BC & Beyond Outdoor Adventures
Guided Hunting in Beautiful British Columbia.
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
If your a hardcore mountain hunter then chances are you have heard of Mystery Ranch packs. I have had the opportunity to try a couple different MR models over the years and my faverate so far has been the G7000. You would be hard pressed to find a better fitting, more durable pack on the market today. The pack features a removable lid / day pack that has built in shoulder straps instead of a waist belt, some well thought out zippers for easy access to your gear, a sleeping bag divider, and a hydration sleeve. MR also incorporates a laminate on the inside of the cordura which further strengthens and waterproofs it.
Pro’s:
– Durability…. this is the toughest internal frame pack I own.
– The pack has great ergonomics and packs a huge amount of weight comfortably. This is due to it’s ability to distribute weight on your body using a combination of load straps and a ergonomic hip belt that you can adjust so the load is evenly distributed between your shoulders and your waist.
Cons:
– The buckles are poorly designed on the lid. They simply do not stay tight and will drive you nuts.
– The foam in the shoulder harness and waist belt wears out quickly and will become uncomfortable over time. I would like to see a thicker softer foam used similar to the bora series from Arcteryx.
– The laminate inside the pack starts to wear after a few seasons, however it does not seem to effect the durability much if at all.
– The G7000 is expensive.
– It’s heavy.
Specs:
| Volume: | 7000 cu-in (115l) |
| Weight: | 8 lbs 4 oz (3.7kg) |
| Dimensions: | 28″x16.5″x10″ (71cm x 42cm x 25cm) |
| Intended Use: | Extended Backpacking, Expeditions |
| Frame System: | Guide Frame |
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.
Being a resident of BC we get to hunt some amazing country, none more beautiful than a recent Stone Sheep hunt BC & B Pro Staffers Darren Bell & Marty Loring undertook. Rumors of giant rams in brutally rugged terrain, with a volcano, huge cinder cones, and ice and lava fields….. That’s all we needed to here.
After hiking over 30km’s just to reach sheep country, our hard work was finally rewarded when we found a group of rams with a couple of potential shooters.
We watch them for while before Darren decided on an older ram with a beautiful dark cape. The remainder of the hunt was spent trying to find Marty a worthy stone.
After looking over a number of legal rams that most hunters would never turn down, we ran out of time and headed back down to meet our plane. A tough hunt in a beautiful place, with over 80km’s traveled on foot. An adventure we will never forget.
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
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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