Spatsizi - missed opportunities

[2x4x16]

On Sunday night, six days before our biggest trip let planned, I had to pull the plug.
I had been working out with snow shoes all winter and moved to hiking in the spring. I was feeling great my cardio was improving my pack weight was increasing and I was more confident in the trip that we had planed since about Christmas time. My hunting buddy got the early sheep draw for Spatsizi - and 2 weeks ago we learned of our success for goats and moose. Unbelievable we were able to line up all the draws that we wanted.
2 weeks ago I did my last big local hiking trip up Golden Ears, a local mountain. I started out okay, the pack was at trip weight, heavy - and could you ever feel it. I had some minor problems with the pack but that is what this trip was for - to work out the bugs in my packing and weight distribution - pack resolved. It was not long after the start of our descent that a problem knee from last year reared it's ugly head. Last hunting season I began have knee pain in the right knee but only down a steep incline. Throughout the winter and spring I had no knee issues - I thought that I had strengthened the knee up. Oh crap I did not. :sad: The trip down Golden years hurt like crazy. It was I a could do to just walk out of there. And now what?? I was tormented all week - what could I do. It's not just me but my hunting partner - how could I tell him that I just can't make it. Sunday evening I went to his house to tell him the bad news. I couldn't even get the words before tears welled up and he knew something was terribly wrong.
My hunting buddy is the most understanding, best friend a guy could ask for. He reassured me that it was okay he didn't want to go in knowing of my bad knee...

So here we are the Charlotte's are open we have a ferry reservation and we are headed up. He has been there before I have not. We love to hunt we live to hunt I don't expect your honey wholes but a couple of suggested area would be great. We've got the quads to make life a little easier. But any comments or PMs would be most grateful.

Colin

[BlacktailStalker]

So he's not even going to attempt to fill his draw ?

[hunter1947]

Sorry to hear about your bad knee Colin http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/images/icons/icon13.gif ,that sucks big time.

There will be next year or the years after that you will be able to go on your dream hunt ,one year is not going to be the end of the world.

[bowhunterbruce]

hey colin dont give up justt yet,years ago i blew out both my knees skiing,thier are so many different types of knee braces out there on the market the truely do help out tons and stabilize to the point of hardly even know that it there,go see your dr.,i used to go with a tensor bandage wraped in the direction to pull my knee in, then wrap with a knee sock and finally with a brace.i was able to work all day long running around jobsites up and down all day long keeping up with everyone and this was done on very un even ground wearing a heavy pouch and harness.and i did this for almost 6 months and went hunting through it.
london drugs has a ton of different types,you could even go see the pharmacy peeps thier and they would help you find what you will need.
dont give up buddy until you have absolutly exhasted every possibility.
bruce

[gbear]

Sorry to hear about your missed opportunity. Knee pain sucks. Bowhunterbruce is right, there are many different types of braces on the market you can get at a drug store, outdoor store, or running store. The Drug store or Walmart would probably be my last choice because they generally carry cheaper made braces and I would recommend spending the extra for a better one. Many braces are made specifically for a certain type of knee pain. You can have your doctor help figure out which type of knee pain you have, or you can do a fairly good job of it on the internet. I too suffer from knee pain. I went to the runner's world magazine website and they have a injury diagnosis part to thier site for several common knee problems. Of course, that's for basic injury's that cause inflamation and are not serious like ligament damage or cartilage damage. It's always good to confirm with the doctor what you figured out too. If you can pinpoint where the pain is, you may be able to figure it out. I did that, and figured out what was rubbing the wrong way and then went to a running store and bought a brace for $25 that targeted support for that area. Works great for me, and has already lasted 3 years. It's just a small little thing. When I do my runs, I wear it all the time and basically avoid knee pain. When I go on hunts, I just carry it in my first aid kit and pull it out when I need it.

[35 Whelen]

Colin......I have been in rehab now for over a year with a double fracture to the knee and a torn cartilage. Sounds like your kneecap isn't tracking properly in its facet. Taping it over more to one side will likely fix it up good as new...go see a good physio therapist in your area. They can sometimes work wonders.

[bigwhiteys]

Dude... Thanks to about 13 seasons playing Rugby my knees are hooped, I need to have surgery on one and hyper extended the other so bad, I was on crutches for nearly a month.

I pretty much cannot take a step downhill without my right knee constantly being in pain... My left one takes a few days but it hurts too.

Hiking poles, lots of vitamin I (Ibuprofen) and a "tensor" knee brace.

Play through the pain :)

Carl

[moosinaround]

Dude, you are the only one who knows what the pain is like, and if you are able to handle it! Headin into mountainous country with a limb that ain't 100% is setting your self up for a very unenjoyable experience. Don't let any macho blowhards tell you to man up and go. A screwed up knee for the rest of your life really is not worth horns on the wall! See the doc, and take his/her advice, not advice from internet armchair docs, its your health, not info on a honey hole, or road report! It may be a once in a life time hunt, but spending 30 years with a bum knee or worst will affect your future quality of life! Good luck Colin! Moosin

[lunatic]

Crap knee here as well. Have had 3 surguries on it, the last being a patella re-alignment. They actually cut my ligaments and tendons off, pulled them over and screwed them back into the tibia to hold my knee in place. I was told I would need knee replacement by the time I was 40. So far so good. I can usually be pain free as long as I take Glucosamine & Chondroitin Sulphate daily. It has done wonders for me. As a quick fix, talk to your doctor about a cortisone shot in your knee. Usually lasts about 6 months.

[Bowtime]

Your hunting buddy should really try to make it in there for a hunt. Because that is the reason for the early sheep draw is so people have time to plan because the resident tags weren't being utilized. So it really grinds my gears when tags like this could have gone in my pocket.
I'm not by any means blaming your knee, I feel bad that you have trained this long and will not be rewarded for your hard work. and I would highly suggest NOT going into the mountains with a bad knee. But try to get your buddy in there. its open until late october.
Enjoy your trip to the charlottes. My buddy just came back from there. he brought me back some blacktail. Best deer I have ever tasted. could cut it with a spoon. Too bad they aren't larger animals.

Good luck.

[guest]

I feel for your pain ....BUT ......
The Draws you have are great, spend some cash and get a GOOD brace for what ill's you. I agree with Bigwhiteys, go to a Doc, then a physio therapist, buy the proper brace, and go to the land of Sheep and Goats ! Your not getting any younger, just go slow fight the pain !.

Reminds me of my first Stone Ram I hammered with my bro ....... we both had blown out knees from previous injuries. We both used Generation II braces, yes we hurt terribly specially going out and down hill for so long with a Dandy Ram on our Backs .... thats the best pain I've ever felt ....... Check the Avtar

Lose your deposit on the Ferry and Go back for those LEH, Rams, Billies and Bulls!

JUST go slow and Take a Sat phone.

CT

[bigwhiteys]

Only Colin knows what kind of pain he's in... And everyone has a different threshold. If it just hurts, I'll try to play through it. If it's dibilitating then obviously you could put yourself and partner in danger.

From the sounds of the post, it was an injury from last year rearing it's ugly head. We still don't even know what that injury was?

If you were in an accident, required surgery etc.., and are trying to push it when you really shouldn't then obviously you made the right choice for you :)

I'll be leaving for my hunt soon and unfortunately the knee pain will be coming along with me.

Careful with braces, as most physios will tell you that you don't want your knee to become dependent on the brace, actually weakening the surrounding muscles. Only use when you really need some relief.

Carl

[huntergirl270]

Soak a cotton cloth in Witch Hazel and wrap this to your knee at least 4 times per day. Wear a knee brace the remainder of the time.
You will be amazed at how fast it will heal.
Don't miss out on this great opportunity!

[Buck]

There are places there where you can hunt right from a lake.You watch your buddy with a spotting scope and if he needs a hand your there.I'm not sure how your getting in there but by plane it is doable from camp.

[budismyhorse]

Colin, sorry to hear about your trip going south.....

I'm prone to pain in my knees as well (thanks college volleyball), a tip from my old sheep hunting mentor:

Prior to any DOWNHILL hike with "trip weight on" before, during or on way out of your trip.......always be taking Ibuprophen and ALWAYS use one of those neoprene knee braces you can buy at Shoppers Drug Mart. 1 or 2 sizes too small for your knee. This prevents fluid from entering the joint and causing swelling and intense pain. Once it enters....it takes forever to leave the joint.

Apparently the downhills with weight will "get ya" if you don't follow that tip....

I followed it religiously and it worked well for me. THat, and what your physiotherapist tells you of course. Screw MD's they don't specialize in this.

[whitetailsheds]

Last couple of trips, I've found a walking stick helpful in taking some of the impact off ankles/ knees/ back. Find it nice even just to have something to lean on when taking breaks.
Oh ya...Ibuprophen and Drambuie in the evening helps take away some aches and pains.

[TheDuckinator]

JUST go slow and Take a Sat phone.



Bring a sat phone or at least spot. Where a brace and even try a walking stick, you can get ones that double as shooting sticks. Just dont risk gettin stuck in the bush because "Your man enough" to climb that mountain. Take it easy and best of luck man

[Rubicon500]

Talk to the doctor about getting a cortisone shot ? That should help out id imagine. Buy a knee brace, pain killers and go kill a ram. I blew my knee out a week before a sheep hunt I went to physio and ate IB profem like candy for the next 2 weeks and had a awesome hunt. Hurt every minute but you'll forget about it after a while! My knee swelled up about twice the size of my thigh but the brace will keep swelling down some.

[308BAR]

Crappy to hear you'll miss your hunt.

Don't know if you hike with poles or not but they do take a lot of load off the bad knee. I got the similar problem with a mis-align knee cap, torn minicus and ligaments. Long hikes up down the Grind gave me sharp pains, using pole I was able to tolerate some of the pain. I would usually take some IBprophen ot tylenol before I hiked to keep the inflamation down.

[2x4x16]

An update form my last posting.
Our Charlotte trip has come and gone. What a place, I have never seen trees that big before or brush that thick. I am not a lover of trees but that place is like nothing I have ever seen. With big trees comes big logging equipment - really big equipment. The typical logging roads that we have any in the province are completely taken up by these monsters of logging trucks. In between the bunks the trucks are 14 feet wide the logs are piled up to 20 feet above the cab and carry as much as 3 highway trucks - so we were told. We will go back - but the ferry over is a long expensive trip. The place has some amazing scenery that any one would love to see. In the 1 week that we were there we only saw 1 passenger vehicle. While hunting we saw absolutely no body.

In my first post I mentioned that I had to cancel our Spatsizi trip due to a knee problem. Well I have gone to the doctor and have started physio. Luckily the problem is a muscle in balance in me leg. The diagnosis is an inflammation and irritation of IT band. The IT band is a long ligament like band that is joined on the outside of knee up to the hip. As I have been training l have been working out my quads and gluts by heavy hikes and snow shoeing. I have strengthened these main muscles but I neglected the other muscles causing an muscular imbalance in my legs. I`m happy to know that it is a common problem in runner's and is over come by specific stretches and exercises - and more cross training in the future.

Now I can start to think about a extended back pack trip for next season. There is no way I could have walked in to the back country in my condition, and would have been foolish to put my hunting buddy through that. I know what sore is and can work through most discomfort but this was something completely different.

I guess that all of life's experiences and failures make up for an unbelievable experience in the back country. I will be ready for this next go around.

Colin

[tikkat3]

I feel for you man. I can't hunt this year at all as my lottery number came up and I got my ACL reconstruction I have been waiting for for 3 years done on the 28th of august. I didn't put in for any draws, won't even go grouse hunting as I can't walk without a cane for a couple of months. Sucks for me but at least you don't need surgery, that takes time to heal from. I can't wait for my physio to start up later today. Also not being able to work= being broke which is hard. But it's best to fix the damn knee that way I can be active in the future without the lingering fear that I'm gonna blow my knee out at any time

[Ltbullken]

That is truly sh***y! Sorry to hear about that. Have you thought about getting in to see an ortho? Is it fixable? Good luck.

[2x4x16]

As a reply to some of the posts.

The knee is just a muscular imbalance that does not need surgery. just stretching and new exercises that will work the muscles that I have neglected. As my Physio said to me I need to introduce some cross training into my future work outs to build up some of the other "helper" muscles in the legs.:grin:

[40incher]

This type of situation is exactly why we need more LEH permits issued and/or an endorsement system to redistribute permits that hunters know they cannot use. The next hunter in line gets a phone call. If he can't make it the the next one gets a call. The LEH draw can select hundreds of hunters, and only notify the first 50 until someone cancels out.

We are taking only 2 to 3 rams out of our resident allocation of 10 rams per year in Spatsizi. This should result in over 160 LEH's issued per year.

There is room to harvest more rams than the 10 we get and the 8 the guide gets. Otherwise, why would the guide be allowed to take 13 in any given year.

It's time BC resident priority was recognized! A decades-long harvest split of 8 rams for non-residents and 2 for residents is pathetic.

[Mik]

This type of situation is exactly why we need more LEH permits issued and/or an endorsement system to redistribute permits that hunters know they cannot use. The next hunter in line gets a phone call. If he can't make it the the next one gets a call. The LEH draw can select hundreds of hunters, and only notify the first 50 until someone cancels out.

We are taking only 2 to 3 rams out of our resident allocation of 10 rams per year in Spatsizi. This should result in over 160 LEH's issued per year.

There is room to harvest more rams than the 10 we get and the 8 the guide gets. Otherwise, why would the guide be allowed to take 13 in any given year.

It's time BC resident priority was recognized! A decades-long harvest split of 8 rams for non-residents and 2 for residents is pathetic.

Agreed, they do it for BISON, why not for the other species!