It took us 2 days to dig our way out and make it the mile and half back to our base camp. We could hear the Coast Guard rescuing other hunters with helicopters. We raised our pilot on a handheld radio. He told us, even with skis, there was too much snow to land. So, he airdropped us two pair of snowshoes and we packed him a landing strip. The following day he came back in to get us. That was an adventure.
BTW - do guides ever invite you back since you keep shooting moose in the water - 8^)
Like your first post says, the title could have been "It's Mental AND Physical".
Being in the best shape possible gives me confidence that helps me to be mentally stronger/tougher.
I can be in as good of shape as possible but at the end of the hunt, it's likely the mental side of the hunt that will determine my success or failure.
Thx for the pics Bob
Mark
Great pics.
What we didn't realize was the landing gear was already sitting on the bottom of the lake where the plane sat; shallow lake.
This was back when there were still lots of caribou around Iliamna. Since we were paying the pilot by the hour for the flight, once I saw caribou, I told the pilot to set me down. We were probably only five miles out of Iliamna where this happened. The pilot walked back to the village and came back the next day on snow machine with my hunting buddy, a chainsaw winch, and a chainsaw.
Over the night more ice had formed around the plane, so it was now thick enough to hold the weight of us and the airplane. We cut the plane out of the ice and pulled it out with the winch. After breaking away ice, he flew the plane back to Iliamna and Roger and I hunted caribou.
Cool pics and stories.
The second night of the snow storm we woke after being buried under snow. Both of us realized we were having a hard time breathing and we needed to dig out from under the weight of the snow. That happened several times during the night.
Once we realized we needed to get the heck off the mountain. We took turns digging our way through the snow. One of us would plow through for maybe ten yards before we were exhausted. We'd rest a minute and the other would plow through. We spent one more night in our mountain tent with soaking wet clothing from sweat.
Arrival at our base camp was two days later, but we were unable to find our tent because it had been crushed under the weight of the snow and was buried under 5 1/2 feet of snow. As bear precaution, we had hung a yellow bucket in a tree with our food and that was the only way we found the exact location of the tent.
We dug the tent out, fixed broken poles with duck tape, and lit a lantern. The lantern warmed the tent up and we were fine. We spent a couple more nights in that tent waiting for the airdrop of snowshoes.
The pilot told us how long we had to make the landing strip and we walked back for on snowshoes for a day making it solid enough for him to land. When he came back in the next morning and I talked with him on the radio, he said the landing strip looked good. I told him, if he gave us one more day, we'd have a control tower put in.
Mad Trapper, I'm sure with your history of hunt success, you always go mentally prepared!
It helps mentally for me, to have simple goals. For any trip there are two goals that I find equally important....the first being obviously to have success in arrowing the target animal. But the second, equally important goal is enjoying every day of the hunt experience to the fullest, regardless of any kills. When I approach it that way, I'll always meet half my goals, at a minimum.
It probably helps to be totally infatuated with bowhunting. Meaning no matter how long or difficult a hunt, you can never get enough, and will never really want to go home. You'll be a little disappointed if you tag out early, cutting short your hunting days. And even if your tag stays un-punched past the last sunset, you'll still be grateful for each and every minute afield.
To me the above seems normal. If I didn't feel that way, I'd take up a different pastime, like coin collecting, or maybe needlepoint ;-)
Thanks again Bob....great topic !
I am a distance runner. When things hurt and suck, common sense tells you to stop. Unfortunately the finish doesn't get any closer when you stop. So I learn to deal with it. My body finds a level of discomfort/equilibrium and I just live with it. Mile after mile, hour after hour. Currently in my training, I do back to back long runs on Sat and Sunday. Believe me, neither my body or mind want to run 18+ miles on Sunday after 20+ on Sat. But I don't give myself an option. Failure or not starting is not an option.
When packing meat, my mind comes up with songs or mantras which keep me moving. Maybe it is delirium. (Think Blutarski's motivational speech from "Animal House". IE When the German's bombed Pearl Harbor)
I don't have nearly the level of experience that any other poster to this thread has, just having a handful of western hunts under my belt. . . . but my biggest problem has been pressure, that I've imposed on myself. Whether it's hunting at home, or on a trip
I'm trying to find that middle ground where I have the desire and the drive to work hard for success, while not putting so much pressure on myself to be successful that I lose some enjoyment. I'm way past the stage at home, of HAVING to fill a tag. But a trip that I've planned for, scrimped for, etc. is always different.
I feel like last year I found that sweet spot on my elk hunt. I was unsuccessful, but I had a lot of fun, put on a lot of miles and worked hard, it just didn't happen for me. The pressure wasn't there that I had to kill, as I've killed a couple elk, but I was still motivated to put everything I had into it. And I really just enjoyed getting out of the daily grind, into the mountains
I like Sticksender's two goals above, and that's the mindset I need to work on at times :)
Bake
He told me the reason he shoots a Hoyt bow is because 99% of the time, he uses it as a walking stick and since it hasn't broken..... LOL! I believe that to be true.
If you ever get a chance to share a camp with Bob, do it. And, do your best to ask as many questions as possible early in the evening, his bed time is 7pm. LOL
Inspiring...
Yeah Bob, regular couch potato.... I'd like to see what you considered great shape.... LOL!
Those pics and stories were awesome! When you're going through the trouble and pain they aren't so great, but after all is said and done and time separates events father and farther...kind of a sense of satisfaction and pride for having made it through that stuff. Never. Never, Ever, give up. Never quit.
Ties in well to that "choosing a hunting partner" thread. Simple. Chose Bob.
thanks again. too cool.
I was pondering this very thought of mental v. physical after watching Deadliest Catch last night. I think I could pass the mental test but physically cannot make the body do something it is not capable of doing. Your examples definitely prove that it is often mind over matter if the body is capable of the task.
I definitely agree that being mentally prepared is a must when you are in some of the more wild places, and sometimes even when you are not. The hard part is actually becoming mentally prepared. That trait is something that isn't easy to just study up on.
For some of these trips, I think looking one's self in the mirror and identifying whether or not you are up to the task is pretty critical. To a point though, I don't believe you can really know for sure until you experience it. Obviously Bob and folks that head out with him are pretty much up for most any challenge North America can throw at them. I'm pretty sure I would freak out with all that snow. From reading your story, it seems like there may have been more than a few who were in that exact same situation. That is just a scenario that I am really not used to, and have no experience with.
I surely appreciate you taking us along and showing us how hardcore things can get, and that they can be handled with the right preparation, skill, and mental toughness. I do have to say that I think completely ignoring the physical portion would be a mistake though.
Only been on one hunt that was hairy, but I will never forget a minute of it and we still laugh about it and my boys eat up the story every time it is told.
Agree with the mental toughness v. Physical toughness, but they do often go hand in hand as our bodies can do so much more than we think, it is just a matter of using the mental edge to overcome.
Thanks for sharing, Bob!
Bob, you should write a book.
Nick,
Did Roy tell you about the time he crawled in the den with a brown bear? Roy takes mental toughness to a degree beyond sanity sometimes.
I was trying to emphasize that mental toughness and how you deal with physical challenges is, in my judgment, much more important than the fitness aspect. You do have to be fit too, but from my experience, its much more important to hang in there and stay with the hunt.
You can take a look at Roy and no one is going to select him as being the most physically fit guy in the room. He kills more game than anyone else because he is so damn mentally tough, he absolutely never quits.
I agree, guys with military training probably have an edge with this aspect of the hunt.
I might add I never have known anyone as mentally tough as was my Mom. She will always be my No. 1 hero!
Have a great bow hunt. BB
Interesting thing about that hunt was that, if I had shot him on the north end of the lake, he'd have been an Alaska-Yukon Moose. Since I shot him at the south end of the lake, he's a Canadian moose.
~ George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian
I'd like to think that if I've got one thing going for me, it's grit, but I'm not crawling into a den with a brown bear. Go ahead and make fun of me for being a weenie.
On a Kodiak hunt when Taylor his teenage son was with us, I made him buy a watch at Wal-Mart so the boy wouldn't have to wander around in the dark with his dad. Roy bought into the idea and bought a $5 watch, but he threw it away, or more likely lost it, soon after that hunt. Roy has a tendency to misplace things.
We hunted hard and scored on day 6. I am black and blue from head to toe and ended up tearing my ACL and Miniscus.
Our hard work and persistnecy was rewarded with a 9 foot, 25 12/16's Brownie.
Roy is an unbelievable predator.
Very cool, congratulations on the bear. I didn't know you were on that hunt. I'm sure you had a great time with Roy and Jonah.
Photo looks like Roy has continued on his weight loss program. If he keeps with it, we won’t be able to recognize him. I kind of feel sorry for Lee and Louis the City Hunter on their Mountain Goat hunts with the new and improved Roy.
I think a few weeks on the snow machine has burned some serious calories for Roy. For me, riding a snow machine all week was tougher than any sheep hunt or goat hunt I've been on...seriously. I've never been so sore or bruised in my life. Roy rides those things where a normal human being would not even consider riding. For his size, his conditioning amazes me.
What a great, timely thread Bob...
I grew up in Upper Michigan riding snow machines. I've lived in Alaska since 1982 and have been riding snow machines most of that time. When I go with Roy he scares the hell out me!!!
Congrats again Cory!!
This guide looked at Roy and said "who the he!! has been riding up there" and pointed to the very top of an adjacent mountain cornice. Roy just smiled and said, "that was me"...The guide looked at him and said "you are one crazy SOB"... :}
In this picture I gave Roy a "8.5" as he didn't stick the landing. Had he stuck the landing, I would've given him a perfect "10" :) He did a perfect half twist, with his toes pointed perfectly upward as he exited the sled over the handle bars, body fully extended. I went over the handle bars three times one day in an hour, but didn't have the form Roy did...I usually just plowed through the windshield.
My first trip with Roy up there where you guys were hunting he had me going across a side hill. I wimped out and slowed down, without the momentum to keep going, I ended up tumbling down to the bottom of a crevasse. Roy told me, you have to keep on the throttle if you're going to make stuff like that.
Isn’t the country where you hunted breath taking? It leaves me in awe.
The first time I saw Roy's sled, I would've guessed it is at least ten years old. When he told me in was only a few months old, I couldn't believe it. The thing is trashed. He had a couple bad rollovers on the trip. One, he was follwoing a bear track up to the very top of a mountain cornice. It ended up being so steep the sled actually flipped over backwards and pinned him underneath it. He said he thought he was going to have to "chew his leg off" to get out of that predicament. He was able to reach his tree pruners and dug himself out with the handle. The stories from this week never end.
To top the week off, flying out with Jonah, he noticed one of his new wheel skis didn't tip up after take off. Prior to landing back in Wasilla, he had me hang me head out the window of the plane and push down the back of the ski with a ski pole I had at about 2000 feet. I held the pole and pushed down on the ski in mid flight and it popped right up! Hard to say what we would've done without that ski pole.
That is a hunt you will always remember.
Great thread and great stories!
"I think its great that folks work out and get into shape, but you need to prepare mentally."
Agreed! Mental toughness is an important part of being in Sheep Shape.
I would also point out that the better shape you're in physically, the easier it is for you to be mentally tough.
Is that Lon with you manning the oar boat?
Also remember I was a professional white water raft guide for 7 years. If you ever need any services feel free to include me on a hunt (wink, wink)
I think you meant Lon?
No, that is Roger, Lon was taking the photo from on top the canyon wall. After we made it through, Lon had to raft through by himself in a much smaller raft. As I recall, he looked like a cork being flushed down a toilet.
