Shrek's armed camping trip 2015 ;)

[orionsbrother]

"...met some great locals and gathered Intel..."


I gotta use that line or a variation of it.

"Boys, I'm heading into town to meet a local and 'gather intel'!"

Glad you had a good trip and a safe drive brother. It was fun tagging along.

 

[Shrek]

Thanks for all the support everyone ! I stand on the shoulders of everyone who helped me in big and small ways. I am truly grateful and will always strive to be the best fellow hunter I can and pass along the lessons I've learned .

 

[Shrek]

The first few thoughts on equipment. The new Kifaru hunting frame is truly in a class by itself ! Couldn't be happier with the frame ! My sleep system of the Sawtooth , large Wifi stove , UL9 Synmat , and Western Mountaineering Kodiak works great and worth every ounce and penny. My Zamberlan Sella NW GTX fit great and are very comfortable to hike in but there is less ankle support than I wished for at times and the goretex made my feet wetter than optimal with sweat. The cut that allows them to flex so well when you walk also makes for less ankle support. I would like to have this boot without the goretex. Black Diamond Ultra Distance trekking poles snapped like a twig when I really needed them. They suck ! The Sitka Timberline pants with the built in knee pads were great below 50* down to 20* even in the wind ! I think these are older style but not sure. First Lite Llano and Chama merino shirts are fantastic ! Going to be buying more to replace the ones the moths ate and add a Labrador sweater. The Frist Lite merino gloves were not thick enough nor tough enough for my use. I wore holes in them in a few hours of hiking with my trekking poles. The Halstead fleece is nice and warm... except when the wind blows. A Chama and Halstead kept me warm until the wind blew down into the upper teens . I used some core4 element gloves along with some First Lite merino gloves down to twenty and I lost feeling in the tip of my right thumb and a tiny bit on the tip of my right ring finger
. I don't think I'll ever be able to eat another Mountain House breakfast skillet as long as I live ! I still have five or six left that I'm going to toss out. Chicken breast with rib meat and mashed potatoes is gross ! Mint chocolate flavor protein bars are nasty but vanilla almond and peanut butter flavors are decent for protein bars.
My home made fruit and nut mix is pretty good.

My Minox HG's are still very nice binoculars but they are 10x and that's just a little bit too much for free hand when my heart is pounding.
My Swarovski ATS HD 80 with the 20-60 eyepiece grew on me this trip. I want an ATX 85 but that's not in the budget and the weight to performance value is strong with the ATS so it's not getting replaced anytime soon. The Meopta S2 82mm with the 30-60 wide angle eyepiece has a better view to me but not so much better that I'd add another 8 ounces to my pack like I would for the ATX 85. Oben CT 2331 worked great but I need to find a smoother head than the manfrotto 700RC2 I'm using now. It works ok but I want to find a better head.

 

[mtswampfox]

moths ate your merino? was that from storage or out in the field?
so glad you had a good hunt and shared with us all, cant wait now for another rifle build. any gif's in the area?

 

[COlineman78]

A Chama and Halstead kept me warm until the wind blew down into the upper teens

Had a similar experience as long as I was up and moving with a Llano and Halstead. Within 5 minutes of sitting down I had to throw on my puffy or sanctuary.

 

[Shrek]

Moths got two Llanos in storage and I didn't discover the damage until I was leaving to go hunt. I still have one Llano and two Chamas that are undamaged.

 

[2ski]

You mentioned you had a Mule tag that you got too burned out on to fill. Was this a tag you drew for? Because if it was just a general tag, you didn't need to spend the whole time around Townsend/Helena. You could've gone out east or up north central, or wherever. I don't know if you were tied down to the area because you knew the area. But you can hunt Mule and Whitetail in all but a few districts with a general tag. You didn't have to get tied down by a mule deer in that area. Just a way to break it up a little bit and not get burned out on just mulies in that area I guess is all I'm getting at.

 

[Shrek]

I could have hunted whitetails but I had a draw muley buck tag that locked me into the area for muleys. I went and hunted areas I knew for whitetails but all I could find were does and little bucks. I could have cut my tag a half dozen times on does and dinks but I had an elk in the freezer so what was the point ? I passed and just relaxed and hung out. I kind of wished I'd have found the motivation to go scout new places for next year but it wasn't in me. The damage to my fingers kind of freaked me out too. Didn't want to damage them more and I'm hoping I recover the feeling in my thumb. It seems to be getting better slowly but I can't feel the screen with it as I type this.

 

[2ski]

Dang. That really sucks about the thumb. I figured as much with the tag but if not wanted to be sure you knew.

 

[Shrek]

It may be of some interest for guys traveling how the elk fared going home. My elk was processed and frozen hard. It filled one and 3/4 of a second 120qt Coleman extreme 5 day coolers. I loaded them up and immediately set off to Billings a couple hours away. I started a little after 11am on Wednesday and stopped in Billings sometime after 3pm to buy dry ice. Somewhere around 4pm I loaded 30lbs of dry ice split between the coolers on top and two small block ice into the partially filled cooler to fill it and closed the lids. I didn't open the lids even once on the way home. I believe that is key to keeping things cold. I arrived home around 4pm Saturday and checked the meat which was still frozen hard. I didn't bother to unload the meat until later that night and when I did the meat was still so cold that it frosted up when it hit the warm humid Florida air. The dry ice was gone but I think I'd have been good for another day or two without more dry ice. The coolers rode in the back of my suv protected from wind and direct sun which helps and again I didn't open the coolers.

 

[Poser]

But, but.... You can't haul meat across country without a $600 cooler and a window sticker bearing the name of said cooler. It's simply not possible.

 

[Shrek]

But, but.... You can't haul meat across country without a $600 cooler and a window sticker bearing the name of said cooler. It's simply not possible.

I know ! Right ? . Besides , who wants a cooler so heavy empty that you can barely pick it up ?

 

[rayporter]

i thought only a freezer and 10 gallons of gas could keep meat that cold!!

seriously good writing, better than 2 yahoos and a camera on tv.

 

[Poser]

I know ! Right ? . Besides , who wants a cooler so heavy empty that you can barely pick it up ?

I foresee a new trend that will run counter to the high end, status symbol coolers. Similar to catching the biggest fish possible on the lightest possible tackle, guys will be hauling caribou from AK to FL in a styrofoam cooler from the Dollar Tree without a ice refill. Or, catching a gar during the month of July in Texas and keeping it cold in a Slurpee cup in the direct sun of a Walmart parking lot for 4 days before eating.

 

[Shrek]

Seriously though , I wouldn't want a big , heavy , and very expensive cooler for occasional use for things like this. The $55 otd coolers work great for this application. If I get the chance to pick up some discarded reflective insulating wrap at one of the freezer warehouses I deliver to I will. Line the cooler with it and I've added a good bit more insulation for nothing. Setting the coolers on a foam board to add extra insulation there can help too in tougher situations. That's not for every day use but for getting a moose back to Florida from Alaska on a road trip it might help you save on dry ice. Dry ice isn't cheap.

 

[COlineman78]

However, there are 2 use cases that make sense. 1) If you often camp a long ways from an ice supply or the nearest one is $10/bag marina ice at some lake the cooler will pay for itself in ice. 2) Cooler for on a boat where it is in direct sunlight all day. My dad recently got the small Yeti (for free, or else I would've suggested a different brand) that we plan to use on the boat and are excited to not go through a bag of ice per day. For something like transporting an animal, cheap coolers have always worked for me. One time I didn't bring enough coolers and did have to pick up one of those Styrofoam pieces of crap, but it was only for a 4 hour car ride. Didn't even bother with ice as the elk was colder than the ice would've been.

 

[LaHunter]

Shrek,

Just saw this thread. Congratulations. Very entertaining read. Sounds like you had a great hunt / adventure. Have you eaten any of your elk yet?
FYI, My fingers get like what you described about yours. I think mine sort of lose feeling from a combination of cold, dry air, and swelling from altitude. Not sure what to do about it, but it usually takes about 1-2 weeks before my fingers eventually get back to normal. Mine will even peel after I get back home.

good luck next year.

 

[Shrek]

Elk ! It's what's for dinner...and lunch. I've eaten ten pounds since I've been home.

 

[Beastmode]

However, there are 2 use cases that make sense. 1) If you often camp a long ways from an ice supply or the nearest one is $10/bag marina ice at some lake the cooler will pay for itself in ice. 2) Cooler for on a boat where it is in direct sunlight all day. My dad recently got the small Yeti (for free, or else I would've suggested a different brand) that we plan to use on the boat and are excited to not go through a bag of ice per day. For something like transporting an animal, cheap coolers have always worked for me. One time I didn't bring enough coolers and did have to pick up one of those Styrofoam pieces of crap, but it was only for a 4 hour car ride. Didn't even bother with ice as the elk was colder than the ice would've been.

I would say a a really good cooler is nice if you use it constantly throughout the year. Constantly getting stuff piled all around it, opened and closed and such. Hell a cheap cooler falls apart on me within a year every time. Nothing more frustrating than a broken cooler (hinges,latches, deformed lid). I have had a yeti for 3 years almost every day. Holds up great.

 

[Bonedalien]

Shrek, been hunting and off line for a bit, just read of your success. Awesome! you put in all the time ,blood,sweat, and effort and got it done. Congrats man. Enjoy that hard earned bull!