Petroglyphs and Gratitude

I just noticed that the hit counter on my blog crept up there past the 10,000 mark. Given that some well known blogs generate that many or more hits in a single day; that may seem a bit underwhelming at first read but I'm awed beyond belief that a mere handful of you folks would take the time to read any of my ramblings- much less 10,000 times. Along the way I've made several friends, maybe yet unmet and distant, but people I still call friends anyway.

I don't post nearly as often as many bloggers do and what I say perhaps isn't nearly as profound. I started this endeavor (and continue it, by the way) as a solely therapeutic pastime. Something to keep the mind and the heart and the will engaged on those long, cold nights and to share something precious and fundamental to me with the rest of the world. I don't do this for commerce or salary but for the pure joy of doing it. You see, my professional life entails a fair bit of writing- technical things mainly. Things about widgets and gizmos doing this and that in certain sequences and how the planet will counter-rotate if it doesn't happen in the prescribed Archimedian way. Things about risk analysis and economic profit and systems engineering. Things given to soulless, driven men who dissect and analyze and pontificate on- in order to chart a course and accelerate a plan.

Things without personality. Things without passion.

I fell somewhat headlong into that gig by dint of being something of a technical geek with a head for engineering and science, a background in construction and industry as well as having a small modicum of talent for crafting sentences together to form coherent thought- a witty nerd if you will. I had enjoyed creative writing in my college career and even had a Literature professor push me to devoid myself of all that silly engineering crap and pursue a rewarding career in writing, even though she thought I had a written voice that sounded like Billy Graham with an attitude problem. I didn't take her advice (at least not yet) but I managed to publish a couple of items along the way (among much unpublished garbage I'll add). A few years ago I turned back to more creative writing as a way to vent the content of my soul and soothe the aching and pondering that middle age brings to those paying attention as life blazes past.

Perhaps I share that need to vent, maybe along with just loving to tell a good story, with those primitive folks whose dabbling on the cave walls show the bison and deer, fish and mammoth that made up their daily sustenance. Without written word, their arcane sketching show how they viewed themselves relating to their world. Hunter and hunted, predator and prey, death and life- clearly portrayed even a millenia later. Maybe I am affected with that same need- a modern man scratching out digital petroglyphs to leave some kind of mark that said, "I was here and I ate the caribou."

When I first started publishing this blog, I thought to myself-"If more than a half dozen people ever bother to read it then I will be doing OK." That bar was passed a long time ago. I have to convey a debt of gratitude to all of you who take the time to read this out of the endless content the digital age provides. Everytime I receive some bit of correspondence or comment about something I've typed- I get excited. A petroglyph seen and understood, a sand painting comprehended, a campfire tale that was remembered. Excited to be involved in the creative flow of ideas and information and ...thoughts.

Thoughts on the Great Outdoors.

Thank You,
Hodgeman

Photo Credit- Uknown. Google Images.

Specialization is for Insects...

I realize the gunwriting business and much of the hunting and shooting industry revolves around a certain amount of "Walter Mitty-ism" but the climate of late is bordering on the ridiculous. The lynchpin event that resulted in the Robert Heinlen quote that serves well as a title was the fact I worked for Backcountry Hunters and Anglers at the Fairbanks Outdoors Show as well as attended a local gun show over the same weekend.

I knew better...really, I did.

The older I become (and possibly the more cantankerous) the more I realize that specialization is a genre that really takes little talent. It is a much more arduous a task to make something good for many things than to make something excellent for a very narrow window of use. Case in point with rifle design- I looked at rifles that were tailor made for all sorts of uses, sheep hunting ultralights in wee speedy calibers, varmint rifles that weighed 13 pounds in even more wee and speedy calibers, heavy game rifles that fired cartridges the size of cigars, super magnums that fired standard bullets at impossible speeds- but few rifles that I'd consider just good general purpose rifles.

In the years gone by, most of the generally available rifles were what could call general purpose but of late even the term "general purpose rifle" has resulted in some rather esoteric designs that baffle the imagination. Consider that the basic design of rifles has changed very little since the work of Mauser, Whelen, and Browning (the profusion of cartridges notwithstanding- I don't generally consider cartridge variations progress). So what does constitute a "general purpose rifle" and just what is it good for. Col Cooper made a stab at it in his "Scout Rifle" design and I owned one for a few years and did some good work with it. I found few faults with it other than ferocious price but it isn't what I really consider the sole example of general purpose. To begin the idea one must establish just what the instrument is for- too many items find their way into our inventories as answers to questions we never asked.

What's it for? Obviously a general purpose rifle is not intended to shoot the most specialized of targets, in the hunting world that would constitute the largest and smallest specimens- prairie dogs and elephants. On the target range it would preclude the most specialized disciplines- I'd have a hard time calling benchrest or biathalon rifle "general purpose" by any stretch of the imagination. We could readily say that a general purpose rifle ought to weigh something less than eight or nine pounds fully equipped to maintain its status as conveniently portable and it should come chambered in a cartridge that is powerful enough to cleanly take the general run of game on the continent the user is located on.

For North America that would be things like deer, elk, moose, black bears, caribou, sheep, goats and the like at most common hunting ranges- say to 300 yards. Most people shoot poorly at even less than that and I consider any shot further to become a specialized endeavor. It would be hard to beat the 30-06 cartridge and any of the similar chamberings (.308, .270, .280, 7x57, 8x57, etc.) for that kind of shooting. Cooper also included combat in his list of things a general purpose rifle ought to be equipped for and while I have no personal desire to see combat I can only agree that historically the rifle has been used in that role extensively. Given that the majority of the world's armies fire massive amounts of underpowered ammunition at each other, I would gladly take my rifle over any of the current offering of assault carbines if it came right down to killing other people. In summary, I would suggest we leave the varmint cartridges, most of the magnums and the "medium and large" bores out of the question. A .338 Winchester Magnum is a great cartridge in its place but I can't say I'd consider it that useful as a general purpose round and consider the .223/22-250 class of cartridges in much the same light.

I think the general purpose rifle ought to be bolt action. I dislike the automatics immensely for a variety of reasons and its hard to think of the single shot or double rifles as "general purpose" given some of the parameters. Most people can be taught the operation of the bolt rifle in an afternoon- to include stripping down the bolt and maintaining the weapon, even the relatively uninitiated. I must confess I find the autoloading rifle out of place in the hunting field despite their growing popularity here and while I've spent a good deal of time with one on the range it is certainly not a favored action of mine. As a military arm the autoloader tends to have more moving parts and be more difficult to teach the manual of arms on than a good bolt action ever was. As the world's armies largely abandon marksmanship for "fire superiority" (whatever that means) I can only guess that means if you can't shoot well you should just shoot a lot. A serious rifleman only needs a few rounds to accomplish what needs doing. In the wars of the past the thought of going head to head with a platoon of crack riflemen filled field commanders with dread- ie. the Boers, the American Colonials, and the Jaeger regiments are some of the more obvious examples. Today's wars tend to have troops spraying a lot of ammunition and killing each other with high explosives instead.

The general purpose rifle then is a bolt action weighing a nominal 8.5 pounds and chambered for a "standard" cartridge. I believe we all shoot better with a telescopic sight and for something to be called "general purpose" I think a fixed 4x is more than sufficient for nearly any field shooting one might do (generalized or otherwise) and although I don't like variables personally I wouldn't be opposed to a low powered variable of the 1-5x or 2-7x class with objective lenses of less than 36mm. I do think the scope and mounts should be rugged enough to withstand the rigors of field use- the failures of over sized and powerful target scopes in the hunting fields are legendary. I won't mind iron sights on a rifle but I really think these days they're something of an anachronism. Most factory iron sights are little more than ornamentation and I'm usually delighted if a rifle is equipped with decent sights but if its not- so what, a fixed 4x will be generally more accurate, just as quick and just as robust. I know folks wring their hands about scope failures but I've hunted with scopes a lot under rigorous circumstance and have had exactly one failure in the field.

So in review we have a rifle that looks and sounds very much ordinary- a .30-06 (or similar) bolt action rifle weighing 8.5 pounds (give or take) with a decent 4x scope. Almost any manufacturer of bolt action rifles is going to produce such a piece and in the fiercely competitive firearms market the price will often be held in check by competition. Since this type of rifle has been popular for decades the used market is bursting with excellent buys as well on these rifles as their owners abandon them for pieces with more flash and pizazz- probably to their chagrin. The market is flooded with much more specialized pieces but they could be looked at as things more inferior than this one- it will readily accomplish 99% of anything you're apt to need a rifle for- bragging at the hardware store excluded. The manufacturers and the gun press would like you to believe that you need a battery of rifles- one perfected for each individual species you might hunt. While such an endeavor might be fun for the end user and profitable for the maker- it is wholly unrequired.

Becoming a Mountain Animal, A Photo Journal.

Here is the northern approach trail- a strong wind storm had drifted the trail in several feet deep in places. From this point the climb is 2900' vertical.

Half mile of post-holing across the relatively exposed flats leading to the slope- exhausting for me and the dog.

At the foot of the slope the trail starts its climb behind the lee of the mountain. Soft spots in the collapsing snow made footing unpredictable.

About a mile in- the trail to the summit diverges from the brush lined path and starts up the exposed west side. Bands of brush on the slope holding deep drifts had to be navigated around. Some of these were over ten feet deep and impassable.

At the edge of the ridge the trail turns sharply up and south at this massive pile of rock. From this point on the climb is an exposed knife edge ridge and devoid of any vegetation taller than a couple of inches due to the prevailing wind. I was happy for Primaloft jacket in my pack at this point.

After many minutes of scrambling up the ice slickened rock, the view behind gives some idea of the elevation gained in the climb. Too much exposed rock for crampons and not enough bare rock traction for comfort.

A view to the south shows the storm thats blowing in- this storm would dump several inches of snow prior to nightfall and pack vicious winds at this altitude.

Pressing to the summit across the barren landscape. Note the wind loaded east slope- that cornice is 20' deep and will last for several weeks to come.

The approach across the summit plateau is a walk on an other-worldly landscape of bare rock and snow. The snow covered Granites in the background is where my sheep hunt will take place.

The summit cairn. Finally, after 2 hours 15 mins of hard hiking with a loaded pack.

Happy for a summit break. A little water, some trail mix and a racing descent to beat the storm blowing in from the south.

Training Day

I must apologize for the dearth of posting lately as I've been very busy at work and the after work hours are consumed with family time and training for my upcoming sheep hunt.

I thought I'd share a little of my plan for sheep training. Besides eating right and usual exercises, training for sheep hunting contains a few items that I'm doing to give myself a leg up on the unique demands that mountain hunting dishes out. So in addition to routine cardio (jogging, walking, skiing) and strength training (core exercises, weight training) I'm including some new things in my routine.

First, you simply must get oriented to a vertical environment. Sheep live in rugged terrain where they can feel safe from predators with their incredible ability to run, leap and cavort up nearly sheer cliffs. Sheep respond to danger by putting vertical distance between themselves and perceived threats. That means you'll be climbing...a lot of climbing. After speaking with an acquaintance of mine who guides for sheep, it is apparent that mere cardiovascular fitness isn't enough. He reports that even experienced marathoners quickly tire if they tend to spend most of their time on flat land. The muscles required for running or jogging on flat land are not the same as those required to negotiate a 45 degree slope. He refers to the fitness required as being in "sheep shape" and insists that his hunters spend some time preparing in vertical environments, even in the office building stairwell if no mountains are available!

Even though I don't require a guide- I feel that is good advice and have incorporated my favorite fleigberg in my training regimen a couple of days a week. Training so far has been up the gentler north trail- a 2800 foot vertical climb over about a mile. The longer and much more rugged southern route would be suicidal with the snow and ice cover we still have on the ground. As spring arrives and the snow dissipates, I'll work in the steeper face and find a few other mountains to climb as well. With the arrival of full summer- the training regimen will be backpacking into the hunt area, climbing the mountains and looking for that toad sheep I'm looking to bag on opening day.

Second, sheep hunting often requires carrying crushing loads, for miles. A moose hunter may move a huge load of meat from the field, but few moose hunters hunt very far from motorized transportation and the terrain tends to be more forgiving as well. At this point my base load of sheep hunting equipment weighs just shy of 60 pounds...that's pre-sheep. Many sheep hunters report loads of well over 100 pounds after they harvest and bone out an animal among two hunters. Frequently if hunters are solo or carrying a lot of heavy gear they have to start the time consuming and laborious process of ferrying- splitting the load into two or three segments and having to transport their harvest and gear in relays. Every mountain will climbed and every mile walked- twice or more. Ferrying a load of moose meat a mile or so through the forest is one thing, ferrying 150 pounds 20 miles through the mountains is another thing entirely. The stories of heavy laden sheep hunters burning equipment or quickly establishing caches and abandoning some of their gear are legendary here. Every year some bear will root out and destroy several hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars worth of unattended equipment the hunter simply couldn't carry any farther. There is even at least one legend of a custom Sako rifle left under a rock pile the hunter never came back for. No wonder the diehard sheep hunters spend incredible amounts of cash buying the lightest and most exotic gear available.

Given the weight burdens that are foreign territory to all but the hardest core backpackers and professional meat packers- getting experience moving across the mountainous terrain with a load is paramount to success. In the light of that, my sheep guide compadre' suggests starting in the spring by hiking with a pack containing increasing amounts of weight throughout the summer. In this endeavor it is very possible to give yourself a training injury that will set you back weeks if you don't go slow and build up to the loads that you'll start your hunt with. At this point my pack weight is 35 pounds- essentially my day hunting gear and some extra "training ballast" thrown for good measure.

Another future suggestion is what my friend calls, "The Liquid Mistress". Simply a freighter pack frame with a 5-8 gallon water jug strapped on. At roughly 8 pounds per gallon it doesn't take much water to add up to tremendous weight quickly. You simply add more water as your regimen proceeds. A partially full container also has the added benefit of being a dynamic load- the water will slosh around as you move, requiring your muscles to constantly correct with each step. Since moving downhill is much harder than moving up (at least for me), the ability to simply pour out some water at the top to lighten the load before descending is a good thing if you tire quicker than expected or feel like you strained a muscle or joint.

Getting use to moving with a heavy, dynamic load in steep terrain is essential to staying safe in sheep country. A sprain or fracture will often scrub the hunt entirely and may cause you to abandon valuable equipment while you hobble your way out to civilization. More seriously a minor sprain or injury can also be a lynch pin in the chain of events leading to a catastrophic fall. Often the companions of severely injured hunters report to the rescue team that the hunter was injured minorly a day or two before and chose to continue the hunt with limited mobility. Staying healthy, agile and on your feet is vitally important on hunts like this.

In order to do the training required to achieve the level of fitness required, staying healthy during that training is important as well. Old injuries (particularly those to the back or joints) must be proactively managed so they don't flare up and leave you in worse shape than before. Personally speaking, given my history of an old and significant back injury, I'm seeing a health professional every week who monitors my progress and looks for signs that my old injury isn't coming back to haunt me. Given my exuberance for this hunt I could easily over train and be in bad shape by opening day. That would be a shame. For anyone preparing for a rugged hunt like this I can't stress enough not to overlook a local health professional or even a sports trainer to keep you on track.

In the photo- departure for a training hike up the mountain in the background. Despite the fact I was dressed lightly for the 22F temperature and light snow, I was sweated through the merino wool shirt and fleece vest by the time I made the summit.

Mountaintop Mobile Home

After a brief review of my current battery of tents, I discovered I had nothing suitable for a backpack hunt into the DCUA for my upcoming sheep hunt. My tents were either made for base camping in winter, too lightweight to deal with the unpredictable weather at altitude during that time of year or just too heavy to think about lugging 20 miles in and 1.5 mile up.

I started numerous conversations with sheep hunters and mined them for all the data I could find out. My experience with that area is generally looking at it from 40 miles away during moose season and thinking -"I glad I'm not up there right now..." Most of the savvy sheep hands I spoke with reported that a season without a big storm is very unusual and most picked 4 season mountaineering tents accordingly. I even spoke with one hunter who was blown clear out of the Brooks Range and spent two days rolled up in his hopelessly collapsed 3 season ultralight tent- day three and hypothermic, he hit his rescue transponder. His advice- "Your tent is your make or break piece of gear between a hunt turning into an inconvenient adventure or a life threatening event. Choose accordingly."
I looked through a variety of websites and talked to several folks with experience in the mountains and one maker kept popping up- Bibler. A visit to the mountaineering store yielded a selection of Bibler tents and the two man Fitzroy looked the most appropriate for my needs. Weighing 6lb 6oz for the body and poles the vestibule and a handful of aluminum stakes brings it to just under 8 pounds. Very doable for two hunters to split between them Striking a deep discount on an off season deal, I brought my new mobile home back to the cave.

The tent is made of a single layer of "Todd Tex" and follows the current trend of "waterproof and breathable" fabrics. Frankly, I'm deeply suspicious of such claims and if I weren't looking for the lightest bomb shelter I could find I'd have never thought twice about one. The solemn endorsement of a number of experienced mountain hunters counted for a lot as well. The tent is rated for wind speeds that border on ludicrous and snowfalls of 24" at 32F- that's a heavy wet snow that would crush most any tent. I don't think it will be any better in summer than any of dozens of other tents and due to condensation issues inherent with single wall design may even be worse- but all indications are when the weather gets crazy, this is the bunker to be in.

After bringing it home I managed to carve out an evening on the weekend to throw the tent on the pulk and pull it a few miles with some other camp gear for a trial run during winter conditions. Impressive is all I can say. The fabric is textured and taut as a snare drum when pitched. I'm betting that properly staked and guyed out this thing won't even rattle in a stout wind, much less come apart.

The fit is better than some two man mountaineering tents I looked at. Most seemed to accommodate two hunters only if they're willing to spoon and forget about keeping any gear with you. This one will take two hunters without undue familiarity but the gear will have to go into the vestibule.

Here it is prior to staking and bunkering with snow near the summit of Bart Mountain.

Cold Hard Cash...Cold Hard Reality.

I got a comment from a reader the other day and while the correspondence is something I so dearly enjoy; this reader took me to task over an apparent connundrum in my personal philosophy regarding finance and outdoor gear. I have made multiple statements on my blog over the past couple of years regarding what I refer to as "my innate thriftiness" or in other words being cheap. I also haven't done much in the way of gear reviews but those that I've done featured items that my reader thought a guy with "innate thriftiness" wouldn't own. Or at least have paid for. While I see his point that a guy that doesn't like spending money probably wouldn't spend $3000 on a single rifle, I believe he's failed to read between the lines on most of my posts to see a couple of (at least to me) very plain things I believe regarding spending one's hard earned cash on outdoor gear.

So I thought I'd write an actual post about it with the disclaimer that this is my opinion only. I'm not your investment counselor for goodness sake, I'm a blogger that lives just this side of Timbuktoo.

So here are four of my thoughts on buying outdoor gear.

1. You can buy quality once, or you can buy crap... a lot of it.

The best advice for outdoorsfolks that I have is to have a very good, very high quality, very basic set of gear. You don't need a mountain of stuff to have fun and be successful in the outdoors. I have friends that have garages that look like the innards of a Bass Pro Shop...and they haven't seen a critter in the field in a long, long time.

That said, the equipment you do buy- go ahead and buy some really decent stuff. One thing I painfully learned is that cheap gear tends to leave you in the lurch when it hurts the worst. Some of the things that you shouldn't skimp on are items related to your survival- tents, sleeping bags, rain gear, stuff that keeps you from developing hypothermia is a really good place to spend money.

As a word of advice- top shelf gear is expensive and generally a slow mover. In the cut-throat world of retail that means slow movers are frequently on sale. My "excessive" rifle was purchased new-in-the-box from the gun shop at something like 50% off MSRP, a staggering number when you consider the MSRP is $3300. It takes the profit off a lot of small sales to make up that kind of loss for a store. Its also a lot of money sitting in inventory if its not moving. Also, time your purchases to coincide with that equipments off season- ie. skis in spring and tents in winter for a better shot at deep discount.

When you're buying the good stuff...never, ever, ever pay retail.

2. 99% of everything in the sporting goods mega mall or mail order clearance house you DO NOT NEED in order to be successful in the field.

Really folks- you don't need a two stroke margarita mixer... you may want one but don't confuse that with need. My biggest beef with the outdoors industry is that they are constantly parading trinkets that have no genuine usefullness other than what they have developed for you, answering questions that you never asked.
I really wish they'd spend their time doing something more useful- like making rain gear that doesn't leak.

3. If you're paying interest on your gear you ought to be hunting more money, not critters.

Nothing stimeys a good time like having the bills follow you home from a great hunting adventure. Given what the average U.S. household pays in credit card interest you can buy a really nice rifle every so often if you were to pay in cash and use that interest money at the hook and bullet store instead of sending it to some huge finance empire. You might try the time proven "Borrow and Barter" method for gear you don't have and really can't afford at the moment- I once got the use of a brand new ATV for a weekend this way. If you use this method, do be a good sport and return your borrowed item in excellent condition. I returned the ATV spotlessly clean, full of gas, and with a fresh caribou quarter given in appreciation to boot. I'll be welcomed if I ever have need to borrow it again.

Online internet forums with other hunters are a great place to swap items you no longer need for things you currently want. Buyer beware but some good old fashoined gear swappin' can really help stretch a hunter's budget. In this tough economy I'm regularly seeing folks bartering and trading goods on the internet forum I frequent and generally its a win-win for all parties involved.

4. With the BIG stuff its usually cheaper to rent.

A coworker of mine was a real halibut angler and was incensed when the price of a full day halibut charter went north of $100 (those were the days!) and decided to beat all the rip off charter companies at their own game.

Signing on the dotted line yielded him the payment book on a 25' Bayliner ($40000) and trailer. What he didn't realize is that new sea going boats are best thought of as a "blank canvas" rather than "finished art" and another $20,000 later he actually had boat he could put in the water and possibly fish from. On his maiden voyage he also ran into another snag- his 1/2 ton pickup gave up pulling a 3/4 ton boat just about the top of Moose Pass leaving much of its transmission behind. A new and appropriately sized 3/4 ton truck ($35,000) fixed that ill.

So my acquaintance was then perilously close to $100,000 in debt for a natty new fishing boat and truck to pull it with. He figures he's paying about $4000 a day to go fishing now and last I talked to him he's working so much overtime to try to keep up with the payment he doesn't have so much time to fish....

So remember this acronym when it comes to boats...

Break
Out
Another
Thousand

That daily rate might just be a bargain.

Chuitna Mine...time to write a letter to the Governor.

Click Here!