Magnetic Hunting Mitts

Thought I'd share this little tidbit with you all. This past fall I was setting up an orienteering course for the JCRs when I noticed my compass readings just didn't seem to make sense with what I knew about the local terrain. I was stumped until I moved to wipe the snow from my compass and saw the needle jump away from my hand. I was totally puzzled by this and completed the rest of the course without the mitts but with very cold hands. I couldn't make sense of it. There was no metal anywhere on my hands, or so I thought. It occurred to me later that they're hunting mitts where the the finger portion flips back to reveal gloved fingers inside allowing one to have easier access to the trigger on one's rifle. Some of these mitts use velcro to hold the forward portion of the mitt back out of the way. Not mine. They are held back by magnets. I had totally forgotten this as it was the first time I had had need to wear them.
Something to keep in mind when using a compass.

Moberly River Recce

From June 11 to the 13th Hudson's Hope Patrol conducted a canoe recce of the South Moberly River which flows from Moberly Lake to the Peace River.

 The total length of this river is approximately 120 Km. Realizing there was a good chance we would not be able to canoe the entire route in the two days available, an alternate pull out and pick up  site was chosen should it be needed.

Five Rangers and our RI set out Friday afternoon in three canoes from Moberly Lake about a kilometre up from the head of the river. The wind was up and the waves on the lake provided some early entertainment. Once we were on the river and sheltered by the forest we found ourselves paddling on calm flat, meandering, slow moving water, intersperse with the occasional faster water and some small currents. After several hours of flushing ducks and geese we set up camp and enjoyed the long June evening.

Think Dan'll want to chew through this one?

Wake up was easy, enhanced by our camp ungulate alarm, (moose coming through the camp) "Hey Dan! Grab the camera. Take a picture. No Dan! That's the rifle. I said camera." (What's he worried about?) The day brought a variety of paddling experiences from smooth flat water to some faster water traveling around tight bends that had both paddlers actively involved in manouvering the canoe. While nothing posed any serious challenge there was a definite increasing trend in the speed of the water flow. A log jam on a tight bend in the river provided us with the opportunity to fit a little portage into our trip as well. After 40 plus Km of paddling and wildlife viewing we picked our campsite and settled in for the evening, glad to stretch our legs and get off our butts.

If you don't put your back into it.....!

Sunday was to be a fairly relaxed day as we had decided to pull out at the previously arrange alternative take out. This meant we only had another 20 KM and the water was running faster as we descended. While the paddling was easier we had to be more alert for gravel bars, shoals and sweepers (We call them McDan's around here). One does not wish to be forced to chew one's way through a forty foot spruce tree lying across the river. "Does one, Dan?"

Don't try and chew your way through the sweepers!

The final stretch of our journey was especially fun as my partner and I experienced the benefits of Kevlar when we hit a sharp, submerged rock that slowed us quickly but left only a scrape on the hull. Out pull out could not have been better chosen as it turned out to be on the slowest portion of the river for some time but immediately followed by a very fast narrow s-turn under a bridge with sharp boulders placed for cribbing. I was glad not to have had to navigate that particular stretch.
I short order our transport arrived, assisted in loading our boats and gear and brought us home.

You don't get this in the city.

We learned a lot in planning and carrying out the exercise. The importance of planning was made clear as we had to prepare for the possibility of an alternate pick up location for our transport. Maps and Google earth provided some preliminary information but as anyone can imagine a river fed mainly by mountain snow melt can be a different creature during different times of the year. This was a major factor in choosing the date for our trip. The importance of a pre-trip gear session was also made clear as we found there was more duplication of equipment than needed for a group our our size.

In the end the lesson that was most reinforced is that you learn a lot more by doing.

What do you do for fun?

Random Pics

on Park,

Exercise Wapoose Lake

Exercise Wapoose Lake

Members of the Hudson's Hope patrol recently completed a winter recce exercise to Wapoose Lake, located north of Hudson's Hope.
Now, in the eyes of a Newfie lad like myself Wapoose Lake barely ranks as a pond, but there it is on the map and during our November meeting somebody suggested it might be a good destination for a Winter Ex. The date was chosen because there was to be a full moon that weekend. Considering the long ours of darkness the idea of moonlight on a snowy landscape was appealing.

Under a lead grey sky with light snow falling we set out. It was decided that one Ranger would recce ahead on snowmobile to determined the most appropriate route and beat the trail. The rest of us would make use of cross country skies to get to our destination. While we were all fairly comfortable on skies the addition of heavy backpacks and deep snow with no set track was a fairly novel experience but that's all part of the Exercise's purpose.

The entire route was just over 8.5 KM. With about 2 Km remaining the sled's progress was stymied. If we were to reach our objective the skiers would have to break their own trail. This was no easy task as the snow was very light and sugary. Each Ranger spent 10 minutes in the lead before stepping aside to allow the next in line to set track. This was physically challenging as it involved pushing you way through snow that came 16 to 18 inches up your leg. This was if you were able to follow the moose tracks which were left behind by some merciful ungulate days earlier. If you left those tracks you sank a good two feet into the lovely white stuff. You saw very little of your skies and after a while lifting ones poles high enough to clear the snow was felt by your shoulders and arms. This leg of the route took us 90 minutes to cover under 2 km. The sight of Wapoose Lake was welcome indeed.

Having reached our destination we set about following the standard camp routine of shelter, fire then food. Each Ranger set about constructing a shelter of spruce boughs and snow to keep them comfy that night. While we all settled on the same basic structure it varied with the user. Those whose bodies aren't as flexible as we would like opted for higher if not as cozy, while others, chose comfy but a little more challenging to enter.

After an invigorating day of skiing and shelter building we were all ready to hit the hay or snow early. Personally my goal was to get through the night without having to answer nature's call until I was good and ready the next morning. You can say all you want about remaining hydrated but if there's a chance of me having to crawl out into a snowbank in my skivies in the middle of the night I'm saving my hydrating for morning.

After a pleasant nights sleep cuddled up to our boot liners to prevent them from freezing, we all filled our bodies with warm fluids and vittles. Breaking camp was easier and returning on tracks set the day before and frozen firm enough to take our weight was very pleasant. The same tortuous portion of our route which took 90 minutes on the inbound trip took but 35 minutes on our return trip. The fact that the sun was shining made the day even more pleasant.

In the end the Ex was a success in that we gained good knowledge of winter routes in an area of which we had little previous knowledge. We improved our ability to use another method of winter travel. More experience was gained in the construction of winter survival shelters and finally we all enjoyed doing all this as Rangers and friends.

Sukunka August 2008

Exercise Sukunka Comms Aug 2008

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a multi patrol exercise hosted by Tumbler Ridge Patrol. Being one of three patrols in the Peace River region of BC this is not the first time I’ve had the pleasure of working with the Rangers from Tumbler. This time around also saw the participation of Vanderhoof and Pouce Coupe Patrols as well as my own, Hudson’s hope.

Taking place in the Sukunka River Valley the exercise Tumbler Ridge had put together was to have Rangers practice communications skills while testing the effectiveness of the TK190 radios.

The opening day of the ex was a hot one with temps well into the 30’s. After base camp was set up a local recce was completed. The result of which had some Rangers cooling their heels and more in the river.  This was followed later by a couple of quick lessons by WO Tony Fozzard on the affect terrain can have on navigating by compass and an eye opening demonstration on establishing Arcs of observation when manning an OP.

The next day we divided into pairs and obtained grid coordinates from Ranger Shae of Tumbler, the exercise commander. We mounted our ATVs and set out to perform a Comms Exercise with the recently acquired TK 190s. This was the first opportunity I had to use these radios in the field. The hilly twisting terrain provided ample opportunity for practice as we were frequently relaying messages back and forth between base and those Rangers farther out. The mobile exercise involved each team progressing several Kms at a time. Each phase had the lead team advance with the following pair taking up the position of the pair before it. I am not a regular radio user and found the operation quite useful.

In the PM we headed off again to explore the Beautiful Sekunka Valley. While the scenery was fantastic the road was hot and dusty and while we tried to keep a two minute spacing between teams we all ate more than our share of dirt, as the fine dust, without any wind, hung in the air like an RSM’s dirty look. Apart from the dust and one quickly repaired flat tire, the recce was uneventful. We had just returned when the skies were ripped apart with lightening, and rain and hail beat the earth. It definitely cooled the air and settled the dust problem. It didn’t, however, prevent those TR Rangers from cooking up enough delicious stew to feed all present and then some. No one goes hungry on an Ex with Tumbler Ridge.

The Next morning, after letting it dry as much as possible, we organized and packed our gear and departed for our respective homes. Thanks TR and those other Rangers for a very enjoyable weekend.

Emergency Shelters by Candle light

Wednesday, October 28.

During our regular monthly meeting Rangers of Hudson's Hope Patrol headed into the trees to practice constructing emergency shelters from available materials (mostly spruce). The challenge was handed out at our previous month's meeting. Each Ranger was to research a shelter utilizing natural material and a minimum of man made material. The Ranger was then to demonstrate the construction of the shelter and provide pros and cons. I was impressed with our patrol as they provided shelters which could be constructed without any manufactured materials yet once fully built could be expected to keep a person protected from the elements.

 I won't go into the details of how to build these here as there is myriad of web sites and books that can show you how a lot better than I can. Just Google "Bushcraft" or "Wilderness Survival" Remember, there is a big difference between reading how to build a shelter and doing it yourself when you really do need it. Unfortunately the batteries in my camera died before I had the opportunity to take pictures of the completed shelters that night but I returned a couple of weeks later after a couple of snowfalls. The following pictures demonstrate how the Fallen tree shelters kept the snow at bay. Two shelters of this type were built. The smaller would keep one person protected. The other would be a cozy two person affair. The Lean-to allowed some snow inside but as protection from the wind and with a fire in front it would certainly help keep you warm.With a little more time and material it too would have kept the snow of the builder.

That was the purpose of our training session, to actually do what we had read about. We also had the challenge of darkness thrown in as our early evenings this time of year dictated that out regular meeting time would be after sunset. If we expected to need a shelter we would if possible begin construction as early as possible.

As an additional note, I would like to point out that some shelter is instantly available if you're in the right area. Spruce trees tend to have thick branches sloping downward away from the trunk. As you can see in the following two pictures this directs precipitation outward. There is a lot less snow around the trunk of said tree. If the tree is a good one ,the branches will be thick enough at the bottom to provide some protection from the wind as well. With a little work you can improve upon what nature has provided and easily boost the sheltering properties of this tree.

 

Another useful item demonstrated was a "Nechako Candle". For those of you not aware of what a Nechako Candle is let me describe it to you. A block of dry firewood is cross sectioned by three cuts from a chainsaw part way along the its length. A glop of fire jelly is then lit at the top in the centre of the wood. As the wood burns it is fed from air being sucked into the cuts in the side. This air intake actually creates a "forced air" effect and the flame shoots vertically from the top of the block. A pot can be placed on top for cooking. The neat thing is that the fire is contained within the log and you can,"with care" pick it up and move it. (To protect me from some careless person wanting to test this theory, failing and then wish to make a lawyer some money,  I want to make the following disclaimer. Don't do it. It is not safe to carry a burning log shooting flame.) It is not a great source of heat for warming as the heat is directed straight up but it does leave a minimum impact on the ground for those wishing to leave little trace but enjoy having an actual fire when in the woods.