Aftermath - Gear in Review Part 3

After the climb the difficult part started: basically stand hunting in the cold and the wind, with occasional forays to peek over the ridge or around the corner.

As I indicated, if conditions allow you to change into a dry shirt, do it!

While sitting, I wore the merino-blend base layer, merino second layer, fleece jacket, Browning 700 fill down jacket, on the coldest day I added a KUIU superdown jacket, Sitka Kelvin pants, and the KUIU rain gear as the outer layer. I had bought another hooded jacket that maybe didn't make too much sense in the whole scheme, but I panicked. I never carried it up the mountain, as the gear I listed above was sufficient.

Two layers of down were required on the coldest, windiest day, one layer sufficed the other times. The Sitka pants (with Primaloft insulation) were nice and toasty, especially once the base layer on the lower back had dried up. I didn't bring dry base layer long johns, as I didn't feel like standing on the ridge in my boxers while changing pants... at all. I also never brought additional insulation layers for the legs up the mountain, such as a pair of woolen long-johns.

Arctic Shield boot covers on the boots, they helped and worked fine. They are clearly not made for walking much, and certainly don't go running around icy surfaces, or you'll be boot skiing down the hill in short order, but for a bit of extra warmth on the stand they are great. I never added a chemical hand warmers, which was my back-up plan. We just got lucky that after four days the weather got better, and in those four days we were still a lot more mobile, trying to figure out the game plan.

I wore a light beanie-type hat for the climb and switched to a neck and cheek covering fleece hat once sitting (came free with a case of Kokanee beer!). And kept the hood of the rain gear up most of the time. I also wore a light neck gaitor always, to keep the winds off.

And ski goggles! A must-have. They protect part of your face from the biting wind, and the grit and ice in the air. Snow shoes might come in handy. Hiking poles, if you like them, or if you don't like me, a hiking "staff" made out of a sturdy sapling, to give you support when the winds try to throw you off the mountain.

That's about it. The rest is not so relevant. If you can manage to stay warm, you can manage to find the patience. And if you can find the patience, they say you will get your chance during the late season in Cadomin. It worked for four out of five hunters, in the last ten-day stretch this year.

Frans