Aron Snyder and Marc Gutman's Colorado Live Hunt

[Gman]

aron, on i think the second day of your hunt, you had to dry out some gear from the last nights storm. did you do something wrong in your setup, location or what ? i think im ready to make the jump from tent to a tarp & bivy & i was considering a paratarp so help me out here. did everything get soaked? am i missing something? lets say you work for kifaru, what would you say to sell me the paratarp after i just saw you get some gear soaked? thanx !

Sorry for the delay. Been out hunting and doing family stuff. Yes, Rosin has it. It dumped on him as he got in and he got soaked as he was setting up the shelter etc. Once inside very dry. In it's traditional pitch (close to the ground) the tarps are extremely weatherproof. No concern for water entering the tarp. Just be mindful, as you should with any shelter, to pitch in the proper location (not an area likely to collect water or flood).

Hmm... what needs to be said to you to sell you on it? It's rock solid gear used by many of today's top hunters and backcountry enthusiasts. You won't be disappointed. If it's your primary shelter and you're not pitching like we did in the photos you may want to consider the super tarp. Minimal weight gain for tons more room. I carry the para when I carry a bivy but if I had no bivy I'd probably go Super...hope that was helpful.

 

[Gman]

Aron,

Did you have a video of you loading the pack up with the meat? I am curious how that all goes in there.

cmeier, Aron's out on a highcountry mule deer with some elk thrown in hunt so I'll chime in. He can add a bit later if need be. Unfortunately, we didn't get a video of the pack being loaded. I know he did one last year on a trip - I'm not sure that's around or not.

The DT1 is huge. Aron cuts the snowcollar off, which I would do if I had one as well. He then stuffed all his soft gear (sleeping bag, bivy, loose clothes) in a kifaru quarter bag which is really like a big Kifaru garbage bag. That went in the pack and the meat in caribou game bags placed inside Kifaru meat baggies. He then literally "drop-smashed" the quarter bag of soft stuff with the meat bag several times in order to compress it. Everything else was stuffed around the meat and the side pockets. He threw the tenderloins and backstraps in some random stuff/dry sack he had and wrapped it up but didn't seal it shut and threw it in there. Pretty funny actually. I did have a couple of big things like spotter, tripod, and some other stuff but he could have gotten it all in there if he wanted.

One piece of overlooked or under-appreciated kit is that Kifaru Meat baggie. It holds all that meat in a tube shape, vs. allowing it to lump like a bowling ball. So imagine nearly 80lbs of deer meat in a cylinder shape with other belongings around it. The K bag also is nearly waterproof except for the seams keeping most of the blood and whatnot contained. Meat was hung for a day or two which helped it to drain and not be so messy as well. Hope that's what you're looking for. If I can answer any other questions let me know.

Quick question, what type of bino cover are you using? Looks like some kind of neoprene cover for the top of your binos and would be a lightweight alternative to my badlands case. Thanks.

trdhunter - that set up is a Rick Young Outdoors harness, which is essentially just a really slick bungee cord and the eye cover is from Tango Archery http://www.tangooutdoorgear.com/products.php (no affiliation or anything) -- I've used it in the past and my only complaint is they plaster their logo in white across the entire top. Not very subtle - I contacted the owner, super nice and cool dude and he found me some plain black ones. It's a great minimalist set up especially if your binos already have good objective covers.

I do own a slick FHF case and will probably use that once the weather turns nasty.

 

[cmeier117]

Mark,

Thanks for that update. I am really eyeing some of those kifaru bags. So there are no issues transporting meat in those with spoilage or anything since they don't breath? Did he have to hang meat up first to cool down before it went in those? Thanks.

 

[RosinBag]

When I have used the K bags, I didn't let the meat cool much. What ever time it took to bone out all the meat and then load it up was all the time it was out cooling.

 

[Gman]

Mark,

Thanks for that update. I am really eyeing some of those kifaru bags. So there are no issues transporting meat in those with spoilage or anything since they don't breath? Did he have to hang meat up first to cool down before it went in those? Thanks.

I wouldn't go right from animal to K bag to letting it sit in camp for 2 days in the sun during archery season. But as soon as that hide comes off and the meat comes off the bone the meat cools extremely quickly. We mainly used the K bags for transport and then hung the meat in a shaded tree for a day in caribou bags to make sure a nice crust developed. Then we actually threw those caribou bags in a contractor garbage bag, tied if off and put it in the creek while we hunted a day or two longer. Then it came out and back in the K bag for transport. I know many guys who hunt the CO rifle seasons and that's all they carry - just put the boned out meat in the K bag and hang with the opening down at camp so the meat drains - and never any spoilage. But, I' like the cloth game bag put inside the K bag method personally. Each K bag only weighs 1 oz and has so many uses besides just a game bag. I've used it as a food hang bag, I keep one in my "possibles pouch" at all times and have used it to cool beer in the creek, pack out garbage, filled it with water to douse a camp fire, stuff sack to keep things clean, etc. During hunting season I have two - the one in my possibles pouch and one in my kill kit.

 

[trdhunter]

Thanks for the info. How well do those neoprene covers keep out dust and debris? This is one of the best parts of rokslide is great info and help without all the b.s. that goes on in other forums.

 

[Gman]

Works great. They are held taught by an elastic band.

 

[Doj4Whlr]

I was in Glacier for the last week and a half paying my dues to the wife and getting FB updates from Aron not knowing this thread existed. Found it tonight and followed the entire hunt from start to finish though I knew the outcome. Outstanding job relaying the story of Hunt 1 to all of us, thanks. Aron, I'm all packed up and headed out next week. If I wasn't fired up already, you guys just poured gas on the flames!

 

[JordanH]

Awesome livehunt.....WTG!

 

[Aron Snyder]

aron, on i think the second day of your hunt, you had to dry out some gear from the last nights storm. did you do something wrong in your setup, location or what ? i think im ready to make the jump from tent to a tarp & bivy & i was considering a paratarp so help me out here. did everything get soaked? am i missing something? lets say you work for kifaru, what would you say to sell me the paratarp after i just saw you get some gear soaked? thanx !

My gear goat soaked from the 3 miles of hiking through the rain storm I was dry under the tarp! Sorry for missing this question earlier...