shines@times
Well-known member
Wish it had gone better for you on the planned hunt; but at least you got into the sheep country by the looks of those great photos--that's better than I managed on my first try!
Endangered Grizzly Bear Photo Thread
- Thread starter BigHornRam
- Start date
TrumpkinTheDwarf
Well-known member
Good to hear from you Shines! Been a while. I don't think the unlimited units are gonna be in the cards for a while. Thankfully, not due to my health this time. Something to do with a miniature version of me on the way... yada, yada, yada. @wllm would turn it into an epic thread, I'm sure.
D
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Congrats on the ctrl + c, ctrl + v !
KilZdonk
Member
Thank you for the welcome shines!
Where do you guys draw the line for water purification? Wasn't worried as much on the plateau until I seen some old bones at the foot of some snow pack.
Where do you guys draw the line for water purification? Wasn't worried as much on the plateau until I seen some old bones at the foot of some snow pack.
shines@times
Well-known member
If I can get my old ass out into the mountains again, any mountains, for more than a quart* or two will suffice, I'm not sure what I will do about potable water these days. When I began contemplating a resumption of backpack hunting, I bought a MSR pump-type filtration system; but it seems overly bulky and heavy, and I did not pack it along on the couple trips I've made since the purchase. I simply reverted to my old practice of drinking untreated water from sources that "looked clean enough"
. I did not turn 
or 
, though I don't recommend such an incautious attitude.For lack of getting out myself, I've been watching a lot of videos lately. I'm thinking about getting something like the Sawyer Products SP129 system, though I'm not crazy about plastic bags even though they make sense for gravity transfer. One can hardly beat boiling to kill biological pathogens in wilderness settings. Iodine tablets are probably a smart thing to carry for little weight and space they occupy in the pack. However, neither iodine treatment, nor boiling are ideal for those who prefer to not delay satisfaction.
Before there were nearly as many people on the planet, and I had a better-functioning immune system, I did not fret about water sources. Of course, I have lived most of my life in oft-drenched western WA where I had literally drunk water flowing in ditches alongside old logging roads. In my defense, I was new to the PNW and young enough at the time that I was not aware of how heavily conifer reproduction plots--we generally just refer to them as "reprod" or "dog hair" once they grow to jungle density--are aerially sprayed with herbicides, fertilizer and pesticides.
* That's a tad** less than a liter for the youngsters.
** Archaic term for a small amount--likewise explained for the non-geriatric.
MTLabrador
Well-known member
I spent an entire summer working in the Beartooths when I was in college, and I got lazy with water purification because we were a long ways back in and it seemed like it should be clean. After about a month of that strategy I ended up in the ER for a day hooked up to an IV. Never been that sick before or since, and I always filter my water now.
lonedave
Well-known member
Like you, I remember drinking out of what I thought were obviously “clean” sources and never thought twice about them. About the only times I ever hesitated was drinking from a duck pond near Burbank, WA after swishing away the top scum or the time I drank from a trickle emanating from a hillside below a farm barnyard after chasing a buck for several miles in the Snake River canyon. Nothing came of those times either, but I wouldn’t try either one today! Sometimes I wish I was young and dumb again!!If I can get my old ass out into the mountains again, any mountains, for more than a quart* or two will suffice, I'm not sure what I will do about potable water these days. When I began contemplating a resumption of backpack hunting, I bought a MSR pump-type filtration system; but it seems overly bulky and heavy, and I did not pack it along on the couple trips I've made since the purchase. I simply reverted to my old practice of drinking untreated water from sources that "looked clean enough"
For lack of getting out myself, I've been watching a lot of videos lately. I'm thinking about getting something like the Sawyer Products SP129 system, though I'm not crazy about plastic bags even though they make sense for gravity transfer. One can hardly beat boiling to kill biological pathogens in wilderness settings. Iodine tablets are probably a smart thing to carry for little weight and space they occupy in the pack. However, neither iodine treatment, nor boiling are ideal for those who prefer to not delay satisfaction.
Before there were nearly as many people on the planet, and I had a better-functioning immune system, I did not fret about water sources. Of course, I have lived most of my life in oft-drenched western WA where I had literally drunk water flowing in ditches alongside old logging roads. In my defense, I was new to the PNW and young enough at the time that I was not aware of how heavily conifer reproduction plots--we generally just refer to them as "reprod" or "dog hair" once they grow to jungle density--are aerially sprayed with herbicides, fertilizer and pesticides.
* That's a tad** less than a liter for the youngsters.
** Archaic term for a small amount--likewise explained for the non-geriatric.
This is a good lesson for those of us that rarely treat water.
TrumpkinTheDwarf
Well-known member
I use a steripen or a gravity filter system that I based around a Sawyer squeeze, just depending on temperatures. Steripen/Nalgenes won't freeze like a mechanical filtration system.
Did they identify the bug what got ya?
Hem
Well-known member
Dropping off Crazy Peak in desperate need of water i flitered from a trickle beneath a snow field. Filter clogged from sediment. No choice but to drink . Then I noticed all the goat shit. Only time I risked it.
Happy ending other than the goshawk trying to snatch my blonde mane.
Happy ending other than the goshawk trying to snatch my blonde mane.
MTLabrador
Well-known member
It wasn’t giardia or crypto, they figured out after the fact that it was most likely campylobacter.
Bluffgruff
Well-known member
I bet that sentinel evacuation must have been epic!
sclancy27
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2022
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I got giardia working for the FS in Red Lodge my junior year of college. I lost like 12 lbs in a couple weeks before I figured out what was going on, I think I weighed 160 ish @ 6'1" at the end of it. Good times.
shines@times
Well-known member
Good point!
Despite the labor investment required, I've often just opted for melting snow during Winter conditions--gives one something to do for a couple hours during those long nights!
Only 12 lbs in a couple weeks? Try that in 24 hours….
I think this was the culprit and it was one of the few times I’ve filtered water. Not sure it was the cause as I was the only one in our group to get sick but it seems highly likely….
KilZdonk
Member
If I was in your position Fire9 I would just drink those cold ones floating in there!!
I had a gravity filter from LifeStraw and it clogged up on me. The time it took me to take it apart, clean it, and put it all back my buddy had already filled 2 Liters with the befree. That is all I carry now and love it. But, Katadyn does make a better filter so if I do decide to do a gravity again that's what I'll get.
So do you guys filter all your water no matter what? my question was more about at what point do you draw the line between drinking straight from the source vs. filtering... Snow melt runoff, Seeing where it daylights, anything on the plateau?
I had a gravity filter from LifeStraw and it clogged up on me. The time it took me to take it apart, clean it, and put it all back my buddy had already filled 2 Liters with the befree. That is all I carry now and love it. But, Katadyn does make a better filter so if I do decide to do a gravity again that's what I'll get.
So do you guys filter all your water no matter what? my question was more about at what point do you draw the line between drinking straight from the source vs. filtering... Snow melt runoff, Seeing where it daylights, anything on the plateau?
If it’s well below freezing, filters and pumps are useless so I’ll just boil.
If its consistently above freezing then I’ll use an MSR Guardian. A little big and heavy but super fast and zero maintenance.
Another advantage to a pump such as that is if there isn’t much water around you can kick a puddle into a tiny muddy seep and get water from that. That would immediately clog most filters and pumps or would be impossible to extract without a pump.
If its consistently above freezing then I’ll use an MSR Guardian. A little big and heavy but super fast and zero maintenance.
Another advantage to a pump such as that is if there isn’t much water around you can kick a puddle into a tiny muddy seep and get water from that. That would immediately clog most filters and pumps or would be impossible to extract without a pump.
Hams42
Well-known member
Hello all I just wanted to say hello and share a few pictures. I have lurked here for a while and have been tossing the idea of hunting the unlimited units for a while. I finally decided this was the year. I figure while I am still young and dumb I might as well try to kill a sheep instead of waiting until I'm 70 to finally draw a tag.
Here are a few grainy phone scope pictures of a band of rams I found while bear hunting last spring.
Here are a few grainy phone scope pictures of a band of rams I found while bear hunting last spring.
