Due to knee, back and hip problems, I haven’t slept in a tent for four to five years. It was always a great experience, sleeping on the ground on ensolite pads in small tents in remote locations.
Having good equipment and being worn out from a long walk/climb to the campsite always made sleep come easily.
This fall our son took me along on a wall tent moose hunt, sleeping on good quality cots with a wood stove keeping the tent warm. It was so comfortable that I stayed eight nights and probably slept better than at home.
We enjoyed a daily snack or meal of fresh ruffed, spruce or sharp-tailed grouse cooked in the open air, tarp-roofed kitchen area.
My current physical limitations had me in the role of camp maintenance and security detail while the others were out before sunrise and back after sunset. They sat in ground blinds at their chosen moose looking spots, where they spent most of the days trying to entice a rutting bull to come to the imitated call of a cow wanting to breed. During the rut it is not uncommon to have a bull answer a call and come right into or very near camp, so I called numerous times each day. Other than a curious cow that came to the call no moose were seen during my stay.
I came home after eight days to get some other things in life attended to. That was a bit of a mistake on my part, as on Day 9 a 52” bull came into the call at a slough that our son was calling from. The next day, with the moose hanging in camp, he was hunting grouse and a medium sized black bear came into range and is now in the freezer as roasts, stew and smokies.
This trip was my first wall tent camp and I would encourage anyone who can afford it to check out these tents. They come with an aluminum pipe frame, which all fits together in minutes and the canvas tent is simply fitted over the frame and all held together with a rope system on the frame and pegs into the ground.
This rope system is ideal for hanging your wet clothes to dry in the heat of the wood stove. The two tents were 10’ x 12’ and 12’ x 14’ with the slightly larger tent having a lot more interior space.
They have 5’ walls and a 7’ peak. Each has a 4’ porch extension at the front which provides storage space for firewood or extra gear.
Both tents were from The Deluxe Wall-Tent Co. in B.C. and each have a large zippered door, Velcro flaps over screened side windows and the chimney hole out the back wall has a silicone panel to protect the canvas from the hot chimney.
Each tent uses a heavy plastic bag for the frame poles and another for the tent and each bag weighs about 75 pounds. Setup time is 20 to 30 minutes.
