Ski Day- on Thick Ice.

During our recent bout of warmish weather, the family decided that they'd had enough of the indoors. We took the whole gang out for a ski on a large, local lake. The windblown surface of the lake provided an ideal surface for a recreational ski- flat, hard, obstruction less...perfect.

Given that so many of our family live in locales where the local bodies of water don't freeze solid  for months on end, we get many questions about the safety of the ice thickness.

Well.

Given that the average temperature has been below 0F for months at this point the ice is pretty thick. A quick check with a local ice fisherman showed it was only about 5 feet thick.

How strong is 5' of lake ice? In tests a few years back- enough to land a loaded 747 on. The skiing family should present no issues...

What about those cracks? The savvy winter traveller would look at this photo and be well comfortable with these deep fractures. As the ice thickens and temperature variations cause expansion and contraction these long cracks form in the ice. Bottom line- only substantially thick ice, formed over months will have enough rigidity to form these cracks.

Early season ice would be clear as a lens...and about as fragile. The seasoned winter traveller would avoid it at all cost.

Chinook!

      Sorry for the dearth of posting lately- winter is in full force here and I've been quite busy with work projects, taking a couple of classes and teaching a couple of classes as well. Winter has been a little easier without hours of idle time to contemplate on things but my blogging has suffered.

       About a week ago, a relentless high pressure system moved into the Interior region and the millibar chart went off the charts. One thing happens here during such high pressures- the atmosphere thins and all the latent heat radiates directly into outer space. On those cold nights, a well dressed North dweller can go outside and stare heavenward and seemingly look all the way into Creation. Most folks who live in the Lower 48- places with pollution, light wash, and mere thick atmosphere have no idea what kind of view can be had over their heads when the contents of the atmosphere peel back.

       The downside of this startling and miraculous view is cold....bone chilling, dangerous, life threatening cold. During this particular episode, the official temperature for my small town hit -50F and many folks in the low lying river bottoms hit -60F. At those temperatures, exposed flesh freezes in seconds and machinery often just fails for little apparent reason. Travel is not recommended and survival gear is a must when one does. The other upside is such cold primes the body's mechanisms and after a stint at -40F or below; temperatures of 0F feel downright balmy.

        The extreme high pressure system also did something else- as it moved off to the east and our Canadian friends it left a vacuum that the next low pressure system rushed to fill. Those low pressure systems carry lots of moisture from the Gulf of Alaska and warmer air masses from the Pacific. In coastal Alaska, those systems dump mountains of snow when they contact  the coastal mountains with the cold Arctic air masses spilling over; but when they build enough force to cross into the Interior regions they create what is known as a Chinook.

      The Chinooks here pack unbelievably warm temperatures and gale force winds and its not unusual for these winds to hit, raise temperatures dramatically and then vanish as quickly as they came. The chart below shows just how quickly it happens- on January 28 and 29 the temperature was -50F (often -60F in low spots) and by the evening of February 2nd the winds were in excess of 60mph and the weather had warmed to 40F! 100 degrees Fahrenheit delta in 100 hours. In the early morning hours of the 3rd the winds vanish and the temperatures plummet to below 0 again. Returning the North to its frozen state.

       The brief respite was welcome from such a cold January and it was nice to go outside in a light shirt and not feel immediate pain and worry about losing appendages. Just a couple more months until winter's grip is broken we return to warmer weather and more adventures.

Chart sourced from Weather Underground

Tactics... Travel Light and Fast

I was reading one of Steve Rinnela's Meateater posts the other day where he was talking about the method he used to harvest a great Coues Deer in Arizona and he introduced me to a new term for an old method of hunting. I've not seen the show (hard to do without cable or satellite) but I'm well acquainted with the method. The term he learned and used was "cold camp" although I've heard "spike camp", "coyote camp" and the technique called "search and destroy", "dash and crash" and a couple others but none seems universally used. I guess its more of a loose philosophy than a well defined technique.

Some honesty here- I work for a living and while I dream of 10 day wilderness trips, Super Cub drops and descending some long unknown drainage in expedition rafts; the overwhelming majority of my hunts are much shorter affairs conducted much closer to home. The tactic I normally use isn't the one most of us think so much about; hiking or moving in a heavy base camp and then journeying from there into more remote areas looking for game. It works and you read about it in most of the journals and hear stories about the epic trips- but among locals it isn't very common. For one, it takes a lot of planning and quite a lot of resources (read: money) and not an inconsiderable amount of time. For the working man, its hard to pull off consistently.

I like to travel light, taking a minimum of equipment and move quickly into an area likely to contain animals and try to maximize my hunting time at the expense of comfort. If I only have a weekend to hunt, I'm not going to waste a day moving in 50, 60 or more pounds of equipment. I'd spend the entire hunt ferrying it in and out. Instead, I'll take enough equipment for a rough overnighter. Maybe a bivy, or poncho and move quickly into position to glass and spend all of the time I've got hunting, glassing and then moving quietly up a drainage looking to score on an animal. If I have to spend a night out it will not be comfortable and the lack of equipment leaves me at the mercy of the elements which could lead to a cancelled hunt should weather deteriorate. As a local hunter, I take great solace in getting weathered out means I just get to go back out the next weekend.

What about night? During our early season in the high Arctic, the hunting occurs in August- long hours of daylight and only brief periods of darkness too dark to hunt. At most we have just three or fours hours of gloomy dark huddled up trying to get some sleep knowing that if the next day turns warm you can sleep in the afternoon's warm sun when the animals are all bedded in the high country not stirring. I've heard from many hunters who hunt hard from breakfast (8:00a) until supper (6:00p) and never see any animals- they've missed the two most important times. The early dawn movements occur between 4:00 and 5:00a that time of year and the evening period often as late as 10:00 or 11:00p- the hunter keeping banker's hours will be ignoring the most important times of the day. For the chilled and sleep deprived hunter, those long hours of warm sun and minimal movement are great times to make a little food and curl up in the sun for a nap.

When practicing this tactic it pays to be in "hunt mode" all the time- minimal talking, minimal fires and movements along protected routes. I believe too many hunters today don't realize the signature they make on the environment and just how far scent or noise carries. I don't believe animals are as scent adverse or even noise adverse as we make them out; but a group of people moving loudly and haphazardly across the environment will affect their movements. The thinking hunter should be minimizing their signature on the environment by maintaining silence and above all else- moving slowly and methodically looking all the while. Thinking like a predator moving in stealth mode could be the difference between scoring and going home with an empty pack.

Merry Christmas...

The presents are open, the dessert enjoyed, the roast beast sliced and served.

Friends came and went and back again with gifts and fellowship and tidings of joy.

Phone calls and messages to and from distant family- goodwill over long distance.

Dishes done and put away, wrapping papers picked up, little boy tucked into his bed.

Now just enjoying some quiet time.

Peace on earth....peace in me.

Merry Christmas.

Georgia Pellegrini- Girl Hunter

I was contacted a few months ago and asked if I'd be willing to review a new book titled "Girl Hunter:Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time"...

How could I pass that up?

So I told the publishing agent that I'd be glad to review the advance copy of the book. I've got to say that I enjoyed the book quite a bit...kind of a mix between Steve Rinella's American Buffalo meets Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma.

I really didn't know what to expect since I haven't read any of Georgia's previous work. I know quite a few chefs and more that a few female hunters so I really didn't know what to expect when all this would be mixed into a bowl and served up.

The resulting dish was really quite good and the book centered around a series of hunting adventures about the country on which she endeavors to kill game and then cook that game into meals. The recipes sound excellent, if a bit complicated for my rural taste which runs more to Neanderthal than Tres Cheval. I have a nice batch of grouse and ptarmigan in the freezer that practically begs to be used in a special meal using one of the recipes from the book. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.

Perhaps more interestingly to me are the other characters in the book- ranging from Berkley liberals relo'd to Montana, to a driven shoot on an English estate, to hunting with the wealthy and politically connected good ole boys of Arkansas. Each hunt was something quite unique and entertaining with the exception of the creepy and unsuccessful elk hunt that centered on her interaction with a free range beef rancher and apparrent attempts at wooing Ms. Pellegrini via poaching. Without a doubt- Ms. Pellegrini runs in better heeled circles than I.

But I've got to be a bit truthful...I enjoyed the book on its own merit but the embedded video trailer portrays a huntress with a different voice, attitude and approach (as much as I can tell from a 1 minute video anyway) than the one I read and admired in the book. Where will it all go? I can only assume with a video trailer a television pilot probably is already on the reel. Since my exposure to television is limited I can only hope the thoughtful hunteress doesn't go from a Pollan meets Rinella writer to a Nugent meets Rachel Ray television personality.

Time will tell, but the book is certainly a worthy read.

Go read this...Hank Shaw on killing for food.

I've longed wanted to write a piece on the emotional aspect of hunting and killing for food; but the effort usually results in something I'm not happy with. I'm frequently asked how can I stand to kill, or field dress an animal. I'm usually articulate enough in person to have a coherent conversation about it without sounding like a defensive hillbilly but my efforts in prose fail me in that regard.

In the meantime, meander on over and read this wonderful piece by Hank Shaw at Hunter Angler Gardner Cook.

Post Hunting Season Gear Review

As promised to several readers who've contacted me regarding the performance of some of the new gear I acquired this year...

Not a detailed "gear review" per se but rather a collection of impressions I've developed using some of this stuff in the field over the last year. I generally don't like to develop strong opinions about an item until it has stood the test of several seasons. So with that caveat out of the way- bear in mind that long term durability is something of an unknown for several of these items.

Bibler Fitzroy Tent- quite expensive at full retail but generally obtainable for much less, this is now my standard for mountaineering tents. I didn't have any condensation issues over the summer and it survived a 60mph blow and torrential rain on my sheep hunt with barely a rattle and nary a leak. My only criticism is that the vestibule design seems like an afterthought but its a bad weather bunker worthy of its asking price. Kind of heavy by today's ethereal standards, its also durable and worth it's moderate weight. Two thumbs up!

Western Mountaineering Badger Sleeping Bag- also expensive at full retail and quite hard to find for less. Extremely warm and roomy for it's remarkably light weight. Despite the disadvantages of down when encountering water, I've become something of a down bag convert. It packs down unbelievably small, which is one of the main disadvantages of a synthetic. It is also good right down to the rated temperature, which is something of a rarity in sleeping bag manufacture these days. As long as you're up to the minor task of keeping it dry, two thumbs up!

Kuiu Icon 6000 Pack-  I was attracted to many pieces of the Kuiu line during their introduction and this was what I hoped to be the "crown jewel" of their product line. A serious hunting pack that didn't start off weighing 10 lbs empty but could carry remarkable loads. The carbon fiber frame had my mouth watering and the feathery weight sealed the deal. After a couple of encouraging day trips I slogged it into the mountains with a true week's load...and that's when the fun stopped. The frame pivot squeaks despite frequent lubrication and the straps slip and release under load. On our pack out in the rain I resorted to tying the "tail" of the straps in a knot as I could actually watch them slide while I hiked. A call to the company has not resulted in customer satisfaction with a couple interim fixes and an as yet undelivered promise of new straps. Company reps say this issue didn't show up during internal beta testing but every one with one of these I've talked to had the issue within a few hours of donning any respectable load. I still have hope because I want to, but at this writing- two thumbs down.

Kuiu Attack Pants- as disappointing as the pack was, the pants are equally as excellent. I've used and abused my pair for months and they are still going strong into cross country ski season. Water resistant, quick drying, comfortable as pajamas for a really reasonable price these are likely my favorite piece of new gear. Its quite likely Kuiu ought to stick to clothes given how good these are and how hard they are to obtain- the company is perpetually back ordered on these. Two thumbs way, way up!

Kuiu Chugach Rain Gear- named after the Chugach Range in Alaska, which is also the farthest northern temperate rain forest appropriately enough these worked pretty well. Fairly light and packable, they kept me pretty dry in some real torrential rains. Deeply skeptical of any rain gear advertised as breathable, they do live up to their claims. I also don't think they're worth the considerable asking price despite being in line with competing products. I had one of the cuff tabs delaminate on the first wash. The jury is still out on how long they'll retain their water proof integrity. A thumb down (value for money) and one thumb up (performance) at this writing.

Lowa Tibet GTX Boots- I picked these up on deep discount at a specialty hunting retailer in Fairbanks last year and the price was still heart stopping. That said, I'd buy another pair at full retail tomorrow if I needed them. It took a hundred miles to even break these in and the boots have unreal amounts of support and torsional rigidity only rivaled by rigid plastic mountaineering boots (which I find miserable for hunting). They are incredibly comfortable and have held up to a full year of wear in every conceivable condition from steep talus slopes to slogging through bogs. A pair of boots this good is very hard for me to find. Two thumbs way UP!

Nosler 48 Rifle- I've written about this rifle a couple years ago and the more I use it the better I like it. I had a safety fail this year just a month prior to my hunt and the Nosler folks got to flex their customer service muscles. They sent me a UPS label and I put the rifle on the truck with little hope of seeing in time for my hunt. Just 8 days later it was delivered back to my home with a new trigger, safety and a note that wished me luck. Their customer service was simply superb and they've offered me a refinish on the stock if I send it in for a recoat of the barreled action. It didn't hold up to their expectations (although it held up to mine) and they've offered to refinish it- given the beating I've given it I'm surprised the finish has held up at all. On the practical side, I've now shot several critters with the rifle and everything has pretty much died in its tracks. Serious riflemen need to look at this rifle with significant consideration and acquiring one is well worth gutting your collection of lesser pieces if you value field performance. Two thumbs up.

Wyoming Saw and Knife- field dressing tools that were a gift from my wife. Affordable, simple and effective- what more could you want? The saw is handy and sized for backpacking with wood and bone blades included and the knife, despite its unusual design, is likely the best skinner I've ever used for big game. My sole criticism is that the sheath is camouflage...which seems silly given its purpose. Nevertheless....two thumbs up!

Black Diamond Trekking Poles- fairly light and compact as well as expensive. One folded up and collapsed on me while descending a dangerous slope; at least contributing to a nasty fall and painful injury. They may be fine for effeminate Euro hikers but manly hunting men bearing manly hunting loads need to look elsewhere in my opinion. Two thumbs way down...

Minus 33 Merino Wool- the intermediate layer is excellent, warm, stink free and much recommended. The lightweight T-shirt, while warm and stink free, is much to fragile to wear as an outer layer. Both of mine developed numerous holes and loose seams. One thumb up and one thumb down.

I've bought other pieces of gear but either I've not used them enough to get a good feel for it or it was something so unremarkable it doesn't warrant writing about. So despite the claims of every manufacturer the age old adage of caveat emptor is still much in force.