# Hello from Alaska 2013-14



## chessielover

Seems that most wanted a new thread for this season so here it is!

With the way the weather was since the main opener on Nov, 10th. Today was the first day I actually got out and set any traps.(not counting early rat season)

The last scouting trip showed little sign along the south hill side, so today I made a trip down to Mendeltna creek. Not 3 miles down I found this fresh wolf trail since it snowed yesterday!


Unfortunatly, I forgot to bring any wolf snares along to set where they whent into the woods, but it normaly takes then around a week to return, so I'll try to get it set up tomarrow, since it is so close to the house.

There have been lots of caribou roaming around, so it is hard to see much other sign from other critters. I did find a few piss posts that the wolves hit before the big snowfall last weekend. One I was able to set on the way home. Fun when it is dark out and there is a bunch of fresh powder snow.

I was happy to see the creek was frozen solid after all the -40 weather we had last week, with no overflow. It made it great to travel down.

Not to far down the creek I found this otter hole in the bank that I set up with a 280.

With all the fresh and old sign it should produce before to long.

This otter crossover also had freash tracks.
This is the same spot I got my first otter last year, along with numors others over the years.

This otter trail under this blowdown will make for a great spot for a 330 the next trip.

I always love to find these spots.

Not only were the otter running under this tree, but there were fox tracks also, so I set this snare up.

Fox love to run otter trails in this country, and these spots make make for killer snare sets.

This is the second year with no mink sign and I wonder where they all went. 

In the next week I will be push out further for marten and wolf and will keep you posted.

Brad


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## 50incher

Wishing you the best of luck this season from SE MI....cheers


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## blittle913

Cant wait to see what you come up with! Goodluck!!

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## mwp

Good to hear from you again, my son and I look forward to your updates.I hope this Thangsgiving finds you in good health.Hopefully those wolves stick around long enough for you to nab one if them.Stay safe and happy thanksgiving from the farm country in the thumb of Michigan


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## chessielover

I hope everyone had a good turkey day.

I had planned to get back out on the line, but I woke up to -10, snowing, and winds gusting to over 50 mph. Not a good day to be out.

I figured since I'm waiting on the weather, I would post some pics of early rat trapping.

I took the big boat 28 miles down the lake system to Tyone, where there used to be lots of rats, planning on spending a few days camping out and picking up lots of rats.

The scenery is always good on the trip and seeing a rainbow is always a plus.


There is an old lodge from the 50's that the oweners allow peaple to use. It is pretty run down, but it is dry and keeps some of the wind down.


Most years this area is loaded with rats but with the drought this summer the water was down a foot, so there were few active dens or huts. I was able to place 20 colony traps, with limited success.



With so little sign, and the forcast for worsening weather, I only spent the one night and used the calm water to head home.


I was hoping to to pick up a few hunderd rats but only ended up with 48.


I spent the the next few days before the Ice got to thick, one my main duck lake. The rats were also way down here, but did pick up some.



Ginger is getting old and it is hard for her to get around, but she still loves to hunt.



I hope every enjoys the pics!

Brad


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## djd

Very cool Brad, I have a cousin in Dawson and one in Whitehorse. I've never been up that way but my parents have. Your certainly living a different lifestyle than most of us down here. Love to see pics of the area where you live. Is there a community or town near. You have the internet so it cant be that rural. Stay warm and good luck with the wolves. Doug


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## Jmeis

Brad I no longer trap and hunt very little, I fish like crazy. I absolutlely look forward to your chronicles. Please keep them up. You have no idea how appreciated they are. You are living the dream that most of us had/have, only you are doing it for real......please allow us to live vicariously through you


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## Dixiedog

One of my favorite things to keep up with. Thanks for taking the time to post the pics and keeping us updated. I find it fascinating. Grew up reading Jack London. I was fortunate to work up there a couple of time and a friend took me with him one time on his line. I loved it. Thanks again and be safe.


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## David G Duncan

Hi Brad,

This posting of photos and your captions sure makes me wish I could be there again to share in the excitement of your upcoming adventures, which surely are awaiting you on this year's trap line.

Give a Ginger a big water one from me.

Please keep the postings coming as often as possible, because you allow all of us the opportunity to live out our dreams of being a wilderness trapper through your Alaskan photo journal.

All my best,

Dave


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## goodworkstractors

Very cool. I'll be checking back often.


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## miruss

Love the post and pictures i get a new desktop picture with every post you make. Ginger in front of canoe is new one for week !!!!!!!!!!!


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## chessielover

I'm glad everyone enjoys the post and pics!

djd- The closest town is Glennallen, 40 miles away. It has a grocery store, a bank, a few gas stations, the schools, and also has the headquarters for the area BLM and state fish and game. If I need any major supplies, I must make the run into Palmer, 100 miles to the west.

My internet is run on an air card, off a cell tower 5 miles down the road.

My nearest full time neighbor lives 5 miles away, but there is a few weekend cabins closer.

I went out friday to set more wolf and otter snares. I tried to take more pics, but the camera doesn't like to work at -30:rant:.

Talked to some other buddies that trap, and they are also seeing no sign this year. With the gas prices and lack of critters, both are not going to trap. Same reason I'm not pushing it too hard this year.

The temps are supposed to be around 0 this week, so I hope to get more line broke out. It is also supposed to be in the 20's next weekend. That will get the otter running.

Brad


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## aschmidt

Do you ever shoot videos? If so do post to YouTube? I bet you'd have some great videos.


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## chessielover

aschmidt- Sorry, no video's. It is normally tooo cold to get more than a few pics, if any sometimes, before the Battery dies. Much less any video.

It warmed up a bit( only -15), so I headed back down to the creek bottom to check traps and break more trail.


Not much new sign but did find this mink hole that I set up with a 110.


this section of the creek normaly stays open unless it is below -40 for over a week.


It makes for a great place for the dippie birds to find food all winter long.


Just before I headed back out, I saw this family of 4 otter playing further down the creek.

It was fun to watch them for a while. Maybe one will find one of the sets I have waiting for them.

Here is a pic of the trail along the creek.


Lots of snow in the trees, where the sun and wind don't hit.

I broke out another 5 miles of line with only seeing one set of small lynx tracks. Looks like it is going to be a long, slow winter.

Tomorrow I am going to head east to see what's out that way.

Until later, Brad


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## miruss

Nice pics another desktop set. Have some relatives in willow plus they have a place in trapper creek. I have never been there but better half has need to make it up there looks great!!!!


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## aroflinger

I would love to do this. 

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## S.B. Walleyes&Waterfowl

Awsome pics! Must surley be a great adventure! I look forward to following this thread.

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## wannabapro

Very cool! Always the best thread of the year in my opinion!


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## Cullz

Best thread on the site! Keep the photos coming! Stay safe


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## snortwheeze

Just started following, good luck & awesome pics. Keep em coming. My fiance wants to honeymoon in Alaska

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## chessielover

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the posts again!

Unfortunately this is a slow year, compared to those in the past. After the population of snowshoe hare crashed 2 years ago, there just is not the critters out there like there used to be. I guess, after close to 35 years of trapping, I still need to be out there, when most others quit.

I woke yesterday to a balmy 8 degrees and headed out to break the east line after having breakfast. A couple of miles from the house is a nice spot to look at the mountains to the east.


The sun never gets very high this time of year, so even an hour after the sun rises the montains will still be pink.


There seems to be a fair number of otter again this year, and with no overflow, these crossovers make killer sets for them. Until their old trails get drifted in with snow, the otter will use the same slide.

This is a narrow flow between two lakes.

One nice thing about trapping the same line for over 10 years, even in the lean years, there are just some places that will always have sign. These places are just the natural travel ways for any new critters that move into the area, and once you know your targets habits, they just stand out.

This old beaver house has taken many an otter and fox over the years. If any are traveling through the area, they just have to check it out.

Here is a combo otter and fox set made with a #3 cs. 
Both an otter and a fox have checked out this small opening in the hut. 

Placement of the trap.


After wax paper and a slight covering of snow.

Besides the otter, there was little other sign so only made a few marten and fox sets, after breaking 30 miles of line in 5 1/2 hours.

Today is another warm day and I would like to be out there, but after years of beating my body up, I am just too sore to go out today. I think back to the days when I would put over 5,000 miles on in a season, running 3 days on 1 off, covering around 200 miles of line in those 3 days after everything was broke in.

Tight chains to everyone,

Brad


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## David G Duncan

Thanks Brad,

Beautiful photos. Stay safe.

Dave


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## chessielover

Thanks Dave!

It made it up to 20 today, so tomorrow I will run down to the river to check the otter traps before breaking in more of the north line.

With this warm weather, the otter will be on the move and I should have at least one. I need to get something to skin before I forget how. I'm about ready to set for pine squirrel, just to catch something.

Brad


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## loomisfun

Thanks again for taking us along!


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## goodworkstractors

Hey Brad,

I keep checking in, but no updates! I'm dying here :lol:


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## cammando b

cscott711 said:


> Hey Brad,
> 
> I keep checking in, but no updates! I'm dying here





_Posted from Michigan-sportsman.com App for Android_


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## bobberbill

Possible he's outside 'playing'!!! I keep checking, too..


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## chessielover

Sorry for the delay everyone!

Between the weather, internet problems, generator dying, busting trail, and life in general, the time has gotten away from me.

I spent a few days breaking out different portions of line looking for critters, to little success. It had warmed up a bit that week, so I headed out on the north line hoping to find wolf and marten sign. The snow was not much and could not run very fast. The caribou have been running everywhere, so was expecting to find sign of the wolves somewhat, but only found 1 old piss spot from before the last snow.


With the low water this summer, most of the marshes have little water in them, making it hard traveling. Area's that are normally covered in ice now have little, and is causing the overflow problems, due to faster water flow in the smaller channels.




Sometimes these spots can have over 2 ft of water hiding under the snow. Not fun to get stuck in. I have gotten into the habit to stop at these locations and walk them out before trying to cross.

If it is too bad, I can normally find a way around, but sometimes you just have to go for it and hope.



The deepest spot here was about 1 ft deep.

After breaking out around 10 miles of new line, with only a few fox tracks to show for it, I decided to head home without making any sets. It was just too rough, slow traveling to bother at this time.

I had to take the next day off. I was just to beat up and sore to do anything. It sucks getting old.

My next trip was to the south, hoping to find fox and lynx sign. There have been snowshoe hare moving in this area and I figure there would be fox and lynx after them.

The weather was just gorgeous. It was clear and temps around 20.



The snow was a little deeper here so traveling was a little better; unfortunately there was almost no sign of anything but caribou. Almost every lake had a few feeding on them.



The next few days were much the same. With the warmer weather I had hoped that the otter would be moving, but no luck. I only got this pic the next checkdown to river.



It decided to turn colder and start snowing some. Still no critters moving much but found this spot along the river where a fox had been digging up old salmon carcasses, making a trail through the brush.



It should make for a good snare set.

Going home in the dark and snow



It continued to snow for the next 4 days, with a big dump on Friday night of 10 inches. After this snow I needed to check traps again. The snares were all out of commission, but after a month, my first success! 



A nice male in the only lynx set I have out. I had set a cubby where a lynx had come through 2 weeks back.

Further down the river, the crossover I had set for otter also conected.



A big male, He measured 51 nose to tip of tail and 22 girth.

No other sign, but was a good day.

It continued to snow until yesterday, and last night the temps dropped back to the -30's. It is supposed to warm up again toward the weekend, so with the snow I can break trail easier. I hope to see if anything is up in the highcountry.

I have a gen. again, so will try to update sooner next time


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## David G Duncan

Hi Brad,

Beautiful!!!! Otter!

Good to see the old Skandic is still running down the trails and getting you back home.

Don't tell me the Honda gen is giving you problems? Glad you got your electricity back up and running.

Might fine looking Lynx. Your photos are amazing.

I love the dark colored otter. It will definitely grade out as a Select.

I did get to skin a Lynx here, but it was a road kill and I did it for the youth trapping class I am mentoring. Hope to be able to put out a trap line associated with this class after the New Year.

Merry Christmas Brad and keep the updates coming.


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## Fur-minator

David G Duncan said:


> Hope to be able to put out a trap line associated with this class after the New Year.
> .


Sounds like a "Northwest Territories Thread" in the making! :lol:


I hope you both have a warn, safe and merry Christmas!


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## goodworkstractors

Beautiful pictures. Thanks for the update!


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## chuck44mag

Thanks for the pics, I hope things pick up.
Have a Marry Christmas


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## chessielover

Dave- Besides having no electronics on the skandic, it keeps blowing voltage regs, it is doing me well. I just have to always carry 2 headlamps with me, to ride in the dark.

The weather is just crazzy this year. It will get real cold, then warm up some and then blow and snow, making it misirable to ride.

Went down to the river again. It was -30 down by the river. cold trip for no critters. the otter moved some, but not by any sets. I did put out one more crossover in. maybe next time. 

Went to the east yesterday. I only saw 1 fox track beside where a mink had traveled down a slew. I also found where an otter had been using an old beave hut.


I set a 280, guarding the entrance.

sooner or later it should be back through.

There is more snow, to make traveling easer.


With the lack of critters, almost everyone quit trapping this year. The only reason I'm doing it, is to get out of the house.

Now that we have more snow, I will do some exploring, maybe find where the wolves are hiding. There are still caribou everywhere, so it is hard to find sign.

We also need some warmer, clear days to get some good pics. 

brad


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## 50incher

Hey Chessielover, love this thread & pics...I've been curious as to why the low critter #'s... in your opinion?...is it just a normal cycle, with low rabbit #'s.....any habitat change/food & cover getting different.....past trapping preassure....or combination of reasons??.....
I have to stay active all winter as well, either ice fishing or tossing on a pack and just hiking several miles to enjoy the winter landscape....
Hope you find the Wolves and bag a few ....Happy 2014 as well....cheers


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## bevrpndhntr

Love your reports! Looking forward to the next one!


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## beer and nuts

subscribed


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## chessielover

Thanks for the replies everyone!

50incher- IMHO, it is a combination of things. For the most part, we had a normal crash in snowshoe hare's 2 years ago. These are the main food source for fox and Lynx. 4 years ago, it was not uncommon to see them everywhere, and I would catch over 100 in my sets during the season. Now I am lucky to see a track from them.

The marten have also crashed throughout the state. No one seems to know why. Their main food are red backed voles, ground nesting birds and barries. With the late snows the last 4-5 years, it has kill a lot of chicks in the spring and has also efected the barrie crop. The record snowfall we had 2 years ago didn't help much either.

This area of alaska has always been starving country, but I could always make some money trapping.

Here is a pic from a good year!

after a 4 day check

This also happened back in 01 and took a few years to recover. We will see what happens.


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## chessielover

Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

2 days before Christmas it dumped a foot of snow overnight, then cleared up end dropped back down to -30's and -40's. What a bummer. The only good thing is we had 2 nights of excelent northern lights. I wish my camera would take pics of them.

I decided to make a run down to the river on christmas, to check things out after the big snow. It was -15 at the house and I figured it wouldn't be to bad of a run. What a shocker to see it was -45 down on the river.(I carry a small thermometor with me)

With it being so cold, nothing was moving except caribou and moose.

I was able to warm the camera up to get a few pics on the way home.

When it gets real cold, the ice crystals in the air will reflect the setting sun. this is looking north.


Sun just dipping behind the mountains.


Everything white with snow

I spent the next few days just staying warm until yesterday, when it finally warmed up to -5. I decided to break out the trail to the south and see if anything was moving down that way yet. I also needed to pick up some boxes that my parents had shipped to my friends, for me.

It wasn't too bad on top, but lower it was nothing but ice fog.


It wasnt too bad of a trip and finaly saw a lynx track. With all the hare's down this way I am surprised there are not more hunting. I also saw lots of ermine sign. I might trap some along this part yet.

I decided to make a run down to the river today. It was clear when I got up, but on the cold side at -9.

When I went out to start the snowmachine, I saw some visitors down on the lake.

Around 10 caribou.

The sun just coming up.


The trail down had no new sign except lots of caribou and moose, so when I got to my fist otter set , it was nice to find this.(click on pic for vidio)


This is the crossover I put in 2 weeks ago.

Not as big as the first one, but still a nice male.

The river is mostly froze over now.


I did find some mink sign, so put out a few blind sets, but no new otter sign.

I figured I would take this pic of one of the tight spots on the trail.

As the snow gets deeper, it pushes the trees further into the trail.

Not a bad day to finish off the year.

Brad


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## 50incher

All I can say is that I love winter....but MAN that looks COLD!!!...40 below :help:...lol....16 degrees here & 2-4" of snow, ice fishing on the 1st ...love your posts....happy 2014,....cheers Frank...


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## chuck44mag

Enjoy your pics and videos,
. Have a Happy New Year


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## Danno

I just found this thread. Best thread on the site. Thanks for sharing your great stories and pictures!! 

Most sportsman / outdoorsman dream of living this kind of life even if only for a month, but the reality is not to many of us could do it. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you. God Bless.
Dan


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## chessielover

50incher said:


> Great stuff chessielover !.....I was wondering if you eat Grizzly or just thinning the population?  .....Brown & Grizzly bears are my favorite North American animals, hunted Kodiaks but have never got either.....and I keep forgetting to ask, do you get a lot of the northern lights this time of year?....best of luck on the Wolves....cheers....


As Dave stated, I sure do. The interior Brown Bear tastes much like a black. They eat the same things. It's when the bear have been eating salmon a lot, that they don't taste too good. Even our mallard ducks don't taste good later in the season. They been eating lots of salmon eggs and end up tasting like rotten salmon:sad:.

Most years we have good nothern lights, this time of year. This year hasn't been very good, but have had some nice one's the last 2 nights.



David G Duncan said:


> Hi Brad,
> 
> I am one of your best old fans! Heee heee.
> 
> The winter I spent with you was definitely a Dream Come True. Thank you for taking me along on your line again this year, even if it is only by way of your great photos and videos.
> 
> For those who might be interested, the wild game Brad served me during my stay was a real treat. Lynx was my favorite, followed by Grizzly roast and then Caribou. By the way Brad is an excellent cook on top of being a World Class wilderness trapper.
> 
> Keep the reports coming.
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Dave


Thanks for the compliment Dave!

I wish I had more lynx to eat this year, it is definitely my favorite dish! I'm getting sick of eating caribou.




Danno said:


> I just found this thread. Best thread on the site. Thanks for sharing your great stories and pictures!!
> 
> Most sportsman / outdoorsman dream of living this kind of life even if only for a month, but the reality is not to many of us could do it. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you. God Bless.
> Dan


I'm glad you enjoy the thread.

Ask Dave, my door is always open. You just have to put up with an old bachelor, that might put you to a little work, cutting wood..LOL.

Some day, I would even like to trade **** and dirt trapping, for trapping up here.

It was a nice day today, so I decided to head down the east line to check traps and cut some wood.

I didn't pick anything up, but did a little exploring. I broke out to one lake I normally dont hit, because of the overflow on it. An otter had made this trail down it just before it got cold again.


I followed it down to an old dam used to be. It sure spent a lot of time playing around here, while it was open.


Unfortunately it is so shallow this year, it is now froze to the bottom. I might put a set in here anyway, the next time out.

I broke up another slew and found a small beaver hut from this year. I find a lot of these, made from young that don't know any better. It is probably already froze out. There was so little good feed, it had lots of spruce in its feed bed.


On the way back, I had this small group of caribou come out on the trail in front of me. They are steaming from the hoarfrost that fell on them.


I took these pics on the way home.

Another shot of the mountains from the hill.


it's looking like winter again at the house, from the lake.


The montains from the front yard.


everyone enjoy and be safe

Brad


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## crittergitter71

I really like that picture of the caribou, and the mountains, and the otter tracks. oh ya, the one of your house too! lol


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## starky

Brad, where exactly are you? I've heard you talk of the long trek to Talketna, just curious.


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## TVCJohn

Ya know I was thinking a bit.....we see alot of pics on how you do your sets, have you considered also including some pics of how you do your skinning and prepping of the hides of the different animals you get? Kinda like a start to finish thing.


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## QDMAMAN

Brad, I admire your grit. Truely inspirational!
I stumble into the trapping forum after the deer season closes every year and I'm always excited to find your thread. I'm not sure if it's more fun to read a couple of month's worth of posts in an hour or wait with childlike anticipation each day.:lol:
I about spit out my coffee when you said you'd love to have possum there so you could get some action in the slow times. :lol::lol::lol:
I must admit that the picture of your house made me chuckle. I wouldn't have expected an ol bachelor trapper would live in a pink house. Whatever works for ya I guess.
Interesting that both you and Dave favor Linx for dinner, curious what it tastes like and how you prepare it? Stir fry? 
Thanks for taking us with you each winter!

Tony


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## chessielover

QDMAMAN said:


> Brad, I admire your grit. Truely inspirational!
> I stumble into the trapping forum after the deer season closes every year and I'm always excited to find your thread. I'm not sure if it's more fun to read a couple of month's worth of posts in an hour or wait with childlike anticipation each day.:lol:
> I about spit out my coffee when you said you'd love to have possum there so you could get some action in the slow times. :lol::lol::lol:
> I must admit that the picture of your house made me chuckle. I wouldn't have expected an ol bachelor trapper would live in a pink house. Whatever works for ya I guess.
> Interesting that both you and Dave favor Linx for dinner, curious what it tastes like and how you prepare it? Stir fry?
> Thanks for taking us with you each winter!
> 
> Tony


I glad you enjoy the posts! I even like to go back and read a bunch at once.

In years like this, with no critters, anything would be nice to catch. even a possum. Anything that you can skin and help pay the bills...LOL.

I caught a lot of possums as a kid and they were good for learning how to put up fur.

I understand how they can be a pain clogging sets for the high dollar fur. I have the same problem with snowshoe hare, when their populations are high. One year I caught over 400 snowshow. most half eaten by something else. lots of gang setting in those years.

I'm surprised nobody else has commented on the color of the house..LOL.
It is not as pink as it looks in the pics and it actually blends in well in the fall, with all the reds and orange.

The story behind the paint is I needed something to cover the OSB before it got too bad. I was in Anchorage and good exterior paint was going for almost 40 bucks a gal., but they had a few 5gal. buckets of miss mixed paint for 15 bucks a bucket, to get rid of them. The others were some real weird looking blue and this looked more brown. What a shock when we first put it on! But, hay, it is holding up good and only cost $15. Wonder what the next color will be!...LOL

Lynx taste much like a sweet pork. The older ones can be on the tougher side, so are good in a dish that uses ground meat, or is simmered for a long time(works great on the wood stove), like a pulled pork. I like it for curry dishes over rice or mashed potatoes. It also makes a great ground meat for sausage and gravy in the mornings.




crittergitter71 said:


> I really like that picture of the caribou, and the mountains, and the otter tracks. oh ya, the one of your house too! lol


I was surprised on how well the one of the caribou turned out, with the sun directly behind them. Made a neat pic with the steam comming off of them.



starky said:


> Brad, where exactly are you? I've heard you talk of the long trek to Talketna, just curious.


I live about 35 miles west of Glennallen, 5 miles north of the glenn hwy, just off the road to Lk Louise. I have a view of 4 mountain ranges, the Tazlina glaicer, and thousands of acres of puplic land to play in.
http://www.travelalaska.com/Destinations/Communities/Lake Louise.aspx




TVCJohn said:


> Ya know I was thinking a bit.....we see alot of pics on how you do your sets, have you considered also including some pics of how you do your skinning and prepping of the hides of the different animals you get? Kinda like a start to finish thing.


I never really thought about it, because there are so many good tutorials out there.

The only thing I do different is I don't turn my long hairs if they are going to the tannery. I also skin my marten from the head. This also can be done on mink, if they are not super fat. I will try to get some pics.

I ran back down to the south to check the one wolf snare and to put in some lynx sets and a few marten and wolf sets, where I had seen sign. With the snow crusted on top, it was hard to see any fresh sign.

With the temps back down in the sub-zeros, the trees on top are all covered in hoarfrost, making them all white again. I miss those teens and twenties! 

It was an uneventfull trip, so only got a few pics.

Hoarfrost on the trees


Waiting for better days

One of the many traps I have hanging on the trail, not being used this year.

A clear day on the mountains, to the east.


The Alaskan range, to the north, turning pink as the sun sets.


It is supposed to get real cold for the next few weeks, so I need to get a bunch of wood cut in the next few days.

I hope to get down to the river before too long, and maybe the wolves have come back.

Brad


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## chessielover

While I was making something to eat, before heading out to cut wood, I had a flock of 6 of these walk into the yard, outside the kitchen window.


A couple of nice sharptail's. Figured I would pop a few for dinner tonight.

Ginger took a few hops into the snow to retrive them, then gave me the look saying "you can get your own birds in this deep, crusty snow!" It took me over 10min. to go the 30 yards, to pick them up.:sad:.


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## crittergitter71

Bet it was well worth it. YUM!


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## 50incher

Thats what I call home delivery..."ah la mother nature !"........still cold here !... Was 10 tonight...Thur hi 18 and low @ -4 ...big lakes have lots of ice ....cheers....


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## chessielover

crittergitter71 said:


> Bet it was well worth it. YUM!


had them seared with wine gravy on wildrice, yum!



50incher said:


> Thats what I call home delivery..."ah la mother nature !"........still cold here !... Was 10 tonight...Thur hi 18 and low @ -4 ...big lakes have lots of ice ....cheers....


It's nice to be able to get wild game in the yard. Defenitly don't miss those long drives to go hunting, when I lived in the city, back in Wi.

A balmy -5 here on the ridge, -20 at the lake. It is suposed to get lows of -30's by the end of the week. Winter has returned!


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## crittergitter71

Sorry about the return of the cold. We had to send it back your way.  We got sick of it. Actually it's -2 here in SE Michigan this morning.


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## chessielover

I woke yesterday at 6am, to -5, clear skies, and an awsome northern light display. I wish my camera would take pics of them.

The forcast was for a front to move in with high winds, along with a few inches of snow, so I decided to head down to the river to see if anything had moved in front of the weather. It is not uncommon for the critters to move just before these storms hit, then hold up until a day or two after.

The weather was very deceptive of things to come, as I left. It was parcily cloudy but not a bad start of the day. The temps in the low county were much colder, creating lots of ice fog.


Looking over a sea of fog.

The temps and ice fog made for a slow trip with no new sign. I am staring to wonder if any critters are still in the country:sad:.

The creek is almost totally froze again, and still no sign of the otter after 3 weeks. I even spent an hour cutting a trail to get the snowmachine from the lake to the head of the creek, hoping to find the otter there, nothing.

The wolf sets have also not been disturbed, except for the go-fasts comming back through, in some places comming within inches of some sets; so had to clean up 3 of them. I wonder why people ride these high power machines with 2+ paddle tracks, and never get more then 3 feet from my trail; going over 2 1/2 miles to get the the lake to play around on, when they can break the short trail at the north end of the lake.

The birds did feed well on the otter carcess I put out.

It will leave a good sent for the wolves to check out.

By the time I headed home, the winds had really picked up and was starting to snow. Thankfully we only got a little over an inch. A good amount to see any freash tracks.

It is suposed to stay cold and windy for the next few days, with wildchills down around -50, so I don't know how much running around I'll be doing.

Sorry I didn't get more pics, but with the flat light and temps, it just wasn't a good day for them.

There was a discusion on another thread that I didn't want to hijack, so I will atempt to put together a post on some of the ways I trap for K9's in deep snow, using blind sets. I need to wait for some good light to get pics to go with.


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## crittergitter71

Sucks you didn't see any fresh sign. Sometimes it gets hard to be a trapper when things are dead, day after day. I still love it though. Wish i could see them northern lights more. I've only seen them once and that was here in S.E. Michigan. People were pulled over everywhere along the roads watching them. What an awsome site that was. So how much light do you have in a day, this time of year?


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## 50incher

Temp here is 0 as I type, funny but last year it wouldn't hardly go below 32....this year it won't go anywhere near above that !....I would actually like to experiance -40....after all our cold, it's surprizing how fast you get used to it...I know I ain't telling you nothing..lol....10 ain't bad anymore :lol:....& when you walk on the snow and it squeaks, I can't help but smile...lol....been seeing a LOT of rabbits, wish I could send some your way.....ice fishing tomorrow....best of luck...with critters and WX....


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## chessielover

crittergitter71 said:


> Sucks you didn't see any fresh sign. Sometimes it gets hard to be a trapper when things are dead, day after day. I still love it though. Wish i could see them northern lights more. I've only seen them once and that was here in S.E. Michigan. People were pulled over everywhere along the roads watching them. What an awsome site that was. So how much light do you have in a day, this time of year?


The Northern Lights are the only plus with the cold clear nights.

It is pretty light by 8am and not dark until 630. Gaining over 6 min a day. Love these longer days. I just wish it wouldn't be so cold, so I could do more running on the snowmachine. I just don't have the ambition as I used to. Things tend to break when it is this cold, and I don't like walking out! Been there, done that! It's kind of nice not having almost 200 miles of line to check this year. I sure don't miss the long loop, running 9 hours in -20 or colder.



50incher said:


> Temp here is 0 as I type, funny but last year it wouldn't hardly go below 32....this year it won't go anywhere near above that !....I would actually like to experiance -40....after all our cold, it's surprizing how fast you get used to it...I know I ain't telling you nothing..lol....10 ain't bad anymore :lol:....& when you walk on the snow and it squeaks, I can't help but smile...lol....been seeing a LOT of rabbits, wish I could send some your way.....ice fishing tomorrow....best of luck...with critters and WX....


We are back to 20 deg. below norm. The only thing nice about being at -20, is the wood splits easier. It is supposed to stay real cold and windy for the next 2 weeks!

I hope you did well fishing! Ice fishing sucks up here...LOL


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## chessielover

I hope everyone is doing well?

It ended up snowing only about an inch, but the temps dropped through the floor again:sad:. Having the wind blowing at 25+ didn't help either.

It's hard keeping up with my wood supply in these temps and wind, so yesterday afternoon when the winds died, I headed out and cut a few trees. It is only a small load, but chainsaws don't like the -20 temps, any more than I do:yikes:.


The sun has some heat to it, and it was so petty out,

I decided to drop the sled full of wood, and head the few miles down the hill and check the lynx traps. It was dead out there, and only saw 1 lonely fox track and a couple of snowshoe tracks, some real starving country out there, this year:help:.

It has been running about -40 off the ridge, so I am staying close to the house, but hope it warms up some towards the end of the week. At least this cold keeps the rec riders away, and maybe the wolves have come back.

Stay safe and warm,

Brad


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## 50incher

It's -2 here at almost 2 a.m. ....been a REAL winter here, for a change & I like it !!....cold, clear & crisp not all soggy, dirty and bleak :lol:.... makes Spring all the sweeter too....hope to hear ya get a wolf ....they must be working for their food !!....about when do you usually have to call it a season ?....legal date or because of WX....thanks for the updates, it's all interesting !!....cheers.....


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## SteelieArm14

This is easily the best thread on this site. Keep the updates coming! i really enjoy the read and pictures. Thanks for taking us along!


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## snortwheeze

Can't wait to see a wolf, we are all rootin for ya. Good luck, hope things pick up for ya. Pics are incredible & make me want to travel to Alaska even that much more

Sent from my SPH-M830


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## jiggin is livin

Man I just read this whole thing. Don't end!!! I was hoping for a wolf. I don't think I could do what you do but I sure like to think about it lol


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