top of the tent. A true waterproof tent will have an outer layer that comes all the way to ground level to prevent water from penetrating the inner fabric, and a space or air gap between the inner and outer fabric. A ground cloth under the tent tends to
catch the water as it runs off the tent and col- lects the water under the tent. Place the ground cloth inside your tent, not under the tent, to prevent your gear from geting wet from water on the ground. Late July and August usually involves
monsoon season in the mountains. Tunder- storms can quickly appear. Heavy rains on steep mountainsides made up of lots of rock can quickly become a flash flood. Selecting a safe campsite is important. Choose higher
not sleeping on rocks and other lumps. Te cot puts space between you and the cold seeping in from the frozen ground underneath you. By sleeping on a cot, I create a space under the cot to store my gear. Tis allows me to get my extra gear in the tent and out of the weather, something I can’t do with a smaller tent. Tis heavier gear requires more packhorses
to haul the gear up the mountain. During the summer months using lightweight dome tents and sleeping on foam pads, I can oſten get everything for three people on one packhorse. During colder weather I need one packhorse per rider to get everything up the mountain. We also need to pack in feed for the horse during late fall or winter campouts. Tis oſten requires a second trip down and back up the
“I’ve seen flash floods sweep down canyons, tearing out trees that were two feet in diameter, carrying off 600-gallon stock tanks and rolling 500-lb boulders like marbles.”
ground if possible. If you can’t get out of the botom of the canyon, choose a spot that has some protection from any possible rushing water—on the inside of a curve, up on a ledge or bench, behind a large rock outcropping. I’ve seen flash floods sweep down canyons, tearing out trees that were two feet in diameter, car- rying off 600-gallon stock tanks and rolling 500-lb boulders like marbles. Fall is hunting season for me. Te state
Division of Natural Resources sets the hunting dates. Tis year’s deer hunt is five days dur- ing late October. If I don’t like the dates they select, you can stay home. If you want to go hunting, you will be on the mountain during those five days regardless of the weather. I’ve enjoyed some October days when it was 70 degrees out and wonderful autumn weather. I’ve also endured a week of rain or heavy snowstorms with nightime low temps of 10 degrees. For these colder camps we bring heavier gear. I usually pack in a canvas wall tent, a wood burning stove and cots. Te wall tent gives us more room. If you
get caught in a heavy snowstorm and have to spend a day or two inside your tent, you can get very claustrophobic in a 30” tall dome tent. Having room to stand up, sit in a chair and move around makes the snowbound experi- ence more tolerable. A good wood-burning stove can put out enough heat to run you right out of the tent. We just have to decide who will get up in the middle of the night to add a log to the stove. Cots add comfort by geting your body up off the ground, in addition to the comfort of
mountain—the first trip to haul our gear and the second trip to haul in hay pellets for the horses. Because of this extra effort we don’t move our hunting camps once they are set up. In the summer with lightweight gear, we oſten move to new campsite each day. Te gear used by early Western pioneers
still proves to be very useable by modern day campers. Canvas wall tents stand up very well to the elements. Leather shotgun chaps, full length oil cloth dusters and felt hats keep riders dry. Tere is nothing wrong with traditional gear. Manufactures continue to improve the gear that is available for us to purchase. Most modern gear is lighter and more compact. Consider what a pair of shotgun chaps weighs vs. a pair of rain pants made from a high-tech fabric. Leather chaps will weigh several pounds while the fabric rain pants are merely several ounces in total weight. Te chaps you need to wear, since they don’t pack up very tight. Te high-tech rain gear wads into a small stuff bag and is easy to store until needed. If you are counting pounds and space, you
need to consider the newer fabrics. You can oſten find them in stores that focus on back- packing and biking. Tese fabrics are designed to repel water, stop any wind, keep you warm when wet and be extremely lightweight. Tey can be found in jackets, pants, even incorpo- rated into sleeping bags. Tere is not always room in the tent for my
saddles and tack. So they usually get stored continued next page
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