Just back from five days backpack hunting with a son and grandson in WA State, hybrid blacktail/mule deer in the North Cascades up by the Canadian Border. I went along to keep camp, boil water, etc. No deer. This hunt was the worst I've ever been on in the ratio of return for effort expended.
When they applied for this late permit hunt, we expected snow to the bottom of the canyon (1500 feet elevation) and deer down near the highway for great hunting on the winter grounds. The deer move down as the snow deepens at higher elevation.
I went in a day early to scout and set up a shelter. No snow up to 5000 feet and above that was hidden in wind whipped fog. Raining lightly after a heavy rain. Forecast was for moderate snow the next day then clear and colder each day for the coming week. I glassed all morning then hiked in 3 miles and bivvied right on the trail on the only flat spot long enough for my bod that I could find. After two miles of fairly level going, it is relentlessly steep for 5.5 miles of non-stop switchbacks. It started snowing at dawn. Son and grandson caught up with me about 1:00 PM up in 3 inches of snow, and we camped four miles up the switchbacks (six miles from vehicles) on a little gently sloped spot we found several years ago 50 yards off the trail in timber, at 4800 feet. A foot of snow fell that night and it kept snowing.
Son and grandson hunted all day, another mile and a half up the trail to where snow was thigh deep, down and back across the south face through a series of meadows that have been superb in years past. They found two deer tracks in an exhausting day. Higher up there was a foot of fresh snow on top of a crusted old snow that held their weight about half of their steps and broke through to posthole the other half. I improved out tarp shelter, gathered firewood and had a good campfire and hot water ready for drinks and quick hot stuff when they came in in deep dusk. Snow was solid all the way down, covering the bottom of the canyon where our vehicles were parked.
The next morning they did a short hunt to check for tracks within half a mile (none) and then we broke camp and hiked to the bottom assuming the snow had driven the deer down. As we left, snow was thigh deep in the open by our camp. It continued to snow, but turned to rain about halfway down the mountain and became an awful tree rain of melting snow and chunks of ice falling, plus the rain itself. They went ahead, stashed their packs and hunted till nearly dark. I moved their packs to a good camp spot and started prep for supper. We met before dark and they had found not a single deer track nor trace of deer. We used the last trace of fading light to hike two miles to our vehicles and camped there. It rained medium hard all night and all the next day. Snow melted back up above 4500 feet.
At dawn in the steady rain my son sprint hiked clear up into knee deep snow, straight up the mountain without trails, while grandson and I climbed and called the steep lower slopes and into some excellent huntable open forest and one bench I knew about. We I found not single trace of deer sign. Son tracked one buck downhill till out of the snow and could not track it, and jumped one deer from its bed at the snow line without seeing it.
We were wet to the skin by dark, as we had been each day, and after a quick hot drink and Top Rammen cooked on the tailgate under a tarp in the hard steady rain, we bailed and drove home. Way down the valley snow was several inches deep down near 1000 feet elevation. Weird. Almost hit two elk in the middle of the road.
That area is poor deer hunting with almost no road and little foot trail access, few hunters in the regular season and almost zero success, but we know a few pockets that have been very good for big bucks in October. Weather makes this late Fall Russian roulette, however.
You and the kids lasted WAY longer than I would have. Just reading your recap made my knees hurt and I am just sitting here reading.
Thanks for taking me along on your hunt and sorry that you didn't have more success.
Jerry
Now it is time for me to go take a warm shower to get rid of the wet chill that I also have.
You guys are WAY more dedicated than I am. :bowingsmilie: :bowingsmilie: Too bad there were no deer taken, but what memories with the family. :biggrin: :biggrin: I'll bet they were happy knowing you were back at camp with something warm prepared for them when they returned.
Pat
Quote from: coyote101 on November 20, 2013, 09:22:45 AM
I'll bet they were happy knowing you were back at camp with something warm prepared for them when they returned.
I was thinking the same. You come back cold and wet and have hot drinks and a hot meal waiting!
That's one tough hunt! One that you, your son and grandson will always remember.
A "few" years back I would have been right there with them. Now I'm not even at camp waiting for their return, I'm home on the couch watching football.
Great write-up, glad I wasn't there!
Getting damp (wet) in cold weather makes for a miserable day. You guys put in the effort but the hunting gods were fickle that trip. There's always next time though.
Thanks for taking us along on your hunt.
Fickle. That's the right word. If we'd known of course we would not have made the trip. We were over confident, expecting easy deer in the rut on gentle benches along a good trail, within a mile or two of a road at about the same level.
That first afternoon as I toiled up those lower switchback my mind was saying, "Hold it. The deer were supposed to come down to us rather than have us climb up to them."
A few pics, and I did not take many due to moisture starting to mess up my camera.
Six switchbacks downhill from the vehicles the trail crosses a creek on a superb footbridge and starts up the mountain we hunted. Taken the first few minutes as I hiked in during a brief sun break.
(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s199/lokanagan/waterfalls%20mtns%20rivers/IMG_6660_zpscac8b524.jpg) (http://s152.photobucket.com/user/lokanagan/media/waterfalls%20mtns%20rivers/IMG_6660_zpscac8b524.jpg.html)
We spent two nights in the cozy home below. We travel light because we expect to be packing heavy meat on the return, plus camp gear, so keep the camp gear minimal. Flat tarps are the most versatile to fit any spot, and are light weight. The ground slopes at about the same angle as the ridge line. Two tarps shingled plus a cut open garbage bag over the open end nearest the camera. Prevailing wind is toward the camera so I put the edge of the tarp on that side all the way to the ground, with a steep angle up to the ridge line and a wider slope left open on the side toward the camera. Snow piling up soon filled in the side walls!
(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s199/lokanagan/waterfalls%20mtns%20rivers/IMG_6668_zps378f66ba.jpg) (http://s152.photobucket.com/user/lokanagan/media/waterfalls%20mtns%20rivers/IMG_6668_zps378f66ba.jpg.html)
Someone forgot to put a garbage bag over his rifle, but the dry cold snow brushes off. We check to make sure the firing pin will fall, and one morning had to dry fire three times to break the ice inside the bolt enough for a sure strike of the pin. Note the big balloon on the muzzle. That is to keep snow out of the muzzle. It was flat when put on at in the bottom of the canyon, and altitude has puffed out the balloon from the higher pressure sealed inside.
(http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s199/lokanagan/waterfalls%20mtns%20rivers/IMG_6670_zps73439617.jpg) (http://s152.photobucket.com/user/lokanagan/media/waterfalls%20mtns%20rivers/IMG_6670_zps73439617.jpg.html)
Okanagan, you guys are tough stuff, for sure. I am happy you got home safe. Sounds like you have developed some solid hunting buddies there. :congrats: :congrats:
Thanks for the kind words re my public debriefing therapy! My son is tough and the terrain and weather are tough, but it about did me in! We jumped in and then had to be tough enough to get back out again, but it is more descriptive than trying to sound tough, and in some ways more risky and dumb than tough. Grandson R lead the way down off of the mountain on our last day, and got us on to a knife edge ridge crumbling away about 100 feet down on each side. We edged across the 10 foot bad spot, hating to go back up, and I told him not to tell his grandmother (my wife) about the steep places he had taken me! :innocentwhistle:
Fun time with family, destined to be an epic of bad trip stories. We have never seen another hunter on the upper end of that country, and only two that I recall down at the bottom. We've never seen even a track once the snow comes on. We've taken nine bucks off of there if memory is right, and six of them have been wall hangers. When that place is on, it is awesome with rutting bucks trotting around in steep little slide meadows checking out frisky does in the snow. For the first time ever, we hit it when it was totally off!
That is roughing it for sure! Glad you got down safe. Better luck next time!
Having lived in Texas now for a over a couple decades, my blood is pretty thin. So I would have packed up and headed for my warm dry home after the first night of snow! Damn, you guys had to be cold under the tarps!
Okanagan,
I used to do some backpacking and am curious about your camping equipment. What type of stove, sleeping bag and sleeping pads do you guys use?
Pat
Yeah the sleeping in the snow and the crumbling heights would been more then enough to put me over the edge.
I can see why you never run into anyone up there. lol
No meat but it sounds like you'll remember the experience. :wink:
Quote from: coyote101 on November 22, 2013, 01:00:19 PM
Okanagan,
I used to do some backpacking and am curious about your camping equipment. What type of stove, sleeping bag and sleeping pads do you guys use?
Pat
Pat, Sorry to be so slow in replying. Just noticed your question. I've been gone most of the time since the backpack hunt, a lot of it on a whitetail hunt with Code.
My stove for that trip was an MSR Pocket Rocket. http://www.rei.com/product/660163/msr-pocket-rocket-backpacking-stove
We would place the stove, a Titanium cook pot, cups etc. within reach and fix hot drinks and hot oatmeal in the morning before we got out of our sleeping bags.
All three of us had Slumberjack Everest Elite synthetic mummy bags. We avoid down and never wear anything made of cotton in that wet country. Slumberjack doesn't have much rep as serious gear but it has worked well for us, and my son and I have slept in each of ours on a previous hunt up there when the bag was wet through and also when the wetness froze in the bag. I have proved that synthetics will still insulate and give considerable warmth when wet. :wo:
Each night my grandson and I put one tear open hand warmer just above the ankle inside of one leg, between sock and long johns, which held it in place. Without it, my old bag was not quite warm enough. We all slept warm and well. If you have a good bag and insulation from the ground, wind protection is the big factor in staying warm, and obviously protection from moisture and snow. We tend to burrow into wind protected spots, especially when solo. It does not show in the photo but there is a tree leaning over the upper half of the tarp with spread limbs keeping a lot of snow off the shelter. Snow was twice as deep in the open meadow nearby as it was at our shelter under the trees.
For pads we each had a low cost closed cell foam pad of 1/2 or 5/8 inch thick, made of the very light weight (usually pastel colored) foam that will take a fingerprint and feels like new doe skin. My pad was 3/4 length, theirs full length. Using the 3/4 length in such cold you have to put something like gaiters or an empty day pack under the bag on the lower section where the pad ends and there is no insulation from cold ground. I have used several versions of Thermarest and gone back to simple puncture irrelevant foam. If close to a vehicle I add a comfort layer of two inch regular open cell foam! :wink: In such conditions, the primary purpose of the pad is insulation from frozen ground.
Thanks Okanagan,
Although I have spent a few nights out in sub freezing temps, I have not done any serious winter camping in heavy snow.
I hear what you said about the cotton. No cotton or cotton blends in any of my hunting or camping clothing. Once it gets wet, it's wet and clammy for the duration. :sad3: Everything is synthetic, wool, or a blend. I have a very nice down filled Marmot sleeping bag that I've never used because my camping is mostly now done in canoe country where the chance of getting wet is very real. Wet down is not very warm. :rolleye:
Do you have any problems with your stove in the cold weather? Do you have to warm the canister before use, or does one of you keep it in your sleeping bag over night? Are you using butane, isobutene or some fuel mixture?
Pat
Pat,
We use Isobutane cans from MSR (REI) and Coleman cans that say "Butane/Propane" and I can't tell the difference. They are probably the same mix and we buy whatever is handy.
We've never had trouble with several versions of the butane/propane mix stoves. However, I've never used the stoves above 7,000 feet elevation, and never used them colder than about 0 F (as far as I know). Pure Butane fades out much more in colder temps/elevation and I have read that it will not burn at all above 14K feet. Several years ago with another stove I had to put the pure Butane fuel can and stove close to a campfire or hold it with my hands to get it to burn strongly on a cold morning at 6500 feet. That one had a flexible hose so I could hold the fuel can without disturbing the stove.
Butane lighters as fire starters are another matter. We have to keep them inside near body heat to get them to work enough to start a fire. That's why I've gone to ferrocerium rods/flint and steel (Swedish Light My Fire 2.0 is the trendiest at the moment).