All that said, I am learning by making rookie mistakes, and surviving. I am trying to make fewer and fewer as I go. I am "Minnesota Bush Savvy", I'd say. SO FAR it has gotten me by up here - though I've been in a few sticky situations over the past six seasons - that's for sure. Perhaps one day when I am really bored, I will tell those tales. But not yet...

Morning comes soon, and another opportunity to check the line. Though colder, the forecast looks better regarding wind. I'm behind in what I want to do, and don't think I can get it all done tomorrow. But perhaps one good chunk of my line, and we will go from there.

Daylight is getting longer. There are more minutes of daylight for work, I've noticed. This is good....

As long as you keep surviving WH that's what matters. But sometimes your first mistake in a situation can be your last.

Several years ago we were out on a pack trip on the Continental divide. Great time, but as we were heading back the weather changed and the skies opened up. In this country crossing creeks and rivers is mandatory as the only access is through their valleys. So you cross them 20 - 30 times in a day in some spots. The trail boss, in this case, was a 68-year-old mountain man and his sidekick was an 82-year-old local aboriginal guide. After day two the boss told us at breakfast that things weren't looking good and he and Tommy thought it would be a good idea if we holed up for a while.

We made a quick camp move to a pine flat located several terraces up from the river. Tarps went up, dry wood was cut and stacked, horses put under heavy conifer cover, and a rainwater salvage tarp set up so we had clean water. And we waited. It rained 4 days pretty much steady, and then took 2 days to drop enough to travel. We played cards and drank coffee and told stories ( that was reason enough for me to stay, these guys were the real deal) then we went home.

Three sheep hunters in the same storm. Got caught in heavy snow in the high country, broke their way back to treeline and down to trail to the first crossing. One of the guys insisted they make for grande cache as he had business commitments. He didn't make it across and he and his horse drowned. Now his grieving and totally shocked buddies had to camp and wait just like us. But I guarantee you the mood in that camp wasn't the same and it would better if this story didn't exist.

What kills men is Ego.

Great point Brian !! I've seen that very thing play out with airplanes in marginal weather

I recall a few years ago in the spring .....I had to pull the boat into a creek mouth and camp for 4-5 days until the wind quit. The swells on the river were just too much for a flat bottom boat

I'm glad you two can tell the stories as above................I got out of the consulting business because of the loss of 3 friends in similar events. You sure hope your buddies can play cards at least in the waiting game. Crib anyone!

I also lost one. 2 of us survived. Skiff hunt gone bad. Had we waited just a couple hours, might have made a difference. The ocean doesn't care.

Been on the water a bunch of times with this guy. His last sentence.....
I am the one who tends to push the weather envelope. Not to the point of outright disregard, but you have to know what you are doing. There is a fine line between being uncomfortable and unsafe.

I use to push the envelope a lot coming down the river and crossing the bay running in a open 18’ lund in 5-6’ seas not anymore the last time almost got me and it was blowing so hard turning around or even turning in to a creek channel would have been suicide
I was scarred and not so much for me but my son who was a new father at the time now days work or anything else just has to wait . Same with the snow machine I just don’t push the envelope as much as I use to wisdom comes with the aches and pains of age

Appreciate so much the wisdom of discernment and common sense from the ones who know and are experienced .

" What kills men is Ego ." Bushman summed it up.


"I DO procrastinate mechanical type maintenance "......is a line that was intolerable for my father . He wouldn't even let anyone in his planes or on his trawlers who proudly clung to such mindset . As one who also experienced the worst of natural elements and manmade ones , WW2 fighter pilot, aircraft builder, stunt pilot, crop duster, ship captain , when he spoke, wise men learning from him really listened.

Stories as examples, not told in a bragging spirit, but shared with human concern so as to live life smart, and be refined , to help others, in turn.

Thank you, for your shared examples and wisdom , to preserve life.

I went deer hunting out of Whitter over to Easter Island in a 20 ft Duck Worth with a 150 hp jet. The day we left the water was glass. The morning we left they said swells 2-3ft. We took off came around the backside of the island into the main channel and ran. We were 1/4 of the way up when the seas went from 3ft to 10ft in the blink of an eye.
There was no turning around. All we could do was go straight. Sitting in that boat watching those 10ft waves come at you scared the living crap outta me. We were hitting so hard I broke a tooth, and watching the swells come over the back side of the boat...I thought for sure we were going to go for a swim. The nearest cove was a mile away and by the grace of God we made it.
We did all the right things in my mind, checked the weather, listened to the weather reports, made sure all our gear was 100 percent, but mother nature plays by her own rules and the sea is unforgiving. We spent the night in that cove, grateful that we made it.

Yesterday brought a whole new wrinkle to my trapline. The bay I am trapping in is FROZEN. I paused to take some video of a dozen or more harbor seals laying on the edge of the ice pack. That tells you how thick. But it did vary - and I choose areas where it was thinner. I busted ice for upwards of two miles. Boat seemed to be handling it fine. It varied from slush to thin to four inches thick. I pushed into three different area to check wolverine sets. I had one moment of excitement where I saw something was different. It's a milk crate set - and when it went off, it really blew up the cubby. I was hoping for fur, but false alarm. No evidence of anything - except weasel and mink tracks - probably the culprit.

The big part of my wolf line is up a draw - so I "busted a trail" all the way in and out of the bay, at high tide. Then went out to 20 feet, circled to break up the ice, and anchored the boat in 20 feet of water. I thought there was likely cause for concern - simply because I had never done this before and didn't know quite what to expect, but I figured I would deal with any trouble when I got back - as I planned to be away working for several hours. I followed the broken ice boat trail to the shore in my canoe. It wasn't easy. The wind and the tides cause the trail to "close right up" like a stitched up wound, and I broke a canoe paddle just trying to push myself along. I eventually got there, all sweated up. I checked all my wolf snares (43 of them). The wolves had not been back, so I set about laying in the last 20 wolf snares that I own. Adjusting things a bit. And, I put in these really cool water sets. There is a spruce tree that fell across a fresh water stream, in shallow water. It is staying open because of water movement. FAMILY TRAPPER Len and I have been talking about water sets. He has been strongly urging me to put the leg hold traps there - so I did, and yes, if I catch, Len gets a great big huge assist!

I hollowed out two entrances - one from each side of the trunk - then blocked off the rest of the surrounding area, while trying to minimize impact. I wired a moose head into the spot. By the neck, and by the jaw. The wolves were pretty interested in this last time they were here. They ate 1/2 of the skull and neck. Polished it clean. Surprisingly, they left without finishing, and I wonder if they were actually on it when I arrived last week? The tracks and sign looked THAT fresh. Anyway, I set a MB 750 with ten feet of chain and a drag - which Minnesota Trapping Products calls "The Jack Rig" - but instead of using the drag, I wired it in hard to the trunk of the spruce, which sits up above the set about four feet. I dished out an area in the stream bed for each trap, removed most of the bigger rock and pebbles, and filled it in with some very fine sand/mud - which made a good trap bed. Then I covered it in fine silt. If you look closely, you can see the trap pan in each photo. But what you are looking at is my first attempt at Leghold for wolf. I keep reading that everyone is having trouble with the freeze/thaw cycle around here , and having traps keep working consistently. Well, this should stay working! All I need is wolves, and they are due back in about 7-14 days.


After I finished these sets, I looked at my cell phone, and it was 4:00. I figured my work was about finished - and it might be good to give myself a couple hours of daylight to compensate for any trouble with the boat - so I headed back. Well, there was my boat - high and dry, and in an area other than where I had left it moored. You see, the wind came up, and the tide went out, and it shifted my boat from 20 feet, over to the east far enough to leave it in ten feet. Then it beached. I arrived at about 5 pm. Low tide was 6:15. And, it took till about 8:45 to "float my boat." During this time, I hiked to a waterfall and got rehydrated. Hiked up and down the beach in the dark. Did some jumping jacks. Changed some damp clothes. But, like a "watched pot that never boils" - this was about the slowest tide that I have ever seen.




I still had to break ice for over a half mile - just to get back out to open water. Then, the long haul home. NDBC forecast two footers in the pm. LIE. I've watched the water like a hawk. You can't have a 20 mph wind coming from the East, all the way down the pipe that is Kachemak Bay, and expect to have two footers. They were more like 4 or 5. And I was going right into the teeth. But I could see what I was doing by the light of the moon. I took my time. A hot bath, and snuggling with my wife sounded a lot better than holing up in some state forest cabin when I didn't go prepared for that.

So it would seem that you men that run traplines with snowmobiles have your "nemesis." That is river flowages and deep snow. You get stuck. You get barriers. You get "locked out" at times. You have breakdowns.

For me, it is always about the boat. Is the boat where it is supposed to be? The wind, the currents, and the tide swings can drive a guy nuts - but I am learning. And now, we enter a new variable.

ICE. Ice that floats. Sinks. And moves like a tectonic plate. What I really need is a warm spell (not that it has been that cold) - but enough to thaw and push out that which is stuck in there. Otherwise, I'm going to be locked out for awhile.

Good to see you made it back safe and sound. Hope you connect!!!

I'd like to check the "other line" today, but after yesterday, and knowing that the wind is still cooking from the east, I am going to listen to wisdom coming from all directions, and have a "down day."

My spine has been compressed from all the banging in the boat yesterday. I think I need a new seat/pedestal after that run.

My wife seemingly came right out of menopause. You think she was scared when I didn't return home "on time" - whatever that is here in AK? Crazy to think she was that fearful, but I gotta think of a way to do better.

I need a good electronic device to be able to send her a message from remote places - so she knows what is going on. Like, no big deal honey. I'm just waiting for my boat to float, that's all! I will be home at ten.

What do you guys use to communicate from remote areas?

I always have a cut off time. If I know I am going to back around 6pm I will tell the wife the cut off is midnight and to call the troopers if I am not back. I also have a hard grid for her if I camp. If I travel, she has a map of my route. A sat phone is always nice and I am sure others will chime in other sources of communication.

As long as I am being thoughtful and introspective here... another thought...

I am well connected in MN. I have men that are closer than brothers. We spend loads of time together - hunting and fishing and exploring. I am spoiled that way.

Thus far - as I think about my six seasons in Alaska, I have been rather disconnected and isolated - and it has grated on me. I work hard in the summer. All day, every day - doing tours of the bay, mostly taking guests out who are staying at our B and B. It is generally the rule that I am out working on the sea, but when I am not - there is ALWAYS work to do at the B and B. Lawn mowing. Painting. Staining. Repairs. It never ends. So - summers leave me zero opportunity for meeting and making friendships with like minded men - as I have in MN. This is perhaps one of the things that I miss the most. That, and my four year old granddaughter.

I feel that the isolation part is changing now. I have much more leisure time. I am spending more time socializing. And, I am so happy to report that - since I began posting on T-man not that long ago, several guys have stepped up to show an interest, to "come alongside" me in my trapping endeavors, and I feel like I am making new friends. Thanks to those who have.

The thing is, I spend the vast majority of my time out there, alone. There is no one else to rely on, but me. And, since I am alone - there is no other input, either. What I decide is what happens. And if I get myself into trouble, I am the only way I'm gonna get out.

Like, what Bushman suggested - I could use another experienced man or two to lean on for advice, and, if we get so we have to "hole up", then I got someone to play crib with. Another point of view might help me to balance.

This is part of my new purpose here on the KP. To get connected like that.

Yes - I'm not that experienced. Like, I've never caught a wolf, and since I got my first wolverine now - just a week ago, getting a wolf is the "next big thing." But based on what everyone else is saying, and based on the sign I've seen, and what the wolves are doing when they DO come through, I am feeling SUPER hopeful. When they come back, they could be in some big, big trouble. I'd be ecstatic with one, but if a bunch show up and spend some time milling about like they have been.... well, that's what I'm dreaming of - I'm not gonna lie.

I've got a bloated, spoiled moose I'm feeding them. Here's hoping they show up and stay - permanently.

There's not much I'd rather do right now than spend a day packing wolves out of the bush haha!

But by the looks of the weather forecast, it doesn't look like the sea will allow me to check for at least five days - esp. if I am listening to the advice of the wise sages on here.

Well you have kept me informed of progress and chatted enough that I have Waited until tonight to read up on your exploits. Well done! A great journal. Hmm Wonder how those things got started on here. Your doing awesome. WH you have what it takes to be successful no doubt. Glad I could help coach you in a few things. Gets my head back into the game. Look forward to helping you learn the art of snare building this week. Looks like you could have used my help earlier on the uploading thing. Yep the iPhone is notorious for producing photos that are too large to upload here. There are various apps you can use to do this. Some free some not. Looks like you have it taken care of.

Keeping in contact. As we have discussed and I will post here for others to glean from. I have gone from using a sat phone to the inreaxch satellite texting device. Bought out in the last year by Garmin. It is hands down my go to communication device. Unlike the sat phone, At least globalstar which I used for years it is reliable. Affordable and has many options for plans. Texts will get in and out. Maybe not immediately. They will transmit. You can get weather. and if all else fails put out an emergency call. Some one will come. Be warned. as other on here have discussed. It sometimes has been known to malfunction. Or in the case of user error. Leave you embarrassed.
The offer still stands. You can use my second one any time you want until you get one. The tide and ocean. Lots of good advice here. Like they say. Better safe than sorry. Lot of options some more uncomfortable than others. Just plan for them and what would be a cold night out could be just another camping trip. Look forward to reading more.

Is that really Len or just some Russian bot ??

I put a couple of buddies of mine ashore after we developed some boat troubles. The plan was for me to limp the boat to a landing and for them to hike out and meet me there. I got the boat repaired and went back looking for them. I scoured the lakeshore and river looking but couldn't find them.


After several hours I was beginning to panic, especially after I realized I had dropped them on an island in the river and saw no way for them to get off. I thought for sure they must have drowned trying to get off.

They were friends, but also coworkers so I called my boss to give him a heads up on the situation. I also called the troopers. They told me they couldn't do anything for a minimum of 48 hours and to call if they hadn't showed up. I was sweating bullets thinking I had put my friends in a position that had cost them their lives.

Forty-eight hours finally passed and I alerted the troopers. They immediately launched a search team, air and ground. They had no sooner gotten underway when a trooper came upon a couple of guys who had just popped out of the bush and onto the road. It took those guys two days to hike out of that hellhole. Scratched and bruised but none the worse for wear.

Ya been laying low. Arm chair trapper these days. Fun to be able to help WH with a few things. Thought I better check out his journal.


Ya been laying low. Arm chair trapper these days. Fun to be able to help WH with a few things. Thought I better check out his journal.

On those water sets i woud use some small rocks to guide their feet..... and i cannot use exposed bait here in SE or i would catch birds...i build a rock pile and set around that. Subtle guiding for wolves is OK, the cinder block set comes to mind.
I carry an inreach paired to my phone. Its about $10 month
Also, i would personally not be using a canoe, for your go to shore boat...they tip more easily than an inflatable, and imo are lake craft only...we lost a local trapper this last Dec as he was going to his skiff in a canoe.
I carry a vhf and use a float coat when going to and from my skiff in southeast. You gotta always be prepared....i carry a small drybag with jetboil food and some dry clothes, firestarter, etc.
Prepare for the worst and use your head, and you will live your dream and catch fur. Even Jeremiah johnson learned the hard way.....be safe. I also have a glicose need as a type 1, 38 yo) ..so i have to pack food, carbs, sugar.

Im jealous of your wolverine success, congrats.
Maybe i will catch one someday
On those wolves , dont overthink it..Kiss