Sitting here in Anchorage, homeward bound. This was the hardest hunt physically, and definitely mentally, I've ever been on. Nothing else even compares. It was also what I would consider the most successful hunt I've ever been on, yet my tag went un punched.
I was only able to actually hunt for 2 half day periods. The rest of the time I was trapped in a spike tent on the side of a godforsaken mountain in incessant rain, wind and fog. The outfitter said it was his second wettest hunt period ever. That said, I had two close calls and actually got to look a big billy in the eye! It was just plain awesome!
I'm sitting here with so many thoughts running through my mind. I'm not even going to try to organize them, so try to enjoy my fragmented ramblings. All I know for sure is that my life has been forever enriched by the experience of the last few days.
What I learned:
An ice axe made me love my wife and kids more. It saved my life and arrested a death defying fall. I looked at it outside my tent that night and started crying.
Chicks in Xtra Tuffs are kinda hot. My wife needs a pair.
Never take being warm and dry for granted.
When trapped in a tent in bad weather, read a war novel. It will remind you that even when it's bad, it's not that bad.
Even the best Hilleberg won't win a fight against Mother Nature when she's pissed off. It wasn't much drier inside my tent than outside. A wet sleeping bag is kinda scary in that country.
I have a love/hate relationship with crampons.
Gore tex is fake waterproof.
I want plastic boots.
Your feet will make or break a hunt. Wet boots for 5 days tore mine to shreds.
SE Alaska rain is a different kind of rain. It's meaner.
Health and fitness is one of life's greatest blessings, second only to that of your kids'.
That sucked, but I'm tougher now. That became my mantra.
How inconsequential filling a tag is. Most hunters end up with a rifle on this hunt even if they start out with a bow. The kill was virtually meaningless to me. The experience itself was enough, more than enough. Fulfilling.
Waterproof stuff sacks are worth the extra money.
Why can't someone make a waterproof backpack?
Prayers soothe and work. My backpack will now and forever carry a rosary.
Mountain goats make deer seem like wimps
Alders suck, wet alders suck more.
Dennis Zadra of Lonesome Dove Outfitters is the most conscientious and hard working outfitter I've ever had the pleasure of doing business with.
And that's about all she wrote. I'm a different man today than I was a week ago.
I was only able to actually hunt for 2 half day periods. The rest of the time I was trapped in a spike tent on the side of a godforsaken mountain in incessant rain, wind and fog. The outfitter said it was his second wettest hunt period ever. That said, I had two close calls and actually got to look a big billy in the eye! It was just plain awesome!
I'm sitting here with so many thoughts running through my mind. I'm not even going to try to organize them, so try to enjoy my fragmented ramblings. All I know for sure is that my life has been forever enriched by the experience of the last few days.
What I learned:
An ice axe made me love my wife and kids more. It saved my life and arrested a death defying fall. I looked at it outside my tent that night and started crying.
Chicks in Xtra Tuffs are kinda hot. My wife needs a pair.
Never take being warm and dry for granted.
When trapped in a tent in bad weather, read a war novel. It will remind you that even when it's bad, it's not that bad.
Even the best Hilleberg won't win a fight against Mother Nature when she's pissed off. It wasn't much drier inside my tent than outside. A wet sleeping bag is kinda scary in that country.
I have a love/hate relationship with crampons.
Gore tex is fake waterproof.
I want plastic boots.
Your feet will make or break a hunt. Wet boots for 5 days tore mine to shreds.
SE Alaska rain is a different kind of rain. It's meaner.
Health and fitness is one of life's greatest blessings, second only to that of your kids'.
That sucked, but I'm tougher now. That became my mantra.
How inconsequential filling a tag is. Most hunters end up with a rifle on this hunt even if they start out with a bow. The kill was virtually meaningless to me. The experience itself was enough, more than enough. Fulfilling.
Waterproof stuff sacks are worth the extra money.
Why can't someone make a waterproof backpack?
Prayers soothe and work. My backpack will now and forever carry a rosary.
Mountain goats make deer seem like wimps
Alders suck, wet alders suck more.
Dennis Zadra of Lonesome Dove Outfitters is the most conscientious and hard working outfitter I've ever had the pleasure of doing business with.
And that's about all she wrote. I'm a different man today than I was a week ago.
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glad to hear you are safe and dry.
