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Yesterday I made the trip to Green Ranch in Everett PA and met up with Jeff Green.  Emma is now 4 weeks away from giving birth to some of the finest hunting dogs on the planet.  She proved this again yesterday when Jeff and I took her out on his game farm.  Emma’s points were picturesque as usual.  There is nothing like watching the excitement in a dog working a scent followed by a rock solid point, and being steady to flush and shot.  Emma was bred to Aragorn vom Grimm Haus from western PA.  Emma is a close working dog which I prefer to long ranging ultra hyper dogs.  She ran perfectly for Jeff and I on our short walk, possibly since she’s finally showing a dip in her belly.  After a poor showing last month on my behalf I decided to hang up the Beretta 686 28 ga. and pull out the Ruger Red Label 12 ga and put some birds in the game bag.  After knocking the rusts off(aka missing the first shot) I ended up 7 for 6 on birds.

Emma

Emma vom Schlussstein

 

It was a great time for everyone involved.  I believe it’s so important to have a great relationship with the breeder you choose to get your puppy from.  Jeff and I have known each other for several years since he had Django for training.  I knew my next puppy would come from his kennel and have always recommended him as a breeder and trainer to friends and family.  He truly loves his dogs, and this breed.

 

I hope you enjoy the pictures from the hunt as much as we had taking them!

Aragorn (Bodie)

Aragorn vom Grimm Haus

Green Ranch hunting with Emma vom Schlussstein

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120A year ago(2/8/14) I had a tear-filled goodbye to my beloved beardy dog, Django, due to kidney failure.  To say that she was my best friend would not begin to do her a service.  For 5 years of my life I got to enjoy her as my shadow.  It was well known that if you were to invite me anywhere I would be bringing her along as well.  Fishing, camping, hiking, rafting, dinner, drinks, we were inseparable. Django was a Deutsch-Drahthaar (more info: here) versatile hunting dog.  I am of the opinion these are the greatest versatile hunting dog available today.  My style of hunting is varied as you will come to see each season.  Please take a moment to visit the VDD-GNA website to learn more.  Django was absoutely awesome, the end.

Flash forward to this year and I have finally made it to a point that I am ready for a new adventure in bearded dogs.  I developed a great relationship with a Drahthaar Breeder, trainer, and also pheasant farm owner/operator Jeff Green.  Talk about a great friend to have for a versatile dog owner!  Jeff runs Green Ranch(info) and vom Schlussstein Drahthaar Kennel(info) in Everett PA.  Not only is he all those things, but he also is a great person, all dogs love him, and he loves the dogs.  I think the dogs know he’s THE PHEASANT GUY.  Jeff recently bred his dog Emma and she is due this March.  We spoke and I will be taking a look at the females that come from this litter.  This will be vom Schlussstein’s “G” or 7th litter with all puppies being named with the letter G as their kennel name.  Many people opt to choose a call name as I did with Jennie vom Buffeltaler(Django).  The puppies should be ready to bring home the 3rd week of May and if I choose a pup I’ll be taking the week off to bond with her in her new environment.

The excitement is building!

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My Eno Sub7 hammock arrived over the weekend to much excitement!  I also received my Arrowhead Equip whoopie slings and Marlin Spike tree straps.  I immediately removed the Eno caribeeners and put the Whoopie slings in.  Although it was only a 1 gram difference(I AM NOT a gram guy, it just worked that way) between the two, I gained the extra length of the whoopie slings. So it definitely helped keep the weight down as far as overall suspension. I ordered the Marlin Spike tree straps and a ridgeline as well. I’m pretty impressed with the quality, weight and price, I’m sure the durabity will be just as impressive!

On the not so bright side I discovered that the hammock is only 105″ long compared to my Grand Trunk UL which is 112″ so hopefully that’s not as big of a deal as some expert on the Internet(ref: sarcasm) said it would be. I’m 5’9″ 150 lbs and spent two of the best summers of my life sleeping in the back of a 4 door Saturn sedan. I’m sure I will be fine. I’m still struggling to decide what sort of sleep system to go with.

I own a Big Agnes Copper Spur 2UL tent currently. I got a pretty good deal on in at REI. It weighs in at 50 oz and has a TON of room. I’ve used it only once time though on a 2 night AT solo hike I did last spring. I liked how much space I had for myself, and my gear in the tent or even vestibule. I’m just not sure how I feel about carrying 50 oz vs 27 with this hammock set up including tarp.

You can see the comparison of my old sleeping bag(teal stuff sac) vs my quilt, sleeping pad, hammock and suspension below.

 

 

What are your thoughts on my two set ups?  What works for you and what hasn’t?

 

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One thing I have been constantly reminded of throughout my life is that “patience is a virtue” typically followed by “we do not possess.”  This statement rings true with myself especially in regards to this journey of 5 million steps.  The anticipation has been killing me through this epic winter cold in PA. Waiting on spring is an understatement.

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I have given the down quilt some use over the past few days, although strictly indoors.  It is definitely more than I hope to ever need in regards to warmth.  I typically end up half in and half out of from under it.  I think it will definitely do the trick this coming spring.  I also started looking into hammock set ups.  With my current tent (BA Copper Spur 2 UL) coming in at 50 oz without a footprint, I’m second guessing its usefulness on a thru hike.  I am entertaining testing out a hammock this spring and summer.  I preordered the ENO Sub7 from REI, and also a suspension set up from Arrowhead Equipment. One of my concerns with hammock camping is rain and keeping dry at night.  I don’t like the idea of being stuck huddling under a small tarp to cook eat and relax. I also wonder if I should keep my Thermarest xLite for use in shelters or switch to a UQ for the hammock.  Spring cannot come soon enough!

-Pickle090 091

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Lauren and I embarked on a journey to make a down quilt.  While researching a new sleeping bag I went down the rabbit hole from synthetic to down, bag to quilt, quilt to holy crap those are expensive!  So we spoke about it and she agreed to help me by basically doing all the hard work, the sewing.  I did some research and ended up with a shipment of 850 down and nylon for about $180.  I decided to go with 2.5″ baffles to make an estimated 20* quilt.  It took 10 hours over the course of a few days.  We probably wasted 3 ours the first day just laying it out, a few times before actually cutting the first half of the shell.  It turned out great!  She did an awesome job sewing it and dealing with me watching.  I can’t wait to test it out!

-Pickle