My Snowshoe, Wolf Hunt, Fishing Trip

Winter view of the river

As my family can attest, I have never been one who likes to be tied down and set in a routine for very long.  It is not that I am ADD or ADHD, but rather that I seem to have an obsession for the outdoors.  My wife (bless her heart) has at times made a comment or two which sounds something like, "You need to go fishing or something so you're not so grouchy".  She knows me and loves me (who knows why) and I am glad to be married to a woman who is patient enough to deal with my obsession.

Sooo... The other day I was a little stir crazy at work and a bit overwhelmed with the demands of my job, schooling, and other responsibilities.  My employer actually told me that I needed to take time off because they were concerned with the amount of overtime I was working.  Hearing this from my employer on a Wednesday was probably the best/worst thing for me to hear that early into the week.  I decided to focus on my schooling and family responsibilities on Thursday and then attempt to take a day for myself on Friday. 

When Friday rolled around, my day was wide open and the options were limitless.  I knew that whatever I decided to do, I needed to get outside and away from civilization.  I contemplated hiking around with snowshoes seeing how lost I could get with the given time I had.  I then thought about how I wanted to get out and go fishing.  I then thought about how the wolf hunting season in Idaho was only open for a few more days and that I would probably regret it if I didn't give it one last shot.  Sooo... my decision was.... All of the above!

Eberlestock X2 Pack all loaded up!

 I decided that I would drive up to the mountains, snowshoe along the frozen river looking for a wolf or other predators, and when I got to open water I would pull out my fishing pole just because I could.  Good thing I got the Eberlestock X2 Pack for Christmas, or this trip couldn't have happened.  I packed all of my normal hunting gear, winter survival gear, extra clothes, my rifle, fishing pole, and tackle box all on my pack for this trip.

I parked next to the "Y" in the road (bottom left) on the picture above and walked through the trees along the river until I reached the power-line crossing a few miles up river.  I followed a few tracks of a fox, but ever got a glimps of him.  I walked until I found open water, but even then the ice was to far out from the bank to allow me to fish so I had to walk a lot further than I had planned if I was going to accomplish all of my tasks I had set out to accomplish.

Snowshoe tracks long the river

Once I finally got to a spot I could fish, I sat down, threw out my fishing pole, and cooked me a nice warm Mountain House meal to fill me up.  It wasn't long before I started catching fish.  I ended up catching 4 fish in less than half an hour, two of which I decided to bring home for dinner.  I packed everything back up, including the two fish, and hiked back out!

In the end, I accomplished the most important task I sought out to do which was relax and get away from all the busyness of the world.  I hiked over 4 miles through 3+ feet of snow, saw views that some people will never see in their lifetime, tried out my new hunting pack, and caught my wife and I a healthy dinner.  The feelings I get while doing any one of these activities is one that I could explain in words, but it would not do it justice unless you yourself had experienced it.  The only thing I wish I would have done differently would be to follow the moto of the Eberlestock pack and, "go in light come out heavy"... I must have gotten it backwards and decided to pack everything I could to test out the load capacity of my new pack!

Danner Boots for Snowshoeing

 It's that time of year to bust out my snowshoes!!! Good thing I have the perfect boots for this activity!

For Christmas, Santa knew how much I love my Danner boots, so he decided to get me another pair to try out! I already had a pair of Danner Elk Ridge boots and think that they are amazing I absolutely love wearing them even when I'm not hunting or hiking around.  The boots I got for my winter fun are the Danner Pathfinder GTX insulated boots.  These boots are especially nice this time of year because they have 600 grams of Thinsulate insulation which is perfect for winter hiking.  These boots are extremely light especially for how warm and comfortable they are.  They are suited with Danner's light weight Mountain Goat outsole which provides amazing traction and durability without weighing down your every step!  Danner provides these specs for the Pathfinder GTX:

Boot Details

• 100% waterproof and breathable GORE-TEX® liner is engineered to keep your feet dry and comfortable - even in extreme conditions
• 600 grams of Thinsulate™ Ultra Insulation offer lightweight warmth for those needing protection in cold climates
• Rugged 1000 Denier nylon for excellent durability and abrasion resistance in a lighter weight package
• TERRA FORCE™ X platform provides lightweight, durable traction, heel-to-toe energy transfer, side support to enhance maneuverability, and protection from arch overwork and fatigue.
• Polyurethane footbeds offer increased padded for comfort and high-mileage arch support
• Foam padded collar for increased ankle comfort and and additional flexibility
• Realtree AP™ is neutral, open, high contrast, and realistic. The High Definition® printing process stands up to the real-life effects of nature
• Mountain Goat TF™ outsole was designed with the mountain goat hoof in mind. The tough outer lugs cut into the terrain and the soft inner padding offers superior traction mimicking the goat’s ability to side hill in any condition
• Nylon shank
• 8" height
• 60oz
• Imported

The fact that these boots are made of rugged Denier nylon instead of leather, provides a lasting comfort in wet conditions which is perfect for me using them for snowshoeing! These boots have been perfect for my hobby of snowshoeing as well as wearing them icefishing, or even shed hunting.  The comfort is amazing and the light weight design is like none other.  I have snowshoed in other boots and I hated how they made snowshoeing miserable due to being uncomfortable or extremely heavy.

Me snowshoeing in my Pathfinder GTX boots!

On Christmas day when I tried them on, the exact words which came out of my mouth were, "They are more comfortable than my slippers!"  At first when I put them on and realized how comfortable they were, I was concerned that these boots were more about comfort than they were about structure and support.  However, the Danner Pathfinder GTX boot does not lack any in ankle support or structure.  While snowshoeing I walk on extremely uneven ground and these boots provide excellent support so that I do not have to worry about rolling an ankle while I'm miles away from the nearest road.