Weekend outing

[spoolup]

EDIT.... Im limited to 10 pics, so I changed everything to links. The photos are worth clicking on.

A friend and co-worker was going up near Whitney Reservoir for the Elk Hunt this year, he always takes off about a week or so before the hunt to just hang out and relax in the outdoors, and do a few last minutes preps… setting up camp, checking and moving cameras etc. I figured this would be a good time to test a few cold weather goods so I offered my service and company and took off of work Thursday during lunch thru the weekend to hang out while the rest of his party shows up…. This turns out to be one of his bad trips. First he nearly had a run in with a retard trying to get up the canyon and around a semi that would have delayed this guy about ohh lets say, 30 seconds… instead he dam near takes out my friend hauling a trailer and his family… After the near accident, he made it a point to not even attempt to pass anyone… Including my friend again. Then just at the summit, some passers wave at him and point backwards… great he thinks, whats wrong… he almost dies when he seen it.. The 2 propane tanks on his trailer somehow loosened up, so be it him and his father checking just before pulling out, and were dragging under the trailer… atleast they did not rupture…

He gets to camp and set up, when in 4 days I will meet be meeting him. The first 2 days he is there he is in shorts, day 3 he is awaken by the sound of a downpour, which turns to hail then to snow, about 5 inches fell. He leaves camp and heads up Evanston to get more supplies and to call us and say, weather is bad its freezing and a decent amount of snow fell incase I wish not to come. Told him I will leave for there in about a few hours. Off I go. In Kamas I swing by Dicks Burger bar for one of their tasty Bacon Cheeseburger combos… GOOD EATS if you know what I mean… if ever in the area, swing by, you will be happy you did. Anyways up the canyon I go. A few miles go by and I see a great photo op, pull over and take this.
http://home.comcast.net/~utspoolup/elkhunt09/1.JPG

But then it hits me, why are there cows out here… oh yeah forgot, open grazing… about 2 miles up the road I get stopped by a herd of cattle.
http://home.comcast.net/~utspoolup/elkhunt09/2.JPG

As I continue up the road I intermittently pull over for some shots…. and took 1 while driving since the deer booked it just after I got this one. I also took a little stroll around Moosehorn Lake and took a decent photo of Bald Mountain as well.

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After reaching the road to camp I start the off road, since never being at this camp, and using google earth as a topo map with him to figure out where to go… which was a mistake… he was off about 1 mile. I ended up walking all over the dam place with my pack trying to find his camp… got a few pictures of a herd of deer, this one has 4 deer in alone.
http://home.comcast.net/~utspoolup/elkhunt09/6.JPG

Finally found his camp and started setting up. First had to doff the pack and set up a tarp due to the moisture on the ground… I NEED to buy a waterproof compression sack for my sleeping bag to eliminate this step of opening the pack and tearing out a tarp… or just camp in good weather…. as if one is that lucky all the time. I was able to use my trusty Vec Hawk to pound the stakes (and later break ice to pump water… not as much fun as it sounds), the hawk is better than a rock for a hammer, a decent wood chopper, and a weapon if needed… so be it I fell in love with my new Sven Saw for cutting wood down to size, this thing is a beaver on crack, and breaks down nice….

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The Eureka Alpenlite is a good little tent that I am glad I packed. It took a little snow, a decent amount of wind and was just the perfect size for me and my gear, and still packable, there are stories of people in 50-75 MPHs in this tent just fine. After taking these shots I was able to tighten the fly up a little more… didn’t remember the camera however… sorry. I lived pretty much out of the Kifaru EMR during this trip minus the camp chair that met me up there. If you have never carried a Kifaru pack I recommend atleast trying it if not converting like so many others. I have a 0* wiggys bag on a Exped downmat 9 deluxe pad… one of my best purchases for sleepgear… they earned their keep. Also have a Woobie in there in case it gets cold… which it did, sitting and waiting for the animals to NOT show up.... spoiler I know.

First night we call it quits around 9:30PM and the temps are already below 10F… great… lets see how I do… I slept pretty dam well. I had a set of Smartwool midweight base layers on and a TAD gear wool watchcap. Waking up in the morning however was a DIFFERENT story… EVERYTHING turned to ice. The snow, water, lakes, clothing… the only liquid I had was the nalgeen in the bag with me, the other as well as the dromedary froze. My friend in this trailer also had issues. The water pipes froze (but did not crack) and his rear window had around 1” of ice on it… even with the heater running. We get setup and off we go on the quads to retrieve cameras and move if he felt like it… The new snow and cold temps made for some GREAT photos…

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While setting up one of the cameras we had a run in with a monster Bullwinkle, during this little ordeal, it made me realize how small my 45 is and that I need to get a 44mag for Christmas… anyone care to donate? I was within 30 feet of him at one point, not smart I know. I could have been the hat in a Mexican hat dancing contest with the moose coming out on top.
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Here are some shots I took while bored tromping thru the woods, the first few are from the great scenery of 10,160ft up some un-named hill just north of Gold Mountain. The last 2 are just some random shots I took.
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Overall great trip, had fun, a little chilly, but with propper attire, it was easily bearable. When tearing down the storm that was here this morning was there dumping snow... no camera, I just wanted to get down safely.

A few things I learned.
-Sven saw is GREAT, lightweight, and able to chew up wood… only wish it was 2 inches shorter to fit the long pocket on the side of my pack, instead it has to ride in the main compartment with the tent, bag and pad… I atleasted used the leather gloves to pad the ends so it does not damage other equipment..
-Vec tomahawk, good hammer, good chopper, great weapon if needed… ill reach for a modern firearm any day of the week however, good at breaking ice… no damage other than some paint on the head coming off… who cares, it’s a tool.
-Making coffee still sucks. Bought a GSI coffee deal…. works…. but still makes a mess and coffee is already cooling as it is being made… yet I also hate instant… need to figure this out.
-Freezing water sucks! Melting snow does not yield crap for water, takes fuel or fire, and is just an inconvience. Making a meal from an ice cube also sucks…
-RAT RC6 is my new go to… I never understood mounting the original OLD sheath design, chestnut ridge knife shop fixed that right up. Its great for everything from simple camp chores to batoning and is bullet proof… it’s a rat go figure
-UCO Candle lantern helps take out some of the cold from the tent, provides adequate light, is pretty lightweight. Still used the glotoob lithium the most
-Tritium night sights… almost all my handguns have them, great for what they are for, but in a dark tent when you roll over and see a yellow and 2 green dots you wonder about it until you figure it out.
-Speaking of guns… I need a 44mag. Thinking of a S&W 4”
-Exped 9 deluxe…. makes an ice sheet feel more like a cheap mattress… well worth the cost, need to pick up more for the family.. so be it the cheaper 7s, not like they will be in the ice with me.
-Camelbak filter adapters, nice to pump water directly from filter to bladder, makes hose shorter and the last few inches un-bendable.
-Smartwool from toes to shoulder is great (still had wool so be it TAD gear braincase and gaiter for the head)
-Eureka Alpenlite, good tent for the money, did not get to see a lot of snow bury it however, maybe next time.
-Vasque boots good to go… I walked thru snow, ice, water, mud, and never got wet or really even cold. Im set on em. I own Clarions, since the Breeze had plastic clips ad with my luck and Mr Murphys help I knew one would great at the most unlikeliest time.
-Freezer bag cooking does not work at all below 40. Need to cook in the pot If you want a warm meal.
-MRE heaters do not work well below 30*. I had to boil water and drop the bag in to finish warming them…. Suck ass again.
-I need a small fold up or blow up seat like Thermarest makes. I just used a poncho to prevent getting wet waiting on Bambi’s dad.
-I need to get a waterproof compression sack. I was lucky it was not raining while I was walking in.

Things confirmed…..
-Wiggys bags are worth the weight and size, seeing some people’s stories about a Kifaru bag makes me want to drop some coin on one, but alas I am too poor to do so, otherwise the tent would have been a Kifaru 6 man with medium stove…
-Water bladders are great when using them but suck to clean
-It’s amazing the uses a 1QT ziplock bag can have
-Speaking of amazing… how the hell do animals disappear? I seen dozens before opening day… only seen a Doe or two the opening day… whiskey tango foxtrot!
-MRE peanut butter and Clif bars still kick ass…. Anyone tried the carrot cake bars… YUMMY!
-Kifaru packs can allow one to carry almost anything with ease.
-Still am glad on my Primus Omnifuel purchase… had to swap between propane and whitegas when the temps dropped like a rock to make dinner/ breakfast. One of the few stoves that can do this. Heavy little bugger however, but for one of “those” moments it was great.
-Nothing can compare to man in the great outdoors. No way in hell can a city offer you what you can get out here. It actually feels funny driving back home after any outing.

Hope no one minds me taking up the space to post this, but just wanted to share part of the adventure with ya.

 

[sicily02]

WOW great pics. Some day LOL

Glad to hear you had a pretty good time.

Bryan

 

[ms3902]

Looks like you had a good time. Not sure I would have wanted to be that close to that moose though.

 

[KuRUpTD]

That's some beautiful country, but it looks TOO damn cold

Thanks for sharing your experience :thumbup:

 

[ratamahatta]

great pics brother!!!!! thanks for sharing!!!

 

[brians]

Did you try putting your freezer bag in a cozy or wrapped in a fleece/wool sweater for insulation?

Beautiful pics.

I also use the Wiggys Superlight and Exped 9 Deluxe combo. Heavy, but certainly makes for a good sleep. I throw the bag in an eVent sea-to-summit compressor for exactly the reasons you mention.

There are singles for coffee, as opposed to instant. I also have a filter that screws into the top of a nalgene bottle. that you can then screw the nalgene cap into it. Good for initial water filter and coffee grinds. - just turn the nalgene bottle upside down and let it sit.

filter - http://www.rei.com/product/750397

Again, gorgeous pics. Guess it wasn't swamp donkey season

 

[spoolup]

Thats the filter I used.... I think the coffee was too fine of a grind, I tried it a few times at home with decent results... backwoods was a differnt story. As for the cozy yes. I own a real FBC.com cozy I also wrapped it in a Kifaru Woobie... still would either not cook the rice or if I did wait long enought it was cold... and these are menus that I have made before.... curry thai chicken, orange chicken (which is always the best when cooked in a pot due to the cornstach as the thickener... thinking about going to arrowroot or such as an experiment) and the cranberry chicken. Not sure if there is a magic tempature to do these meals at or something. I have cooked them before from 60 to 90* outside temps with great results. The few nights between 30* and 10* did not help, the one lunch at 42* outside temp was okay.

Ill check out compression sack... if you dont mind... what size do you have for the 0* base bag?

 

[brians]

Thats the filter I used.... I think the coffee was too fine of a grind, I tried it a few times at home with decent results... backwoods was a differnt story. As for the cozy yes. I own a real FBC.com cozy I also wrapped it in a Kifaru Woobie... still would either not cook the rice or if I did wait long enought it was cold... and these are menus that I have made before.... curry thai chicken, orange chicken (which is always the best when cooked in a pot due to the cornstach as the thickener... thinking about going to arrowroot or such as an experiment) and the cranberry chicken. Not sure if there is a magic tempature to do these meals at or something. I have cooked them before from 60 to 90* outside temps with great results. The few nights between 30* and 10* did not help, the one lunch at 42* outside temp was okay.

Ill check out compression sack... if you dont mind... what size do you have for the 0* base bag?

Just checked - for Long/Wide superlight, I use the XL compression sack.

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/1

 

[spoolup]

Sweet, Ill pick one up at Backcountry after work (they are local, which makes in conveint). Same size superlight I have. Thanks.

 

[brians]

Sweet, Ill pick one up at Backcountry after work (they are local, which makes in conveint). Same size superlight I have. Thanks.

One more thing. Is the weight of the Kifaru pack worth it in terms of comfort? I know it is a hunting bag, but it's advertised weight is near my summer base weight

Your assessment?

 

[spoolup]

On the few hikes I have been on it with, yes. The bag in the photo weighs 72 lbs packed. I had a few friends at work the day I took it in to go up there (to maximize my outage time) and they said no way in hell could they carry it, I took it out and one guy struggled to put it on, I then walked him thru tightening the strap correctly and when he gave the lifter straps a tug you could see his face change. he walked it around the building at work and said "I didn't believe you when you said the weight dissapears, but it does" 2 other ended up trying it on and said something similar, it was not until I said the price of the empty bag that they cringed. They do have MANY differnt sized bags, I chose this one as my first bag for MANY reasons. Hope to get a pointman and a ZXR before next spring.... and the 6 man with med stove... think I will hold off on the sleeping bag for now.

 

[kgd]

Lots of great info there. Interesting tips about how all your equipment worked. Does the smartwool help wick the perspiration or just absorb it? I'll try to digest your pictures later in the day! Thanks for posting.

 

[BushcraftBrainTrust]

EDIT.... Im limited to 10 pics, so I changed everything to links. The photos are worth clicking on.

If you change the "url" to "IMG" around your links, people can see your pictures.

 

[sp00kedd]

Ahhh the Uintas, I love 'em. Been up there camping/backpacking five times this summer. Got down poured on, and extremly hailed on and then like you got snow haha. But its beautiful black bear country! Bald mtn is about 11K ft, its a good hike! Sometimes its good livin in slc. Nice post!

 

[baldtaco-II]

Super glimpse. Thanks.

 

[Pritch]

Thanks, Spoolup! That's what late archery season usually looks like around here. I have the Exped Downmat 7 which I like a lot. If I expect really cold weather, I'll pair it with a Big Agnes Mystic SL. If not, I want to try it with my Nunatak quilt. Even in a pot, you may want a cozy or you'll have to keep the stove going.

Did you actually pack in or were you right by your car & friend with his trailer? When car camping I like a bigger tent so I can stand up. This year we tried the Mr. Buddy heater, which was really nice for warming up the tent, and helped dry out wet camo. (My partner built a "drying closet" out of a pop-up privvy and Mr. Buddy.)

Did you get into elk?

-- FLIX

 

[spoolup]

If you change the "url" to "IMG" around your links, people can see your pictures.

I have 32 images... website only allows me to post 10... thus the URLs... I just cheated the system... Guess I could have made 4 posts?

Lots of great info there. Interesting tips about how all your equipment worked. Does the smartwool help wick the perspiration or just absorb it? I'll try to digest your pictures later in the day! Thanks for posting.

Wicked it away. I was never wet or really THAT cold. For clothing I had smartwool liners and midweight socks and vasque boots. For pants I had the smartwool midweight with propper twill multicam trousers. For body I used smartwool midweight with a long sleeve T, and 90% of the time a TAD gear Robinhoodie (really like that softshell). When I was sitting for long periods of time or was on the quads I threw on a Patgonia R4 fleece. When it rained I would shed one of the jackets and toss on my Arcteryx LEAF top and bottom. For head gear I had the TAD gear wool watchcap and neck gatier.... All of this was in a small waterproof bag in the pack. I changed from my work clothes into this when I first hit the dirt.

Thanks, Spoolup! That's what late archery season usually looks like around here. I have the Exped Downmat 7 which I like a lot. If I expect really cold weather, I'll pair it with a Big Agnes Mystic SL. If not, I want to try it with my Nunatak quilt. Even in a pot, you may want a cozy or you'll have to keep the stove going.

Did you actually pack in or were you right by your car & friend with his trailer? When car camping I like a bigger tent so I can stand up. This year we tried the Mr. Buddy heater, which was really nice for warming up the tent, and helped dry out wet camo. (My partner built a "drying closet" out of a pop-up privvy and Mr. Buddy.)

Did you get into elk?

-- FLIX

Both... hiked in a few miles until I could not find his camp and after dinking around. I dropped the pack walked back and got the car, then drove back to the pack and found his camp... Orginal idea was to hike in, set up camp, walk back to the car, then drive in and live out of the pack... back up idea incase crap really came down was I could just jump in his trailer. This was an experiament in my new gear... dont want to be 10 miles away from anything and find out the stuff does not work/ break/ cant setup/ etc.... turned out to be a lot of fun... glad I did it as well.

I was not hunting just providing support and testing out some gear... Left the night of the 1st day (9PM), and they did not get one... or even see one. Sad I know. If I were car camping I would take the Coleman powercat and Springbar.... That is comfort on the semi cheap... the buddy heaters have issues at 9000ft like I was at in camp. The coleman runs well there, and with the help of 2D cells it can circulate the air... its the only way I can keep the girls out there before July. Here is the spring bar set up this last fathers day at cobblerest (just east of the Duschene tunnel)

 

[dboles]

Thanks for posting.That moose looks PO'd in the 3rd picture.Nice country,looks like another winter on us again
Dan'l

 

[j williams]

Amazing.

Looks like a cold, but awesome time.

Carrot cake Cliff bars kick ass.

Starbucks has a new instant coffee that supposedly, you cant tell the differance from brewed. I gotta try em out.

 

[spoolup]

Amazing.

Looks like a cold, but awesome time.

Carrot cake Cliff bars kick ass.

Starbucks has a new instant coffee that supposedly, you cant tell the differance from brewed. I gotta try em out.

Thank you, it was... I am going to buy a case of the carrot cakes... good easy eats.. I seen the starbucks commerical, I am going to swing by one later and take a challange... Find out how that works.