Alaska has been very dry the last month plus. Rain is forecast over the weekend, which will be welcome. Our remote cabin is 100 miles west of here, and about 40 SW of it, a tundra fire has been burning in the area we fly and hunt. This is a picture of that tundra fire (we didn't take the picture).
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
The fireweed is near peak in our town.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Heading out for a week at a remote cabin tomorrow…
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
bring lots of warm stuff suitable for cool and wet conditions -- been 40's-50's F the last weekOriginally Posted by Clusterfrack
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Heading home after an excellent Kodiak trip with @JCL. More details soon.
Last edited by Clusterfrack; 07-30-2022 at 01:03 AM.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
August and September are the two wettest months in SW Alaska, and right on cue, as August approached, the switch flipped bringing lots of rain and low clouds. The last few days have been especially wet, with 40's and low 50's, along with low ceilings. The weather forecast suggested we might be able to hit the hills for a hike by late morning, and we watched the clouds slowly lift, where by mid morning we had 500 feet or so.
We pre flighted the helicopter, cranked the ship, and headed southwest to a hiking spot, that wasn't too high, hopefully allowing us to get in there with the weather. We got to within a few miles, but the clouds were down to the ground, causing us to head west looking for a place to land and hike. After some searching, we found an LZ at the base of a ridge that was up in the clouds. On approach, we saw a nice bull caribou, that we took as a positive omen.
Here is our landing spot.
Yesterday, Astro was showing us her front left paw, so we watched her carefully to see how far she wanted to go. She got out of the ship, stretched, and seemed ready to run. Since we were hiking up into the clouds, Charlie made a waypoint on her iPhone and Garmin watch. I was trying to decide rain pants or no rain pants, and picked no, which led to wet legs later.
We scanned in all directions for caribou and bears, but generally just headed up. It was 40's, windy and raining, and my hands were cold enough that I slung the shotgun and mostly kept my hands in my pockets!
Astro was running like a three year old, casting 500 yards in each direction, sending ptarmigan flying everywhere. In the second picture you see about a dozen of them, and they are changing from summer to winter color.
On the way down, we came upon a disturbed area where a grizzly bear had been digging for parky squirrels. Charlie joked that the only footprints that interested me today were attached to a bear or caribou.
As we were hiking in the clouds, Charlie had the helicopter waypoint up on her watch.
The clouds had moved in while we were hiking, so we hung out at the helicopter for a while, snacking, and letting things improve.
On the way out we flew over the area of tundra that burned in June.
Back at our cabin, Astro reminded us that she gets lunch in addition to her other two meals on days she is running birds and ridges. A tired Vizsla (and wife) is a happy one.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
Fall feels like it is close. Here is yesterday morning, when we stopped for a hike on the way to go shooting.
As I reported in another thread, yesterday a bear or bears pooped all over our driveway. This afternoon we got out of the car at our house, and in my haste to get in the house and out of the rain, missed seeing a moose 15 yards away, happily eating fireweed.
Then we went on a hike down below our house in the rain. Just as we reached a big tree that Astro has been pointing spruce hens in, I caught a big flurry of movement. I thought here comes Astro, when I realized Astro was coming behind what I thought was Astro. A linx ran by me, less than 10 yards away. This is a picture of one off the AK F&G website. Really neat ears, similar in size to Astro, but heavier built.
The grass is quite high in that area, and you are just pushing through the brush.
Lots of nature all around, but we could go for a little less rain. Definitely closed emitter conditions.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
What a pleasure this thread is.
"Rich," the Old Man said dreamily, "is a little whiskey to drink and some food to eat and a roof over your head and a fish pole and a boat and a gun and a dollar for a box of shells." Robert Ruark
@GJM : if you have a moment, can you confirm your pistol gear, please?
ACRO? Ammo load out?
Thanks in advance
And thanks for sharing your journeys!
My wife and I have similar set ups for our field pistols. Safariland 6378 RDS holsters (although I also use a JM frequently), Gen 4/5 Glock 19, Mayhem Syndicate barrel/comp, Maple Leaf or MOS optic cut, Acro or 509T (407CO when it isn't raining), Agency/Overwatch/CHPWS mag wells and grip plugs, TLR-7A, LTT stippling, Underwood Lehigh 115+P penetrator loads.
Good piece from 5PINS on Lehigh bullet penetration:
https://general-cartridge.com/2019/0...allistics-gel/
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
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