While we are talking lightweight tents

by **bald9eagle** » 02 08, 2016 • [Post 1]

Talk to me about set up. I'm guessing it's pretty much common sense. What do you look for in a good campsite? I know how I would camp here in Alabama but are there any special considerations you guys make in Colorado? Do you face the tent a certain direction? Do you camp in a tree sheltered area or just on the edge?

by **Ghost** » 02 08, 2016 • [Post 2]

My very first consideration is water, you can be spiked out for to long with out water.

by **husky390** » 02 08, 2016 • [Post 3]

Here in CO, my first consideration is widowmakers. We've had a lot of beetlekill over the years and getting smashed by a falling tree is something I'd like to avoid. Being near a water source is very convenient and I look for an area that is sheltered from the wind and level. I used to think I had a better chance of limiting the chances of a lightning strike by staying midslope in the trees until I saw this blasted tree that was midslope and smaller than the others around it.

If you're going with a floorless, look for anthills.

by **jmez** » 02 08, 2016 • [Post 4]

Dead trees
Relatively level
Water relatively close

In that order for me. You will also need to have dirt/soil for your stakes. If you can't stake the tent then you will need to find some big rocks to tie your guy lines out to. You don't want to set up in an area that is going to be a wind tunnel.

There really aren't any level spots on the side of a mountain. You will want to set your tent up so that your head is uphill when sleeping.

by **bald9eagle** » 02 09, 2016 • [Post 5]

How close to your intended area do you dare get? The spot I have picked out has two large water sources about 1.5 miles apart with a lot of high meadow in between. There are some small openings about .4 mile from one of the water holes that would put us on a small creek while the other water hole is above the tree line. How far would you stay away from these spots? Let's say you find a herd in a drainage. How close to the drainage do you dare? Do you set up on the prevailing downwind side? Above or below your hunting area?

by **jmez** » 02 09, 2016 • [Post 6]

I don't think the distance is as much of a factor as where the camp is set up. You can set up pretty close to the elk and as long as they don't know you are there then no issues.

You need to know how the elk are using an area before you decide on where to set up. If you don't know this then I would set up a couple drainage's away until you figure it out. You have to keep in mind the prevailing wind direction as well as the thermals and where you scent from camp is going to go. It has been my experience that when you find an area where elk are spending a lot of time it is very hard to keep your scent out of the area based on wind and thermals. There is a reason they are there and this is a big one. If the wind is right the thermals are wrong, if the thermals are right the wind is wrong.

It just seems that every time you go to plan a route into them one or the other isn't right. It is eerily similar every place you find that holds elk. They live and die by their nose. Some places they inhabit will have terrain features that allow you to get and stay close. Not very often though. I would play it safe and set up a couple drainages over.

by **jmez** » 02 09, 2016 • [Post 7]

Ideally you would like camp to be high as you can glass and hear much better when you are above them.

That considered, the elk are going to be low in the early morning moving up. You can't hunt them in the am from above. The thermals will be dropping until the sun gets high enough to warm the air in the bottoms, usually not until 9-10 am.

We generally camp high and then head downhill in the dark to hunt up in the mornings.

by **bald9eagle** » 02 09, 2016 • [Post 8]

We need a like button.

by **six** » 02 10, 2016 • [Post 9]

One more thing to add. 5 years ago a buddy and I packed into a wilderness area 3 miles and set up camp in a small clearing. The trail split at the clearing. One trail went down the mountain and the other kept on side hilling. We figured this was a great spot to set up. It was flat and there was a small seep about 100 yards away. We had been into a few elk during the week. By the middle of the week the mountain air and chasing the wapiti were taking its toll. On Thursday night my buddy woke me up at 3 a.m. with "there's something outside the tent". I listened for a minute and could hear what sounded like a horse taking a few deep sniffs of the tent. A few seconds later which seemed like 10 minutes we heard the animal walking away. I poked my head out from under the tent, turned on my flashilght and saw the biggest Moose I have ever seen walking down the trail.

I do not set up camp next to a trail now.

by **bald9eagle** » 02 10, 2016 • [Post 10]

Haha. Nothing like being sniffed by a moose at 3am...

by **six** » 02 10, 2016 • [Post 11]

bald9eagle wrote:We need a like button.

Like

by **WapitiTalk1** » 02 10, 2016 • [Post 12]

I avoid saddles like the plague to camp on (backcountry or even off an old ATV road); similar to what six mentioned about trails. Made the mistake a few years ago in ID (wasn't my idea) and the nocturnal visitors were by our tents every single night... lotsa different kinds. Critters love saddles! Here's one of them caught on trail cam 50 yards from camp. Most nights, it was Dora the MD Doe and her posse harassing us. Two of the guys with me thought they caught a glimpse of a big cat tail in the moonlight by our tents one late night. No more saddle/close to trails camping for me.