The Break in Bear pt.2

Some days later....

I made a few water runs before heading to the trapper cabin and Jeffs place.
It is a long bumpy ride, that really tuckers you out. I secured Honeydew, (my little old dog), into her milk crate and headed off to Jeff's.
Along the way I inventoried the berry crop. Tons of cranberries and almost as many blueberries (almost ready). There is also a lot of red currants, that ARE ready.

I was about 1/8 mile from Jeffs, when Uljas alerted at the bottom of a nasty hill. I was starting to head down the hill when I heard Uljas. The hill isn't very big, but it is rather steep. I couldn't stop there, as my brakes probably wouldn't hold. I couldn't back up at that point either. I proceeded slowly to the bottom of the hill, hoping that a brown bear wasn't there waiting. I shut off the ATV and sat there a moment. Uljas ran back to the ATV, and did his "head toss" routine, which let me know something was up there ahead on the trail.

I had been playing a game of cat and mouse with that black bear, that had been repeatedly breaking into Jesses' cabin, tearing things up and destroying his stock of food. Nothing could keep the bear out, as it simply tore down whatever wall it wanted, to gain entry. It made leaving my cabin a bit stessful to say the least. And with a bear being so close to Jeff's place I had an inkling that it was the problem bear.

I took my rifle and slowly walked ahead. Rifle at the ready, and watching Uljas' actions. I walked a short distance around a bend in the trail and and came face to face with a really good looking black bear. Uljas advances and it tree's almost immediately...Now.. what do I do?... Do I pass it by, and hope it's not the criminal bear?.. It is near Jeffs cabin, and a black bear was seen in the yard at the Trappers cabin a few day's before. (Steve had come up for a few day's to get away from work).

It was time to end the problem and put the "break in", problem to rest. I chambered a round in Mathilda (my SKS) and approached the tree. Not too close in case it decided to come back down.

I had removed the aimpoint sight, just that morning as the mount was a bit loose. I leveled the little carbine and fired two rounds. The bear dropped, twitched a few times and lay still.

Now what the hell did I go and do that for!!! Now I gotta spend the rest of the day dressing and skinning a stinkin bear!!!... :)

Well.. to compound problems I had brought Honeydew and no hunting equipment.. knives etc.

After making sure the bear was dead, I took it by the front paws.. (an interesting experience), and drug it out to the trail. It slid easier than I was expecting. I figure it weighed about 225-250 live weight... just a really big deer!... After running up the trail to check on Jeffs cabin I raced back home and grabbed my game bags, knives and tarps...

I hurried back to the bear, and in about three hours I had the bear skun out and quartered.. actually I fifthed it......??
While I was dressing it out Uljas decided he wanted some bear meat and tore a hole in the BOTTOM, of one of my game bags!!! Durn dog!! The meat got a bit dirty, but I'd have to reclean it later.
I stopped on a back section of the big bog and deposited the entrails away from any cabins.
On the way back home I spotted a black object in the trail, that I first thought was Uljas looking back at me.. Except it was standing up and Uljas was behind me! Another black bear! You gotta be kidding me! It dropped and ran off.
I get home and began the task of hanging the meat. I took the stuff that got dirty down to the creek and washed it, and the tarps. I hung the game bags on a rope between two trees about 20 yards from the front door. Then went to work on getting the skull out of the hide. That took awhile as I've never done it before. Let me tell ya. I like skinning something hanging from a rafter a lot better than lying on the ground!
I then started salting down the hide. I put tarps under it and layed it on the big tool crib, which has a sloped lid. With that done I changed clothes and put some of the scraps and gunshot meat on to cook to put in with the dogfood. No sense in letting it go to waste.
I then cooked up some potato's and the piece of backstrap I cut out. I tried some of the neck meat... umm.. needs canning!!
Long about 8:30 Uljas alerted... Just as I figured. All the nice smells are calling in the rest of my furry buddies.. Uljas was lying in the open doorway. I had a mosquito coil lit to keep the skeeters out.
I think it was gonna be a long night. And I won't be out of here until monday...
Tomorrow I'd have to use my remaining bleach and sanitize the place to kill as many of the odors as possible...

The next day, I scrubbed and tended the meat... I made calls trying to secure a boat ride out, so that I could get the meat into a friends freezer. That would give me the time to can the bear at a more relaxed pace...

Unfortunately no boats where scheduled to come up this way. The charter boats where heading down river to the Deschka, which was where the salmon where at. None could, or would be spared to come get me and salvage all the heat I had just harvested!

Now I was in a real mess, and the stress was building. I made a few more calls, but resisted the urge to beg....

After it became apparent I was going to have to rely upon myself, I had a descicion to make.. Float to town in my zodiac (without any oars, as one had broken, from old age, and the other was in town, while I was looking for a mate for it...).. or... I could try and can the bear up here...

It was getting late in the day.. I poured myself a rather stiff drink from my meager stock of liquid courage and resolved to tackle the job right here.. After all.. this was what I was up here for wasn't it? To live off the land as much as possible, and to be as self sufficient as I could be!

I became determined to solve my issue here. I had one of my pressure canners and had been lugging up jars and lids randomly over the past few years. But did I have enough to do the job! Propane was another issue. I could always borrow some from Jesse I guess.

I inventoried my jars and lids and determined that I had enough to get the job done. I began by heating water to wash and sterilize as many jars as possible, to get me started. I assembled my big propane stove, and began to cut meat into stew sized chunks. I par cooked the meat before canning to give myself some breathing room, as the temps where quite mild and I was under the gun to get this done before the meat went bad.

I cooked and canned for three day's straight. Washing jars as needed, and tending both the remaining meat, and the hide, which was still hung lying on the lid of the tool crib. I salted the hide down well and let the fluids drain into a tarp and a bucket.

I was concerned this whole time, of drawing more bears... bigger badder bears... into the area. I slept with the door open and the coils lit. My faithful Uljas slept on the top step, raising his head evey so often, testing the air and listening. I lay there in my bunk looking at him, with the utmost admiration. He guards the homefront so well. I knew I could trust him to always be on guard.

The canning was going well, but I knew I was running out of time. I cut the ribs into smaller sections, put them in a pail with a tight fitting lid and tied it to a log in the creek. The water is always quite cold, and I knew it would give me a few extra days.

I ended up eating the ribs nightly until they where gone..
At the end of the third day all that remained was a few ribs in the creek, and the bones to get rid of. Which I hauled and dumped a mile away.
I was feeling quite proud of myself, looking at all those jars of meat for winter.
The dogs and I have been eating well this week! Although the air did get a bit punget as we lay down at night adjusting to our new wild diet...

With the meat secured for winter, our belly's full of bear, and the excess bones hauled away, all I had to do was keep the hide from going bad. Using my remaining salt, liberally, I kept it salted and draining until I felt it had cured enough. The hair wasn't slipping, and it didn't smell like it was rotting. I left it lying up draining, with a tarp canopy over it, as it was raining most every day.

When we finally could leave, I'd roll it up, bag it and haul it out......



The story of "The break-in Bear) part 1

The break-in bear.....

I was hanging out at the cabin. it was a really nice sunny morning in early June.

Jesse had come up to his place to stay the weekend, as usual, but had left the previous day to return to work.

When he stopped by he mentioned that he had a black bear come through,

He was lying on his bunk with his dog reading a book, when he heard something at the door. Something was scratching, trying to get in.

When a black paw squeezed through the door, he first thought it was my dog Uljas, coming over to play with Bree (his dog).
But then realized that the paw was much too large!
He let out a yell and grabbed his rifle...
The paw disappeared and the bear took off. Cautiously Jesse opened the door and, rifle first, went outside....
Bree rushed by him and barked at the bear which ran a ways into the woods and treed...
Jesse contemplated shooting the bear, but he had no idea that this bear was going to be so much trouble later...
For that matter neither did I!
With little planned for the day other than light chores and a trip to check out the berry patches, I took a stroll with my bear dog, Uljas, over to Jesses' place. It's only about a mile if that, and a quick easy walk.
About 100 yards from Jesses' shack Uljas starts getting very upset, and alerts! (alerts to a threat)... he started barking and posturing, and I knew the bear had been back.
I chambered a round in my rifle and slowly circled the shack to the front door. The door was open and the place was a mess... but no bear.
Evidently we had just missed it. It took uljas awhile to calm down.
I started cleaning up the place, which consisted of much food being destroyed... but no other damage of property.
After about 15 minutes it was obvious I needed some supplies to get the mess cleaned up properly. So Uljas and I headed home.
Just as we where in the last stretch of trail Uljas once again alerts, and runs to the cabin!
Now the bear was in my yard, I knew it! I got to the yard, but could not see the bear. Uljas was pacing back and forth on the south west side of the cabin, between the cabin and my tool crib.
I went into the cabin and grabbed the camera, jumped up on top of the crib and started looking through the brush for the bear. I couldn't see it but I could hear it!

Sure enough it was just few yards from the cabin at the base of a big cottonwood. Even standing on the crib I couldn't see through the ferns and devils club to get a look at the bear.

Uljas was laying down a good smokescreen with his pacing and barking.
I put the ladder up to the cabin and got on the roof. I knew where the bear was but still couldn't see it!

I watched and waited.. the bear momentarily climbed the cottonwood and I got a few seconds of footage, but no clean shots presented itself. The bear was clearly pissed, by the growling and grunting it was making. Evidently it wanted to see if my cabin held a bounty of food as well.

After about 20 plus minutes it gave up and I could see the vegetation move as she made off through the woods.

Should I have risked a shot?.... One thing is for sure... I couldn't just leave my cabin now!

I gathered cleaning supplies and plastic bags. I closed my place up and put up the bear boards and returned to Jesses' place by late afternoon. So much for checking on the berries.
I cleaned Jesse's place up, and sat down for a break. I shared some biscuits with my Uljas and relaxed a bit. The bear had strewn beans and spaghetti and rice everywhere. It seems the only thing it had eaten was the tang, cool-aid and bar-b-que sauce.

It was now early evening. I wanted to go home, but wanted to see if the bear had come back. I had placed the food in a rubbermaid garbage can, away from the cabin.

It wasn't long before I heard something... so did Uljas! But instead of barking he remained silent!

The bear was making it's way around the back side of the shack! I unholstered "Thumper", my .44 Ruger. With my SKS "Mathilda", in my offhand, I proceeded to nudge the door open ever so slightly... Uljas was off like a shot, pushing the door open and heading off around the back of the cabin!

I chambered a round in the SKS and turned in the opposite direction that uljas went. Just as I cleared the doorway, I could see the bear stop just on the other side of the log cabin walls (the log cabin is not finished). It was only 30 yards away!..I raised my SKS, but the bear took off into the dense woods!

Well, wasn't that something!... Uljas came back with his tongue lolling and a big grin on his face!

I decided to stay a bit longer. I knew the bear wasn't at my place!... but I doubted it would return....but I figured to give it a bit to see. So Uljas and I settled back in....

Not 20 minutes later I heard a noise at the back of the cabin!

"What the!"....... once again we repeated the process! Uljas leading the way!... As I cleared the door I saw the bear about 4 feet up a tree right on the edge of the treeline! I raised the SKS, as it dropped to the ground and ran into the woods... dang it.. There is just to much thick brush up here. Even a brown bear could easily hide in this growth.
I called Uljas and we went up to the treeline and entered.

I have never seen so many game trails zigzagging back and forth in my life! It was like a maze... Some of the trails had been worn down to dirt! Jesses' place was quite the busy place! Uljas was quiet so I knew there were no threats nearby...

By now it was mid evening and even though it doesn't get dark this time of year, I was bushed! It had been a busy day, and no doubt was going to be busy for awhile!

I borrowed a bottle of brandy out of Jesses' shack.. The next few hours went better as I ambled home, wondering how to fix this problem quickly. I reopened my place, which was unmolested. Good thing because my little blind dog "Honeydew" was home alone. She was very old and at the point where she was aging fast. I used to joke that I got her from Methuselah......

I was guessin that I'd just have to keep the rifle with me, and stay alert, and follow up on what Uljas was saying to me...
I sat and had a few drinks to relax. It isn't often I have this much excitement....

The next morning, after breakfast I returned to Jesses'.... Another mess awaited me.... I swept up, and re blocked the door.. better this time...

Uljas and I started a patrolling ritual that lasted for several weeks. Every time I'd go check on Jesse's place I found signs of the bear. My door block worked at first. But the bear became more persistent. It seemed as though we were just missing the bear.. or maybe it was following us! I was keeping an eye on the other cabins. Both the Trapper cabin and Jeff's place got visits by me, but we never met up with the bear.

Eventually the bear broke back in to Jesse's place by simply pulling the plywood off the wall. It even managed to open a steel footlocker and dump it out!

I was getting very frustrated and quite tired of cleaning up the shack!

I knew one thing.. that bottle of brandy wasn't big enough!

It was time for me to go on patrol again.

to be continued...

Getting there is most the battle.

This is an example of how things sometimes go when you make a concerted effort to make your life a bit different than the norm.

To get you up to speed quickly, I was to take a charter boat to my landing for the last freight run of the season. My typical proceedure is to then stay at the homestead for as long as possible. I was to be going up, with a few other guy's who are putting in homesteads in the same general area.

This however did not go as planned. The charter boat outfit kept putting off the trip until it was to late. The morning of the scheduled run, I arrived at the dock, to see impressive chunks of slushy ice in the river.

This basically shuts down the season, as no boat will go out in these conditions. The slush will clog the impeller and you are in a dangerous position.

Plan "B", was called for.. Unfortunately there was no plan B.... So one had to be made.

What came together was this. A variety of ATV's and trailers where assembled to haul all of our supplies up a series of trails to a lake further up into the hills. From a pre determined point, we would then have to pack the gear on our backs through the thich brush and woods to a point on the river near our landing. We would then figure out how to get our gear across as efficiently as possible.

With the day's getting shorter and the temps getting colder I didn't want to dally...

The adjusted day of departure came and we made our way up the trails on the first leg of the trip. It was uneventful but long, and I walked the trail in. I had already downsized my load as much as I could afford, but it still made a good load on the racks and filled the trailer, of the ATV I had hired to haul me up.

We reached the drop area and made a cache (cash) for the supplies. From there we packed down as much as we could carry, and dragging two canoes, we crossed three channels of the river. The amount of ice in the river made the crossings fairly hazardous. The fact that we had five dogs amoung us made it more so. However we made the one trip that afternoon, and by the time we crossed it was to late to do anymore for the day.

We agreed to start again the following day.

So we split up and each went to their prospective cabins.

The following day we formulated what would be a pretty good plan. The canoes are not very stable in these conditions and the loss of our supplies was not an option. I suggested that we use my zodiac to transport the freight. It has a huge payload and is very stable. Everyone agreed we should try it.

We had to cross the three channels again, and it was here that we worked on our crossing technique. It went something like this.

Two guy's would cross first in a canoe towing a rope. When they landed (not an easy thing to do with a climbing rope trying to pull you back into the current), they would then anchor the rope and the remaining two would push the zodiac into the current and swing across. It workd quite well.

After we had made it to the south side of the river we began the brutal task of packing all our freight down closer to the river. This was a distance of probably 1/4 mile or so. Not exactly far, but the terrain was rough.

This took many hours and we would only have enough time for one trip. I was a bit concerned for the supplies, as we crossed some very large bear tracks along a small creek between our cache and the river. I wasn't thrilled about a bear getting my food and fuel.

Regardless we could only do so much. Once back at the river we sorted our gear and took what we thought was most important.

The process worked well, but it was still hard work. once the canoe was safely across, the rope had to be kept from dragging us down steam. Imagine mending your flyline in 12-14mph water, but your line is 1/2" diameter..

Once the rope was anchored we pushed the heavy zodiac off the ice shelf and into the channel. The crossing was quick and effortless.

Once again on a gravel bar, we portaged the gear, canoe and zodiac across the bar and repeated the process until the third channel had been crossed and we were once again on our side of the river. Each time we crossed we lined the raft and canoe upstream away's to give up a cushion in case we got swept down stream accidentally.

The next day would be easier as the remaining gear was much closer to the river..

In all it required three day's work to transport our supplies in what could normally be done fairly easily in one..

But there was no choice. We had to do it this way in order to get home...

Prepping the zodiac for the task of hauling freight across the river

Crossing the middle channel

In this shot you get a better view of the ice in the river and the ice shelf along the bank.

The Complexities of Simplifcation

Getting simple:
People seem to say that they moved to their homestead to simplify their lives.
I'm not sure that is an accurate statement. Sure enough the pace can be much simpler, but in reality you are just trading one type of stress for another. The primary difference being that you may be better able to cope with the stress of living "off the grid?"
I, for one am much better suited to long stays away from civilization an the road system. Others are not, and I have witnessed a number of people unable to adjust to being away from the conveniences of town. Eventually I'm sure they would adapt and really appreciate the homesteader lifestyle.

Just getting there:
Isolation is not the only thing to overcome in simplifying things. The remote homestead can require a rather complex travel system just to get in and out. Either via boat or plane, an TV is usually required for at least part of the journey, unless you live on a lake or right on a river. Travel by these means can seem romantic at the outset, however like everything else soon becomes the usual grind. You appreciate the convenience of these craft but they wil neer be as simple as just hopping in the car and running to the store. Add to the equation the fact that you will ALWAYS be carrying things with you. Packs, totes, gear, groceries, lumber, equipment and supplies, the hauling never ends.. never... It just becomes another task you accept in order to live in the sticks.

Weather:

This is attached to that whole travel thing... The weather can shut you down for periods of hours to weeks. I have experienced being standed in town due to weather. Boats don't go on the river and planes can't fly. You just have to get used to the fact that, you can't get there from here. Floods can keep you home until the waters receed, and blizzards and cold temps will keep you homebound and feeding the fire for weeks at a time. This is just another part of the game you will play. When you leave the cabin, leave it assuming you my not be back for awhile.

Money:

This is probably the biggest deal breaker... Homesteads need money. More than you would think. The whole notion of you walking out into the sticks with an axe over your shoulder to hew out a life for yourself is just that. I'll keep the coffee on for when you get back. You will have to decide how you are going to play it. Now obviously if you have a passive income, retirement or just plain wealthy, this won't apply to you. Most of us however are not rich.. some of us don't even qualify as poor! so what is the plan? Go into town and work enough to keep you going ??? months?? That is what most of us do... The trade off that we'd rather be a bit poor but live on our own terms. I have personally lived on about $3500.00 a year. It was NOT easy.. but it can be done.. but I doubt you would do it for long. There are just to many needs and that amount won't cover it.... It just won't. Nothing that breaks gets fixed. You eat and thats about it.

Fixing stuff:

So.... a front CV joint goes out on your ATV.... you are 50 miles from nowhere, and need to get the ATV fixed. Simple right! Not hardly. This I have experienced time and time again. Living remote and relying on tools and machines to help is great. But real work in the real bush is real hard on equipment. You will need to just accept the fact that there are times when you will be foot bound.. Keep a good pack around... you will need it. You can of course "rig" up a repair, but these rarely last long, and are only stopgap at best. The best advice I can give is don't overwork your equipment. Treat it like gold..

Summary:

This wasn't meant to be a complete essay on anything really other than nothing is simple. Basic.... is perhaps a better term than simple

Homesteading on a Dimes first post....

This is the first post of my first blog.

This blog is intended to document the building of my rural homestead in the mountains of Alaska.

This is a real homestead, being built on thin dimes. I'm not rich, nor do I have any investments or passive income. I work during the short summer season (100 day's), in order to finance my homestead the rest of the year. I am on a cash and carry system, utilizing NO credit.

While there are a lot of recreational cabins in Alaska, that get used infrequently, I'm on my land full time (except to work)...

While I've learned a lot, I am by no means an expert on anything. Any advice, tips or techniques I may describe are not intended to be the only or even best answer to an issue. I just know what works for me.

Since I have been working on my place slowly but surely for the last six years I will try and recap a bit to bring you up to speed.

I will try and post on a regular basis in order to make the information as complete as possible. If you have any specific questions on a topic I'm discussing please feel free to ask.

I do highly recommend, that if you are interested in living off grid, that you try and get to know and talk with people who are doing what you "think" you want to do. Talk to people from the area you wish to relocate too, and glean as much information as you can. The "locals" are a wealth of information and will save you much headache and heartache!!

So wit that I will close my introductory post...

Thank you, and goodnight...