Backpack hunting questions

[Accipiter]

This fall will be my first time Elk hunting and thought I would backpack back in about two miles or so to get away from the walk in day hunters. I have hunted most all Midwest game for over 45 years and now want to do more big game hunting in other states. I have been bear hunting and antelope hunting in the past and feel comfortable in the back country but always camped close to the truck.

Got thinking and needed a little advice about where to leave your truck and was wondering if anyone problem with leaving you truck unattended for a week or more? The best spot would be a campground with other people around or a parking area. Would it be best to leave the truck way out in the open or move it out of the way so it wouldn't be noticed or just park it along the road?

I know about bear being attracted to food in camp, but I would guess you would treat your trash the same way and hange it in the tree too? One other thing, how far do you make your outhouse from camp because that would attract certain kinds of wildlife and would repel others?

Appreciate any help or advice.

[WapitiTalk1]

This fall will be my first time Elk hunting and thought I would backpack back in about two miles or so to get away from the walk in day hunters. I have hunted most all Midwest game for over 45 years and now want to do more big game hunting in other states. I have been bear hunting and antelope hunting in the past and feel comfortable in the back country but always camped close to the truck.

Got thinking and needed a little advice about where to leave your truck and was wondering if anyone problem with leaving you truck unattended for a week or more? The best spot would be a campground with other people around or a parking area. Would it be best to leave the truck way out in the open or move it out of the way so it wouldn't be noticed or just park it along the road?

I know about bear being attracted to food in camp, but I would guess you would treat your trash the same way and hange it in the tree too? One other thing, how far do you make your outhouse from camp because that would attract certain kinds of wildlife and would repel others?

Appreciate any help or advice.

Welcome to "the" elknut forum friend. Good first thread and all good questions. I'll offer you my opinions and I'm sure others will follow. I've never had any trouble leaving my truck at a trailhead, not once. "Most" of the folks that are that far away from town will not bother your vehicle; that said, just don't entice any thieves by leaving any obvious items visible through the windows (binos, back up bow, etc.). I never camp at campgrounds, or, leave my truck there. Across the road from a trailhead is fine, even leaving a cheapo tent set up there so perhaps potential bad buys think you may be on a day hunt. Bears? Dependent upon the state but, I wouldn't worry about bears but use the common sense principles and cook away from the campsite and hang any "smelly" food away from camp in a bag you hoist above the ground. Garbage? Burn it every few days. I have had minimal problems with bears coming into camp but it happens for sure. If you're doing a backcountry hunt, you'll probably be eating freeze-dried chow that emits no odor until it's cooked. Outhouse? I assume you're talking about digging a hole in the ground and building a lodge pole seat to do your morning business in. Just put it far enough away (50 - 75 yards) from camp so it doesn't bother you or your camp mates. Pee all around your camp when the urge strikes you and your partner. Bears don't like humans, or, their scent Good luck this fall friend! RJ

[tdiesel]

Well can't say that it never happens I've seen it. But it'd not an everyday thing like mentioned don't leave anything out in the open where others can see. I would say keep in a visible place so it's harder to sneak stuff out most people won't be that bold and truly during season should be lots of traffic to deter some of those guys. Hopefully anyway. The worst I have seen though wasn't anybody stealing I don't think out of 14 cars four weren't broken into looking at it the resident vehicles were fine and every out of state car had windows smashed so who knows what that persons deal was!!

[RockChucker30]

I parked along an old access road and just made sure nothing nice was in sight. I also cabled down everything in the bed and locked it.

If you're in a bear area then bear bagging is a good idea.

Get out of sight from camp before communing with nature.

[ferris bugler]

I've parked in just about every type of area and so far haven't had any problems. Just like everyone else has stated, don't leave a bunch of stuff out for people to see.

[mtnmutt]

Bears have broken into cars. Minimize the food left in your car. Cover any coolers. Bears do associate coolers with food.

I have never had an issue leaving my car while I backpack in CO. I do cover everything with a tarp and the car is at a location well used by others.

For bear bag, hang anything that smells (food, blood items, toiletries).

Avoid sugar items. One fellow who left gummy bears in his truck came back to find a broken window and a trail of gummy bears into the forest. Bears love sugar.

[bnsafe]

we didnt have any problems last year and our truck was parked by a fairly major highway with no towns for a long ways. with that said it was one year so not a big sample. we left our basecamp for a few days and no humans bothered it and i know there were several that drove by as when we were there alot of folks came by. all in all i wouldnt worry about the hunting part. when we left we stopped at a motel on the way home on a golf resort and somebody stole a bunch of our coolers etc. town in where i would worry.
as far as the bears, they arnt kidding. last year i frankly didnt believe all the stories and had ask about bears where we were hunting an the biologist told me if one was around he was just passing thru. WE DID NOT TAKE ANY PRECAUTIONS. that was really dumb. when we came back from our backpack hunt to the basecamp a bear had tore up coolers, ate a bunch of food. what kept him from tearing the tent to shreads is beyond me. must been full from all the other stuff he ate. obviously we moved our stuff when we got back but i heard him outside our first nite back. all our fault just because i have spent my whole life outdoors and never saw a bear even after hunting them.

[Jaquomo]

I've never ever had any problems with bears at a base camp except for one tearing up the coffee can holding the TP at my latrine. But once at a spike camp a bear came in and tore our camp apart while we were out hunting. I had a bag of protein pills that should have lasted a week, and he ate them all. Ate toothpaste, whatever he could eat. Only thing he didn't bother was a can of generic peaches.

We headed back down to base to resupply and came back that night. A buddy with a bear tag joined us. We got up early, talked, drank hot cocoa, and two of us left to go hunt. He said we weren't even out of sight and the bear came ambling right in. He didn't shoot because he swore it was a big blonde-tipped grizzly. So he fired a couple of warning shots into the ground in front of it with his .44, but the bear just looked at him and walked away slowly. Don't know what it was, but it had the biggest track I've ever seen on a bear.

[Arapahoe]

I've only hunted in Colorado and never had a problem parking my Jeep for a week. (knock on wood)

It's common for people to park along major highways for a few days or so and I do it all the time.

I have never had a bear encounter in colorado and i dont sweat it(knock on wood again) and I only make sure when nature calls Im downwind of the tent.

[Accipiter]

We are planing to go to NE Idaho west of Interstate 15 and I know they have a few wolf's and my brother said in the past they have run into bear while hunting in previous years. The only thing, I will get there a few days before he arrives. I haven't had problems in the past either but when a vehicle sits for a week it can really start to look like it is abandanded and tempting target to some people.

Phantom16, I like the idea of setting up a cheap tent. Thanks for the welcome

Got a chuckle about the bear eating tooth paste. I wouldn't have guessed that one ever! Thanks for all the ideas so far. I do have my bear tag already, just in case.

[WindedBowhunter]

As others have stated, I have never had an issue with leaving my truck at the trailhead. Phantom16 added the beneficial advice to not entice the criminals.

On most of my hunts, the cooked food is Mtn House, so no mess afterwards. I use the empty Mtn House package to pack the day's trash in it to make it easier to haul out. I also keep all of the Mtn House packs in a gallon ziplock bag, to reduce the smell a little more.

The rule that I use for all waste, it at least 100 yds "downwind" of your site. And 25+ from any water source.

For the outhouse, its with the waste and I use the cathole technique for taking #2 aka dropping a deuce.

[Z Barebow]

I have never had a problem, but use common sense. Out of sight. Bad guys like low hanging fruit, especially of they can see it.

One thing not mentioned is mice. I had some food (munchies in boxes and bags) stored in my pick up box. (This pickup has a toneau cover). The damn things crawled into the box, ate and crapped on my munchies!

I have keypad entry on my truck so I store my keys in the engine compartment. I give the code to my hunting buddy in case I get hurt, can't make it back, and he needs into truck.

[WindedBowhunter]

Z Barebow - Good tip on the mice, they are small, overlooked...except when they take a doody on your food!

[pointysticks]

the most nervous i get when i leave my truck is springtime. stupid MARMOTS! apparently they eat our brake lines. great.

people go to great lengths to surround their trucks with chicken wire. my august hunt is in marmot central. the ranger always assures me that they are only bad in spring. i still see the occasional car wrapped up with chicken wire tho. it is a funny sight. it would be awful to drag up out of the woods to still have to unwrap a truck and dispose of the wire. awful.

human thieves? i hope and pray there is an outdoorman code, or something. so far so good. naive..

[Accipiter]

What does everyone use to drive your tent stakes that is light? I have been looking at the 8 or 17 inch hatchets made by Gerber or Fiskar but the 8 inch really looks worthless for anything else. I really hate to add more weight by getting anything else and wonder what other guys use when setting up a base camp?

[ceng]

A rock or a stick. So easy a caveman can do it. Haha

[mtnmutt]

Backpacking: rock. The Rockies have a few rocks lying around everywhere.

Base camp: 20 year old plastic mallet or rock.

[idahoghost]

REI sells some light weight aluminum stakes that work very well. I always have at least four just in case I can't find a rock (it's happened before). Of course one could always the leg bones from the elk you just shot, they would work just as well.

[Indian Summer]

FYI 2 miles will not put you beyond day hunters. Especially if that's on a trail.

[elkflunky]

This is a good one! Some of the stories here are quite funny! I did know of a group from my home town that had their vehicle broke into. I can't remember all the details but they went on a little scouting trip before the season had started. They had all their equipment and food in the truck but it was not there when they got back. The funny part was one guys wife made giant cookies. Being their camping gear and everything was gone they planned on heading home so they went to town to get a room. Something close to a miracle happened at this point when one of the guys went in the lobby and noticed this idiot eating a giant cookie! The police were called and they ended up getting all their stuff back minus the cookie. Hunting trip saved!! This was the only bad story I have heard and I have never had any problems. Sorry for the long winded story but had to tell it. I have one of those stupid marmot story too but I better stop for now.

[Accipiter]

I thought about using rocks, but wasn't sure those small aluminum would work very well in the rocky soils. I have been looking at the larger ones and thought a person would need to have something with a little bit more control. Really think I may pack some of the aluminum gutter nails too?

[pointysticks]

I am leaving for a nine day trip in a few hours. I am packing a small hatchet. My pack is surprisingly light.

Stakes. I like the Red MSR ones. You can really beat on them. The stakes that came with my golite tent are very good too. If you get a hatchet you have to get one with a sheath. I can't imagine carrying a bare hatchet. Mine is like a razor. I bet I could gut a trout with it.

I want to hear the marmot story! The cookie one was awesome.

[mtnmutt]

I thought about using rocks, but wasn't sure those small aluminum would work very well in the rocky soils. I have been looking at the larger ones and thought a person would need to have something with a little bit more control. Really think I may pack some of the aluminum gutter nails too?

Replace any cheap tent stakes with these 6 inch lightweight MSR very durable stakes. In my pack, I carry 2-4 for an extra set of hands if I need them. My BA Fly Creek UL2 already came with high quality DAC tent stakes. I replaced my base camp stakes with these MSR hog stakes. DAC stakes are silver. The MSR red ones are more visible.
http://www.rei.com/product/829838/msr-m ... -hog-stake
or
http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3655464

The DAC and MSR have not bent when hitting rocks and will go through pine roots (little sappy, so take a stake baggie: REI Tent Stake Bag).

Do not buy the longer ones if camping in CO mtn. You will just hit a rock and another rock and another rock and get frustrated.

Aluminum hook/skewer tent stake will bend as soon as it hits a rock.

This year, I switched out my 550 paracord with this lightweight orange cord because it is reflective. Can be used to hang a bear bag, guy lines, meat hanging:
http://www.rei.com/product/782824/bluew ... e-of-50-ft

If in doubt, just ask away. Someone here will likely have an answer. I am originally from the East Coast and camping is different between the 2 places.

I took a multi day class backpacking class with Co Mtn Club. That is were I learned most of my stuff. Plus, this book is a bible for mountaineering:
http://www.rei.com/product/811865/mount ... th-edition

I also used this guy's book to learn to go lightweight for backpacking. He backpacked around all of Alaska with lightweight gear:
http://andrewskurka.com/product/ultimat ... ear-guide/

I frequently, refer back to both those books.

As for toothpaste: I use the powdered toothpaste when backpacking. Packs lighter and not as tempting to a bear.

[elkflunky]

Well Pointysticks wants the marmot story so I did get a little audience on that last story. Believe them or not but the stories are true. The marmot story started on my first western bear hunt in MT. We all were separating at the truck early in the morning on the first day we arrived. As we were getting ready to part our ways I asked Jason(hope he reads this) where he was putting the SPARE key at in case someone needed to use the truck before he got back. At this point knucklehead Jason informed us that his spare key was his only key! We were 32 hours away and he didn't have an extra set of keys. Well it was decided to stick the key in the ground in a small bushy clump so we would all have access to the truck. Well I am sure you have an idea where this is going now and yes when we all got back to the truck mysteriously at the same time I went to recover the now missing key from the bush clump. We excavated that bush and the ground around the tree. We also noticed these skinny groundhog things in the rocks running around watching us. Well we determined they were marmots but at this time I didn't care what animals were laughing at us I just wanted our key/truck back. Now our whole trip was in shambles and we were still in the middle of nowhere. Luckily Dave and his family ran a auto body shop and had some automobile experience and suggested we get the VIN number off the dash and call a dealership. Great plan other than where is a dealership around here that can do this and how are we going to get to a phone to call this dealership. Next are some of those close to a miracle events. As we were walking toward the direction of town a car pulls up and offers us a ride to his house to use his phone. We called the dealer and finally convinced the employee there that it was our vehicle we were trying to get a key cut for. The dealership was roughly 70 miles from where we were but the guy we were talking with from the dealership lived about 20 minutes down the road and he could bring the key there for us to pick up. We filled up the original guys gas tank and he drove us to get the key later on. The guy from the dealership would not accept any money for the key or hassle but explained to us that those marmots liked shiny objects and he bet his house that they were to blame for this. We got our truck back and started our hunt back up the next day. I do believe a few marmots died that week to several stray 7mag rounds. Never again will I trust a sneaky one eyed marmot again. Same guy several years later needed help moving back from KS so he paid my airline ticket from MI to KS to help load his stuff and drive his truck back the next day. We blew a tire very early in the morning and I told him let's get this tire changed and he explained to me he had no spare tire!!! Another story there......! Once again a long winded story and I am sure there are some grammer and spelling errors as I am doing this on my phone!!!

[ceng]

I do have friend who was hiking and left his car at a well used trailhead. When he returned he found that his and several other cars had been lit on fire and burned to the ground. He was pretty upset. He had to walk several extra miles to the main road to catch a ride to town. I don't think they ever caught the guys who did it.

[Accipiter]

mtnmutt Tanks for the links, I will get a few in my next order.

Since this got off on shinny objects, never leave anything around where pack rats/wood rats live. Years ago I left one of those army canteens behind on my last deer hunt of the year. When I was getting ready for the next years hunt I tore the whole house apart trying to find that canteen, not realizing I left it behind the year before.

When I finally got back to my hunting spot, there was my canteen completely stripped of insulation, the whole web belt was stripped and the buckle was sitting on the front door step of the rat's den. All I can say, that dirty rat had a nice warm den that winter and a nice trophy.