Water drop on mountain top

[Mattupnorth]

Hey guys,

So we are just starting to plan our sheep hunt for the upcoming season. Trying to work out some logistics and strategies, as most if not every DIY'er does. Our one problem, that im sure most people have is water. So here's my question, whats the best way to drop water on a mountain top with a plane? Would be very nice to have excess water at the top so we don't have to come down for the basic survival necessity. Thanks

 

[bairdi]

Water logistics is just a part of sheep hunting. Here in AK, water is sometimes easy to come by and at other times, tough to find. On this yeas sheep hunt, we had to take 2/3rds of a day mid hunt to drop down 2k feet to re-supply on water. It was worth it though as we found a legal shooter the next day. Depending on where you are hunting, support via aircraft may or may not be legal as well as the cost of paying for a flight would likely be prohibitive if you are doing it DIY. If you are worried about water, why not go on a quick just before the season scouting/water drop trip and stash the water? Besides, by doing that you should have a really good idea of what animals might be around, where to look for them and the best routes for accessing your AO. Biggest reason to not do this, in my mind, is that I don't want to be in a situation, especially with something as important as water, where I'm relying on someone else to ensure it makes it to me. Too many things to go wrong, such as but not limited to whatever container its packed in breaking and spilling all the water, weather below flying minimums (just because the weather is good enough to fly doesn't mean that the weather will be good enough for the pilot to want to get down low and slow to attempt a drop), mechanical issue with the plane that prevents the delivery etc etc. In my experience, and while not a pilot, I've done a lot of flying as a passenger with some of the best Cub drivers and bush pilots Alaska has, it takes a practiced eye to make an accurate drop, especially in the mountains where being just a bit off could result in your "care package" going for a ride down the side of the mountain. One of the things I do in my job is try to think up all the things that could go wrong when working in remote field settings and adequately dealing with those risk factors to make the field work go as safely and smoothly as possible. On our sheep hunts, if water is an unknown where we are headed, my hunting partner and I will each haul at least 7 liters of water up the mountain in addition to everything else that goes along with us for a week in the mountains. That said, and hope I wasn't too much of a debby-downer, if you are still dead-set on trying a water drop, I'd go with packing the water drop in multiple smaller padded packages vs one large container. Also be sure that you are clear with the pilot on what the max weight and size of item that they can safely maneuver around in the plane and get out the door to make an effective drop. I've been lucky that the few times I've needed something dropped to me in the field while working either the items were small and easily packaged for dropping or the one time it was a critical and bulky/fragile boat motor part, just by chance there was a helicopter working with us that was able to deliver it. I hope that helps.

 

[BRWNBR]

All great advice. I’m blessed to hunt sheep where there’s water everywhere and I often don’t even carry my water bottle fill. However I hunted the chugachs a few times and was amazed that I could find water. Hind sight. Several playtapus bladders would have been a wise move on my part. Refill with anything and everything every time you can. A tarp at night for dew or drizzle, snow drift, soggy spot whatever. Always top
Off a bottle!

 

[wantj43]

We never dropped water but dropped a lot of fuel. We used plastic quart oil containers with screw on lids. The important thing was to fill to about two inches from the top then squeeze the bottle forcing the liquid to the top then screwing the lid tight. Would place 8-10 bottles in onion sacks and drop from about 200 feet. Never had a container burst.
Would obviously test containers by dropping prior to trying in the field.
Good luck

 

[bairdi]

Hey BRWNBR,

I always bring a couple of the 2 or 3 liter water pouches that Sawyer sells. Been using the same couple for quite a few years now. When empty they roll up to almost nothing. So far they've exceeded my expectations of how durable they are. My only complaint is that the opening on them is small (like pop bottle sized) and can be a little more challenging to fill depending on your water source. Even when we don't expect water to be an issue, we always bring them along just to have the added flexibility of being able to haul extra water if needed,

 

[Mattupnorth]

Will be bringing a tarp, or a few garbage bags to weigh down and catch water for sure. Hopefully we wont have an abundance of water ie. its raining the whole time!

 

[Mattupnorth]

Water logistics is just a part of sheep hunting. Here in AK, water is sometimes easy to come by and at other times, tough to find. On this yeas sheep hunt, we had to take 2/3rds of a day mid hunt to drop down 2k feet to re-supply on water. It was worth it though as we found a legal shooter the next day. Depending on where you are hunting, support via aircraft may or may not be legal as well as the cost of paying for a flight would likely be prohibitive if you are doing it DIY. If you are worried about water, why not go on a quick just before the season scouting/water drop trip and stash the water? Besides, by doing that you should have a really good idea of what animals might be around, where to look for them and the best routes for accessing your AO. Biggest reason to not do this, in my mind, is that I don't want to be in a situation, especially with something as important as water, where I'm relying on someone else to ensure it makes it to me. Too many things to go wrong, such as but not limited to whatever container its packed in breaking and spilling all the water, weather below flying minimums (just because the weather is good enough to fly doesn't mean that the weather will be good enough for the pilot to want to get down low and slow to attempt a drop), mechanical issue with the plane that prevents the delivery etc etc. In my experience, and while not a pilot, I've done a lot of flying as a passenger with some of the best Cub drivers and bush pilots Alaska has, it takes a practiced eye to make an accurate drop, especially in the mountains where being just a bit off could result in your "care package" going for a ride down the side of the mountain. One of the things I do in my job is try to think up all the things that could go wrong when working in remote field settings and adequately dealing with those risk factors to make the field work go as safely and smoothly as possible. On our sheep hunts, if water is an unknown where we are headed, my hunting partner and I will each haul at least 7 liters of water up the mountain in addition to everything else that goes along with us for a week in the mountains. That said, and hope I wasn't too much of a debby-downer, if you are still dead-set on trying a water drop, I'd go with packing the water drop in multiple smaller padded packages vs one large container. Also be sure that you are clear with the pilot on what the max weight and size of item that they can safely maneuver around in the plane and get out the door to make an effective drop. I've been lucky that the few times I've needed something dropped to me in the field while working either the items were small and easily packaged for dropping or the one time it was a critical and bulky/fragile boat motor part, just by chance there was a helicopter working with us that was able to deliver it. I hope that helps.

I appreciate the advice, was thinking about maybe doing a pretrip/scouting mission just to try and increase the chances of smashing a big ram. But, that being said, my hunting partners family owns planes (cessna and a super cub) so the cost is alittle lower... fuel and a jug of whisky!

 

[Mattupnorth]

We never dropped water but dropped a lot of fuel. We used plastic quart oil containers with screw on lids. The important thing was to fill to about two inches from the top then squeeze the bottle forcing the liquid to the top then screwing the lid tight. Would place 8-10 bottles in onion sacks and drop from about 200 feet. Never had a container burst.
Would obviously test containers by dropping prior to trying in the field.
Good luck

Will keep this in mind, i will be looking for some water safe containers to try. Thanks