Ever feel like someone's trying to tell you something?

Murtfree

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Aug 23, 2019
Messages
174
Choose antibiotics carefully. Stay away from Fluoroquinolones. Two common ones are Levequin and Cipro.

While good antibiotics, they can cause tendon ruptures as a side effect. It's a big issue for runners, and likewise a bit of a problem for hikers/backpackers/hunters.

Jeremy
Thinking Cephalexin may be a good choice here....or Doxycycline if looking broad spectrum....trust your Doc who will need to write the Rx. I wouldn’t go on the hunt without something and probably need to start now
 
OP
T

tdot

WKR
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
1,888
Location
BC
Nice to see that you have bought yourself some time.

I live along the BC border (Jasper, AB) and hunt bighorn every year. I can tell you that looking for reasons NOT to go will not play well into your psyche when you DO end up going. Think positive, be smart, work hard and get after it if you are driven to do so.

Couple points:

Stream flow will typically drop as summer progresses toward fall, unless substantial rain or heat (glacier melt if your creeks are glacier fed) occur. In Alberta we have an awesome app called AB RIVERS that shows current and historical flow rates for most rivers and even many tributaries. Might be worth looking at whether BC has something similar.

A one-man sheep hunt is a big undertaking, especially in remote wilderness. Make a plan, carry an in-reach, and be conservative and smart out there.

Carrying a deboned sheep, gear, cape, horns and rifle is a crazy-heavy if done alone and in one push. Even splitting the weight between two can be a tough challenge. Again, have a plan.

BTW: is your wife a nurse or physician? Those look better than the stitches that I place, lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tips. I'm probably too aware of how big a challenge this can be, which is the main part of the reason a foot injury is such a concern for me. I've got myself out of the backcountry several times with severe injuries before so I'm not worried about having the grit to deal with this. It's the mind game of whether it's stupid to be walking in there with an injury.

I've been watching the water levels on a government website, it's crazy how high some of the rivers are right now. There's parts of NE BC that haven't seen more then a day or two of sun since April. How has the weather been down in Jasper?

My wife is an ER doc, so I'm in good hands. :) Although, she spends alot of time saying that she's seen worse, which I guess is good for perspective.
 

Decker9

WKR
Joined
Apr 10, 2015
Messages
859
Location
BC goat mountains
I say get after the journey regardless! Depending where your headed, chances are you’ll be driving past sheep mountains on your way. If your foot feels a big glum, just camp around and glass the surrounding areas, rams get glassed from the vehicle each year... I hear, Iv never been so lucky lol.

Hopefully your foot heals up quick for ya!! The family and I (3 generations) are heading out ourselves in a couple weeks in region 6 to the area I took my first (and only) ram, on a solo hunt as well. A ram in the bag or not, doing such trip solo Is a rewarding, and educating experience, one you’ll never ever forget.

Good luck on your journey! Be sure to post up a story of your first ram 🤘🏻 I’ll include a writeup of my solo hunt, it has some hiccups itself lol. Give it a read if you like, might give a little inspiration :)

 

leoni1

FNG
Joined
Sep 4, 2019
Messages
55
Thanks for the tips. I'm probably too aware of how big a challenge this can be, which is the main part of the reason a foot injury is such a concern for me. I've got myself out of the backcountry several times with severe injuries before so I'm not worried about having the grit to deal with this. It's the mind game of whether it's stupid to be walking in there with an injury.

I've been watching the water levels on a government website, it's crazy how high some of the rivers are right now. There's parts of NE BC that haven't seen more then a day or two of sun since April. How has the weather been down in Jasper?

My wife is an ER doc, so I'm in good hands. :) Although, she spends alot of time saying that she's seen worse, which I guess is good for perspective.

It has been a pretty rainy and cold summer so far, and this past winter saw nearly double the snow depth that we typically see. Looking on the bright side, at least wildfire risk is relatively low.

I have a couple buddies in Vanderhoof and Smithers that do very well on goat, but have yet to score on a Stone.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

HankBC

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jan 6, 2017
Messages
231
Location
BC, Canada
Shoot me a PM around the 8/9 of august and I’ll give you an update on the north. I should be returning by then from a river hunt.

Get that out of your head, no ones telling you anything. Shit happens and we have to deal with it before moving on. Heal up, move slowly up the mountain, enjoy the views, fresh air, and experience of it. The trip you’ll regret the most is the one you don’t take.

Be safe, I’ll look forward to the story of your hunt in the best province on earth.

-Cole


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Wildwillalaska

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
254
Location
Kenai, Alaska
Ouchie—and from the photos almost looks like that might not be the first toe you could have lost—or Canadians only have 4 toes? that will almost certainly hurt during your hunt, but with at least two weeks, you might be able to pull it off. It’s always around this time where I start lifting lighter, higher reps, stop mountain biking, and try to be smart with my adventures/escapades as everywhere I look I see a pulled back or broken hip and don’t want to get stuck on the side lines come sheep opener.

And here I was whining about a couple toenails that turned black and are slowly coming off from being banged too hard on steep descents—and of course the timing is looking more and more like they will Give or take few days of going in I bet—but will happily take them over that mangled piggy. Good luck and heal up brother.
 

Jimbob

WKR
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
1,409
Location
Smithers, BC
bummer!

My buddy trained for over two years for an Ironman and had an accident while traveling to the race. He decided to camp as the race was across the country and he was chopping wood in SANDALS at the campground and you can guess what happened. 5 days before the race and he puts an ax into his foot. A bunch of stitches and he still did it. I think he hobbled across the finish line in ~16 hours.

My solo stone hunt was the hardest thing I've done. 25 km pack out and the meat weighed 60lbs and the skull and horns weighed 18 lbs, add that to my gear and it was a grind to get it out on my own.

Here is the write up for my stone hunt.

My son (12 yr) and I are headed back this year. Leaving next week.
 

Bruce Culberson

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 28, 2015
Messages
291
Location
BC
tdot - I'd put polysporin on that and baby it as much as possible - then go for it! You never know what the future holds (especially in this province).

Back in 2010 my partner broke his collar bone 2 weeks before we were supposed to leave....so i went solo and found success! The packout was character building ;)

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/long-time-coming.763113/#post-8507321
 
Last edited:
OP
T

tdot

WKR
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
1,888
Location
BC
Ouchie—and from the photos almost looks like that might not be the first toe you could have lost—or Canadians only have 4 toes? that will almost certainly hurt during your hunt, but with at least two weeks, you might be able to pull it off. It’s always around this time where I start lifting lighter, higher reps, stop mountain biking, and try to be smart with my adventures/escapades as everywhere I look I see a pulled back or broken hip and don’t want to get stuck on the side lines come sheep opener.

And here I was whining about a couple toenails that turned black and are slowly coming off from being banged too hard on steep descents—and of course the timing is looking more and more like they will Give or take few days of going in I bet—but will happily take them over that mangled piggy. Good luck and heal up brother.

Good eye. I did have a toe removed already. But it was piggy #6 and boots are hard enough to fit without having to deal with 6 toes. ;)

Going for a training hike tomorrow or Saturday. We'll see how it feels. I might only be side hilling to the left. But if I can descend without further damage, it's a go. The van will be packed on Tuesday morning and I'll be on the road.
 
OP
T

tdot

WKR
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
1,888
Location
BC
Thanks for all the awesome stories and inspiration! It's been great to read through your stories, especially from DIY hunts here in BC. Makes them that much more impactful for me. Hopefully soon I'll be able to add a story of my own.



I say get after the journey regardless! Depending where your headed, chances are you’ll be driving past sheep mountains on your way. If your foot feels a big glum, just camp around and glass the surrounding areas, rams get glassed from the vehicle each year... I hear, Iv never been so lucky lol.

Hopefully your foot heals up quick for ya!! The family and I (3 generations) are heading out ourselves in a couple weeks in region 6 to the area I took my first (and only) ram, on a solo hunt as well. A ram in the bag or not, doing such trip solo Is a rewarding, and educating experience, one you’ll never ever forget.

Good luck on your journey! Be sure to post up a story of your first ram 🤘🏻 I’ll include a writeup of my solo hunt, it has some hiccups itself lol. Give it a read if you like, might give a little inspiration :)

bummer!

My buddy trained for over two years for an Ironman and had an accident while traveling to the race. He decided to camp as the race was across the country and he was chopping wood in SANDALS at the campground and you can guess what happened. 5 days before the race and he puts an ax into his foot. A bunch of stitches and he still did it. I think he hobbled across the finish line in ~16 hours.

My solo stone hunt was the hardest thing I've done. 25 km pack out and the meat weighed 60lbs and the skull and horns weighed 18 lbs, add that to my gear and it was a grind to get it out on my own.

Here is the write up for my stone hunt.

My son (12 yr) and I are headed back this year. Leaving next week.
tdot - I'd put polysporin on that and baby it as much as possible - then go for it! You never know what the future holds (especially in this province).

Back in 2010 my partner broke his collar bone 2 weeks before we were supposed to leave....so i went solo and found success! The packout was character building ;)

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/long-time-coming.763113/#post-8507321
 

TheGDog

WKR
Joined
Jun 12, 2020
Messages
3,266
Location
OC, CA
Two Weeks to Heal? Not enough time for that one. Better take some ThermalGlue (super glue) then, and a few extra pair of socks. You won't heal enough to prevent the annoying bleeding that will happen once you start hiking on it. And the sock will get bloody at the toe and spook any game that catch a whiff of that.

It's a long story, but I remove my Big Toe Nails regularly... by hand... whenever they grow back out cause had painful problems with 'em for much of my life when younger. Finally just said screw it, they gotta go.

Finally had enough of it and just started ripping em out. It's not as bad as it sounds though. You just gotta be patient and apply constant pull upward on the nail until the nail-bed slowly starts letting go. And then you just gotta wait and keep applying the pull. But the last bit by the cuticle and deep into the sides never wants to let go cleanly on ya, and ya bleed like a stuck pig until you can slap on the Flexible Cloth / Waterproof Wide Big-Size Bandaids. And yeah.. you better bring several of those too. They work pretty well.. but you will still have blood get thru 'em and into your sock toe for a bit.

And your deal there will take a little longer. Right now try to keep it open to the air as much as possible and slather it up good with the Neosporin or comparable product. Also after showers, in the beginning, maybe even heat up some water and melt a buncha salt into it and submerge that toe into that saline water as hot as you can stand it.

P.S. When toes get peeled like that, they hurt like a B**ch, don't they! ;)

P.S. if anyone wants to PM me... I'll show you a horrific Meme that reminds people not to wear flip-flops on a motorcycle... and as you've learned, that also applies to bicycles as well!
 
OP
T

tdot

WKR
Joined
Aug 18, 2014
Messages
1,888
Location
BC
8 days later then I'd planned, but I'm just passing thru Fort St John's, BC, and 8 hours or so from my destination Turns out I also damaged some of the ligaments in my foot, then the toe got infected. But infection is mostly under control and the swelling in my foot finally came down enough to get my boot on. So I've added an extra pound of medical supplies and I'm off. I figured with all the guys who couldn't even get to go on their sheep hunts this year, it was the least I could do.

Will report back in 2 weeks if I'm successful! Thanks for all the words of encouragement.
 

fmyth

WKR
Joined
Mar 14, 2019
Messages
1,595
Location
Arizona
Remove the offending toe. You have 9 others. When they see how weakness is handled they will get their shit together. In all seriousness the pain you are going to endure on that hunt will be worth it! Go for it.
 

FlyGuy

WKR
Joined
Aug 13, 2016
Messages
2,088
Location
The Woodlands, TX
Remove the offending toe. You have 9 others. When they see how weakness is handled they will get their shit together. In all seriousness the pain you are going to endure on that hunt will be worth it! Go for it.

Well, I think he has 8 others, but I get your point...


You can’t cheat the mountain
 

William Hanson (live2hunt)

Super Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 17, 2013
Messages
4,865
Location
Missouri
This is all going to make harvesting that sheep all the more cool. You're going to have to give us a full write-up.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 
Top