- Thread Starter
- #21
update,
after trip thoughts and little nuggets of insight…(only my personal thoughts after my first trip to the Frank, im not an expert or a very good writer)
1. High creosote levels in mountain pine clog spark arrestors in ti stoves and smoke you out of the tent at 1am....
true story I busted out of the tent like my bag was on fire.... I thought it was hahah
2.heavy rifles suck more than a heavy pack, but heavy packs suck too! if you think, "I might need it"... you don't, except a pair of lite crocks im glad I had those, great for relaxing your feet
3. Good treeking poles and goretex gators are Absolute GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!! having poles is essential for that insane steep stuff and im not sure boots are as important to spend all that money on. I think it depends on your feet and what your body needs im torn between my crispis and a good high-top hiking sneaker in snow the crispis win hands down tho!!! but they take forever to dry after creek crossing if you get in over gators...
4 spend your money on 10x42 binos lica swaro etc, avoid the fancy rifles I spent 4,000 on a ridgeline 300prc and a leupold mark5hd 5-25 (traded for mk5hd in 3-18) I wish I would have just bought a tikka in 30-06 with a 3-9 and a cds dial for about 1200 bucks total and bought really good glass, however im really glad I bought a good hard case for my rifle the roads beat up your gear something fierce!
5 The roads are not like they look on google!!!!!!!!! Plan on messing up your pant a bit or bring an ATV
the roads are very hard on tires!! make sure you have good ones, deep tread prevents them sharp little rocks from punching through. my buddy had 3 truck tires pop over the course of two weeks out there.
6. don't pack breakable/popable items on the trailer its turns into a paint shaker on them roads!!!!! out of a case of beer in the cooler we had 3 cans that didn't pop bucket of chili and meatloaf and busted gallons of water it was a mess
7. I really liked my uv water purifier but we drank from a stream that the water had tasted funny so we dumped it out and found a different stream, come to find out it runs through an old leaking mine and that waters bad!!! dodged a bullet there!!! be careful what you drink..
8. forest fires are more common than I thought. it totally changed my initial plan and plan b, ended up spending two days in the truck putting on the miles and feeling out the area (its enormous!) I feel it really helped us out and we were also getting acclimated to the elevation so it helped with that as well
9. step ups rock! payed of huge! I had an upside down bucket in my office and did them several times a day and isolated each leg (found out one was much stronger than the other!) and worked on doing as many as possible it payed off on them hills!
10. I like ON X MAPS, but so does everyone else!
11. good pants where important! I like stretchy pants and I cant understate how much I liked crotch zips to let out that extra heat. its easy to shed your top but even family looks at you funny when you hike in underpants!
add on to that I liked wool boxers and tee but fancy expensive "hunting gear" past maybe a rain coat seemed like a waste of money. id focus on how noisy things are before anything one thing that totally surprised me is how well noise travels up the mountain! I cant understate how well noise traveled up without wind, especially at night!!!!! wind carry's scent and noise with it keep that in mind!
12. Trust but verify, (this one is based on experience and a quote by Gen. "CHAOS" Mattis) im sure this will ruffle some feathers but take what the locals or other hunters say with a grain of salt. some folks out there will give you bad info and even go as far as to move or remove road signs post public land etc to keep local knowledge local... happens in my neck of the woods during hunting season as well, dont get me wrong some guys will really help you out, others not so much.
13. Enjoy yourself.
14. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity- Rolland Martin
after trip thoughts and little nuggets of insight…(only my personal thoughts after my first trip to the Frank, im not an expert or a very good writer)
1. High creosote levels in mountain pine clog spark arrestors in ti stoves and smoke you out of the tent at 1am....
true story I busted out of the tent like my bag was on fire.... I thought it was hahah
2.heavy rifles suck more than a heavy pack, but heavy packs suck too! if you think, "I might need it"... you don't, except a pair of lite crocks im glad I had those, great for relaxing your feet
3. Good treeking poles and goretex gators are Absolute GOLD!!!!!!!!!!!! having poles is essential for that insane steep stuff and im not sure boots are as important to spend all that money on. I think it depends on your feet and what your body needs im torn between my crispis and a good high-top hiking sneaker in snow the crispis win hands down tho!!! but they take forever to dry after creek crossing if you get in over gators...
4 spend your money on 10x42 binos lica swaro etc, avoid the fancy rifles I spent 4,000 on a ridgeline 300prc and a leupold mark5hd 5-25 (traded for mk5hd in 3-18) I wish I would have just bought a tikka in 30-06 with a 3-9 and a cds dial for about 1200 bucks total and bought really good glass, however im really glad I bought a good hard case for my rifle the roads beat up your gear something fierce!
5 The roads are not like they look on google!!!!!!!!! Plan on messing up your pant a bit or bring an ATV
the roads are very hard on tires!! make sure you have good ones, deep tread prevents them sharp little rocks from punching through. my buddy had 3 truck tires pop over the course of two weeks out there.
6. don't pack breakable/popable items on the trailer its turns into a paint shaker on them roads!!!!! out of a case of beer in the cooler we had 3 cans that didn't pop bucket of chili and meatloaf and busted gallons of water it was a mess
7. I really liked my uv water purifier but we drank from a stream that the water had tasted funny so we dumped it out and found a different stream, come to find out it runs through an old leaking mine and that waters bad!!! dodged a bullet there!!! be careful what you drink..
8. forest fires are more common than I thought. it totally changed my initial plan and plan b, ended up spending two days in the truck putting on the miles and feeling out the area (its enormous!) I feel it really helped us out and we were also getting acclimated to the elevation so it helped with that as well
9. step ups rock! payed of huge! I had an upside down bucket in my office and did them several times a day and isolated each leg (found out one was much stronger than the other!) and worked on doing as many as possible it payed off on them hills!
10. I like ON X MAPS, but so does everyone else!
11. good pants where important! I like stretchy pants and I cant understate how much I liked crotch zips to let out that extra heat. its easy to shed your top but even family looks at you funny when you hike in underpants!
add on to that I liked wool boxers and tee but fancy expensive "hunting gear" past maybe a rain coat seemed like a waste of money. id focus on how noisy things are before anything one thing that totally surprised me is how well noise travels up the mountain! I cant understate how well noise traveled up without wind, especially at night!!!!! wind carry's scent and noise with it keep that in mind!
12. Trust but verify, (this one is based on experience and a quote by Gen. "CHAOS" Mattis) im sure this will ruffle some feathers but take what the locals or other hunters say with a grain of salt. some folks out there will give you bad info and even go as far as to move or remove road signs post public land etc to keep local knowledge local... happens in my neck of the woods during hunting season as well, dont get me wrong some guys will really help you out, others not so much.
13. Enjoy yourself.
14. Luck is when preparation meets opportunity- Rolland Martin
