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Author Topic: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input  (Read 11210 times)

Offline HikerHunter

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #30 on: February 18, 2019, 08:40:28 AM »
I highly recommend merino wool. They have blends now that are supposed to be more durable but I haven't tried them yet.

Look for sales on merino wool, especially from non-hunting brands. I have stoic and icebreaker shirts in solid colors from discount websites that were more than half off if I remember right. I tried synthetics on a two night hunt once and was surprised at how awful they (and me) smelled...

For shirt and pant base layers, socks, and underwear, I am 100% merino on overnight hunts.

Offline Sandberm

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #31 on: February 18, 2019, 09:42:03 AM »
Hasnt been addressed so I will add, ...know your limitations/be honest with yourself.

I hate it but, at 48 years old and overweight I'm not the guy I used to be even just 5 years ago. Being fat at 28 is a big difference than at 48. Rather then get summit fever I try to be realistic. I set a turn around time and stick to it no matter what. If it starts to rain, that turn around time might be sooner rather than later depending on how I'm dressed. I study the weather on the day of the hike, especially the hourly forecast. If its gonna storm at 1pm i want to make sure I'm not too far from being back to my truck.

Offline DWP

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #32 on: February 20, 2019, 07:43:49 PM »
Besides all of the good advice on clothes and such I now always carry a tarp and the means to make it into a shelter if needed (stakes, cordage, etc..) and 2 ways to start a fire (usually a film canister with plenty of vaseline soaked cotton balls & lint + some type of synthetic fire starter like Wetfire) with multiple lighters and sometimes rainproof matches.  If stuff gets really bad I can start a fire and wrap the tarp around myself if needed.

I lived on the OP for a long time and never had a situation when I couldn't start a fire...  thought I could handle anything... Then a few years ago I was elk hunting with a buddy in late October/early November in on the Eastside up close to the PCT. It was snowing when we went up and in then it stayed in the low 30's and kept dropping wet snow and rain for 2 days. We couldn't get a fire started at all. Our tents got crushed by wet snow, my down sleeping bag soaked through even inside a fairly good bivy bag because it was crushed underneath everything. Every piece of everything that we tried as fuel for a fire was soaked through, even pulled pitch pockets off trees and put my friend's pocket rocket against them until the canister ran out... nothing would burn and all of our fire starting supplies were used up.

That was a FAST hike down off the mountain. I have since switched to a floorless shelter and pack a titanium stove and small chunks Presto logs (or similar) with me on such trips so I can get an initial fire started the have the means to dry out wood that I have collected.

Offline Magnum_Willys

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #33 on: February 20, 2019, 08:39:52 PM »
Would not want to be in deep without a stove.  Spent days in BC heatless tent with guides pouring water out of their boots each morning and was glad son and I had merino wool that would dry in sleeping bag and kuiu shells we could shake out and dry in cold tent.  Just had to keep insulation layer dry.  Put boots in bottom of sleeping bags to keep from freezing.   Titanium stove would of been so nice. 

Offline JimmyHoffa

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #34 on: February 20, 2019, 09:20:01 PM »
Any of you guys trying the Wim Hof Method of breathing to stay warm?  You'll only need shorts out on the mountain.

Offline Okanagan

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #35 on: February 23, 2019, 09:29:10 PM »
Re starting a fire western Washington late seasons...  It is a lot easier to "start" a fire than it is to sustain it.

 If you carry good fire starter items, the initial flame and several minutes is doable, but when it is wet and has been wet for weeks, it is so hard to get a sustainable fire going that on more than one occasion I have given up and put my effort into a dry warm shelter, etc.  At times it is almost impossible to start and sustain a fire in November on the west end of the Peninsula, if you only have pocket and daypack gear.

In a late season N. Cascades timberline bivy in ten inches of wet snow with a wind driven rain coming down, my son and I started a fire as we reached our intended spot just at dark and began to set up camp.  We could keep the fire going only by CONSTANT attention to it.  Turning away long enough to tie up one corner of a shelter, etc. would risk having the fire totally go out. We gave up on a fire that night. I wasn't hunting, just keeping camp, and the next day I spent 2 1/2 hours getting a fire going, with a lock blade knife and saw.  I had a roaring fire by supper that did not go out for two more days.  FWIW, we have been doing this for decades, and are pretty good at deep wet wilderness fires.

 Near a vehicle with axe, big saws, etc. it is easier but with backpack gear, very tough.  So tough I would not count on a fire in such conditions.


Offline hirshey

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #36 on: March 12, 2019, 02:22:05 PM »
Lots of great learning points in this!

I’ll stress my favorites from previous contributors:
- bring extra layers
- gaiters are your friend
-communication devices (I really like my older Delorme In-Reach)
-fire starting implements

Irregardless of the season, to the best of my ability I try to start out with an appropriate outer layer for moisture, sun, branches or insects  (I’ll endorse either Kuiu or Outdoor Research with the pit zips for rain gear and shell layers) and plan to start out hiking as cold as I can for the first few minutes. For example, for me that means in situations with wet snow flurries, I’m hiking in an outer shell and only a t-shirt below. If I stop to take a break or glass for extended periods of time, I relayer with the clothing I bring... which is always a minimum of the following:

Shell outer layer
Ball cap
Beanie
Gaiters
Puff jacket
Gloves (I love the fingerless wool gloves Outdoor Research sold... the removable mitten part has a magnet clasp to secure it when you fold them off... much better than Velcro!)
Merino performance t-shirt, long sleeve, and long underwear...

And a couple pairs of hand and toe warmers.

If I’m hiking and not hunting, my S&W .38 special is always in tow, too.

I find the less I allow moisture and sweat through those layers, the more assured and confident I am in continuing to stretch my boundaries.

I’m glad you’re out getting after it!

I am not opposed to golf, for I suspect it keeps armies of the unworthy from discovering deer.

Offline yakimanoob

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #37 on: June 06, 2019, 10:31:56 AM »
@cameronwe sounds like you made good decisions, and there's lots of good advice on here. 

I'll describe my layering strategy, but more importantly I cannot stress highly enough the need to let someone know where you're going, when to expect you back, AND carry a means of communication.

For context, if you're carrying a locator beacon like a SPOT or inReach and fire the SOS signal, in most hunting areas the local Search and Rescue team is still going to be 4-5 hours out before they can mobilize and hike into your location.  Again that's IF they immediately know exactly where you are.  If they only know the area/trailhead, you're more likely 12-36 hrs from being found, and you need to be able to survive on your own for that long before help arrives.  Helicopter rescues are uncommon and are typically the most dangerous option, so they're usually the last resort. 

The only other warning I have for you is to remember that hypothermia is a mean demon that will screw with your brain.  If you get too cold, your decision-making process can go totally haywire.  I think two years ago (maybe three?) there was a hunter that got hypothermic and they found him deceased, nude, about 30 yards from his truck--he had stripped down under the impression that he was too hot.  So I'll echo the kudos to you for getting out of there when things didn't go your way.


For my part, I'll echo what others have said that it's a fools errand in most parts of WA to stay completely dry, so my strategy is along the lines of what many through-hikers use: accept that you're going to get wet, and carry a set of dry clothes for when the physical activity slows down.  Just make SURE you get back into those wet clothes before picking back up the activities that got you wet in the first place.  You can do this pretty well with only two sets of clothes if you learn to accept the discomfort of putting wet, cold clothes back on.  Modern wool and synthetic insulations are amazing, and will keep you surprisingly warm when you're soaked (as long as you're moving around a little bit).  If you're in camp or sitting down for a long glassing session, think about putting those dry clothes on.

My day hunt layers include a wool shirt, a synthetic midlayer, and a shell jacket. If I'm in for a wet slog up a hillside, I either just wear the shirt or the shirt + shell if it's cold.  You WILL get wet under the shell, but it does a good job of breaking the wind and keeping some warmth where it needs to be.  Once I get to my glassing spot, I'll throw on a fresh shirt, don the midlayer, and put the shell on top and that keeps me plenty warm in most conditions.  If it's really cold, I'll add a puffy down jacket, long undies, rain pants, or any combination thereof to the mix. 

The reality is that layering is an art that is specific to YOU.  What works for me might not work for you, and vice versa. 

Make sure you can call for help if you need it.  Make sure you can get warm and survive for a couple days if things go totally south.  And get out there and have a whole lot of Type 2 fun while you learn what works for you on the layering front!  :).   

Offline msg

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Re: Put myself in a potentially bad spot-looking for input
« Reply #38 on: June 07, 2019, 09:35:24 AM »
A lot of very good info here from people that have learned over the years. No doubt with a fair amount of suffering in the younger years. We have seen people near timberline on St. Helens in a snowstorm. They had somehow managed to kill a bull and had no clue how to gut and butcher. They wore tennis shoes and nylon windbreakers, all soaking wet. The young lady was shivering uncontrollably . Boy Scout Motto is Be Prepared. Extra changes as mentioned by many above is the key. Good merino wool is one of my favorites, especially socks. Nothing like getting rid of sweaty socks. Boots, nothing fits my feet better than Kenetreks. Right out of the box, pure heaven. Expensive, yes but worth it. I also carry a small Esbit stove that weighs virtually nothing. A cup of soup or hot chocolate on a wet cold day with some dry clothes will adjust your attitude and make you eager to hunt instead of heading to the truck

 


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