Bought a new Home for Alaska...

[BW]

Moosie,

Found it. I was wondering why you hadn't posted this stuff on your own webpage, but I was looking in the Alaska section, not the Fireside section. Duh!

As I mentioned at Marshalls website, you NEED to take a shelter you can set up besides your tents. You mentioned tarps, and they're always great to have along. Just call your transporter, and make sure there's enough trees to hold up them up. If you go too far north, there are no trees, and not much for brush.

Where I hunt goat, there are no trees, after this experience...

...I decided that in the future I'd have a shelter where I could build a nice small fire under a cover. Otherwise, it's darn near impossible to dry out soaked gear in a tent.

Speaking of wet gear in a tent, are you taking a down sleeping bag? Bad Ju-Ju my friend. Better get a damn good bivy sack. That picture above, was me (solo hunting) the night after that snow storm hit. It was blowing my tent down on me all night, from different directions. I was very glad to have my sleeping bag (Wiggy's synthetic) wrapped up in a bivy sack, just in case the tent started shredding.

Here's a picture of my Dana Longbed set-up to carry my rifle...

...it worked really well, and allowed me to carry a hiking staff rather than a rifle.

You guys may want to consider some hiking staffs too, as they really help when packing heavy loads.

BTW, my brother, who lives in Boise now, also lived in Kwaj for awhile.

 

[Moosie]

BW, Moved it so it doesn't get too burried

Querstion on the fires, I don't see anything that you could burn in your Pictures but the stuff you brought !! Why have a shelter for a fire if there is no wood ?

I'm hoping that the tent doesn't leak... I had a freind go to AK a few times soly with a down bag, I hear Roumors that it's BAD JU-JU but don't know why if the tebt is good ? I have a waterproof tewnt with a Waterproof fly and A waterproof Footprnt and Will cover with a Waterproof tarp.... Should I still be worried ?!?!

BW, If your Brother is here .. Give me his #, I';ll take him out to Lunch ... He can Come to the Hunttalk.com Gathering in MAY too... He can tell you what a bunch-a YAHOO's we are

HAHA !!

 

[Ovis]

Take the tarp, as I mentioned above tarps are vercitile. From time to time I'll place one extending out from the vestibule of the tent. You can use brush trees, whatever, to include trekking poles if you take one. For backpacking I sometimes take two, one for the fly and one for el cheapo footprint. While actually hunting, I'll pack with me a military poncho. They are very universal, they can act as a shelter, another set of raingear, you can use them to keep meat off of the ground, hold water, the list goes on.

I've also started keeping a large tarp in my dry bag at the dropoff location to setup if I get back before the schedule pickup time.

What if's...what if while out hunting a bear gets a hold of your tent and tears it to shreds but leaves your bag untouched (lucky for you), and just as your saying "oh fugg!" you feel the pitter patter of of mother nature taking a leak on you...and your bag. What if your tent fails? What if your tent by chance is pulled up by the wind, and by the time you get to it, it and your bag is floating in the pond you were camped out by. What if upon exiting your float plane, you and your entire bag fall in the lake? Lots of things can happen, chit happens, take a bivy, my bivy, or someone's bivy...you can never be too safe.

Here is a good example of how you can get your bag wet. This has happened to me, and on my last outting I came up with the idea of packing a chamois cloth with me to fix the problem.

I like to carry camp with me as I go. I have come to learn this as the best way of hunting for me. I walk with my camp on my back until I find animals. If it means setting up and taking down camp two or three days in a row, that is what I will do. Say it has been pissing cats and dogs that that first day, you set up camp, pop the bag in and get a nice comfortable sleep that night. Next a.m. you wake up, still pouring, but your hardcore instinct tells you to get your butt out and keep hunting. You roll up your bag and toss it in the pack, then you roll up your tent and fly, which I mind you is soaked. You glass and walk all that day, consistently whiping the rain from your brow, and then that evening you go to setup camp again. You pull out your tent and obviously the entire thing is still wet. Guess where much of that water now is...inside wher eyou will be sleeping. Guess what condensation is gonna be like now...hell. Do that a few times and not only will your down get wet, so will the most waterproof of waterproof tents. Like I said, this has happened to me, and with my SD! I don't like having to use my only spare "dry" shirt to whipe up water. Thus the reason for the chamois, doesn't have to be big, but I think it will work.

The issue on burning. You don't have to have a big bon fire to get some comfort of a flame Oscar. I have used my cooking stove for heat before. I also have (and I recommend you doing the same since you will be bou hunting, and most likely bou hunting in similar terrain) spent a few hours of my time poking around with cotton balls and vaseline and a bicycle inner tube for a bit of heat. If your in need of a fire and there are no trees, you might be glad you had em. I use film cannisters to hold the cotton balls, and I carry the innertube portions (I cut the tube up in 3" segments) freely in my homemade survival kit.

vis

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 02-23-2003 22:27: Message edited by: Ovis ]</font>

 

[muskeg]

I don't go on any camp out with out a Bivi. If my hunters don't have a good one I give them one to use. You can not skimp on quality of such an important part of your gear. The lesser ones just will not work the way you will need them to.

I use the OR Delux (Item No. 21828 $219.95)
or the OR Advanced (Item No. 21811 $249.95)
I order alot of items from campmor. There hard to beat sometimes. there shipping method / dept is excellent and fast.

I have had several hunters bring Down bags along. All bags get wet after the 4th or 5th day of horizontal rain. The synthetic type dries out or feels drier. The Down don't dry well and get all Ikky sometimes. If it's a dry spell there is no problem.

 

[BW]

Moosie,

I won't go so far as to say that it can't be done (hunting with down bags) or that it isn't done all the time with no problems. It's just one of those things that you should consider, then do what you feel is right. You will sleep, and hunt, a lot better knowing your bag has some extra protection though.

Here's a couple more pictures to explain things that can happen...

This is where my hunting partner and I set up our tents on another goat hunt (same area as before, but up on the ridge)...

...mine is the blue one, his was the brown one. We both used all the spikes the tents come with, and but large rocks over those spike. While we were out hunting, the winds picked up (must be my luck

) as we were heading back to the spike camp. As we came over the last hump, and spotted camp, we saw his tent was halfway pulled out of it's spikes, and getting worse! We hauled butt over there, but before we reached the tents, the wind had ripped his out of the ground and over the edge. While you can't tell from the picture, the winds were blowing about 40knts in this picture. It shows my tent, the spot were his tent should be, and my buddy looking over the edge for his tent which we just watched go over the side!

He got lucky, and it stopped about 100ft down the side, and we retrieved it with little damage. His sleeping bag, extra clothes, food, etc. were inside it too!

 

[Buddy]

Since you asked for me to chime in, here goes. The only thing I can add about hunting in AK is you should plan on getting wet, gear and all because if you don't and you do it will become a very bad trip. If the hunting gods are with you, the blue ski will shine but if they aren't then mother nature doesn't care who you are.

I know one thing for sure after hunting Kodiak this past fall and that is, I am on the fast drying synthetic side of gear. Everything, and I mean everything got wet. We spent the night in a lodge everynight and it was hard to get the gear dried out over night. If you take down it would be advisable to have a plan just in case it gets wet.

 

[Moosie]

Thanx for the Heads up and the Help.. I sure Love the Stories !! Hopefully I'll have some soon, And not to SAD of ones

I'm looking into the Bivi and Deciding what to do, I have a friend here that went to AK 5 times and on a Idaho Sheep hunt and only used a down bag with no Bivi, He hunted Sheep and Carabou in AK. He's an Older guy now but says it worked jsut fine

But, I know it only takes one Bad day/trip to put a whole new thinknig in your head. He used a Kelty Tent too. I think it was jsut a 3 season, lightweight one.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Moosie,

I'll chime in on the side of synthetic for the bag too. From my experience, rain or shine, you will have everything in the tent wet, no matter how much you try to avoid it.

1/2 the ground in Caribou country is "floating", with water seeping out of every step. In moose country, it seemed like even more. Plus, you are generating a bunch of moisture from inside your clothes each day.

So, at the end of each day, you have wet clothes inside the tent, as you can only hang so much out in the Vestibule. My buddy gets pissed at me for being the "tent nazi", as I try and keep the screens open, hoping to get some air movement, to take some of the moisture out.

The irony of a good tent is, that the moisture stays inside. So if it keeps the rain out, then your moisture stays inside. Moisture inside, will eventually get the sleeping bag wet.

I just assume, in Alaska, you will be wet the entire time, and you just have to learn to enjoy being wet.

(Elkgrinner...)

 

[Moosie]

Elkgrinner... I agree that there is limited room in the Tent, And I';m a tent CLEAN freak too, there is a reason we have 2 tents along.. ONe to clutter up

OK .. OK... I'm not buying a new BAg, but I'll get a cover or something for it

 

[Moosie]

WELL, I already need to repair my new home

I had it outside set up for a few Rainstorms then brought it inside after I seen It faired well. I didn't break it down because I wanted it to dry out Very well first still set up.. OOPS, Apperently when it is a few Inches shy to fit through the Door you're not suposed to JAM it through

I brought the Pole that snapped back into REI and they are fixing it at no cost to me. Should have it back soon. Live and learn

 

[Moosie]

Here I go talking to myself... BUT I just remembered next Wee kI get to pick up that POLE I broke

HAHA !!!

 

[Moosie]

I am Still POLL~less.... I think tomorrow Me needs to see whats up with REI !!! DAM people anyways

 

[ELKCHSR]

Well heres one, and you don't even have to pack it to Alaska, it's already there...

This should be just barely warm enough for the harshest winters Alaska has to offer and would be a good place to put all of your hunting gear!!!

 

[Moosie]

I'm guessing I wouldn't need a Bivy to sleep in that thing