I have used the Hot Hands for a few years and always keep a few in my Jeep during the cooler months. I use them for cold mornings and having to scrape the windows of our vehicles, hunting, playing with the kids and even our cousin Jimmy’s hockey games! I have even given them to children waiting for their school bus in front of our house.

I am an avid bowhunter, I hunt on stand for and average of 3 hours for morning and evening  hunts in the early season. Once the rut gets started it is an all day affair! I am on stand 1 hour before light to 30 past dark which is about 9 to 11 hours, depending on the weather. It can get downright cold in Virginia! I do a lot of backcountry hunting in Montana and Idaho which is just the opposite of stand hunting and some of buddies from out west don’t understand how cold it can get on stand.  I try to explain to them that sitting still for 3 hours, in 30* temperatures, 20 feet up on a piece of aluminum with the thermals swirling or a breeze is “tough”!  Oh, and don’t forget that moment when its time to draw on your deer after setting on stand freezing for 2 hours…good luck! Read more…

Most of you reading this blog probably have pets. Of that group a good portion of you probably have dogs. Now these dogs may be considered a pet, best friend, part of the family and the highly praised hunting buddy!

This though comes to me while sitting in the vets office this past weekend. The very same place that I saw my vet perform CPR on my dog Gonzo 8 years ago.

If you care for your pets as much as I do, then you probably want to read on.

Read more…

Bears are still out and active throughout big game hunting season in much of Montana and they are extending their ranges in some areas where populations are growing.

Hunting is a prime time to encounter a bear, especially if your are calling game, using scents or have harvested an animal. Here are a few important safety tips for hunting in bear country:

• Always carry bear pepper spray, have it close at hand and know how to use it.
• If you are going to be alone in bear country, let someone know your detailed plans; better yet, don’t go alone.
• While hunting, pay attention to fresh bear sign.
• After making a kill, get the carcass out of the area as quickly as possible.
• When field dressing the carcass, keep your can of bear pepper spray within easy reach.
• Use special precautions if you must leave and then return to a carcass, including placing the carcass where you can easily observe it from a distance when you return.
• Do not attempt to frighten away or haze a bear that is nearby or feeding on a carcass.

For details on how to hunt safely in grizzly country, check the Deer, Elk and Antelope Hunting regulations available online and at FWP offices, or go to FWP’s Living with Wildlife web page.

MISSOULA, Mont.—Flu is on everyone’s mind this autumn. So for hunters who start feeling lousy upon arrival in elk camp, the diagnosis may seem obvious. But, like skiers and mountain climbers, elk hunters at high elevations also are prone to altitude sickness with symptoms that look and feel like the flu—headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, coughing, shortness of breath and trouble sleeping.

Ways to prevent the flu are well publicized, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is offering the following tips for avoiding altitude sickness.

Altitude sickness is caused by thin air at high elevations. Your body must work harder to maintain normal oxygen levels in the blood. Breathing and pulse rates increase. Still, the lack of oxygen can knock a hunter down especially if they go too hard too soon.

“Most of us live at a much lower elevation than elk do. That alone puts many hunters at a disadvantage even before they begin their first stalk,” said Cameron Hanes, a fitness and bowhunting authority as well as TV show host and columnist for RMEF.

Hanes says most sufferers adapt to high altitude by the fourth day. The following tips can help you make better use of your first three days in elk country.

• When you arrive in high country, avoid physical exertion for the first 24 hours. This can be tough when you’ve been looking forward to the hunt all year, so if you can’t or won’t take a full day to adjust, be smart. Don’t go full bore right out of the gate.

• Hunt high, sleep low. At elevations above 5,000 feet, try to gain no more than 2,000 feet per day. You can hunt higher as long as you go back down 2,000 feet to sleep.

• Ascend very slowly past 8,000 feet. Acclimatize yourself. Acclimatization helps cells get along on a smaller oxygen budget. By gaining altitude slowly, your body will adjust gradually with few if any symptoms of altitude sickness.

• If traveling by air to a hunt above 8,000 feet, try to incorporate a layover of one to two days at an intermediate altitude.

• Drink water copiously and constantly.

• Avoid alcohol for the first few days. Alcohol dehydrates you and drinking at high altitudes amplifies its affect.

• Consume a high-carbohydrate diet. Lots of granola bars, trail mix, etc.

• The prescription drug acetazolamide (Diamox) can be helpful as a preventive treatment but always consult with your doctor first.

• Fitness at sea level doesn’t guarantee an easier time when you’re at 10,000 feet, but being in good shape makes it more likely that your lungs can cope with the challenges of the high life.

If these tips don’t work, and if your symptoms persist even at lower altitudes, you may indeed have the flu.

Hanes serves RMEF as host of “Elk Chronicles” on Outdoor Channel and as a columnist for “Bugle” magazine. His second book, “Backcountry Bowhunting, A Guide to the Wild Side,” is currently in its fifth printing and is available at www.cameronhanes.com.

As hunters venture into the woods this fall, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game is asking them to be mindful of their food and garbage.

The same cautions apply to homeowners in bear country.

The past two weeks, local Fish and Game officials have relocated several young bears that have become accustomed to living off garbage and scraps left by campers and even homeowners.   Most bear complaints happen in later summer and early fall when bears are traveling in search of food.

“Anyone who leaves food out are actually baiting in hungry bears,” said Barry Cummings, Fish and Game conservation officer based in Deary. “Bears have a tremendous sense of smell, and once they get used to finding an easy food source, they’ll keep coming back and problems will occur.”

Tips around camp:

• Keep a clean camp. Pick up garbage and store it in a closed vehicle, bear- resistant container, or in a bag tied high between two trees. Store all food the same way. Coolers are not bear-resistant and never keep food in a tent.
• Don’t cook near tents or sleeping areas, and never wear the clothes you cook in to bed.
• Don’t bury food scraps, pour out cooking grease, or leave anything that might be tasty on the ground or in the fire pit. Also, store barbecue grills or other smelly cooking gear inside your vehicle or within a sealed bear resistant container.
• Make game meat unavailable by hanging it at least 10 feet high and 4 feet from the nearest tree.
• If you see a bear, watch it from a distance and leave it alone. Black bears are not usually aggressive, but the danger may increase if a bear loses its fear of humans.

Tips around home:

• Keep garbage in bear-resistant containers or in a closed building.
• Empty and remove bird feeders during the summer months when songbirds are able to forage on food provided by nature.
• Clean up fruit that has fallen in your yard. Rotting fruit will attract bears as well as raccoons and skunks.
• Feed pets inside or during daylight hours; don’t leave pet food or food scraps outside of your home or camp, as it can attract bears, raccoons and skunks.
• Store horse and livestock grains inside closed barns.
• Keep barbeque grills stored in closed buildings.

Many people enjoy seeing all the wildlife Montana has to offer. And some people think they’re helping out by giving them something to eat. But the fact is feeding wildlife places the animals at risk and puts them on a collision course with humans. The problem of feeding wildlife has become such as issue across the state that the Montana Legislature recently passed a law with penalties for feeding wildlife.

Here are some facts about feeding wildlife:

• Supplemental feeding encourages wildlife to become dependent on handouts that are not part of their natural diets.

• Human foods are usually nutritionally inadequate for wildlife and may lead to subsequent health problems.

• Young animals that are taught to depend on humans sometimes never develop normal foraging behavior, and could starve if the artificial food sources are removed or more likely become nuisances and come in conflict with humans.

• Wildlife lose their fear of humans and learn that they can boldly forage for human food, consequently conflicts, nuisance behavior, and risks to human safety are sure to occur.

• Wild animals being fed by humans may congregate in unnaturally high numbers, and this is the perfect opportunity for diseases to spread. Disease such as rabies, distemper and many others which are dependent on high animal populations.

• Feeding wildlife, especially prey species such as deer, squirrels and rabbits, often causes a domino or food chain effect. Due to such feeding, the prey densities increase, which in turn attracts predators such as coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions. Example: Increase deer numbers in your yard and you may be inviting a mountain lion for a free meal.

If these facts aren’t enough, a revised state law passed during the 2009 Montana Legislature, adds ungulates—deer, elk, moose, and antelope—and mountain lions to the list of animals that cannot be attracted to an area with any kind of food.

Once limited only to bears, the revised law is aimed primarily at feeding to purposely attract certain wildlife to a particular area with things like grain, seeds, and salt licks, but also includes negligently failing to properly store supplemental attractants, including garbage.

Offenders could be charged with a misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and six months in jail. The penalty also could include the loss of hunting, fishing, and trapping privileges for a year or more.

The law does not apply to normal feeding of livestock, backyard gardens, most recreational bird feeding, or to commercial processing of garbage. It does, however, apply to those who continue to feed birds after receiving a warning by FWP that the feeding is unlawfully attracting big game and other wildlife.

Do your part to help keep wildlife healthy and prevent them from coming into conflict with people. For more information and tips about living with wildlife, visit FWP’s Web site.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee recommends the use of bear spray and reminds hunters and others that despite its proven effectiveness, it is not a substitute for using proper bear safety techniques in the first place. The IGBC provides these guidelines:

When to use bear pepper spray:

Bear pepper spray should be used as a deterrent only in an aggressive or attacking confrontation with a bear.

How to use bear spray:

Each person should carry a can of bear pepper spray when working or recreating in bear habitat. Spray should be tested once a year and the expiration date checked. Do not test spray in or near camping area.

Selecting a bear spray:

Purchase products that are clearly labeled “for deterring attacks by bears,” and that are registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

No deterrent is 100% effective, but compared to all others, including firearms, bear spray has demonstrated the most success in fending off threatening and attacking bears and preventing injury to the person and animal involved, said the IGBC.

For more on living with bears and being bear aware, see the FWP home page at fwp.mt.gov and click on Wild Things then Be Bear Aware. For more on bear resistant products, go to the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Web page.

Many die-hard hunters say they would never rely on bear spray to do the job of a gun.   Others counter that a gun can possibly maim a bear, causing it to ferociously settle the score.

What position do bear biologists take in this debate?   I can’t speak for others, but after studying more than 600 Alaska bear attacks, I’ve learned:

• In 72 incidents of people using bear spray to defend themselves against aggressive bears in Alaska, 98% were uninjured, and those that were suffered only minor injuries.
• In 300 incidents where people carried and used firearms for protection against aggressive bears in Alaska, 40% were injured or killed, including 23 fatalities and 16 severely injured persons. Another 48 people suffered lesser injuries.

In my research, hunters were generally unable to fire a shot before the bear slammed into them.   Some hunters couldn’t get the safety off, others short-stroked the bolt and jammed the cartridge, yet others, out of habit, tried to ‘scope’ the bear, losing critical seconds while failing to zero in.

With a can of bear spray on one’s hip or pack strap, it is simply a matter of pointing and shooting.   One thing bear spray and a rifle do have in common however is that success depends on practice. Learn how to use bear spray, including adjusting for weather and wind direction.

I tell my fellow hunters to pack bear spray when they hunt. Keep it ready when you are hiking, butchering the meat and packing it out—times when a gun simply isn’t convenient to have in your hands.   Your family will thank you!

Photo by Lance and Erin

Those who crave the huckleberry are already scouting their favorite berry patches.

In fact, some folks can smell huckleberries even before they spot them on the bushes. These experienced berry pickers know that they aren’t the only ones with their noses in the air. Montana’s black and grizzly bears savor the purple berries and will eat their way through a good patch of berries for days.

During late July and August, berries of various kinds make up to 80 percent of a grizzly bear’s diet in Cabinet Yaak ecosystem, said Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks bear manager Kim Annis.

When bears take a break they tend to remain in the area.

That means huckleberry pickers need to be on the look out for bears at all times, and be prepared to yield the berry patch to a bear.

Here are some tips on how to stay on the right side of the huckleberry bush:

• Pack bear spray with you and know how to use it.
• Avoid picking berries in the early mornings or late evenings when bears are likely to be more active.
• When you find a patch of berries check the area for bear sign, including bear scat with berries in it and upturned rocks.
• Make human noises, talk, sing, whistle or clap so you can be heard as you walk.
• Avoid picking huckleberries alone if possible.
• Keep a conversation going as you pick to stay in touch with your picking partners and so bears can hear you.
• Talk to yourself aloud if you are picking berries alone.
• Remain aware of your surroundings as time passes—use your senses of sight, smell and sound.
• If you see a bear in the distance, move quietly away.
• Avoid getting between a bear and the berries.
• Avoid getting between a female bear and her cubs.

Remember the bear was probably there first and there are many other berry patches.

Kenneth Knight, 41, of Ann Arbor was found about 5 p.m. Saturday near Snowdon, said Randy Sutton, a spokesman for the Blue Ridge Parkway. Knight was last seen several miles away on April 26. Friends reported him missing when he failed to meet up with his hiking group and then missed his flight home Wednesday.

Knight, an editor for Backpacking Light magazine, set a brush fire to attract the attention of firefighters, said Ryan Jordan, the magazine’s chief executive officer.

Knight was found at least 5 miles from the shelter where he was last seen.

This would have been a great use of the SPOT satellite messenger. But, it was still great work by the search and rescue team.

Read the full article here.

Name: Ken Knight
Height: 5’4″
Weight: 180-200 lb
Point Last Seen: Punchbowl Mountain on the Appalachian Trail in VA
Time Last Seen: Sunday, April 26, 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Unique Characteristics: wearing a dry-bag style backpack with a bright orange packbag, hiker is vision-impaired.

Knight is an editor at Backpacking Light.

Photo above taken Wednesday, April 22 on the Appalachian Trail.

If you have info, please contact us: publisher@backpackinglight.com.

Reno, Nev. (AP) — There has been a recent study on fatal encounters between humans and mountain lions, suggests one conventional wisdom – never to try to run from one of the big cats!

Staying put may make a person more desirable as potential prey and prompt an attack, said researchers at University of California, Davis.

This is some very useful information, especially as the Mountain Lion’s territory is spreading at a fairly rapid pace. There have been numerous sightings as far east as Michigan.

Read the full article here.

Research in Alaska indicates that bear spray reduces the number of bears killed in self-defense and reduces human injuries caused by bears.

“Bear spray has been used successfully to prevent injury to humans and bears,” said Tom Smith, an Associate Professor at Brigham Young University in Utah who studied bear spray while he was a wildlife ecologist at the USGS Alaska Biological Science Center in Anchorage.

In addition, Smith believes, after analyzing thousands of bear attacks and people’s responses that bear spray also benefits people by giving them a reason not to run away.

Of 42 cases where people ran when confronted by a bear, only two bears left without further interaction. In the other cases, bears chased the fleeing people and in some instances attacked and mauled them.

“Running did not bring about the desired outcome. Running should not be high on anyone’s list of options for dealing with a bear,” Smith said.

Yet confronted by a bear with no deterrent at hand, most people do panic and run.

Smith said bear spray helps people to stand their ground and that conveys a message to the bear that they are a “co-dominant” and unwilling to yield.

Another side benefit to bear spray is that the sudden, loud hissing of the spray and the billowing orange cloud can sometimes startle and even turn a bear before the spray reaches them.

The active ingredient in bear spray is an extremely strong irritant. It obviously turns the tables and makes the aggressor the victim, Smith said.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee recommends the use of bear spray in addition to always following proper bear avoidance safety techniques.

IGBC bear spray recommendations can be found on the IGBC Web site , or go to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Web site at fwp.mt.gov under Wild Things and click on Living With Wildlife for more on living with bears .

When and where to use bear pepper spray:

  Bear spray should only be used as a deterrent in a confrontation with a bear.

  Bear spray is effective only when used as an airborne deterrent sprayed as a cloud at an animal at close range. It should not be applied to people, tents, packs, equipment or to the surrounding area as a repellent.

  Each person should carry a can of bear spray when working or recreating in bear habitat.

  Spray should be carried in a quick, accessible fashion such as in a hip or chest holster.

  In your tent, keep bear spray readily available next to your flashlight and a can available in your cooking area.

  Bear spray should be tested once a year. Do not test spray in or near a camping area, or on clothing or equipment. Be sure to check the expiration date on your can of bear spray.

How to use bear spray:

  Remove safety clip

  Aim slightly down and in front of the approaching bear. If necessary, adjust for cross wind.

  Spray again if the bear continues to approach.

  Once the animal has retreated or is busy cleaning itself, leave the area as quickly as possible (don’t run) or go to an immediate area of safety, such as a car, tree, or building. Do not chase or pursue the animal.

Here is another very useful from South Cox on “Hunting in Bear Country”.  For me I think that we need to change our habits while in backcountry. While I do believe that there is an increase in bear populations, I also believe there is an indirect correlation to bear sightings or encounters.

This would have to do with the climate change, not necessarily “Global Warming.”  The relation I believe, is that in the northwest (at least) where the cooler months are getting shorter, bears are are going into hibernation later. So, we as hunters, hikers and backpackers may encounter more bears during the early fall times with the bears eating on carcasses, last bit of bugs, berries, roots and the like. This is just a theory of course, as I am no way a biologist!

Following the bear mauling I experienced, you’d probably expect that I’d take every precaution available to avoid a repeat.  Because of the circumstances of the mauling: surprising the mother and cubs at close range, inside her comfort zone, I haven’t changed the way I spend my time in bear country much.  I recognize that it was really a freak accurance and that not every bear has intentions of making a snack out of me.  I don’t always hang my food, as recommended, but when I’m leaving my basecamp unoccupied I do.  I try not to stash food in my tent where I sleep, though I’m not as diligent about it as I should be.  I carry pepper spray, though I don’t have as much faith in the new stuff as the old.  I give sows with cubs a WIDE berth (which is probably the most significant habit I have changed).  I don’t carry a side arm, too much weight and not legal in many states during the archery season.  I think my encounter was one of those “struck by lightning” chance happenings.  I literally don’t loose any sleep over another encounter. 

Read the full article here.

BOZEMAN (AP) — The 9th annual Medical History of the American West conference will be held Thursday, April 16, at Montana State University.

Titled “Summits and Sorrow,” the conference will run from 1:30 to approximately 8:30 p.m. in the Stadium Club in the Reno H. Sales Stadium.

Speakers will discuss high-altitude science in the Alps and Andes, breathing studies in Colorado’s high country, animals and humans exercising in high altitudes, bodily malfunctions while mountaineering in the Andes and travails in the Andean mines.

The conference is free and open to the public, but those planning to attend are asked to register by Thursday, April 9.

Anyone interested can register by writing the WWAMI Medical Education Program, 308 Leon Johnson Hall, P.O. Box 173080, Bozeman, MT 59717-3080, faxing 406-994-4398 or sending an e-mail to wwami@montana.edu.