Packing for Backpacking Hunt

[Bwana John]

The western Cascades are not the same as the Sierra. The latter is a desert compared to the former.

That is true. The weather in the "Range of Light" can really be wonderful.
However I also hunted like this in Zone B, which is in the western Cascades (Trinity Alps, King Range).
I also worked for outfitters in the Wind River Range who use this technique, except they horsepack in ~15-25 miles, build Basecampo Deluxe and then spike out for 2-3 days from there.

I still say spike out for 2-3 days at a time, less than 10 miles from the truck, without a tent. If the weather gets that bad hike out.

Have everything back at the truck, tents, extra clothes, icechests, Colman stoves, ect.

or at least some kind of tarp shelter

YES, include a ground tarp which can be made into a shelter.

"Less is More", you aint going to the moon, (even if your average backpacker looks more like a astronaut than a resident of earth.)

Selecting a good protected sight to camp is more important than a 4 season tent. The tent can fail, then what? (Especially if he is borrowing it, it might be a WalMart special, not a VE-24.)

Same goes for the 1st aid kit, knowledge is what will save you, not equipment.

Now, if he had horses Id say go in for the entire 13 days, go as far in as possible, bring a wall tent, bring Dutch ovens, bring watermellons, ect...

 

[sumpnz]

but if you know what you're doing on a horse

I don't. Hence why I'm not taking my FIL's horse. I'd be unlikely to make it all the way to camp, nevermind through the whole hunt with that horse.

 

[Bwana John]

Hunting with horses can be one of the hardest ways to hunt. Packing up, unpacking, making sure they are fed and watered and safe at night, finding them in the morning, setting up Basecampo Deluxe, breaking down Basecampo Deluxe, ect....

Hike in light, shoot your elk, try to get both backstraps and a boned out 1/4 and all your gear out in one trip, hang the other 3 quarters well, and find a outfitter or rancher to pack the rest out on a horse.

Spot packing works well also (pay to have your kit packed in and packed out), but having to look out for horses the whole hunt is a PITA, IMO(unless your primary gig is horses)

 

[RoostRider]

I don't. Hence why I'm not taking my FIL's horse. I'd be unlikely to make it all the way to camp, nevermind through the whole hunt with that horse.

Given that, you are making a good decision there.... lol

 

[X-Rap]

^^^X100
I packed in 10+ mi. by myself for a 7 day hunt once and only made it 3.5 days. The feed was terrible (dry + 10,500 alt), my saddle horse was not the best choice I could have made, and the two compounded led me to dirrect more time wrangling than hunting.
The thing that made me take stock on that hunt by myself was the long pack just to get to the timberline area my season was opened to through wilderness. I had guys comming out of the woodwork afterwords saying they would have been glad to have come and watched the horses but that is the hindsite I guess.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I still say spike out for 2-3 days at a time, less than 10 miles from the truck, without a tent. If the weather gets that bad hike out.

I would have to say your neck of the woods has no biting bugs, and rarely rains.
Mine does, and a 3 LB tent can be lifesaving.
Also there is nothing like getting up in the AM, staying in the bag, and fireing up my super light butane latern. The 25 degree tent warms up to 60 in minutes

 

[AStone]

Selecting a good protected sight to camp is more important than a 4 season tent. The tent can fail, then what? (Especially if he is borrowing it, it might be a WalMart special, not a VE-24.)

I'll say that differently: selecting a site is just as important as a tent.

Now, about this tent. Anyone who goes into a wild area (outside a state park with a camp ground) with a Walmart tent should be prepared to accept the consequences.

I've been backpacking and mountaineering for nearly 40 years. I've never had a tent "fail". Not once. Why? I don't use Walmart tents. Nothing less than a North Face. More commonly, Moss (Olympic), Garuda (see image; 11000' in southern Rockies) or MSR, all quality mountaineer tents. Plus, I choose my tent site carefully, with a good wind break, etc.

Sumpnz is asking our advice about what gear to take on this venture. Clearly, he's not an experienced backpacker/mountaineer. If he was, I'd agree that a multi-day trip 10 (or more) miles in without a tent is doable. But he's not. In this case, I think to be that far into a wild area without a tent is foolish and dangerous. In case of bad weather, or injury, a tent can be life saving.

Let alone just the comfort factor. Tents cut wind and can raise the temperature for sleeping by as much as 5-10 degrees.

It's his call, but my advice: take a tent. If you can afford a good 3 or 4 season ultralite, go for it. But any tent is better in this case than no tent.

 

[Balog]

I'm one of the other people going with sumpnz, and I've been trying to assemble my gear for the shorter stay (Fri night to Tues afternoon). Found an old Kelty Trekker cheap on Craig's List, sharing a tent with a buddy, and have some basic 1st aid stuff ready to go. I have some cold weather gear, but I'm concerned about pants. The only thing I have that's not cotton are ski pants (swish swish swish). Thoughts on quiet yet water resistant trouser choices? I also need a sleeping bag, although I've been hoping to buy used as my budget is fixed and it's a bigger ticket item.

For food I'm thinking ramen with some trail mix, beef jerky, and peanut butter to round things out. I'll try those dried soup packets, and some of the Hormel and/or Asian dried meals as well.

I'll try to post an exact gear list as I get everything assembled. Thoughts on my progress so far?

 

[sumpnz]

Balog - I was looking at these for water proof pants. THere's others if you need more insulation that that.

For a sleeping bag, I've some that you're welcome to pick over if you'd like to borrow one.

 

[Balog]

Interesting, thanks sumpnz. If I can't find something cheap on CL I'll probably take you up on that offer.

 

[Grizfire]

I suggest you take your final pack for a nice walk before you commit. I think you should lighten up the load and ditch the handgun, the cleaning kit, the extra knife. Looks like you got everything else covered.

I like your idea of resupplying at your truck.

Can you pack into a lake so that you will have both a water supply as well as back country fish to eat? Look into it.

Good luck, a 13 day backpacking trip is not for the timid, but your adding elk hunting on top. I'm guessing you may lose a few pounds by the time this is over. Let us know how it goes when you get back.

 

[Hunter125]

I have never done a backpacking hunting trip, though I would love to, bu I have been backpacking several times and have a few suggestions.
First Silvas are nice, but I've always been a fan of Bruntons as far as compasses go. Look into it, see what you like.
Second, don't scrimp on the first aid kit. If you don't need it, great, if you do, it could save your life. You might look into the quick clotting agents in case something really goes wrong.
The SPOT receiver is a great idea, in my experience satellite phones are bulky, heavy, and expensive.
I would not scrimp on the tent and make sure you have rain gear with you, and don't forget about your pack, you'll need to make sure you can keep it dry as well.
One other thing to note, I would definitely double up on your socks. Wear two pairs with the inside pair being some kind of moisture wicking material and the outside wool or a wool mix. Take care of your feet, you'll regret it if you don't.
Another good idea, make a survival kit and pack it into a wide mouth nalgene bottle. If you get in a pinch, you'll have what you need and have a water bottle too.
Don't forget water purification the two best I have seen are the MIOX and the Steri Pen. I have personally used the SteriPen and it was great, although you will have to filter the water somehow as well, but this could be as simple as a coffee filter or handkerchief.
Sounds like a great trip, hope I can do a trip like that soon.

 

[sumpnz]

Just got back from the scouting trip a couple hours ago. Carried nearly everything I'd want to take on the actual hunt, except for the gun and of course I didn't have nearly as much food with me. Subtracting a few things that would otherwise be duplicated, and adding some cold weather clothing I left in the truck this time and I think the 45# from today plus gun and food should be pretty close. Figure probably 60# with gun and 6 days worth of food. I was sweating a good bit getting up to the areas that looked good to camp, but I did make it in a reasonable period of time.

Found a couple good potential camping spots with good water nearby. The elk all seem to still be around or above 5000' elevation. Saw some sign lower, but much less. They might move a bit lower by the Nov 7 opener but unless there's A LOT of snow fall between now and then they probably won't move very much. It was cold overnight, but with the new bed roll and wool long johns I was plenty warm. We got back to the truck before setting up camp, which was around 3400', and it got down to 28F or so.

I did wind up having to use my internal frame pack for the scouting trip. The ruck sack that a friend loaned me had no padding at all around the frame and also lacked a waist strap. I got it all packed and hoisted it on my back. With about 15 seconds my back was starting to hurt. So I promptly repacked everything into my internal frame pack. That said, my BIL has an external frame pack that I'll be able to try out during season (opens Oct 17). If his is comfortable enough I'll use it. Otherwise I'll deal with whatever the limitations are of the internal frame pack on this elk hunt and look for a good quality pack later.

 

[AStone]

Very wise to do a trial run.

Remember that since you've got a few weeks before opener, you could always hike in some of your 6 day food supply and stash it. That's particularly true for any canned goods you might be carrying in, but even non-canned staples can be sufficiently smell-proofed and hung high.

Six days of (good) food ain't light.

 

[AStone]

I'm concerned about pants.

My choice for high altitude pants year round is a pair of quality side-zippered (all the way up) rain pants with a pair of poly long johns underneath. Zipped up, warm as can be for 3 seasons (add another layer of fleece for winter). If it's warm, one can unzip the side zips of the rain pants and roll up the long johns.

For food I'm thinking ramen with some trail mix, beef jerky, and peanut butter to round things out.
I'll try those dried soup packets, and some of the Hormel and/or Asian dried meals as well.

Ack.

The Well Fed Backpacker.

I'd rather eat a steady diet of "cheesy bacospuds" from that book than ramen & Hormel.

 

[sumpnz]

We did find a camp site where it looked like someone had done just that. Some cans of tuna and Spam that we still current (pull dates out in 2010), and obviously hadn't been out there very long (little dirt on them, lables still in good shape).

However, technically that's against Wilderness Area rules. You're not supposed to leave anything unattended for more than 48 hours. And given that rule I'd be really worried about someone else taking that food for themselves.

 

[AStone]

I'd be really worried about someone else taking that food for themselves.

Creative Food Hanging 101: use a black or dark green bag with similarly-colored 550 paracord, hung high in a densely forested area well off the trail.

No one, not even rangers, will find that.

Now, mind you, I'm not advocating breaking laws,
just trying to make your quads suffer a little less on those switchbacks.

 

[Balog]

My choice for high altitude pants year round is a pair of quality side-zippered (all the way up) rain pants with a pair of poly long johns underneath. Zipped up, warm as can be for 3 seasons (add another layer of fleece for winter). If it's warm, one can unzip the side zips of the rain pants and roll up the long johns.

Don't you find those a bit noisy? The rain pants I'm familiar with are very loud. I do have a pair of ski pants I can wear in a pinch, but they're solid black and noisy as all get out.

 

[oneounceload]

Maybe I missed this, but I would have a SECOND pair of really well-broken in boots so one could dry one day while you hunt the next. Moleskin as well.

Since you'll be in rain country wool or goretex are your friends

 

[sumpnz]

Well, we got up there Thursday of last week. It was raining, but not too bad. Then it changed to snow. By Friday morning there was nearly a foot of snow on the ground. By Saturday it was snowing heavilly, and by Sunday morning there was 3' of accumulation. And all of one set of tracks in the whole area. We got the heck out of there. From the weather reports it's still snowing up there.

I'm going to try a couple day trips to a spot closer to home (about an hour's drive). A friend called today and gave me the locations where he'd seen some fresh tracks. We'll see if I can do any good there the rest of the week.

 

[RoostRider]

LOL... yeah, that can happen.... sounds like an 'experience' anyways, so be glad you went.... you're not the first guy who's grand hunting plans didn't work out quite as planned...

So, was the tent worth it? ......

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Assemble your gear and weigh it. If it's over 50 lbs, including the rifle, you're carrying too much.

On the other hand, if you're going in 5 miles and have the time, you might consider packing in half your gear at a time.

For a compass, a Sliva or Suunto protractor style is best -- I have a small one that I can pin on my coat and read it as I travel.

For a shelter, I like Poncho Villa -- a poncho I made that is 9X7. It completely covers me down to the ankles when worn as a poncho and can be pitched like a tarp tent. Along with it, I carry a piece of plastic sheeting for a ground sheet and a foam pad. My pad folds like an accordion, and I can fold it to go in the internal frame pocket of my pack, making it do double duty as frame and pad. My sleeping bag is a North Face Chrysalis -- 2 lbs and good to about 20 degrees. It's down, so I take very good care of it.

For cooking and so on, I use an "anti-gravity" stove made from Sam's diet soda cans. The stove, windscreen, grill and reflector altogether weigh just about an ounce. The fuel is alcohol. My cook kit consists of a tin can, a spoon, and the pliers on my swiss pocket knife (to take the hot can off the stove or fire.) Add a wire bail to the can if you plan to cook on a wood fire.

For food, freeze dried meals are ideal -- one meal a day (half at lunch and half in the evening) is plenty. Add some instant oatmeal for breakfast.

 

[X-Rap]

Transitional seasons are the toughest to try to plan for since you can't pin down the weather as well. Packing during archery or an earlier gun season can still have snow but not as likely. Winter camping has more stable cold temps and less melting.
The worst part of snow like you got is that it starts to melt as soon as it hits the ground and a foot acumulation is usually very wet and heavy and it is almost impossible to keep dry and you can't carry enough spares to stay comfortable. In a couple days it will be melted off and muddy as all get out making packing out all the harder.

 

[RockinU]

never mind