Nice trip report. With that cold front, wind, sleet, rain and snow we had here during your trip the good fishing odds were heavily stacked against you guys.
Very nice report Mirth. Except for the coffee, it sounds like you two were well prepared for whatever came your way. I enjoyed the report and pictures. Well done.
Luft - I think I had first heard of that from Kanoes or maybe another member here. I want to say on the gear forum there's a thread titled 'another use for bdb's' or something to that effect. One thing I know is for those situations a longer input hose for my pump would be nice.
Arctic - agreed. The odds were stacked against us for fishing.... Two successive cold fronts pretty much guaranteed that.
AndySG - Thanks! It really was a near disaster when we went to make a fresh pot only to discover we were out of coffee. Maybe next time we're bringing a pound. =)
Nice TR, glad you made the most out of a windy trip. If you want, you can do a lot better tarp pitching in windy weather. Running a rope thru all the tie out points on each side and then staking that rope will help a lot. Then you can tie off to the rope, and stake those points. Kinda hard to explain, but it keeps the tarp in control, but takes extra rope that you gotta have with you.
Thanks all. Attitude was key for this trip. We knew a week ahead of time that there'd be a temperature shift during the trip and as a result we were well prepared. Having a weather radio really made the difference as we had the ability to get into the right mindset for the day and know what to expect and roughly when to expect it! The weather radio is definitely a keeper.
Agreed, I wish the fishing had been better but I secretly suspected it wouldn't be all that great given the forecast. Would have rathered Joe be the one to get the fish than me.... maybe next time.
Buz - we sort of attempted that... All I had were the 4 cords that came with the tarp but we also had a 100' spool of yellow poly rope. Initially we ran the yellow rope as a ridgeline through the loops along the top of the tarp, but we had to redo it when I discovered the rope was sawing through the loops. I then re-threaded it through the grommets on the long corners. I think I get what you're saying regarding running a rope along the sides, though. Need more rope! =)
It seems that each trip we've had a mantra - in 2008 it was 'dude, we're f'in here!' and in 2011 it was 'Good job Joe. Good job Al.' whenever we accomplished something major like getting through Crooked alive in that wind or even something minor like pumping water or making breakfast.
I hope next trip's mantra is something akin to 'Woo hoo! Another fish on!'
Thanks Randy! I worry sometimes that I'm a little too wordy, but at the same time the trip reports to me are less of a report and more of a story about the experience.
I can't take credit for thinking up the bdb filter intake tip, I read it here maybe from kanoes. Glad I was able to enlighten you though! If you're going to do this I suggest an extension hose for your intake of at least 4'. My foot got wet once slipping on the edge while trying to pump.