ADK Backwoods Trapline Camp 2022

[Dinorocks]

I have been planning this years trip while I was still on last years trip!  Two more days until I hit the road!!  My plan is to trap and hunt with my flintlock from a primitive camp I set up in the woods until Thanksgiving, come home to visit with my family for a couple days, then head back up until December 11.  I’ll be working a bit while I’m up for my second leg-overseeing sediment sampling in the St.Lawrence River and archeological test pits on Tribal land, but plan to still run a few trap lines.  I don’t do this for the money, but for the pure enjoyment and love of being in the woods…being part of the woods, and challenging myself under a variety of conditions.  Like last year, my goal is not quantity but a variety of quality put up fur.  …and not to hurt myself!  I’ll touch base here, when I can, of my adventures along with some photos.

Below is a link to a video I posted of my trip last year made by my good friend OldBrian…if I’m lucky, maybe I can convince him to make another of ADK Backwoods Trapline Camp 2022!

Take care,

Dino

 

 

[Bucksnbows]

I’m looking forward to following this thread. I miss trapping. Maybe when I retire. 

[Stubborn1vt]

Very cool Dino.  I remember last year's thread well!  Best of luck to you out there.  Be safe and I look forward to your stories and pics.

[mowin]

I too remember last yrs thread. I'm not a trapper, but I looked forward to your posts.  

[Doebuck1234]

I also remember  last yrs aswell.enjoyed it very much.looking forward to this years!!!!

[Otto]

Great to hear you are going up there again! Looking forward to seeing pics and hearing stories.  Stop in if you have time on your way up or back home. 

[Dinorocks]

Not quite the start I was hoping for but making the best out of it.

Arrived at my spot last Thursday with just enough time to set up camp before dark. Setting up my wall tent and dining fly can be very difficult for one person due to the very long ridge poles on the 8’ tall side poles…one is 12’ plus and the other is 16’ plus, but I practiced a couple techniques before I left and it worked out pretty good.

On Friday morning, I set up the rest of my camp including a “drying room” off the back side of my tent for my pelts and a skinning station away from my tent a bit.  Afterwards, I headed out on the same property in my Jeep  to start setting my trap line (I have three properties that I will be trapping…and I usually pick up a couple additional locations via word of mouth).  When I got into my Jeep my battery light went on.  Plan was to get some traps out then head into town to check my battery issue and pick up supplies.  After setting trap number 16 and returning to my Jeep, it was dead.  
 

I hiked over a mile out to the main road and borrowed a battery pack…hiked back to the rig and jumped it…turned over after a few tries then died when I unhooked the battery pack.  Hiked back out to return the pack and found someone to pull me a mile out of the woods so I could call a tow truck.  Got the Jeep towed to town and Replaced the battery and alternator…still not right due to a faulty rebuilt alternator so waited around to get a different one installed…same issue…after a bunch of trouble-shooting, determined that my original alternator fried my Jeep computer when it overheated…I then got it to a Jeep dealer, but as it was already 7:00 PM on a Friday, they were closed and long gone.   I locked up the Jeep and left a note and my key in the Dropbox for Monday.  Hitched a ride back to the area of my camp and hiked back to my camp a mile in the dark and pouring rain with whatever supplies I could carry from my Jeep.  
 

It rained all night and into the following day…the swales that were bone dry the day before were now swollen with water so as I expected, this kept the land critters holed up…this was ok because most of my trapping supplies were locked up in my truck.  I did, however, manage to catch two big muskrats in the two novelty muskrat sets I made.

The following morning (today), I made the long hike again to check my sets (typically I drive because of the distance and the bonus of a support vehicle to hall my gear and critters).  I ended up with a grey fox, blond coyote, and an otter.  After a couple trips, I hauled them to my camp.  Again, not having all my gear made it very challenging to put my fur up…lots of improvising was needed such as using locust thorns as push pins and rigging up my fleshing beam between a couple trees that would typically connect to my Jeep hitch.  

I did enjoy the solitude (phone was off most of the time to conserve batteries for my Monday morning call to the Jeep dealer) and I did enjoy some good food!  I brought a bunch of veggies from my garden and fruit from my trees…as well as some backstrap from the buck I harvested last week.

Hopefully they can get my Jeep running soon so I can stop running!  Attached are some picts.  
 

Take care,

Dino

 

[Otto]

Sounds like a tough start, but I am sure you will make it all worthwhile in the end.  Thanks for posting, stay safe and warm!

[Dinorocks]

[Cabin Fever]

Oh man, sorry to hear about the trouble with your Jeep! I admire your positive attitude and making the best of a bad situation though! Can’t say I could have!  LOL
 

Good luck with the Jeep and trapline! 

[Dinorocks]

 

[OldBrian]

Dino,

Sorry to hear about the jeep. Camp looks good! We are suppose to get some winter weather this week at home. Maybe you will be getting some also. Better keep the wood pile full. Nice job on the gray, the otter and the coyote. Of course I will put together another video for you. Take lots of pictures and be safe my friend.

Brian

[Next Time]

Looking forward to your post on trapping, camp photos looks great hope jeep gets fixed soon I would love to hear about your sample results on the st Lawrence stay safe

[Dinorocks]

Another exciting and full day!  …although unfortunately my Jeep will not be ready until the end of the week.  Parts needed to be shipped from Wisconsin and Boston… I requested that the part with the longest lead time be overnighted…and was informed “overnighted” here could mean a couple days (which I already figured).  Stuck at camp for a while.  I was, however, able to get to my Jeep to pull out some much needed supplies.

Woke up to a chilly morning with ice in the ponds and swales.  After I wake, I typically make some coffee but get so excited to check my lines, I skip breakfast, then get caught up in skinning before the critters get cold, fleshing, and putting them up …next thing I know it’s dinner time and I haven’t eaten much more than some of my muskrat bait (apples).   Today I slowed down and cooked up some of my chicken eggs (French toast) with some of my homemade Bone Creek maple syrup.

After breakfast, I made the rounds (I measured it just under two miles) and was rewarded with a fat coon in my first trap and a muskrat a bit later…the last trap I checked was gone (220 coni set in a run).  Because I learned my lesson in the past, I like to wire my larger conibears just in case.  This one was wired, albeit with an old piece of wire from yesteryear, and the critter broke free.  After lots of sloshing around through the icy water I found the trap…securely around a beaver!

I got everything put up and collected the castor and backstraps from the beaver for a future dinner.

Dinner tonight was muskrat from the previous days catch with veggies from my garden.

After dinner I manicured the K9s and otter claws in front of a little fire under my dining fly.  With no real market value for the fur, I like to skin out the claws on most of my catches…I’ll most likely tan (or send them out to get tanned) and sell/trade them, paired up with their cleaned and whiten skulls (let me know if anyone is interested in any of the fur/skulls from my trip…I have a long way to go to get even after my $500 alternator/battery and $1,700 Jeep computer/wire harnesses! ;-/

Have a nice evening!

Dino

[Dinorocks]