BC & Beyond Outdoor Adventures
Guided Hunting in Beautiful British Columbia.
Pat Dooley has wanted to harvest a Wolf for years. After repeated trips to Alaska and British Columbia he finally had his dream come true. BC & BEYOND Outdoor Adventures put Pat on a wolf on the very last day of his BC predator hunt. Pat and his wife Cindy have taken a huge Lynx, Coyotes, and now a Wolf with BC & B. We can’t wait for them to come back for another adventure! Guided by Darren Bell & Marty Loring.
79 yr old Dr Che Park from CA, USA joined us this fall to try his hand at fall bear hunting. Together with his guide Darren Bell they seen 78 bears during the hunt, proving what we at BC & Beyond already knew… This region has more bears than ANYWHERE in North America. After a hair raising stock, Che made a perfect shot on a huge BC Black Bear.
More and more people are jumping on the floorless shelter band wagon. Especially ultralight gear geeks and mountain hunters who appreciate the weight saving benefits more than the average backpacker or hiker. You would think that not having a floor would be pain, but I promise you it does have has it’s advantages… no more worrying about tearing your floor on rocks, sticks etc…. No more having to remove your footwear because you don’t want to get your delicate floor dirty, and now your soaking wet smelly dog can join you inside your shelter without worry about claws puncturing the floor and getting your tent messy. And it allows you to safely cook inside your shelter. Of course the biggest benefit is the weight savings. For example the Mountain Hardwear Hoopla weighs just over 2lbs with extra stakes and guy lines… incredibly light and has enough room to sleep 3 people. No not 4 people Mountain Hardwear. The 4 people you see in the diagram below are clearly children and not full grown dudes. With 2 people you have enough room to keep your gear inside and have plenty of room to move around, and cook inside as well. The Hoopla is pitched with a single 135cm trekking pole and set up is by far the easiest single pole pyramid style shelter to set up that I have ever seen or tried. I literally watched a guy set one up on youtube then went into my backyard and pitched it perfectly the 1st time. Awesome job MH… My biggest complaint about pyramid tents in the past was the difficult and painfull set up times. The single hoop pole is compact and takes up no room when packed up. The idea behind it is to allow for increased usable space, especially at head level, by keeping the walls more vertical. It also increases the strength of the shelter making it more rigid. Another thing that I absolutely loved about the Hoopla is that it goes back into it’s stuff sack effortlessly. I can’t stand trying to fit tents back into the factory stuff sacks that are too small and you are forced to fight with it every time you pack it up.
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As I type this I am trying not to sound like some Mountain Hardwear groupie and come up with some cons or anything negative at all about the Hoopla 4. I suppose that I could complain about having to seam seal around the hoop sleave, which was a pain in the ass, but almost all tents need sealing before use. Maybe after the season I will come up with something….
In conclusion:
The easy set up, the brilliant hoop or trussring support system, the wee room it takes up in your pack, and the ultralight materials used really sets the Mountain Hardwear Hoopla 4 apart from all the competition imo. Nice work Mountain Hardwear. www.mountainhardwear.ca
Marty from BCB has been busy guiding three wonderful ladies to there first black bears. First off was his cousin Kalea from Merritt B.C. After three hard days of hunting Kalea made a great 100 yard frontal chest shot and was rewarded with a big scared up boar that squared 6ft 11”. Next up was Marty’s girlfriend Ashley. Accompanied with her two boys they were able spot a shooter boar and stalk to within a 100 yards. She hit the bear high in the back just clipping the bears spine. After a well placed follow up shot Ash was standing over a good mature boar that squared 6 1\2 feet. After missing a good portion of last years spring bear season and passing on a 5 1\2 foot boar on the last day last year it was very rewarding. To have her two young lads with her was very special also.
Lastly was Ami from Prince George. After having no luck getting a crack at a good bear in several attempts with other so called guides they headed out in one of Marty’s honey holes. She made a great 80 yards shoulder shot on a good boar that was with a sow. The bear being hit through both lungs only made it about 10 feet before expiring. To say that Ami was excited is an under statement. This was her first big game animal and I’m sure not the last. Marty said it was an absolute blast guiding all three gorgeous women to there first bears. They are all great marksmen and good fun chicks.
Pat & Cindy Dooley joined us this year from California to try their hand at Predator hunting in BC. While Pat kept us entertained with his stories & jokes, Cindy who is a gifted artist, pointed out the beauty in every corner of our area. They proved tough as nails in surviving the freezing temperatures, as well as excellent hunters and shooters. Cindy made quick work of a large Tom Lynx on day 2, and Pat kept himself entertained by thinning out our Coyotes at long range. We had a blast having them in camp and hope we can hunt with them again in the future. Guided by Darren Bell & Marty Loring.
Back in the day, the go-to clothing system for mountain hunters and hikers was a synthetic base layer, followed by a fleece shirt for warmth, and then a hard shell waterproof jacket for protection from wind and rain. Here’s the problem with that setup: Hard shell waterproof jackets will keep you warm and dry while walking or stationary glassing, but they simply do not breath enough during high output hiking or climbing to keep you from sweating and becoming wet. They are also loud and stiff, making them uncomfortable to wear. The fleece shirt you used for insulation works well under the hard shell to keep you warm, but when you’re hiking hard or climbing you will over heat, forcing you to remove the hard shell outer. Now you’re cold because the fleece shirt by itself does nothing to block the wind and rain, and digging into your pack over and over again to pull out your hardshell can get old in a hurry.
Enter Soft Shell Technology…
The Sitka Gear 90% Soft shell jacket takes the wicking & insulating properties of the base layer / fleece shirt, and combines them with a stretch woven outer fabric treated with a water resistant finish (DWR). This creates the ultimate single clothing piece with the ability to wick moisture, breathe incredibly well, is highly wind resistant, and will keep you dry during light/medium rain storms. The material is also stretchy and quiet, making it very comfortable to wear and much more durable than the hard shell fabrics. Perfect right? Just about…, you will still want to pack a waterproof hard shell in case of a heavy rain, however for “90%” of the time this jacket will be all you need.
We use our 90% jacket’s all year round either as a single piece in the early season, or we add an additional fleece or wool layer under it for later when the temperature drops. We also use them in the winter as a layering piece under a insulated jacket or hard shell. For hunters looking for the ultimate do-everything jacket the Sitka Gear 90% Jacket is money well spent. Oh and if there’s any Sitka employees reading this…. please build me a hooded version!
By the time the Caribou rut peaks in the mountains of BC, the landscape has become layered with snow, the high mountain lakes start to ice around the edges, and backpack hunters are freezing in there tents wishing they brought the -18 bag instead of the -7 degree bag that was perfect just 2 weeks earlier. This is also the time of year when the caribou herd into large groups and mature bulls start fighting over the right to breed. And just like many other ungulates this makes for some awesome hunting! That is also where BC & B Prostaff Daren Bell and Marty Loring found themselves once again.
About a 3hr hike from our base camp we find a large group of caribou, including a couple that we agreed were mature shooter bulls. As we made our way through a patch of sub alpine timber we heard a group of caribou coming toward us in a hurry! A couple of cows just about run us over followed by a bull who was in hot pursuite, desperately trying to herd the escaped cows back to his harem. As he ran by us at only 25yrds we quickly I.D the bull as one of the 2 potential shooters and Marty fired, dropping the bull in it’s tracks. Knowing there was at least one more good bull in the group we took a quick look at Marty’s bull then grabed our gear and headed towards where we last seen the rest of the herd. When we broke into the open alpine we were surounded by caribou. We watched them for quite some time trying to find the other shooter. We looked over a few that were close, including one bull that was very impressive with huge tops to go with his double shovels. He was already a high scoring bull but was young, and in a couple of years would be Boone & Crockett worthy, so we decided to pass on him. We were just about to call it a hunt when Marty spotted a different bull that was making his way down the mountain and putting the run on the other bulls in the group. While not a good scoring bull he was clearly old and past his prime with a beautifull cape and impressive main beams. We watched him chase his cows around for a while and enjoyed the show so much it was almost a shame to end it. However, we didn’t get dressed up for nothin, so a couple of quick shots from the Ruger and my bull was down
WARNING! Above treeline in October can be miserable so good gear is a must. The cheap tent that might of worked just fine for Aug Sheep could very well be flattened under a snow load or torn to pieces from a wind storm in the middle of the night. Here is a list some of the essential gear we use on our later season mountain hunts:
Tents: For tents we use almost exclusively Mountain Hardwear. Not because we are sponsored by them in anyway, but because they have never let us down and their customer service is great. At base camp we will usually have a Trango 2, a bombproof 4 season expedition tent for sleeping in, as well as a Kiva pyramid tent to store our gear and cook inside. When spiking out we pack a Skyledge 2.1. This tent is under 4lbs and will handle a light snow load. www.mountainhardwear.ca
Stove: The MSR Reactor is our go to late season stove. We find that it out performs all others at high altitudes when the temperature drops below freezing. It’s only good for boiling water however so we usually will have a MSR Dragonfly at base camp as well so when we get sick of freeze dried food we can treat ourselves to steaks etc… www.cascadedesigns.com/msr
Clothing: Our base layers consisted of Sitka Core pants and l/s shirts, followed by Sitka Traverse shirts for added warmth. For insulation we both had Sitka 90% jackets. For our outerwear we rocked the Sitka 90% pants and Marty used the Sitka Coldfront jacket. I chose the Sitka Celcius jacket. And yes we are big fans of Sitka Gear. www.sitkagear.com
Packs: Eberlestock Dragonfly J107’s. IMO the most versatile multi-day internal frame pack on the market. www.eberlestock.com
*I will be doing full reviews on most of this gear in the near future
I was sound asleep beside my spotting scope when fellow BC & B pro staffer Sheldon Souter woke me from my dream. “Caribou bull on the lake!” he half whispered, half shouted. I must be dreaming, after all we just returned from a grueling 2 day hike into a drainage that was known for giant mountain caribou and never laid eyes on a single bull. It would be just too good to be true to have one make its way down to the lake we had our base camp on. The bull was straight across the lake from us polishing up his rack on a pine tree. “Is he legal Darren?” Sheldon asked. In BC a legal Caribou bull must have at least six points up top, or 5 and a back sticker point. “Hells ya…” I replied…If by legal you mean 380+ inches of horn then ya, I thought to myself. Sheldon took a quick look through the spotter and I watched his eyes go wide. Only problem was he was 600 yards across the lake. I would love to have one of those 50lb, best of the west scud missile launcher style rifles right now instead of our short barrelled mountain rifles. What are the odds of us paddling our little aluminum boat all the way to the other side without him spooking off??? That was our only option so off we went on the longest, most stressful boat rides of our lives. It took forever but we finally made it. The bull was still too busy destroying trees on the edge of the lake to even notice us so Sheldon crawled up a small hill and found a rest, then patiently waited for the bull to turn broadside. The rest is in the books…. the record books.
Sheldon and his BC Mountain Caribou
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Our friend Mirek from Czech Republic joined us last fall for a late September hunt. Having tags for everything with fur or feathers, Mirek and his guide Marty Loring racked up an impressive amount of trophies in his ten day hunt. Mirek successfully harvested a bull moose, 2 bears- a black and a 2nd color phase bear, coyote, upland game birds, and had opportunities at wolf, and mule deer!
Mike Jr & Mike Sr Passaglia (aka Doc & Snake) a father and son team from CA, joined us for a spring black bear hunt this past spring. They had three tags to fill, both wanting large mature black bears, and if possible, Doc had a 2nd bear tag and was hoping for a color phase. Doc started it of by harvesting a huge 7ft boar on day 1 and a 6ft + Chocolate on day 2. Snake, not wanting to be showed up by his old man, waited until the last day to harvest another BC giant that squared over 7ft. Both black bears will make the record books. Watch for an upcoming article on their hunt in GSCO superslam magazine. Guided by Sheldon Souter.
BC & Beyond Outdoor Adventures specializes in high-quality big game hunts in British Columbia. Our guides have decades of combined experience hunting all species of big game within … More About Our Pro Staff
GSCO put me in touch with my outfitter; BC & Beyond Outdoor Adventures.I looked at their website and realized they offer several other hunts that interest me such as their Timber wolf hunts.I’ve always wanted to kill a wolf and after several conversations with Marty Loring and Darren Bell they set me up with a […]
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