alan2

The most effective bear deterrent in studies with grizzlies was the human voice, not bells or bangers. Just talk loudly, yell or sing. They don't want to see you anymore than you want to see them. (Don't take that personally!)

I have to admit I've had cleats slip on smooth dry boulders near shore and down I went, but on the slick Bow R rocks, no combination seems to work all that well. Vibram slips, so does felt and though studs seem to help a bit on the didymo, still gotta wade carefully. The toe of my felts also wears down fairly quickly (although it is much thicker than the vibram sole to begin with) so I put a piece of aluminum bar across it and attached with 4 big sheet metal screws. It slips on smooth rock though, but great going up wet, grassy, or muddy banks as long as it's not all round smooth rocks. I sound like a shod horse on cobblestone when I'm walking along paved pathways. No chance of sneaking up on anyone. Or anything.

This is about the 3rd time discussion on Simms vibram soles have come up. I have had more than enough experience with them. Those Simms vibram soles don't even last me a summer (23 days the first time) so anyone who says they last for years either walks on flat grass mostly or walks way less than they think they do. If you do any amount of walking uphill (out of canyons for example) and on rocky ground the toe part wears down to the welt in no time since the entire sole is only about 1/4" thick when new. If you want them resoled, Quick Cobbler in Vancouver can do it. With shipping both directions it will set you back close to $180. I wouldn't take another pair of those boots if they were given to me. And after spending all that money on resoling, the soles started coming off after a half dozen times. I took them back on a business trip to get them redone. They did'em for free, but no apology or explanation at all. No point in going to see Gary at Alpine shoe. He doesn't stock those specific soles and he never will, he doesn't need any more business and does not want to be an authorized dealer/cobbler for Simms. He is just putting in time and could retire since he already does get his pension now. But he could put felt soles on instead for you if you buy them. With studs I found that is just as good overall anyway and lasts longer. Or, you can buy those vibram soles at Carters Cobbler in Bozeman for $44 (in 2010) and get them shipped up here along with the hassle involved and get Gary to put them on. It'll probably still end up costing over $100 though all told. Quick Cobbler in Vanc didn't want to sell just the soles to me. My 2 cents based on owning a pair. (2 pair actually, since Simms replaced for free the first pair that wore out soles in 23 days)

That sums up my feelings about it too. Well put, Hawgstoppah.

The Streamtread soles on mine wore out in 23 days of walk and wade, none of it on asphalt either. I'll bet Mike remembers me going in and complaining too, about 18 months ago, at that point he certainly wouldn't admit they could wear out early. Soft vibram cannont be tough either, it's and oxymoron, yet for how soft they are, they slip in more conditions than they grip. And when you send to the Simms authorized cobbler in Vancouver, you'll find that with shipping, the sole replacement will cost about $150, more than entire new boots can cost. I'd avoid them if I could do it again. And I can. I use studded felts instead. I can even resole them myself, which I did twice so far, for about $30

This business of the quadders really burns me too. I see it all the time in the Castle area, and yeah, I'm sure there are some decent folks on them, but there seems to be a disproportionate number of them on those things who are simply ignorant. Much more so than say, flyfishing, hiking, horseback riding, golfing, boardsailing, bird watching, back country skiing etc etc. You get my drift. The chicken and egg question is---Are ignorant people attracted to quads or do quads attract ignorant people?I think its the former but not sure but there is definitely some correlation. The facts speak for themselves.

Two summers ago I got a 23" in the Westcastle but nothing near that big since. The way it fought it was definitely a senior citizen of the fish family.

Yeah doing that regularly would be dumb. Glad I don't do that. I wish I had your prescience though. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/prescient in case you need this.

haha---That's a real deal when both parties end up happy! Glad it's working out for ya cuz I bought beer with the $20. Another use for a wading staff---Your fly is stuck up in a tree out of arm's reach. You can take the wading staff and give the branch a good whack and snap it off completely. That's a bonus when that works. And imagine you round the corner and see a bear---you can whip that shock corded staff out and be ready to duel. Just make sure you don't drop it because up here we don't have the right to arm bears.

Yup. I do. I guess it has never happened to you, but for me, there are times where I've started to wade across not expecting to need the wading staff, and then I get out there and it is faster, deeper , more slippery (or all three) than expected. So with a telescopic staff, it would be "Now I wish I had the damn wading staff ready to go" but with multi sectional shock corded it's easy. My right hand holds the rod and with my left hand alone it is very simple to flip the holster cover up, lift out the multi section staff and when I grasp the handle it immediately assembles itself and I can continue wading more confidently. That is why they're designed like that. Always having it attached and dangling or trailing can be a nuisance--- if not a trip hazard---so I can then stow it again unless I need to continue using it. Can't do this with a telescopic pole. I used an old telescopic ski pole for one summer and there's no comparison.

From what I see, not one flyfishing company copies Leki. Leki makes a multitude of telescopic poles for hiking, whereas actual wading staffs are multi-section shock corded and assemble themselves when simply lifted out of the holster---with one hand. Leki poles take 2 hands to extend which is why they are not copied for wading staffs by any flyfishing company I have seen. And I don't see that any come with a carrying holster for your waist either because they don't fold up small enough.

You got me doubting myself, so I measured mine and it is 51" which is just right for me at 5'11" and my arm is somewhere between 90 degrees and 60 degrees. The Simms one was 54" I think, they now have a 52" model, but their staff only folds in 4 sections so even when stowed it was like carrying a bloody long sword. The Snowbee is in 6 sections which is better. As for stepping in deep holes, I can usually judge by the colour unless it is dirty, and since I am a chicken sh*t with anything above thigh high, I just back off, or otherwise, reach and prod about. For me it's mostly about stability. Without it I wobble like a drunk half the time. And that's before I tie into the Bigrock Honey brown.

I use one a lot and I've had 3 different models. To me, the Simms is too skinny and flimsy and is way too long for anyone under 7ft 6. (Their shortest is 52cm). Example: You would not hike with long cross country ski poles, so why would you wade with one? This seems to be lost on the people at Simms---I corresponded with them over this. A wading staff should be about the height of your hand when elbow is bent at 90 degrees away from body. The best one is made by SNOWBEE, shock cord, multi section with holster. Like the Simms only made by people who actually have some idea. I sold my Simms for $20 and was glad to see it go. Do not ever buy a Dan Bailey model if you see one. So poorly designed, the sections jam at each joint and don't come apart. And they won't answer emails either.

I always thought awesome mexican food was an oxymoron.

Yes, a big thanks from me too. I fish alone and can only gab/learn so much in a once a month fly shop trip, so this site is as close as I come to socializing. The info exchange is great and sure helps my fishing too. Most days, anyway!!

bronze ones. $24.99 fit-overs from london drugs work fine for me, at least until an arm breaks.

You can buy a lot of ice for that extra $200 the cooler costs. About 75-100 bags/blocks of ice. And those grizzlies in the video weren't really hungry. They don't usually give up in 1 minute. More like 3 days.

Do you have a picture of the tick? Or know the specific species? Over the yrs I've had quite a few Rocky Mountain ticks including just a month ago after a hike, but I don't think this species carries Lyme disease and it is by far the most common tick you'll encounter in the mtns. Some carry Rocky mountain spotted fever tho'. A pic of the culprit would be interesting.

Orvis ain't all its cracked up to be either. I won a 6 wt T3 several years ago and the reel seat was a piece of junk, always loosening. It was selling for $950 Cdn at that time. First time the tip broke I sent it back I also complained about reel seat, they returned same rod just a new tip section. 2 yrs later, it split lengthwise and to make sure they replaced the whole rod, I broke 3 of 4 pieces, again they replaced those 3, I still had the same crappy reel seat. Recently the tip broke and they can't repair it now---obsolete and are replacing my $950 rod with a $350 one which they say is equivalent. But for $350 I can upgrade---Hah! The replacement came and it was 8wt instead of 6 wt. I am waiting another 5 wks now. Hope they get it right. I had asked for money back instead but since I won it, it apparently has no cash value in that instance. So don't let a big brand name like Orvis fool you either. Not as great as the glossy ads boast.

There is no need to use expensive 1X tippet. Just get a big spool of 8 lb monofilament and it's way cheaper. Works just fine.

And when I do walk there, I often find that those of that same mindset who are impressed by horsepower have parked their jetboat and got on their quad instead.

Hating them has nothing to do with wanting them. Don't confuse yourself. You couldn't give me one of those damn things, but then I feel the same way about sleds and quads. I am quite content to enjoy the peace and quiet while using my legs and lungs and not disturbing anyone else.

Toyota Sienna LE van AWD. Got a 4" foam mattress in the back, I can camp in it, drive rough backroads in it and all my gear stays dry plus lots of room to carry stuff. Way better than a truck I figure.

I have a good friend who joined PetroCanada 29 yrs ago. She has given her resignation and says since the merger there has been an exodus of good people from the ranks. In her dept, the supervisor downgraded her perf. review because she failed to attend the team bonding meetings and did not participate in a vision statement meeting, having chosen to do actual work instead. True story. I hold quite a few SU shares myself, but I am not a fan of some of their management styles. You could just buy the ishares ETF XEG and you'll hold quite a bit of Suncor, Cdn Natural Res and many others too, but without the risk of just holding one company.

If it's under 10 kms there is no need to overnight it. Walking that far both ways in a day with a light daypack is way easier than one way carrying all the crap needed to overnight it, especially for those people not used to hiking. There's no shortage of daylight in summer, you just go a slow steady pace and you can walk further than you'd think and with less likelihood of blisters too.