Cutting Weight- The Journey Here

I am taking a break  from the mule deer story to talk about my trip in general to become a more efficient  backpacker.  It's a learning process to say the least, and there are constantly new things to be taken in.  My hope is that I never get to the point where I feel like I don't have things to learn.  If I ever get to that point perhaps its time to hang up the boots and take up something else.

The trails that have been traveled since my first trip at 10 years old have provided me with experience, and the lessons learned have made me want the backcountry more and more.    I  had a 40lb pack frame that was a  borrowed from a local pawn shop that trip, colored in bright orange.  For 1994 it may not have been bad, but the memory even then was that it wasn't the most comfortable thing to wear.

Life has constantly been intertwined with my faith, and life in the church.  This trip was a youth group trip that my Dad was leading, and even though I was too young, Dad snuck me along.  Every person was loaded to the hilt with different cans of soup, water and other things that I simply look at and laugh now.  Even with the heavy load my bright orange pack was the first to arrive at our designated lake,

Several youth group trips later and I was the proud owner of my first Kelty frame pack when Santa proved to be very generous.  It was a sweet pack in my mind and served it's purpose very well all the way until I graduated from High School.  The Blue bag on the frame was removed several times and different variations were tried to make it more efficient.  In the end the pack proved capable, and kept me wanting to pack in farther and farther.

College proved to be a time where my hunting and backpacking were limited because lets face it, central Texas is not a great place to pursue those things.  Breaks from school were spent fishing in my home state, but often they fell on times of year when packing in wasn't an option and the resources for winter camping weren't there.  I read Mike Eastman's and David Long's books to pass some of those breaks, and it kept the motivation factor high.

Two trips in college home during Elk season proved to not be enough to satisfy the desire to be in the woods and graduation found me loaded and ready to be back in the Mountain West.  My first home after college was within a couple of hours of the mountains again and it was on.

One major problem, the stuff I was carrying in weighed too much, and again proved I had much to learn.  For this to change several mentalities needed to change.  The first and most important would be the perception of what is necessary to take on a backpack hunt.  The next is that heavy duty, i.e. heavy was always the best way to go.  I wasn't aware that there is such as thing as well built light stuff

A major culprit of excess weight was the Black's Creek Bounty Hunter, Mossback edition.  The pack was purchased fairly impulsively in 2007 to really start staying in for long periods of time.  I proudly brought all 12lbs of it home and started to put together all of the stuff I would need for the coming trip.   The pack seemed heavy duty and would eventually bring mentality number one to the forefront.

The first season consisted of packing in simply a tarp and my down sleeping bag  for shelter and I suppose it worked ok.  Early season archery it wasn't bad, but because it never got terribly cold I was never miserable without a pad.  It is somewhat amazing to me that I was never more miserable than I was, it honestly could have been worse.  I had the weight idea right in this "system," but comfort was not of much value.  Minimalist, yes, comfortable no.

By 2009 an Alps Mountaineering pad had found its way into my supply and I dug up an old tent from my parents shed.  Dad has a habit of buying every tent he sees when he goes to garage sales and it played into my favor.  The first tent was not that heavy, and truthfully served me well for a two seasons, but I needed an upgrade.  Ledge Recluse was an upgrade for a season but was still not as efficient for the later elk hunts that I typically go on.

Another area that needed an upgrade was the food department.  MRE's just don't cut it anymore.  Number one they are just plain too heavy.  Number two they are just not very good.  There are tricks out there to make them better, but truthfully it's still not very good.  Mountain Houses have become a staple of my back-country cuisine and will be for many years to come.  An even better upgrade that I am working through recipes is making my own freeze dried food, I am hoping the wife will like me using her kitchen for such adventures....

The Black's Creek needed to go, first and foremost it didn't fit correctly. Next comes the whopping 12lbs that are carried in the pack alone.  An upgrade to a Kifaru Longhunter Guide has now been completed and the pack weight has been cut in half, and the pack is big enough to produce shoulder lift.  Did I mention that it's fit is actually comfortable?

The pad has now been upgraded to a NeoAir by Thermarest and I can't complain in the least bit.  This season will prove it out as a viable pad and the hope is that many comfortable nights will be spent on it.

A TiGoat Vertex 5 now comes with me on solo and double trips and will serve that purpose quite well I believe.   Plenty of space for one, a little tight for 2, but doable, all in all a solid upgrade for a reasonable price.

More upgrades are coming, and this blog will be the place that I put my thoughts down on the value of each piece of equipment.

2011 Mulie: Part 2

The month before was spent looking over maps and finishing plans for where exactly opening day would be spent.   This was an early season hunt and the hardest part would be some of the competition from other hunters.  We only saw one other hunter on the way in during the scouting trip but saw a pack train on the way out.    This was discouraging in one way but encouraging in another that bad areas don't usually get hunted.  The country held deer, we knew it, but apparently many others did as well.

Preparation came and went, and it was time for the real pack in.  Rifles sighted in, packs ready, counting ounces, going over the list, making sure everything functions perfectly.  All the little things that are necessary before boots can even touch the ground.  This in and of itself can be a daunting process, but helps take the mind off of the the wait for the hunt.

The little traveled road we had come in on a month before seemed to have a camp at just about every possible corner.  My heart sank knowing that the pressure on the deer would soon force them into the holes that were much harder to find and chances would be tougher to come by.  So goes hunting.

As we left what felt like a parking lot the day before the opener our spirits had sank quite a bit.   It shouldn't have surprised us though, with modern technology and the availability of maps that it is quite a bit easier to find a good spot than it was 20 years ago.

When we left the relatively flat river bottom to our planned spot the weather turned for the worst and the typical evening shower that so often hits the high country came. This forced us to stop and put on the rain gear and it was time to fill up the extra water bladders. This extra water would get us through the evening and the final ascent up the last 1000 feet in elevation.

 The start of that ascent brough the surprise that we had not only found a group of other hunters, but also stumbled on some deer they intended to put a stalk on in the morning.   One of the deer was easily one of the biggest spotted the entire trip.  We never saw that deer again.

This ascent proved to be the toughest part of our hike and being soaked did not help in the least.  This section of real estate cliffs out in every area but one.  The only saddle in the entire area proved to be where we crested the hill and would even make camp.

My partner had started to feel sick on the way up, and it was likely due to dehydration.  Camp, a mountain house, warm sleeping bag some heat from the stove were a welcome relief for him.  I on the other hand was ready to look over the area and see what I could from our vantage point.

Much to my surpise, 300 yards below camp  was a buck that met my standards.  I couldn't believe that I had been able to find one that easily, in an area that we couldn't see any other people camped.  Travis soon left the comforts of camp to look at the buck with me and see what had me so excited.

After about a half hour of looking over a few more bucks that had made their presence known, we both decided that it was time for bed.  I spread my pad and sleeping bag out thinking it was pretty pointless considering how little sleeping would actually be done.  The reality was that I was pretty tired and it was time to get some rest, and I would have to leave the buck where he bedded down until the morning anyway.

2011's High Country Mulie: Part 1

The story behind my buck from this past season actually starts on September 26th 2010.   Dad, Justin, and myself had decided to try a new area for a pack in trip for elk.  Until that moment I ate, slept, and  breathed with the sound of elk bugles in the fall, bow in hand.

2010 had been a particularly frustrating season in pursuit of the wapiti.  Blown stalk, after blown stalk.  Wind change after wind change.  Not filling my cow tag because in the rain I had put my rangefinder in my pocket, and was too noisy to get out 20 yards from the elk.  I guessed 30, and you guessed it, right over her back.   Entering the pack in, there was hope for a change of luck, but it came in the form of grey ghosts of the high country.

The evening of the 26th didn't produce any monster bulls, but it put me in some new country that held some good deer.    No elk were in store with a bow that year but much had been learned, including where I would be spending some time chasing Mulies when it opened the first week of October.

On the 6th of October I found myself back in the same country, solo, with a rifle.  The back story is that two of my hunting partners had killed really good deer and I was just a little bit jealous.  Ok, really jealous.

The problem with this section of the back country is that the prime-time deer areas offer no real place to glass them before you are right on top of them and need to be ready to shoot.  There isn't much time for real observation of the deer, just an ok he's big enough moment.  I didn't want ground shrinkage, but the situation dictated that it was likely.

To make observation of deer even harder 6 inches of snow poured in on the first night as I slept in the truck at the trail head.  Hiking the 2.5 miles that morning in the residual fog from the snow fall, there couldn't have been harder conditions.   I blew two chances at bucks that I estimated to be over 160 B&C.

Frustration set in as I set up camp and the snow continued to fall.  Two blown chances at what would have been far and away my best deer to date.  A new challenge was starting, and I wanted a big deer.  I wanted better than what I had ever put on the ground before.

I never got to really leave that tent as the snow kept falling and the hunt slipped away, but I had my map and a plan for 2011 started taking shape.  5 separate locations started to take shape as places that could eliminate a few of the challenges that I had encountered that season.

All of them had limited access from trails, and weren't on the beaten paths. All of them offered places where glassing was possible for long distances, and they were different than the elk country I was used to.  They were higher, and often more rugged.  They all offered feeding areas that bucks prefer as well as places to bed.

The end of Summer 2011 brought about scouting season and several pack ins to the area my buddy and I had determined to be the best.  This hunting buddy is somewhat of a pro in my mind when it comes to big mule deer.  He has several on his wall that many would consider top notch trophies, and learned from some of the best in our area.  This was a chance to learn more, and a chance to grow as a deer hunter.

We quickly found that our area had some of the best hunting we could ask for.  2 days of glassing had produced several shooter bucks by my standards. All I had left was the wait.

TiGoat Vertex 5: Running Review

For this coming hunting season I have made some necessary upgrades to the gear set.  My Ledge Recluse tent that I was given two Christmases ago was nice, but had a major problem in cold weather.  It liked to let the wind in from the bottom, and wasn't nearly as tough as it needed to be to stand up to the elements I intend to throw at my shelter.

After doing some research, I settled on the floorless tipi style shelter.  I don't think I am done buying this style as I am going to need a bigger model than this 5, but that will be another blog.

My first attempt at meeting my solo/double shelter needs was the Paratarp from Kifaru.  I am sure some of you are giggling a little bit reading that I thought I could do double anything with the Para, but the measurements suggested I could when I bought one off of the Kifaru Forums.  One set up and it was pretty clear that it would have been a great shelter for solo trips, but it did not suit the dual purpose role.  

I had looked at TiGoat before, and they were on the short list  when a good deal came up for a Vertex 5, I jumped on it.   I hadn't found any negative reviews on it, but it doesn't appear they have the popularity of the Kifaru shelters.

My plan then for this blog is to do a running review through this summer into the fall for hunting season.   Today will be the first installment of likely many to come. 

I set up the 5 in the yard today and am very happy with what I see.  The instructions for set up were detailed enough, and accurate.  You start by staking down both loops at the door, and then the back loop.  Then the rear loop is staked down by stretching the 5 all the way across, then coming back roughly 2 feet from that point.  Then you stake out the opposite direction tightly getting it set up as a square on the ground.

The pole comes next, and I would highly suggest using a legitimate pole and not trekking poles.  You will see in the photos that this is a pretty tall shelter as compared to others that utilize trekking poles.  Tying two poles together just isn't going to cut it in some of the wind that we experience above 10k feet.

Also of note here is that I am not using the pole from TiGoat.  I am using the telescoping model from Seek Outside, and so far I haven't found any weakness.  The plan at the moment is a BCS next from the same company, so to save some cash later I bought the correct pole now, as it will work for both shelters.   When I buy the BCS this should cut roughly $140 off of the purchase price when placing the order, and it saved me $75.00 from TiGoat.  So roughly a $65.00 savings overall when you take the $75 from the $140.  I will do a write up on my plan for all 3 shelters I want soon, and look forward to comments.

Back to the TiGoat.  The install of the pole itself is pretty self explanatory, open the door, lift up the center of the tipi, put in the pole,  adjust the pole to get the correct height.  You will want to get it fairly tight, but not too tight.  I suppose this is that perfect pitch that everyone talks about with other tipis.

After that you simply pull the remaining stake out points to the desired spot.  This takes some practice to get it right, but is fairly easily done.  After a couple rounds with the Vertex 5 my preferences is that all of the tent appear as smooth as possible.  

Next up is the guy-outs.  The rear guy out should be the first to pulled, and you will quickly find out whether or not you placed the rear stake in the right spot.  This stake can be adjusted after the guy out is in place as well to get the desired angle on the pitch.  It took me a few tries to get it right. 

If you look at the bottom of this picture you can see that I didn't have it quite right in this picture.  Once I removed the lower stake, pulled it out an inch or two the pitch was then correct.

The side guy outs are a unique set up, but effective.  They are 3 loops along the main seam, which you run 1/4 inch tubing with loops sewn in the ends to create 3 larger loops.  On these you hook up a set up of 2 plastic hooks and simply hook them to all three loop points, and pull it tight.

The last thing to look at for an initial perspective is the inside of the shelter, where most of the time will be spent.

A factor that goes into just about every decision made in regard to my gear is the simple fact that the world is built for a man 6' tall.  For a guy who is 6'5" this can present many a problem.   The Vertex 5 has plenty of room for the taller than average human being from the door to the back end of the shelter.  For the picture above I was in the doorway of the shelter, if that helps give a little perspective.

Next weekend I am hoping to get out and sleep in it, and may even get a little ambitious and get the stove jack sewn in.  Send whatever questions you have my way.