate times, both pretty early in the morning according to the timestamps from the camera. I'm very glad we visited later in the day when the nocturnal creature (most likely) wasn't around. I recall one of my mom’s friends, Holly, who had come along, calling us over to look at the shred of deer. If there had been blood, it had long soaked into the ground, leaving behind only flesh, bone, and fur. It was a gruesome sight, but in all honesty, I was unbothered, being more interested in what had killed the poor thing (this was before we had the chance to check the camera footage). 

The rest of the way back was mostly uneventful. The drive home was a bit longer than last time due to the fact that we didn’t stop at a hotel and there was traffic. But the sunset was stunning! So much so, we stopped just to get a picture to share with you! Hope you all have a wonderful day!