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Alaska Trapping - Living the Dream (Part 29)

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Alaska Trapping - Living the Dream (Part 29)

Posted 01-21-2011 at 08:33 AM by David G Duncan
Updated 01-21-2011 at 09:33 AM by David G Duncan

Happy to report that Little Miss Lucky is doing fine after being caught miles from her home in one of Brad's fox sets. Jesse and Smitty managed to find her owner and she is now back home running and playing with the owner's other dog.

The temperature has been steadily rising and it was a balmy -3 degrees as Brad and I headed out on his north line at 9AM yesterday.

The north line is Brad's longest line at about 60 miles.

To say that riding a snow machine over Brad's north line was a easy riding experience would be true, if you like being beat about the body with a bat while continually being whipped about the face with a willow switch. It was a grueling all day experience, with the last several hours completed in darkness.

The north line transverses some of the most beautiful country that the Lake Louise area has to offer.

We managed to get in several new wolf sets for the pack of about 10 wolves that are working the extreme northwest corner of Brad's trapping line.

A fresh coating of snow on the north line snow machine trail displayed straight lines fox tracks running down the middle of the trail. Brad put in his favorite set for fox. Brad said making trail sets in your trap line snow machine trail is a skill that new trappers have a hard time mastering.

Brad makes a set in front of his snow machine and then drives over the set to wipe out all his tracks. If done properly the trap will not trip and the fox coming down the trail later will be waiting for Brad on his return trip.

Sometimes Brad gets the best of the fox and sometimes the fox gets the best of him. The first catch during the north line trap check was a Pine Marten, but the fresh snow documented Mr. Fox running off with Brad's Marten and the trap. This was disappointing to say the least.

Further down the line one of Brad's marten sets produced a fine large male. Not a large catch, but if the fox had not stolen the first marten Brad would have come home with his normal take of two marten for a check of this line.