Snow shoes?

[Jimmer]

Hey guys,
I've found my fair share of sheds over the years, but never really set out to go look for them, mostly stumbled across while hunting etc. my property boarders locked land which holds elk, deer (mule and whitetail), but mostly moose. The whole area (sq. Miles) has about 2-3' of snow right now. I know the major routes on ridges of moose in the area. Worth going up right now? Snow shoes? Recommendations of shoes? Or wait until snow melts a bit?
Thanks

[Firedogg]

 Brother in law tried to go out on the ridge of his property with snow shoes the other day. With 4' of powder under the crust that he sank up to his waist in made it impossible to get around. This is west of Addy at 3800'.

[Jimmer]

Brother in law tried to go out on the ridge of his property with snow shoes the other day. With 4' of powder under the crust that he sank up to his waist in made it impossible to get around. This is west of Addy at 3800'.

Thanks for the heads up.. I'm about 20 miles south of him, close to same elevation. Maybe I might wait a bit. damn I'm bored...

[Firedogg]

  They have not even tried a trip up to their cabin above Republic in the snowmobiles since early December.

[Skyvalhunter]

Make sure you do not stress the animals out by running them

[Okanagan]

Snowshoes are not created equal.  There are three critical factors that determine whether you walk on top or flounder worse than without snowshoes. 

1.  Size of the snowshoe.  Total surface area bearing on the snow.

2.  Weight of the snowshoer. 

It is a weight to surface area ratio:  the bigger the snowshoe in width and length, the less weight per square inch is pressing down on the snow surface.  Heavy people and people wearing packs need bigger snowshoes to stay on top or near the surface of snow.

3.  Texture of the snow.  Fine powder in deep cold is so light and fluffy it won't hold up much weight per square inch.  No mass market snowshoe will stay on top, but if it is not too deep, say more than thigh deep, it is possible to travel in it with long snowshoes.  Obviously, as the snow gets "stiffer" it will hold up a snow shoe better.  Snow with more moisture in it such as near the coast will settle down and bear more weight, and may freeze till a man can walk on it without snowshoes.  Crust is another factor, often making it easy to stay on the hard top but miserable if you are breaking through and thrusting snowshoes under the hard crust.

 The trend nowadays is for small snowshoes that are easy to use.  They are fine for groomed trails but usually all but useless in backcountry snow until it compacts in spring.  Big snowshoes keep me on top in a wider variety of snow conditions, but they are harder on the user, more clumsy and make for sore muscles. 

A wide cross country ski is probably most efficient for a lot of back country snow conditions, but such skis are hard to find and take a little bit of learning. 

Sierra Trading Post in Silverdale had a super buy on large brand name snowshoes just before Christmas.

[Jimmer]

Snowshoes are not created equal.  There are three critical factors that determine whether you walk on top or flounder worse than without snowshoes. 

1.  Size of the snowshoe.  Total surface area bearing on the snow.

2.  Weight of the snowshoer. 

It is a weight to surface area ratio:  the bigger the snowshoe in width and length, the less weight per square inch is pressing down on the snow surface.  Heavy people and people wearing packs need bigger snowshoes to stay on top or near the surface of snow.

3.  Texture of the snow.  Fine powder in deep cold is so light and fluffy it won't hold up much weight per square inch.  No mass market snowshoe will stay on top, but if it is not too deep, say more than thigh deep, it is possible to travel in it with long snowshoes.  Obviously, as the snow gets "stiffer" it will hold up a snow shoe better.  Snow with more moisture in it such as near the coast will settle down and bear more weight, and may freeze till a man can walk on it without snowshoes.  Crust is another factor, often making it easy to stay on the hard top but miserable if you are breaking through and thrusting snowshoes under the hard crust.

 The trend nowadays is for small snowshoes that are easy to use.  They are fine for groomed trails but usually all but useless in backcountry snow until it compacts in spring.  Big snowshoes keep me on top in a wider variety of snow conditions, but they are harder on the user, more clumsy and make for sore muscles. 

A wide cross country ski is probably most efficient for a lot of back country snow conditions, but such skis are hard to find and take a little bit of learning. 

Sierra Trading Post in Silverdale had a super buy on large brand name snowshoes just before Christmas.

Thanks for the response, great info..

[jasnt]

I have been using old school large military snow shoes and have been getting around pretty good. I'm 270 lbs plus my pack. Most the paddles will prob be under the snow since we got so much early this year I could be wrong. Saw a young buck last week with no head gear so I'm betting the deer are dropping in your area too. Best bet is go try it.

[jackelope]

Make sure you do not stress the animals out by running them

More important than anything this time of year.

[Jimmer]

Make sure you do not stress the animals out by running them

More important than anything this time of year.

Thanks for the concern guys. No elk in the area now and all the deer are in lower elevations. Moose may still be in the area. I've hunted eastern WA pretty much my whole life and encounter moose hundreds of times. I've yet to see 1 run from me. Maybe on occasion have had one trot 30 yards and turn around just to stand there. More times than none, I've had to take an alternate route when encountering moose due to them not wanting to move. I wouldn't jeopardize "running" the animals.

[jasnt]

Make sure you do not stress the animals out by running them

More important than anything this time of year.

Thanks for the concern guys. No elk in the area now and all the deer are in lower elevations. Moose may still be in the area. I've hunted eastern WA pretty much my whole life and encounter moose hundreds of times. I've yet to see 1 run from me. Maybe on occasion have had one trot 30 yards and turn around just to stand there. More times than none, I've had to take an alternate route when encountering moose due to them not wanting to move. I wouldn't jeopardize "running" the animals.

this is my experience as well