Calling upon the vast knowledge of the old timers.

I got turned onto a spot that’s a good ways from Fairbanks. (Southeast around zipperlip mountain)
There’s no snow machine trails, other trappers and apparently it’s got some good marten country.

I’ve got me a 6x8 wall tent, stove, snowshoes and time off for November.
I’m gonna go out this summer and cache out supplies. I can comfortably do about 12-15 miles a day on snowshoes after I get everything packed down. Plan to run 12 miles one way and 12 miles the other maybe bring up 80 traps total.

Any pro tips/ lessons learned? It may be a bust but man I bet it will be fun!

Get a bigger tent. At least 10'x12'.

Yes, particularly if you are going to put up your furs in it. Cut all the firewood you can ahead of time so you aren't tied down doing that while you should be putting out traps.

I thought about a bigger tent but bigger tents are heavy and it will be on foot. I’m going for tough not smart this go round haha.

Kinda rare to need snowshoes early November. Sometimes the whole month. Where did you get a 6x8 tent? Who made it. Too small I think. If 10x12 is too heavy, try 8x10.
12 miles one way? So 12 miles back to the tent? 24 round trip? All in one day?
You sure it's safe to cache stuff there?

I wondered that, but assumed he was young and tough. 24 miles a day on a good trail or road isn't bad. . . a little rougher when you are slogging through fresh snow though. I've done it numerous times without a trail, but it all depends on the terrain, and it is plenty rough without packing anything, get a good catch and a heavy pack makes it a whole nuther ballgame. And marten are likely to be froze (they may not be in November, but you can't depend on that) so you won't be able to skin on the trail to keep your pack light.

If you are going to stretch it out that far, I would rig up a shelter at the ends of the lines, just in case. Even if it is only a tarp strung into a leanto and a pile of firewood.

You should have TWO tents. What do you plan to do if Tent #1 catches fire and burns?

what is a good ways from fairbanks? I trap at wishunew cr. Are you going to be close?

Al,

Not to worry... the location is nowhere near you!

Pete

I say go for it.
Did you say one month out there? You should be able to last that long in a 6x8 tent
Smallest wall tent I've used is 8'x10'.
We had one camp with log walls about 3.5' high inside the canvas, no chinking. The logs took up some room but we had a bunk built into the walls and it was nice to have solid walls versus canvas.
you might want to skin the marten and keep the skins frozen until you get back to town then stretch them.
In any event it'll be a good experience.

I agree-go for it. A month isn’t that long. Daylight is short so lotsa batteries for your headlamp. Thawing out bigger animals can be a challenge. Before leaving camp in the mornings set up your fire starter/kindling to be ready in case you get back cold. Fill a water bottle and roll it up in your sleeping bag (make sure it won’t leak) and it should still be liquid when you get back. Tarp over your tent. Store your bait securely. Marten will haul it all off when you aren’t home if they find it. And don’t hang up a marten to thaw over an open box of bisquick

I did just what you said when I first moved to Alaska. A 6x8 is easy to heat, big enough for just yourself. Definitely just skin the marten, will keep you from hauling stretchers out. I snowshoed a 25 mile trap line, took two days. Learned a lot as to what was really necessary and what was not. You will learn things that will affect your camping for the rest of your life. Camping is a means to an end for me, not the end. So many people glamp nowadays, it is the end, not the means to them.

Will it reliably be cold enough all of November to keep the marten skins frozen? Especially during the first part, it would be a shame if you had a warm spell and they spoiled. Of course I don't know how far out you are going to be, if you can hike out in a day, you could always take them out if you had a warm spell.

Might want to stash a lightweight nylon tent and a few other overnight necessities at the end of each 12mile line.

I'll second the idea of tent number two at the 12 mile point. That gives you the option of running an additional 10-12 mile loop and a four day round trip from base camp.

martentrapper

It’s an Alaska tent and tarp Got it at the Alaska gear company store here in Fairbanks. Guess it was a left over cause The guy didn’t know much about it. I’ve seen photos of guys using them. It was the right price so I nabbed it. I was gonna alternate on the line and make an attempt to do 12 out and 12 back north, then do the same south the next day.

As for the cache I’ll bring it out and see if I can find a good hiding spot.

I am not from AK and have never been in AK, but I will say that I am a "belt and suspenders" kind of guy. I would support Pete's idea of a second tent and actually a second "camp". Is it possible to pack a sleeping bag, tent (small) and a couple days worth of grub close by in a critter proof container? If you tent burns up you could be in a world of hurt. Having a plan B isn't a terrible idea.

Nowadays interior Alaska isn't solidly froze up in early Nov. What sort of ground will you be walking on? Will you need good freezing temps to get the ground hard enough to travel on? Any lakes, soughs, creeks you will need frozen? If you can pack stuff in to cache for later maybe you won't be dependent on freezing temps, at least to travel.

One more note about a small wall tent. Assuming you will put a stove in it... how far can you get from that stove when it is cranked up?

When you are sleeping, do you take a chance on the end of your sleeping bag accidentally coming in contact with the hot stove?

I realize not everyone is as tall and overweight as I am, but these are still considerations. I know there is not enough room in a 6' x 8' tent for both a hot stove and my fat butt!

pb

Yeah, 6'x8' is almost a puptent. Take a roll of tape and stick that down on your garage floor. Now start putting everything you plan on keeping there, and your pack, cot or sleeping pad, stove and sleeping bag, etc. in that rectangle. Do a "dry run", so to speak.
I get what you are trying to do: minimalist to maximize miles of fur country travelled. But safety first. If disaster strikes, (not un-heard of, you know), you may only have to survive a night or two. Just make sure you have the ability and equipment to do so.
You also might consider stashing a plastic sled with a 10' shot of rope. With the right snow, you can pull what you can't carry.

Also stretch out your tent and measure it. 6x8 finished dimensions are often 5”8” x 7’8” or so

Your post/thread has brought back memories for a few of us of our first season I'm sure. Certainly has for me. My first season on my own was 79/80. I was able to set up a camp on the lower part of an interior river and trap around there. My shelter was a 10x12 canvas tent. I was able to fell some large spruce and cut them for 3 rounds of logs and building a frame for the tent. The tent went over the frame and was secured to the logs. I had a 55 gal. drum that I cut the bottom 3rd at the rib and then the top section about 3 in. below the top rim. A door hole was cut. A door and handle made from the middle section and hinges screwed on. The stove was placed on the left as you entered the tent and at a height that the top was around 3 ft. off the dirt floor. My spruce pole bed frame was on the right, about 2 ft. off the floor. I'm going to say the stove door was 2 and 1/2 ft. from the bed. I spent the whole trapping season in that tent so I survived my share of 40 below cold spells in the tent.
Maybe you will have a cot, so your not laying on the floor? If you have to pack stuff in what size stove will you have? Good chance you won't see 40 below in Nov. but could see -20 I bet. With todays climate you could probably see rain in early Nov.
Lots of time to plan still.

Maybe you could get a bigger tent and use the 6x8 as your emergency tent. You could have it all set up and ready in case main tent went poof. Can you pull the tent(s) in on a sled? Might save your back some.

I have been playing around with everything before the snow melts. I can get the tent, stove, axe, bow saw, sleep kit, cook kit and around 40 number ones in a milk crate all in a 5' pulk. Food, and extra clothes in the pack basket. This ended up being just not enough room so I plan on commencing with stashing gear out in the bush via a long trip in a canoe sometime in June.

Snowshoes are some I made with the folk school, figured someone would appreciate it.

Snoshoes look good. Hopefully you won't need them or at least not for long. Just dawned on me most everything you pack or canoe in will have to come out.
Gnna be an adventure!

Looking good.

You might see about picking up some #0 footholds if you can find some used ones cheap.
#0's were my favorite foothold marten trap when I was snowshoeing a line.

Yeah I definitely wanna find some before the season.

0 ls are trumps when snowshoeing a line.

Consider making a pair of furred skis while you have the time in the Summer. Your snowshoes are too pretty to ruin by heavy use. I'd reserve them for short hikes, or if I was limited to terrain with very steep slopes, or when it's above freezing. Skis by far outperform snowshoes on flat surfaces and double as sleds if necessary.

I'm currently upgrading a pair of standard-issue hunting skis so that hopefully my son will agree to accompany me sometimes. It's factory-made plywood, and traditional skis are made of split spruce or aspen, but I'm thinking 5 mm thick plywood shaped and enforced using fiberglass/epoxy should work perfectly well. You don't need to cover the lower surface completely with fur, a wide strip in the middle is enough to provide plenty of traction. Mine are seal but you can use moose legs.

The ergonomics and the overall experience of using such skis is very different from the standard cross-country skis (I hate those with passion, they make me feel like one of those giant mosquitoes whose legs always fall off).

It's like snowshoes, but you're also much faster, especially if you're following your own trail, and you can slide downhill. Saves a ton of energy and time, and time is very important in winter because days are short. Speaking of which make sure you take several good flashlights. Checking traps on skis in the dark with a flashlight in thick spruce bush is very enjoyable (until you step on a sleeping grouse).


And yes, your tent is too small. Only good for emergencies or for moose stalking. Unless you're into prepper nonsense and want to suffer, get a normal canvas tent. You won't be comfortable or able to rest in a tiny tent and the stove will burn you = you will be tired and unable to enjoy your time fully. My opinion is probably very unpopular but I don't think being out in the woods should equal suffering. I prefer as much comfort as possible rather than focusing on super-lightweight/high-tech/ultra-performance stuff, it's for achievement junkies. Good food, comfortable pillow and blanket instead of a cocoon-type ultralitght sleeping bag, plenty of spare clothing (not just socks). November can be very nasty and wet. Good stash of ropes, wire, batteries, thread and needle, big piece of waterproof tarp, etc.

Tatiana, how long and wide are those skies? They do look like they would be better and more durable than snowshoes.

Those skis are interesting. The bindings look solid mounted, no pivot action?
More like sliding on stiff sticks, rather than 'skiing'

man a good read, please keep posting as you go, have you gone out to check for tent site, and bring in supply yet,??

No, the feet move very freely (too freely perhaps for some situations), but I prefer comfort to extra maneuverability. It's just a double polypropylene strap loop and a thick polypropylene rope, I've tried many types of bindings but this works the best for my purposes and it's simple and very reliable. Leather stretches and deteriorates from wetness and freeze/thaw cycles, some other materials lose flexibility in very cold weather or when wet. I don't even tie the red rope usually, only when I have to climb steep slopes (the fur makes it possible to walk directly uphill on30+ degree slopes). I prefer to be able to kick off the skis anytime, it's safer in terms of anklee injuries when you fall, or when you cross a creek and snow collapses underneath you. I also use them as a warm bench to sit on (fur side up) or as a makeshift shovel, whenever I need to dig.

As for the size, people have different preferences. Some prefer lighter skis, especially if they get litlte snow and mostly just use their own trails.

The bigger skis in the picture are 167 cm x 20 cm. I'm 157 cm tall and weigh 67 kilos, + I carry anywhere between 5 and 20 kg on me (clothes, backpack + bait, traps, etc.). They may be a bit heavier than necessary but I'm beefy, so it's not a big deal, and I often go through lots of fresh puffy snow and like to be able to slide rather than step even in bad snow conditions. They're enough for a much bigger man to ski comfortably, i.e. 90-110 kg, depending on the snow. Taller people often prefer longer skis. Many people prefer narrower, longer skis for open country vs shorter, wider skis for rough terrain/thick brush where you have to turn a lot. For early season, some people, especially in Eastern Siberia, use smaller skis.

Okay, got it. More like snowshoe bindings on skis
I liked using skis but found the typical X-country skis were just too awkward in the brush.
Those short, wide skis seem like just the ticket !

The short wide skis are all the rage with the yuppie crowd the last few years. I've never used either type of cross country ski myself, but if I was to try one, it looks like one of the few good ideas yuppies have had. As a guy who spends most of his time on snowshoes in the mountains or hills, the fur for traction Tatiana shows seems like an excellent idea for skis. I know how important and helpful traction can be on snowshoes when going uphill in certain conditions, if you don't have it, they turn into skis! So I imagine it is just as helpful on skis

hoping akwooodmans post again

Those ski's are awesome! Ive seen the happy people documentary more times than I can count and have always had it on the bucket list to make a pair. Ive used a modern version and Ive also went as far as having a telemark set up.
The modern alta hok skis were awesome until the snow gets too deep. The telemark set up was cool up but the boots were to stiff and uncomfortable. The best set up I found ski wise has been a pair of Ingstads (180CM) with nordgrip bidingings and rubber knee high boots with felt insoles. This was a trick I found from the Finnish guys.

Update on wall tenting season:

I am fortunate enough to have a buddy with a plane, so we went and flew the country. I wanted to verify if there were any big log jams/ rock gardens and just get somewhat of an idea of how difficult it would be to get up this particular creek.

Getting to the creek was a bit of a pain. There was a field of Boone and crocket tussocks to contend with which turned an estimated 2-3 hour portage into about an 8-9 hour portage.
Motoring some slack but nearly every bend there was some form of lining which I already assumed. I didn't make it quite as far as I had hoped but we rand 30-40 river miles and I at least had "boots on ground" to get a feel of the place.

cached some gear and now I am overly paranoid about wildfires, but I guess that's just how it goes. The next trip out will probably be before season to cut some more trail. It probably is a bit small of a tent but man It sure is easy to haul. I think if the season goes well Ill upgrade and leave a big tent out there and look at building one of those marty meriotto trapline cabins.

Assume you will take some poly tarps out. Good to have a covered area to keep stuff under. Assuming you will be skinning as time allows. Gotta take care of the catch. The first year on my own I was over run with marten. Catching faster than I could skin. Warm spell in November produced slipping fur on some of them. Should have skinned and frozen, or kept cold.
Would not be unusual to have November warm spells these days.