BowCast Blog

 Sorry for the delay in getting this post up.  It has been a little crazy around here.  As promised I'm going to tell you about the water filters I was at the Outdoor Retailers Show.  The first one is from MSR.  The filter is smaller and lighter than any others that I've tried and it blows the doors off of the competition in speed.  The Hyperflow Pump is what they are calling it and it weighs just 7.8 oz.  It is hard to expect great performance when you are getting such a compact, lightweight unit, but the manufacturer boasts 2.75 liters per minute!  That is almost 3 times the speed of most of the filters out there.  I tried it at the show and was surprised at how little effort it required to use.  Also, a great boon to it's design is that it is field serviceable; no disposable cartridge to plug halfway through your trip.  It takes a couple of minutes to disassemble the pump to backflush the system, but the inconvenience is well worth the benefit.  I've had my disposable filter pump leave me high and dry when filtering murky water. 

   Another new pump that I thought was worth adding to your equipment list is the Platypus Cleanstream.  It is a gravity filter with using the same filter technology as the MSR Hyperflow.  With this filter, simply fill the 4 liter bag, elevate it above the other and the inline filter does the work for you.  It is spec'd at 4 liters in under 2 1/2 minutes!  Cleaning the filter on this one is even easier, simply disconnect your "dirty" water bag and elevate the filtered bag.  The filter gets back flushed, dumping the sediment back onto the ground.  Unfortunately, I don't have a weight spec to provide you with, but their stuff is usually really light.  I'd expect no different from this one. I'll be field testing one or the other of these filters on the next leg of the Pacific Crest Trail my wife and I are hiking next month and I'll give you feedback if either is anything less than excellent. 

   I got some correspondence from a reader asking about how I got over  the physiological impact of the bear mauling I experienced when I was bowhunting in '92.  The inquiry also got me thinking about addressing how I personally was able to become comfortable with making extended solo backcountry trips.  First the bear mauling recovery (for those who haven't read about that, it is published in Cameron Hane's book Bowhunting Trophy Blacktail, still available through his website I'm sure).  I was very fortunate with the extent of injuries I received.  It was a couple of months before I was able to shoot my bow again.  By that time archery season had come and gone, but the opener of rifle season for bear hit about the same time I recovered physically.  I wasn't able to find anyone to go with me, but was very anxious to see how I would handle getting close to a bear again.  Back in civilization, it was easy to talk about and I didn't worry about what might happen if and when I would encounter a bear again.  I knew that all could easily change when I had one at close range though.  So, I loaded up my bivy pack for a 4 day hunt and headed out.  Opening morning I glassed up a bear in a berry patch on a steep hillside.  With the thermals wafting gently up the hill, I was able to close the gap easily while he (I presume) was busy stripping the bushes.  About 20 yards above the bear was a large rock.  I climbed up on top of it, which brought me well above the level of the bushes around me.  The bear sat directly below me, totally engrossed in the business at hand.  I had a small opening lining up with the bear's chest, but a small branch partially screened a clear shot.  My heart was beating overtime, I was shaking like a leaf as I waited for the bear to turn slightly to offer a clear shot.  Anxiety coursed through my veins totally uninhibited, I just knew that bear was going to jerk me off that rock and finish the job the other one had started.  After some great duration of time, the bear finally turned.  As he began to move, I drew my bow.  Just as I was beginning to settle in, the bear completed his turn and lifted his head.  Despite their poor eyesight, the silhouette was not mistaken and he wasted no time in clearing out.  I let out a sigh of relief that almost cleared my stomach as I let my bow down.  I had my answer, I could do it, albeit not very gracefully, but I'm confident I could have pulled it off.  Regardless, I know I was happier that he had left than I was disappointed that I didn't fill my tag.  By facing my fears I learn where my limits are.  I ended up leaving that trip early, my release broke and I had no back-up.  I was relieved to have an excuse not to put myself in the predator/prey or prey/predator position again.  I was pretty rattled from the one encounter and managed to get in another stalk where I was winded before I got a shot.  The following year I was able to close the deal on opening weekend with a 300 boar.  I also helped two other buddies fill their bear tags on spot and stalk hunts that season.  Since then I haven't hunted them much, but it is more because they don't grow antlers than out of concern of becoming a meal.  The year after I got mauled I did run into a sow with cubs in the bottom of the same canyon.  The cub walked out of a thick patch of willows I was walking by in the middle of the day.  A stiff wind blew in my face and it was eating up the 20 yards between us as it wandered in my direction.  My pack hit the ground as soon as I saw it and I was frantically rooting through it to find my pepper spray.  By the time I got my hands on it, the cub was only 15 yards away and the sow had emerged from the willows as well.  When she spotted my form, she stood up and woofed at the cub.  It ran by me and up a tree, leaving me in a very uncomfortable position.  With the wind blowing in my face, I knew if I blasted her with the pepper spray I would be self medicated also.  It was a tense moment as she dropped to all fours, I just knew I was going to see her beady eyes bearing down on me.  She did a stutter step, then turned and barreled off through the willows.  I turned and made record time out of the canyon.  That experience was about enough to make me take up quilting for a safer hobby.  I think one of the things that allows me to overcome my fears is a positive attitude (some might judge it as a bit reckless) that everything is going to be alright.  I don't look at a situation and imagine or visualize the worst, instead I look at it and figure out how I can do it.  My discovery of pepper spray and the research I did on it's effectiveness gave me a tremendous amount of confidence and helped me be successful in my return to bear country.  When it first came out, pepper spray was 15% capsicum pepper.  Now, it has been reduced to less than 2%.  I'm not nearly as confident with the lower percentage and would hesitate to recommend it as your only source of back-up.  I wouldn't be too worried about the blackies, but Kodiak in Oct/Nov, I think I'd be packing the heat.

   I had a friend ask me one time how I am able to do the solo trips.  Anybody that knows me will tell you I'm no macho he-man.  I startle easily, can't watch scary (even remotely) movies and I do enjoy the company of a good hunting buddy.  If someone was to ask me how they might be able to mentally condition themselves to be able to confidently make solo excursions into the backcountry, I would recommend a slow immersion rather than trial by fire.  My first attempt at a solo trip was when I was 17.  I loaded my pack for an overnight and dropped into a deep canyon.  As the sun sank lower, so did my confidence.  I looked around and convinced myself this area didn't look as good once I got down into it as it did from the top.  I made record time back up to the truck and was "safely" surrounded by other people back at the campground that night.  One might look at that as a failure, but I look at it as a first step.  My next, more successful trips, were short, solo overnight forays from a basecamp I shared with a hunting partner. Incremental steps, I feel is the best way to success.  On my early, extended solo trips I carried a small radio, just to hear a voice.  Now, an ipod might be more practical.  Carry a note pad and take notes about your trip or a letter to your wife.  Sometimes just feeling like you are carrying on a conversation is enough to overcome temporary anxiety.  When I'm on top of the mountain, when cell service is possible, I'll check in with my wife or a hunting buddy.  The times I've spent alone up in the mountains rank as some of the most memorable in my life.  It is well worth whatever dues you need to pay to be able to make those solo trips up there.

   Once again, keep the questions/feedback coming.  I'd love to help wherever I can.  Next entry I'll cover my gear list (another request) and talk a bit about why I chose or use the particular items.