Spring seems to be the time of year I get things done around the house. I've been building some shelves for my display room to put some of my treasures on. I just finished this one. I used porcupine quills, antlers, bear claws, and some Amethyst I tumbled that I got from my trapper buddy Rick.

Very nice!

Bushman, I see Midway has cases for your 38-70. It should be a real bear tamer. I shoot a 38-55 Winchester in a Savage 1899 made in 1907.

Thanks for the tip Tom.









I'm a bit concerned about all my bridge infrastructures out at my lodge. I've been out of town for a few days and came back to water levels we haven't seen for a while. Historically the Smoky runs at 300 cubes a sec ( cubic meters) it got as high as 900 cubes yesterday. When I crossed the smoky on a highway bridge yesterday it was a force of nature in action. Huge trees piled up on bridge pilings with more coming down the river. The highway also got blocked by a mudslide so it's not looking good. As soon as it stops raining I'll head down and survey the damage. You never know I might get lucky.

I sent out the info on my guns 38-55 38-70 to a magazine here in Canada. They sent back the following information




According to the records I have your Marlin 1893 was made in 1899. The nice clear photo you sent shows the right side only, but assuming the other side is about the same it seems to be in good condition for a rifle nearly 120 years old. It is a model B with blued receiver. There were also models made with case colored receivers which are in a bit more demand with collectors. On the other hand your rifle is in .38-55 which should be worth more than the more common .30-30 and .32 Spl. chamberings.

Collector values seem to be in a state of uncertainty in recent months but I think your rifle would bring at least $1,000 at auction, possibly $1,500. Your message mentioned you still hunt with it, well done! Some day I'd like to form a "century club" of hunters who take game with firearms more than a century old.

The Winchester 1886 is very much in demand among collectors of vintage Winchester lever actions. It is considered one of John Browning's greatest designs, and that is saying a lot. Your rifle dates to 1895 manufacture. The .38-70 chambering is rare, only 830 model 1886 rifles are known to have been chambered for this cartridge. The octagonal barrel is another feature collectors consider desirable.

Model 1886s made before 1902 had a case-colored receiver which can bring a substantial premium. On this rifle it appears the colors are almost completely faded, and overall condition shows some surface rust. Nonetheless and considering the unusual chambering I'd expect it to bring $2,000 - $2,500 at a well publicized firearm auction.

—Dave Anderson

"The search is on for a missing man who was travelling along the Smoky River near Grande Prairie with two others when their canoe capsized Saturday. RCMP officers responded to a call of a missing boater at around 6:50 p.m. near the River Stone Golf Course, northeast of Grande "

A sad story. I mentioned that the river was crazy high and some how a guy and two girls were out in a canoe that capsized. They grabbed a floating log and floated downstream for two hours. The two girls swam to shore but the guy didn't make it . I suspect they may have got trapped by the high water at a campsite and tried to get to dry land in canoe. I just can't see anyone choosing to canoe under those conditions. Water is not to be messed with.

I never had a use for canoes. I had one years ago, an 18' Coleman. Dumped me in the drink 20 feet from shore. Sold it the next day and bought a Zodiak!

The story behind this incident is a warning to all bush folks.




A client from my lodge called me today and told me he was the one who called in the rescue chopper. A 60 year old experienced white water guy decided to canoe down a tributary to the Smoky River and float to the hwy bridge and get out. He took two younger girls with him.

The first no no was they only had two life jackets, so the girls put them on, and the guy went without. As soon as they hit the water they were in trouble and tried to get to shore, but failed. The canoe hit the mainstream Smoky River and was immediately hit by a log floating downstream and they capsized. They grabbed onto a log and floated downstream clinging to it for hours.

The guy told the girls that they were approaching a campsite... and it was their last chance. He told them to swim for their lives and go get him some help. I guess the girls didn't want to go but he insisted it was now or never. The two girls made it to shore because of those life jackets, but had severe hypothermia.

My client didn't see the girls as they were swimming for their lives but he did see the guy floating by from his campsite. He made the call and the chopper arrived within 17 minutes which is incredible. Meanwhile two guys with more balls then brains jumped into their jet boat and tried to catch up to the guy. They went around a couple turns in the river and ran into a log jamb that was exploding with piled up logs, some of which were shooting 40' into the air when they hit the jamb. Needless to say they pulled a 180 and got back to the campsite dodging logs and debris the whole way.

It's easy to point fingers and say how could a guy be so stupid but I've done stupid things before and bottom line is a man paid the price for his mistake. But once again life jackets made the difference here. RIP canoe man.

Sad story.

I had a friend get thrown from his 20 ft boat while fishing a couple of weeks ago in some heavy wind. He is in good shape and a tough guy, but even he admits that if he didn't have his life vest on, the out come might not have been so good. He was surprised at how quickly he tired just trying to get back to his boat.

I need to start wearing mine all the time!

Sad story, water is definitely to be respected. Unless there is more to the story, I find it odd that an experienced white water paddler would head out with 3 people in one canoe and decide to tackle flood conditions in a raging river. Not a smart move, but like you said, we all make bad decisions at some point in time, this one happened to cost this man his life. RIP my friend.

I burned down to the lodge as soon as it stopped raining yesterday. I was hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. As I got closer I could see I was probably not going to be happy as signs of major water blow outs on every creek got worse and worse. By this I mean the creeks got higher as I got into the mountains and water was running through the trees in places it shouldn't. Keep in mind the water peaked on Saturday and I'm out Wed.

Road in was the worse I've seen in a decade. In fact I'm pulling full load trailer with quad and gear on back of truck and picking my way through a field of wash out ruts and running water when I come around corner and buddy has his 4 x 4 sideways in the ruts buried to the floor boards. I had just enough room to get by him at speed and yelled out the window as I went by " sucks to be you" Just joking. He was with two other trucks pulled over to side so he was good.

Here's some of the wash outs and water in goofy places we ran into yesterday

So I wasn't thinking positive thoughts as I walked down to my water crossings. First bridge was in place. This is the smallest channel but gets some good water. I had strung a cable across the channel years ago to catch any drifting logs, the roots stick up and snag. I had caught a floating aspen and part of it butted right up on bridge but the cable held.

My next bridge is the one I worked on a few weeks ago...and was so proud of


All I have to say is the mighty flood may have scored a TKO but it did not knock me out. My cables and decking are still in place, but the force of the water did rip my support poles on the other side out. Take note of my orange calf cart, still there. I had tied it up when I left last time.

As I suspected where once my cable car crossed the river, is now ....






I couldn't actually get out there across the middle channel so this is a long shot. The cables are on the right side tangled up in debris so I may salvage them. Not sure about the actual cart, might be in the arctic ocean by now.

My brother in law was with me and he asked me if I was upset. I started laughing and told him no. The cable car lasted at least five years and I'm getting better and better at bridge building!


I said lets make lemonade out of today's lemons and head up into the high country. So off we went

We headed up to visit my friend Steve from University of Lavalle, he's been studying mountain goats for over 25 years up here on Caw. We've seen a lot of cool things together up in this high country

Including watching the oldest goat on the ridge, 13 years old, a nanny, walk the ridge line straight up.

Steve's crew took this pic a few years back. I love this shot

You can see the cabin they stay in over Steve's shoulder. It's guy wired to resist the 100+ mile an hour winds they get. I came up once in July and had to spend the night because of blizzard.


And if you're wondering what the weather was like up top during all the rain...

I took this picture on Caw Ridge standing on the northern border of my 350 square mile trapline. Every thing you see southward to the next line of mountains is on my trapline. What a privilege, what a gift!

In regards to your comments guys about the canoe incident the take away is those two girls lived because of luck and those life jackets. I've been the worst offender all my life but all you have to do is think about your kid or grand kid drowning and you'll convert real quick. I wear mine.

I was pretty impressed with the foot bridge. With any luck, it won't be too hard to salvage.