My adventure with AK Howler

Me and Howler had been talking about getting together and running his line for a few years now. The timing just never seemed to click and the with health issues we both endured things got put on the back plate. Well this year everything clicked and I was able to finally get up there and see his little piece of heaven on earth

Following JR here on Trapperman does no justice on what he has overcome and what he endures out there on his line. Plus he has a way of showing all the nice and fluffy stuff. The one image that sticks in my mind from his journal is when the ice collapsed on him a few years back and put his gear in a big open hole. When we were running on the overflow and ice you could hear that hollow sound under you and well it made the pucker factor go up a tad bit

Something that we never discuss or give credit to is our significant other. I know my wife puts up with a lot of BS from me during trapping season, the weather, the lack of fur, mistakes, and equipment failures. But no matter what she is always 100 percent supportive of my activities and it was a pleasure meeting a woman that is so supportive of her man as Stacy is.

That girl can cook!



And she knows how to sew fur!



I truly appreciated the hospitality while I stayed at their home

I flew in on Monday afternoon and we decided that we would push everything out a day due to the weather and instead of heading out on Tuesday we went Wednesday. It was pretty descent out on his line weather wise, day highs of +10 and cooler nights of -7, bright and sunny for the most part.

So on Tuesday we got fuel and groceries then made a few stops. We swung by the Tannery and I got to meet Al, aka isnarewolves here on Trapperman. It is always a pleasure meeting people and putting a face to the name From there we headed over to Walmart and linked up with Ted aka akntrpr, so JR could sell a few wolf skulls. Ted was doing a push for the NTA so I joined and got brand spanking new 120 that I left in JR's truck when I flew home I also got JR a bottle of Meowch to try out there on his line for the kitties



From there we went back to his shop and started on skinning his last wolf that had finally thawed out. Negative 40 had froze that puppy pretty solid!











The one thing I really like about JR is that he is straight forward on why he does things the way he does when you question him, and on the flip side of that coin is always open to discussion on other ways to do it. Needless to say I asked a lot of questions and I took away a lot of information on his style of putting critters up and I think he took a few from me as well. There are a few things that I will be doing different after sitting there watching him

I didn't go up there with any expectation of trying to catch a critter but rather to spend time with a fellow trapper that I respect, see how he operated, to see the country, and see his conditions.

Now JR is not one to BS when it comes to gear. When I walked into his shop he had 4 sleds there all set up identical. Chainsaw, snowshoes, axe, tow straps, ropes, and tie downs on and in each one. He has the means and know how to get out of those bad situations. I know if I run into one on my line all I have to do is make a phone call and someone will come to my rescue. Out there he doesn't have that option. Yeah he has a SPOT but even with that help is a day out. Just picking his brain he had a plan and gear stashed for just about any situation that I asked about.

As a flatlander I am use to riding those low profile sleds like Polaris, Artic Cats, Bravo's and Tundra's. Those are little ponies compared to the stallions he has!



I found that the high profile of that sled was a little tippy for me JR had to come and rescue me 3 times as I laid it on it's side I told him if I could get a 1000 hours on it I would be golden After putting 250 miles on that sled I still don't feel to confident in my ability. And some of the places we ran I know dang well my sled wouldn't have made it I will say this though, it was a 2 hour ride on that sled to the cabin and it was comfy!
It is funny how the little things he takes for granted opened my eyes. He has them gauntlets on his handle grips and runs with a light pair of gloves. I was laughing at myself as my hands got to hot thinking of all the times my fingers got cold as heck on my sled! Those will be on mine come next year!
JR asked me to make a run to get water on his ride, no problem..............until I got to the creek and went to back up. For the life of me I could not find the freaking reverse! I spent a good half hour looking to! I saw him back his sled up, what the heck! Fortunately for me I had left enough room for me to turn around. When I got back I asked him were it was.... push button on the start! I felt pretty stupid!

He was a stickler about raising that track every day we came back in and getting the ice out with a mallet. And in the morning he would start them up ad warm the track before we rolled. He said it does wonders for the life of the track and bearings.



Now I have complained on here many times about over flow as many of us have. There is no comparison to the type of overflow JR deals with. Overflow hinders many peoples ability to maneuver, like me, but for him he needs it to travel. Many of the drainages he runs are rock filled with a little stream or creek running down it. As things freeze and overflow occurs those same steams become a layer of ice that continues to build and allows him to run. At higher elevations it was surprising the small amount of snow there was and how thick the ice was!



So our first day out there we had some day light and he decided we would run one of his spur lines up to his sheep cabin. Ran some gear, no dice and he decided that we should run up this one drainage to take a look around. Honestly I think he was testing me to see how good I could handle his sled It had stopped snowing earlier in the day and as we cruised up the drainage we cut fresh smoking hot wolverine track!



JR was like lets see if we can catch up to it and we took off! Up and up we went until we hit a little pass and he said we couldn't make it over that one. When we turned around I couldn't believe how high we had gone!



The next day we headed out and ran his main line. JR always talks about Pee Post Pass in his journal, it was awesome to actually be there! The sight of the mountains from way up high was amazing!
As we rolled down the drainage there was a bunch of Ptarmigan, moose, and a ton of wolverine and kitty track. Then we hit the river and went south and I got to watch JR clean up sets and put a few new ones in. We cam across were a pack of 6 had come onto the river and actually hit 2 of his pee posts! As luck would have it they stepped everywhere but on the dang pan! That lead into a discussion on pan tension, JR is a firm believer that it needs to be high so when the trap fires you get a good full pad catch. He said that was really important especially with wolverine, a toe caught wolverine will become a educated wolverine.

As we continued down the line we hit a bait station. He told me to hold fast and a few minutes later he walked out with a really nice kitty!



The snow conditions there I am soooooo envious about! Like fine grated powder! But with powder the wind blows it away pretty good and easy, The trick was finding "the Spot", And with JR running that river for a few years he knows those spots. Between the wind and overflow I was pretty surprised at how few spots there were in areas.





I did pick up a few things from watching him. He uses a little pick axe to dig out the bed, something I think I might like to have for next season. Now I have heard of people using their own pee for wolves and I asked him about that, He said that he has tried a few different brands of wolf pee, most the wolves shy away from. However his own pee they have no problem coming in to mark over it. I had to laugh when he straddled a post after laying a trap and he said John, when you pee on the post you gotta pee high on it so that the Alpha wolf feels like he has to pee higher and gets closer to the trap

As we approached the far point of that section of line we ran into this. The ice had collapsed a in a few places along the river this one was right on the trail. He decided to have me wait there and he ran down and pulled that gear. I asked him how deep it was and he said it was deep enough to drown, so I was very content to just wait



We turned around and ran up river from that point. We did a little sight seeing on the way stopping at a old cabin, Pretty cool place. There was a note in there about how they had run outta rolling papers and were using newspaper to roll their cigarettes'.



The view from that bluff was stunning!



I always love seeing ice falls

We continued up river and found were a pack of about 16 had run the river, We found were a few had cut off up a stream and into the woods and we hung a few snares. JR had found a rib bone so he thought for sure that there had to be a kill around. Losing light we headed back to the cabin.

Now make no mistake, JR is a pretty dang good cook! That night he made us some ribeye, talk about tender! One of the things that really touch me is how quite it is out there, Nothing like standing there in the dark and listening to the sound of silence until you hear the ice crack. That and the illumination on the mountains, so peaceful.

The next day JR wanted to run back up river were we had seen all the track and do a little looking around. We poked around a bit and found were the pack had come down off of a bluff. JR went up to look and sure enough this is what he had found!



It is amazing how they stripped that joker down! We ended up dropping a whole bunch of snares in hopes of catching more then just one wolf! I got my fingers crossed that he connects on that one!

After that we put in one more pee post and then headed back to the cabin. Once we got back there with light left we decided to make a run to another area that he wanted to check out. The view was stunning and in this pic is a few bou smile



The next morning we geared up and headed back to town. We weighed that kitty, 28 lbs smile



I had a awesome trip out there with good company and awesome conversation. It is a rarity to be able to sit there and swap stories both good and bad for hours on end. Being out there in hungry country, the sights, the silence, smooths a mans heart.

JR I appreciate you sharing your little piece of heaven with me smile

Tight chains Brother!

Sounds like a great trip, thanks for telling about it. Really nice country. You two guys are an inspiration to us for dealing with issues that life handed you, beating them, and then kept on going. Keep it up!

Question, does JR dry his wolves hair out? Looks like he boarded it that way? Would save some frustration if it would work.

Smalltimetrapper, Thanks Nope he had it skin out for about three hours with fans, then turned it.

Awesome adventure and pictures.Way to go.

Great story and photos. The pleasure was all my meeting you HFT. This site is great for information and meeting wonderful people.

It was great to meet you in JR's shop!! I'm glad you had such awesome weather for your Junket up the line with him!

Taiga it was good meeting you as well! I enjoyed the conversation!

Great write up! Thanks for sharing

Glad you had a good time and shared it with us!

Sounds like a great run,thanks for the journal.
Its great to get out with other trappers.

Boco yes it is! I gain knowledge every time I have run with someone and I love watching others put fur up. Different techniques and skills you can learn and share alot of information.

Enjoyed very much reading this. Thank you.

Sounds like a great trip with good comradery!

What a great experience! I sure enjoyed the day I spent out on your line and hope I get to meet more people on here and learn from them. It truly is an eye opener seeing and learning things in person not to mention getting to share the beauty of each others areas.

Thanks for posting great pictures...

Very good, sounds like fun.

HFT AK -
Good write -up. Looks like you had an amazing time. I appreciate you bringing us along

Such a delightful picture into Howlers world. Hated it ending HFT AK, thanks so much.
ps. what kinda critter was the rib steak?

Sounds like an awesome adventure. Thanks for sharing!

I love going along, even if it was on my couch reading your great write up. People on this forum are awesome. Our way of life will endure as long as we keep it going

Sure looked like fun. I think JR's is my favorite YouTube channel these days too. I always love his gear lists. I got a call for a family rescue mission the other night, and while tooling up I found myself thinking "What would JR bring?" (The mission got canceled.)

I appreciate what both of you guys contribute to this community.

Thanks for sharing your adventure! Glad you had a nice time.

thats awesome!