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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,534 Likes: 20
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,534 Likes: 20 |
Never hunt solo with only one knife and one compass. Huge +1 on that. Most miserable hunt I had was when I was first starting out. Took a buddy with me, who was also green. We stomped up to alpine and doubled up on bucks. I had my knife, no sharpener. My buddy lost his knife on the way up the mountain. Had it in his pocket and it fell out apparently. I dulled my cheap knife on my buck, boning it out. His buck was pure misery to be quartered and boned. It sucked. Now I take 2 quality knives, and a small sharpener.
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,534 Likes: 20
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 23,534 Likes: 20 |
I've gotten in trouble for not enough food/water. I've drank some suspect water, but haven't gotten the Beaver Fever yet. Brutal pack outs without food sucks, especially once you hit the wall. Now I take extra foods. A few salty snacks too. Salt pills help too.
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 392
Campfire Member
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OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 392 |
Dave, I liked the story, and the blog as a whole!
On one of my early backpacking trips as a teen we got rained on pretty much the entire way to the lake we intended to fish. We got camp set up but didn't realize we had set our tent up in a depression of sorts. The water bed concept with condensation is not fun....
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 487
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 487 |
Don't island camp on the Colville River in Alaska. There was light rain where we were caribou and moose hunting, but it must have deluged upstream on the North slope of the Brooks Range. Three of us were trapped on a 100 yard long island for a few days when the river rose about 5' and went into full flood. To top it off we had a sow and cub grizzly on the island with us one night sniffing the tent. We were bowhunting, but did have an 870 with slugs along. I didn't shoot but sure as heck used a lot of adrenalin up that night with them circling the tent. One of my hunting buddies never slept a wink in the dark the rest of the trip. At least we had a guard who kept the meager willow fire tended.
The drop camp operator finally delivered by super cup drop a small weather checked raft that we used to go to shore to hunt caribou. We did miss the main migration that swam by us crossing the Colville on the days we were trapped on the little island. One had horns with giant red star shaped tops that still come to mind as I type this!
Last edited by Kurt52; 03/11/12.
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 581
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 581 |
During archery season dont leave your sidearm at camp, no matter how heavy it is.
I only did this twice in a 20 year span and as luck would have it, I ran into a bear both times, the second one got the point across REAL well, it was a grizzly at 15 feet. Obviously - you didn't need it, and it might have gotten you into trouble if you'd had it... Ive had other encounters while armed and didnt "get into trouble" with those. In this case I got lucky, very lucky and will not expect to get so lucky again. I have said time and again, the best bear defense is your brain, eyes and ears backed up by a weapon you can shoot well. While you may feel otherwise, I have my preferences and will continue to use them as I see fit.
"Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe." - Abraham Lincoln, the Rail Splitter from Illinois.
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 11,666
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 11,666 |
Don't tease moose during the rut.
Broncos are officially the worst team in the nation this year.
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,927
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,927 |
Little brother had a habit of using a sock when he needed "TP". After coming home with a cold foot a time or two, he started carrying the appropriate paper product.
Well....
He also learned that holding on to a pine tree to take care of said business was bad news after spending the rest of the day picking toilet paper off his hands.
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 204
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 204 |
No matter how much water you need to carry in waterless country, don't leave the minimal, core survival kit behind...even if it's a "cakewalk" day hunt.
That was a long, cold January Idaho night for me, my 12 year old son, and my hunting partner.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,573 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,573 Likes: 1 |
1) just cause the twigs snapped when you breaking them, doesn't mean they will fire up in a kifaru stove.....water soaked frozen wood don't burn 2) if it took a GPS to get your azz in, it'll take one to get it out (fresh batterys, don't drop GPS into a snow bank) 3) good idea to top off the tank before heading into the woods 4) DO NOT share a tent with a dog that may have eaten chocolate 5) Never climb into a treestand that you didn't put up, and never fail to use a harness 6) never head light a string of half wild tied up pack ponies when you leave the tent for natures call in the night, that outfitter is still cussing me 7)Account for every round of ammo BEFORE you attempt to board a plane home after a hunt, TSA has NO sense of humor 8)drying out boots or socks by campfire is tricky, likely to result in destruction of said items 9)if you are fishing ANYWHERE in ALASKA, the game cops are watching you, read that whole damn book including footnotes More will come to me, Don
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 392
Campfire Member
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OP
Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 392 |
If you carry a mountain house and stove, don't forget the necessary stove to boil the water. Cold mountain houses are great.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,981 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,981 Likes: 2 |
Never leave your backpack behind. It costed me my Dall sheep ram two years ago. Never again. BBerg: I'll go you one better on that. NEVER LET YOUR BACKPACK GET OUT OF YOUR SIGHT. There are many situations where the gear in that pack, or lack thereof, can mean the difference between life and death or more commonly the difference between a casual-comfortable outing and a miserable experience. For the same reason, I always carry minimum survival gear in the pockets of my pants; fire stuff, Swiss Army knife, foil survival blanket, etc. , and I never leave camp without rain gear. KC
Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.
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Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,981 Likes: 2
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 6,981 Likes: 2 |
Definitely don't forget to look for cactus before you sit down. +1 or put your hand down on the ground, or crawl through the grass on a stalk. I wonder how many times I've regretfully forgotten that? KC
Wind in my hair, Sun on my face, I gazed at the wide open spaces, And I was at home.
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,776
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,776 |
Don't try to crap in bibs. Spend the time and take them off first. All you have to do is land a turd in them once, and pull them back on to get the idea you should never do it again. I just went and threw all my bib overalls in the trash. ROFLMAO
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,973
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,973 |
Don't set-up your backpacker tent next to a corridor that's being used by generation after generation after generation of bears that have never been hunted. Tim Treadwell and Amie Huguenard can attest to that.
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,343 Likes: 34
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,343 Likes: 34 |
Don't grab Devil's Club.
It's better to fall 100s of feet than arrest yourself with DC.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 13,673 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 13,673 Likes: 2 |
Don't grab Devil's Club.
It's better to fall 100s of feet than arrest yourself with DC. Laffin'! My first experience with the stuff was in a self arrest. I agree!
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,343 Likes: 34
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,343 Likes: 34 |
Panic will do that! lol....
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,472
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,472 |
Always have a backup to your water filtration. On a trip in Arizona over the fourth of July my pump broke miles back in a wilderness area. What was supposed to be a relaxing trip turned into trying to boil sludge green water with a jetboil two cups at a time with a small canister of fuel. Needless to say it worked and I made it out... Lesson learned.
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Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,973
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,973 |
Panic will do that! lol.... Yeah, isn't it funny how panic kind of ruins a guy's day? Ditto with me on the devils club experience. I hate that stuff. Not even the cholla patches of Sonoran compare with the jungle cluster of devils club distributed among dense alder. There's a canyon in Unit 7 that used to hold some huge Dall rams and probably still does, and the whole way in to there is a literal jungle of alder and devils club with only bear trails for access. Horrible hike, that one is.
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 35
Campfire Greenhorn
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Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 35 |
Don't assume that other people understand that once you hook a winch to them they stay hooked up.
I ran into a kid stuck down a snowy road 50 feet from pavement. He had been digging for a while and was eager to get out before someone spotted him I guess. I hooked up to him and pulled him back to the road. I'm about to get out and unhook him when he decides that he has traction now and takes off down the road, still tied to my winch, with me honking and hollering trying to get him to stop. At least I was able to get the Jeep out of park and into neutral before he hit the end of the cable.
I now have a little more discussion with folks before I pull cable.
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