Old Salt wrote on Aug 13^th, 2010 at 3:33pm:


I don’t know I have met some characters up there.

No poisonous snake in QJ country.

DentonDoc wrote on Aug 12^th, 2010 at 6:04pm:


Reminds me of the old snakebite story of the two cowboys working the range. I'll PG it for the QJ

One of the cowboys was relieving himself when a rattler bit him in a " delicate" place  
His partner was less than reassuring and so they decided the best option was riding into town and getting the doctor.

When he arrived the doc was busy with a birth, but gave him instructions that made him grimace. Seems like he had to cut the bite and suck out the poison, standard treatment for that day and age.

He rode back at a full gallop and arrived to find his partner barely holding on. As he dismounted and approached his friend raised his head and barely audible, asked what the doctor said?

" He said, your going to DIE"  

I read somewhere that more people died from infections brought on by that old technique, than were saved.  My sister who lived in CA and  AZ now, has had 2 Rottweiler bitten by rattlers. Both dogs affected areas swelled up 2x the size and they were sick as hell, but survived. Vet told her most adults in good health will survive but should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

mastertangler wrote on Aug 12^th, 2010 at 5:25pm:

Yes!  It makes the person administering the treatment feel better.  

dd

If you see a rattlesnake, consider yourself lucky.  Been in that territory many many times over the past 40 years.  Saw one rattlesnake 25 years ago.  Only saw it because I flipped the piece of wood it was hiding under.

Walk hard.  Heavy footsteps scare the snakes away.

Yea, I know there is a pile of bears there. There are also quite a few rattle snakes about. 

Just have to keep my wits about me. No fish frys at camp and hopefully my chota muckluks will have enough stopping power to handle any ornery snakes. So far it's a go labor day weekend (going in before.....coming out after)

Wondering about a snakebite kit. Anybody know if they are worthwhile?

If it is anything like the last time I was there the piles of dried bear dung should be plentiful. Maybe those would work to stake down your little fabric shelter.

I was staying in a lodge and using in a power boat at the time and saw so many bears I wondered how the canoe campers were making out.

All good ideas.
I'll throw this out. Have done it more than once when conditions warranted.
Nothing says the rocks have too be just on the outside of the tent
4 large smooth edge rocks, one in each corner can give you a little extra layer of security.

Thanks all for the thoughts. I have been in huge blows while away from my tent....daytripping as it were. During one especially memorable event I remember I could lean forward into the wind and not fall. My chief concern was wether my tent along with my sleeping bag would still be there when I got back. Fortunately not only did I stake the tent out but I had used the additional guy line attachment points as well (something I don't ordinarily do).

There are many unknowns when one has to depend on rocks to tie off to. If they are especially smooth and rounded or oval (as I suspect I will encounter in Georgian Bay) I would not trust the lines to stay secure during a big blow. Perhaps I am not acquainted with the right methodology.

Unless you use particularly crappy guy-lines it shouldn't be a problem.  

I use 2nd rate parachute cord for some of mine and they haven't frayed in over 5 years.  I want to replace them with the 3M reflective cord, but can't bring myself to throw out what ain't broke yet.

For tying to rocks I like the 2 rock method.  Tie to one rock, use the other to hold the first rock in place.  Don't over tighten, in fact this is where having a loop of bungie on your tie-points can help.  If "O" is the rock and "\" & "/" is the rope, tie to the rock on the left, 2nd rock goes over the rope:  O\O/tent.  I think this is illustrated in a Bill Mason book.