Help with Kaibab 101

[lancetkenyon]

I run mine all night with a window flap partially open, but I also have a CO monitor in the tent.  

[Jazz]

9 minutes ago, lancetkenyon said:

I run mine all night with a window flap partially open, but I also have a CO monitor in the tent.  

I saw a youtube on this.. apparently they're super safe: Are BUDDY HEATERS SAFE Inside an RV ?? | Carbon Monoxide FULL TEST( REVIEW) - YouTube

But I still use a detector in the tent. 

[Heat]

Carbon Dioxide and Water are the products of Propane combustion. CO happens when Oxygen levels go down and incomplete combustion occurs. That being said if you leave some ventilation open you will keep the Oxygen level up and chance of CO or CO2 poisoning to nil. I don't worry about it in either my summer tent with vents or my canvas tent. Good Luck on the Kaibab!

[3darcher2]

5 hours ago, Coueser said:

Not trying to get off topic too much but I’ve been dying to ask. . .
 Lance and others that run your Mr Buddy heaters, do you run them all night snd leave a flap of the the windows open?  I want to since it gets so dang cold but always chicken out and turn it off and on multiple times a night when I get too miserable

No worries Coueser, I wondered the same last year.  The Alaskan guide is pretty well ventilated, and like many of the others, I mostly raan it in the evening and then before climbing out of the bag.  I was on a legit air mattress and a 0 degree bag, and did OK with temps, but I wasn't real comfy.  Stepping up to the cot this time.  Truth be told, I did turn it on in the middle of the night a few times because at my age, an occasional pit stop needs to be taken during the night.  Like the others, I also ran a portable battery operated CO monitor.

[Coueser]

Thanks all for your recommendations!!  I think I need to get me a portable CO monitor and run my Mr Buddy all night.  I'm too wimpy for how cold that late Kaibab hunt gets at night. . .  ❄️

[Ed67]

I’ll be out there in the late hunt in my 12’*12 Alaknak, wood stove and buddy heater. Hopefully I can get my son to feed the stove all night. 

[3darcher2]

I've been quietly getting prepared here on my end in PA.  I realize that the weather conditions can vary widely from 70s and sunshine to below 0 and snow, but what would be most common from a clothing perspective?  I archery hunted SW CO during the third week of September at 10-11K and I basically wore a light merino BL with Walmart Wrangler Outdoor pants on the bottom and a Rocky hoodie with a Sitka Mountain Jacket on top and a lightweight puffy up top as needed with Crispi Idaho GTX and Darn Tough Hikers.  Obviously being from PA, I have a lot of cold weather but bulky/heavy stand type clothing as well, but that stuff is generally heavier than I'd want to wear.  I also had lightweight raingear with me in CO, which basically never got out of the pack.

Also, I have an older Dana Design Terraplane pack, but I also usually run a Badlands SuperDay here and I actually used it in CO as well, as I was also truck camping.  Assuming that the SuperDay would be fine, and I have the Dana if I do need to pack out.

Thoughts on clothing systems and needs?

[PRDATR]

1 hour ago, 3darcher2 said:

I've been quietly getting prepared here on my end in PA.  I realize that the weather conditions can vary widely from 70s and sunshine to below 0 and snow, but what would be most common from a clothing perspective?  I archery hunted SW CO during the third week of September at 10-11K and I basically wore a light merino BL with Walmart Wrangler Outdoor pants on the bottom and a Rocky hoodie with a Sitka Mountain Jacket on top and a lightweight puffy up top as needed with Crispi Idaho GTX and Darn Tough Hikers.  Obviously being from PA, I have a lot of cold weather but bulky/heavy stand type clothing as well, but that stuff is generally heavier than I'd want to wear.  I also had lightweight raingear with me in CO, which basically never got out of the pack.

Also, I have an older Dana Design Terraplane pack, but I also usually run a Badlands SuperDay here and I actually used it in CO as well, as I was also truck camping.  Assuming that the SuperDay would be fine, and I have the Dana if I do need to pack out.

Thoughts on clothing systems and needs?

I would suggest to get some socks like the Hiking ones from Smartwool. They will give plenty of cushion and keep your feet warm. Once the sun goes down the temps really drop up on the plateau. A wool beanie will keep your head warm at night and dress in layers while out hunting.

[Flatlander]

It’s likely that what you experienced in CO will be similar to the plateau in October. Be prepared for rain, snow and ice. But it’s likely you will have bluebird skies and highs in the 60’s.

This is not an exceptionally rugged unit. Most of the roads are pretty darn good and there are tons of them. 
 

If you’re smart you’ll be glassing and that isn’t terribly different than sitting a stand until you close the distance. Don’t let it psych you out. It’s just hunting. 

[CatfishKev]

PA gets cold in the winter, be prepared for the worst pa has to offer and you will be ok. Just shed layers as needed after that.   

[Coffeeman]

Had the late hunt in 2017. It started the day after thanksgiving that year and it was pretty warm. Killed on the first day and had to buy ice to keep the meat cool. The roads really are about as good as they get in Arizona. And the food at Jacob lake should not be missed, especially the sweets! Just be careful on the paved roads lots of tourists, cows, and deer. I’ve got the 12ae muzzleloader hunt starting 11/5/21… can’t wait! Taking the kids for the first 5 days hope to get done with them there

[3darcher2]

1 hour ago, PRDATR said:

I would suggest to get some socks like the Hiking ones from Smartwool. They will give plenty of cushion and keep your feet warm. Once the sun goes down the temps really drop up on the plateau. A wool beanie will keep your head warm at night and dress in layers while out hunting.

I have to say of all the stuff I got before I went to CO last year, without a doubt the Crispis and Darn Toughs were the best thing I got.  I did try some Meriwool socks too, and they were more "bulky" than the Darn Toughs and maybe warmer, but that Crispi/DT combo was one thing that really lived up to its hype.  I had a lightweight Sitka beanie, but for sure, I will have something warm on my head too.  I didn't really use the Mountain Jacket much, it was too warm, but the couple times the wind picked up it was nice to have the windstopper.  Overall, I managed to dodge the big early afternoon  thunderstorms common in that area in September, and I got there just as the last of the big snow was melting.  They got like 12" 5 days before I got there but it was almost all gone by the time I got there.

[Millhouse]

It’s probably been mentioned in someone else’s post, but I recommend that you bring some extra gas cans to use up there.  I took 2-5gallon cans last year and wouldn’t  go with less than that.  JMHO.

[3darcher2]

So I wanted to wrap up this thread, I hate a thread with no ending.

I wound up getting Covid in September and so did my wife.  She actually spent 11 days in the hospital including 6 in ICU (I stayed with her for the last 9) and got out the last week of September. I had decided to not come to the Kaibab as she came home on oxygen and was still weak.  Well we have two adult daughters at home, and she said bull-sh&#, you are going.  You might never get this tag again.  So Tuesday afternoon, 2100 miles later, I landed in Jacob Lake in my maroon Ridgeline with the white cap. Several members were kind enough to offer some advice and one even tried to go along with me for a couple days, but it just didn't work out.  I spent a few days driving, scouting, glassing and talking to some other guys.  Friday AM found me high in the burn along with what seemed like the other 374 tagholders.  I saw some smaller bucks on Friday and a ton of people.  Saturday was more of the same, and by Sunday I was pretty discouraged.  The burn was producing a lot of hunters but based on the shooting, not many bucks.

I had continued to check in with one other AZ hunter I had met on Tuesday and he wound up tagging out Sunday afternoon.  With weather on the menu for for Monday night, I was feeling a little discouraged but my new friend offered to help see if we could find a buck on Monday with his friends who were glassing for him.  I jumped at the opportunity.  We checked out several places, found a few bucks, but still hadn't connected until I got an opportunity with this guy mid afternoon.  My first mule deer, and I was tickled!

We all went to the Inn for dinner afterward the I spent the night in the tent before heading home Tuesday.  I made it home today.

A few comments for other nonresidents - first, I way underestimated this hunt.  I was too one dimensional, thinking only of the burn.  What else was there?  While I did see bucks there and up high, there are deer in the whole unit, and my deer did not come from the burn.  Without my AZ posse, I would have been completely lost (and probably still there).  Second, mule deer are huge.  I'm 6'5" and 280.  The buck I got was huge bodied, at least 50-75# bigger than me or the biggest IA whitetail I've taken - the pic speaks for itself.  Third, as is always preached, be prepared for anything weather-wise.  Fourth, bring extra gas cans for sure - unless you want to spend all your time running for gas.  I camped close to Jacob Lake to get cell service so I could check in on my wife, and I put on a lot of miles every day.  

AZ hospitality was really nice - as a NR, I never felt like I was out of place, didn't belong, or was looked down upon.  My AZ posse was just so welcoming.  Helped me glass, extract, cut up, etc.  It was like we were friends who hadn't seen each other in 25 years, not guys who only knew each other for 5 days.

In the end, I had a great time, and thanks to the posse and all the CW members who helped me.

 

[Yuma Outdoorsman]

1 hour ago, 3darcher2 said:

So I wanted to wrap up this thread, I hate a thread with no ending.

I wound up getting Covid in September and so did my wife.  She actually spent 11 days in the hospital including 6 in ICU (I stayed with her for the last 9) and got out the last week of September. I had decided to not come to the Kaibab as she came home on oxygen and was still weak.  Well we have two adult daughters at home, and she said bull-sh&#, you are going.  You might never get this tag again.  So Tuesday afternoon, 2100 miles later, I landed in Jacob Lake in my maroon Ridgeline with the white cap. Several members were kind enough to offer some advice and one even tried to go along with me for a couple days, but it just didn't work out.  I spent a few days driving, scouting, glassing and talking to some other guys.  Friday AM found me high in the burn along with what seemed like the other 374 tagholders.  I saw some smaller bucks on Friday and a ton of people.  Saturday was more of the same, and by Sunday I was pretty discouraged.  The burn was producing a lot of hunters but based on the shooting, not many bucks.

I had continued to check in with one other AZ hunter I had met on Tuesday and he wound up tagging out Sunday afternoon.  With weather on the menu for for Monday night, I was feeling a little discouraged but my new friend offered to help see if we could find a buck on Monday with his friends who were glassing for him.  I jumped at the opportunity.  We checked out several places, found a few bucks, but still hadn't connected until I got an opportunity with this guy mid afternoon.  My first mule deer, and I was tickled!

We all went to the Inn for dinner afterward the I spent the night in the tent before heading home Tuesday.  I made it home today.

A few comments for other nonresidents - first, I way underestimated this hunt.  I was too one dimensional, thinking only of the burn.  What else was there?  While I did see bucks there and up high, there are deer in the whole unit, and my deer did not come from the burn.  Without my AZ posse, I would have been completely lost (and probably still there).  Second, mule deer are huge.  I'm 6'5" and 280.  The buck I got was huge bodied, at least 50-75# bigger than me or the biggest IA whitetail I've taken - the pic speaks for itself.  Third, as is always preached, be prepared for anything weather-wise.  Fourth, bring extra gas cans for sure - unless you want to spend all your time running for gas.  I camped close to Jacob Lake to get cell service so I could check in on my wife, and I put on a lot of miles every day.  

AZ hospitality was really nice - as a NR, I never felt like I was out of place, didn't belong, or was looked down upon.  My AZ posse was just so welcoming.  Helped me glass, extract, cut up, etc.  It was like we were friends who hadn't seen each other in 25 years, not guys who only knew each other for 5 days.

In the end, I had a great time, and thanks to the posse and all the CW members who helped me.

 

Congrats on sticking with it and tagging out. Hope your wife is doing well.