For some reason my pictures are not attaching

Thank you, being free is a hard thing to do nowadays

You got that right, every land manager is working hard to keep you from being free!! Being nervous is natural and you should be nervous, there's a lot that can go wrong out there and given enough time it will. If your going to be traveling alone make sure you have a good pair of snowshoes and a little pull behind sled in case you have to walk out. It also would be a good idea to cache extra food and survival gear along your trapline just in case. Keep your clothes and sleeping bag in something waterproof in case you sink your snogo. Good luck out there and be safe.............................................

Don't forget a canoe!

Our snow machine is a 2003! It’s not super fancy but it runs good and will do the job I need it to

Dry firewood. Lots of seasoned firewood.

Victor#0- Yessir I got some good snow shoes, an inreach and extra food stashed at the beginning of the line plus lots of .22

I have a dry bag for my sleeping bag and bivy came real handy out in wood river during moose season.

Also, you look real familiar do you run a YouTube channel called tanana yuut by chance?

Also very nice lookin wolf

No I'm not on youtube and I rarely have intranet except when I happen to be in Fairbanks, usually we freeze in on our trapline but we're going in later after freeze up this year. I look forward to seeing your pics in the spring..................................

You sound determined and I hope you have a good safe productive season.

One word of caution you are going to experience cold like you never saw before if wintering in Washington was your cold weather experience.

Also your 550 is known for blowing pistons, keep a spare and gasket if you can. It also might/probably not start at -40 without preheating.

Good luck. We will be here if you have internet and any questions.

Yessir it is definitely a different cold there though I was wintering in my wall tent high up in the mountains and regularly saw -20f

But I will definitely look into getting some spares to have on hand

Oh...and a bottle of heat. never leave home without it I use a shot in my tank on a cold morning while warming it up, and use it again at the first sign of icing before its too late.

I bring a hot thermos of water too and in case it ices up bad, better than peeing on the carbs

I would bet more people walked home with iced up carbs than broke down machines.

Ditto on the heet, I also never pour any gas into the gas tank unless it goes through a Mr. funnel. A rope-a-long with plenty of rope sure comes in handy too....................

Second what yj and victor say about the sled. I have blown cylinder's twice on one and a clutch on another, all on days below -20. Alot colder were your at You got a parts manual for it yet? Extra plugs and a spare belt are also a must. Wouldnt be a be idea to have a back up sled for parts. YJ has a very valid point on having a plan on getting it started / preheating when your out. Good luck and be safe!

I would love to do this myself but would like to know a tanning recipe that I could use that would be affordable

Gray Wolf

You came to the right place for advice. Lots of real experience can be gained here.

I hope it gets cold soon so you can get started. Lots of creeks and rivers to cross to long line out of Nenana.

Good luck and keep us all informed when you can!

My 2 cents on this whole topic, as a person who has begun switching from a really well paying job to commercial fishing and trapping/ living in our wilderness cabin year round.

Some people get too worried about making a living instead of living. The extra time I'm spending with my kids while they're small is worth more then anything on earth. Providing for myself and my family is something we truly enjoy and possible to do it just takes a lot of effort.

But the statement I'd rather die free then get a job is a dangerous mindset to be heading out into trapping with. I hope you weigh your risks better then this implies, because the best way to raise your kids is by being alive. I think almost everyone on here can name someone who passed from a poor decision.

^^^^^ Or found them before they were really close!!!

I bet McCandless wished he had brought one.

I was thinking the same thing. Wonder what ever happened to Andrew?

Get more wood. Don’t forget your shovel and rope along