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