Just wondering if any has ever just took your favorite bow and headed out in big country with a weeks worth of supplies and roughed it. Would love to hear some thoughts! i always wanted to do it.
Richard.... for me..roughing it includes my pillow and blankie...
I too would like to hear about some of these exploits. Anyone camping with just a tarp as a lean-to ? any guidance ?
ChuckC
whats your definition of roughing it?
I did that first week of this year, high summer in the mountains and bushveld of the Waterberge. My friend and I called it a 'survival hunt' for want of a name to explain our hare-brained idea, it was more like an exploration. Well, torrential rain, a vehicle breakdown, my mate getting flattened by a bushpig, very little sleep and fabulous days hiking, hunting and climbing mountains and nights out made it one of the best things I've done for myself in years. Never knew if I was hungry or tired, we were too busy having fun.
The 'survival' was not in the form or fashion we might have imagined and that in itself made it just perfect! We dried out, fixed the truck, lost weight and my mate is fine. If you have thought of it, why are you still here? Get out and do it man! You will learn plenty and have a hoot.
chrisg
p.s. Robert Ruark's classic 'Old Man and the Boy' has tales about camping, hunting and fishing trips with the his grandfather that will make you get started! And you don't have to go to Alaska or Africa to do it, keep it simple and cheap.
A friend's brother left the house and did it for 2 years.
oh yes my kit list, one man tarp, light blanket, zip-off longs, t shirt, plain shirt, old wool sweater, rainjacket, hat, boots, slops. Small hunting pack with standard gear, couple cans of beans, ramin noodles, pap,coffee, biltong, apples, raisins, nuts, small gas cooker, candles, flashlight.
We had the luxury of a base camp and our vehicles but only for mega problems, we didn't have any.
Most important is don't go with a huge 'to do list' you will have a crappy time. Just get out there.
chrisg
When I was younger I did a lot of canoe camping solo and with friends.I went with bows and sometimes guns and some of the best time of my life fun campinf beautiful woods and really felt alive miss it now but areas I went are not open to public now.Kip
Among other reasons to be out there, that has been my preferred method of hunting moose for many years now. I started when I was in my teens.
I used to tell my family and friends that it was the best way to get to know yourself, it still is.
It was common practice among the Cree here before but since it is not necessary for survival now, less do it.
In case someone is wondering about how I would get a moose out of the bush, make sure it's a cold day when you kill it and have a plan that involves friends to share the meat with.
used to do it a lot. mostly in the national parks here in the UK, often take my bow and stump shoot around camp. Love going to new places and trying to new methods of fire lighting and shelter building. After a while you really get to know what you use and dont really need and you can start taking less gear.
its good to go with like minded friends or by yourself.
you learn a lot about yourself after spending a few days in the middle of know where expesialy when things get tough.
You have a lot of time to think about things and you realize how much you take for granted. Every simple amenity you take for granted at home requires work, preparation and time when your out in the bush.
i did a bit of hiking over in Australia with a small pack and just slept under the stars ( with a mozzy net) people thought i was crazy.
i love beein out in the middle of know where no people, no lights just you and the wild.
This year when we are back in South Africa we have planned a 3 day survival hunt with our bows shooting and trapping for food in the mountains and valleys of a local farmers land he says he does not know of anyone thats been through there in many years. No roads no phone or radio signal...perfect.
Pap, coffee and biltong...
Why all the other stuff?
Solo backpacking in CO until I found a place to hunt elk where I could base camp-no need to rough it-if the hunt is one that means better quality hunt by roughing it,I'm game(no pun intended),if hunting is as good in a comfortable camp-I'll be there.
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/wapiteee/Madeitonemoreyear.jpg)
Base camp- (http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e24/wapiteee/1200.jpg)
And this upcoming year I'm debating on taking my recently renovated Airstream Bambi out and camp in it. The Forest Service enforces the 14 day rule so its a pain to break camp and move several times. Thus-I may "rough it" in my easy setup-takedown Bambi camp.
I have done it before,for a few days at a time.
In the NY's Adirondack Mountains they have a good hiking trail system with lean-tos built along the trails.
(they are marked on the trail maps)
That takes care of the shelter part.....A heavy wool blanket,fire starter,and some food.....It's the next best thing to Heaven!!!!!
May The Great Spirit Guide Your Arrows
I've always wanted to do this and will in the next year or so. I'd love to hear some stories on this from the mitten brothers!
I packed in to the Teton Wilderness years ago in search of a bull moose which evidently had heard I was coming, because I saw only cows for over a week. Outfitter hauled my carcass about 15 miles in, said 'see ya in a week', and left. I slept under a tarp and ate freeze dried and a few grouse that were dumb enough to let me stick them. Although I didn't get my moose, it was a great time.
Done several backpack hunts for 3 or 4 days for deer and elk, but now I enjoy having a nice cot to sleep on. I still would do some backpacking in nice weather, but being cold and wet for a few days doesn't interest me any more.
TJ, when you're young,it's great, relatively cheap, easy to do, and a ton of fun! When you're hitting the big 60, like me, it's vital that you're able to recover from the day's exercise with a decent night's sleep. I can't get that anymore by sleeping on the ground, so I went to a hammock system that's really great. I'd absolutely encourage you to do this as soon as you can get the gear together! We had a blast.
I find myself doing it ever day now.
The OLDER I get The ROUGHER it is :bigsmyl:
pap biltong and coffee is all you need for sure. The name was a just an explanation not a set of rules. I am happy to be comfortable and could move in two minutes or less if I wanted to, how it should be. Remember I did this for a living for some years, today is more laid back, thank the Lord. It was fun and simple and the cheapest therapy ever! We laughed and laughed and sat quiet and looked deep into the campfire and listened to the nightjars and owls. Die bosveld, jy ken dit mos. Not looking for badges anymore.
chrisg
QuoteOriginally posted by Angus:
I can't get that anymore by sleeping on the ground, so I went to a hammock system that's really great.
Sounds comfy. Can you pass on more detail about your setup? (Name, weight, ease of setup, how it does in inclimate weather, etc)
Thanks! :D
I do a couple of weekends in the Adirondacks every year. I really enjoy the solitude and the simplicity of spending the weekend in the wilderness with just the bare necessities. Anyone that would like to join me is welcome. I will be doing a couple of Turkey hunts in May if anybody is interested.
My first bowhunt (with a Damon Howatt Hunter) I walked into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for a week by myself. I wasn't smart enough to know better and carried no bear protection, no tent, no sleeping bag. I brought iodine tabs for water purification and uncle bens instant rice for food. Multivitamins, instant rice and tobasco. That's what I ate. To this day, it's the greatest hunt of my life. I found a basin with bulls screaming and not a person for 10 miles.
On the second evening I glassed a huge 6 point bull with a bunch of cows across the basin and spent the whole evening watching trying to figure out where he was going. I remember counting points and thinking that he could just about scratch his haunches with his tips. Big, old bull.
The next day I moved across the basin to a small cliff above the meadow where the bull had pushed his cows. I sat there all day with my legs hanging over the edge glassing and sun bathing. I remember watching a golden eagle soar slowly over the meadow doing some glassing of his own. When he few by my head he was at just about my level (because I was sitting on the cliff) and seemed like he was only 15 yards from me.
Late afternoon found me obsessively watching the wind and trying to predict when the thermals would change, but I was in a good spot waiting for them. There was a long, thin stretch of meadow to my left that was like a runway coming out of the timber. I was about 5 yards into the woods near the mouth of this stretch and the wind was right in my face. I started to hear the bulls bugling and the cows crashing around in the brush moving towards me. They burst out of the timber and I thought that I was the best bowhunter in the world because I was about to kill a 6-point bull on my first outing. As they fed towards me, the bull decided he needed some water and pushed the herd to a hard left down slope. He came to about 70 yards, then disappeared into the think brush of the basin.
That night I layed on my wool blanket back on top of the cliff, listening to 4 bulls scream at each other all night long. I didn't sleep a wink. I got dressed and readied myself in the dark hoping that I could pintpoint a bull and move in at first light. They completely shut up about an hour before light, and what had clearly been an exciting night for the elk apparently warranted an early bed time.
After no action I decided to regroup and cross the basin back to the spot where I originaly glassed the bull. I was crossing these long, flat rock ledges that were puctuated by 10 or 12 foot drops. As I came to the edge of the last ledge at the bottom of the basin I saw a cow standing at the edge of a small creek. I froze and started to feel the woods come alive with elk. I had walked into the herd and the terrain had kept my scent above them. I watched cow after cow appear and disappear through the creek bottom. And then he was there. The bull I had been after for 3 days was standing silently at the base of the ledge I was standing on, 8 feet directly below me! Talk about freaking out, I could barely pull and arrow from my quiver, let alone nock it and concentrate enough to keep an eye on the bull and be quite.
Now,a funny thing happened. I had huge bull literally feet from me - every bowhunetrs dream - and I didn't know where to shoot it. As this was playing out, it seemed like I was deliberating for hours. I had a straight down shot. Spine? Sure, but these things aren't whitetails! There's a tone of bone to make it through before you can sever the spinal column. So that leaves me a head shot? No way. This was about to turn into a Lord of the Flys pig hunt slash bareback rodeo.
So I'm waiting, about 1/4 drawn out of pure nerves and adrenalin, and hoping that this bull will move so I can let fly on a hard quartering away shot. In the time that I was waiting, I was concentrating so intensely that I didn't even notice the cow that fed into about 5 yards right behind me. When she barked, I wouldn't have been more scared and surprised if a grizzly had tapped me on the shoulder to ask for Grey Poupon.
As it turns out, this was the best possible outcome. I was by myself 12 miles from my truck with no one lined up to help me pack. It was early september and I'm sure that I would have lost all that meat. I've packed a bunch of bulls by myself and it's not fun - even if it's only a couple miles. There's no way I would have gotten that animal out of the woods. So, in its' stead I was left with great memories and a passion for bowhunting elk. I think it's a fair trade.
fANTASTIC STORIES GUYS!!!
Jump over to kifaru.net----Several folks there do multi-day to multi-week rambles.
One week is my longest stateside, since the 1970 government "sponsored" multi-weekers in a far off place. It was lots of fun.
This past season for one weekend I took a pack with between 20 and 30 pounds of gear. Very little food and only 2 canteens of water(one 1 liter and 1 2 liter USMC isssue canteens)my bow, a quiver of arrows. I hiked into the Hoosier National Forest. I slept under a tarp with a boulder to my back with a fire in front and a stream about 25 yards away. I used three bandanas on a tripod to filter water fromn the stream and hiked around camp and looked for deer. Dinner the second day was a rabbit I hit with an 180 grain Ace hexblunt tipped GT. I had a blast even though I didn't see any deer. Too early in the season I think they were all in the local privately owned cornfields nearby.
One hint for sleeping on the ground. Even if you're using a foam or air mattress bust up the ground where you are going to place your bed. Years of rain and snow and such have compressed it. loosen it up, especially in the area your hips with hit the ground. If you can set up on sand so much the better. You can also make a palate with cedar or spruce boughs(the smaller the diameter the better) under your mattress. Hammocks are good but they absolutely suck in the Winter.(can you say "crisper drawer?")
I'd have to say the two most important things in my pack are my gps unit - maps and my water filter- pump.
I'm fortunate here in Northern Oregon where my home is surrounded by three wilderness areas and 1.1 million acres of national forest. Those wilderness areas are non motorized and have excellent access via backpacking trails. I use 1 meter resolution aerial photos, 7.5 minute quad maps and my trusty Garmin gps loaded with the topo map of the area I want to explore-hunt. I use the backpacking trails to get 3 to 5 miles from the nearest road quickly then dive off the trails to explore areas I've identified on the aerials. This allows me to do some "armchair recon" then use my gps to go to the exact location I've identified. Plenty of water here in Oregon but would never drink it with out filtering first. The water filter-pump is an absolute necessity for my day pack and on extended multi-day hunts. I'll fill my camelback a few times a day to stay hydrated. No way I could pack enough water and still have room for my other gear. Mutli day hunts I use an external frame pack with everything I need lashed on. Put an animal down and your pack frame is already with you.
Im doing a solo hunt this year, not really to hunt(although I will shoot something if the opertunity presented itself)but to be one with the world. I know it sounds a little out there, but I find it once in awhile when hunting. You just become everything and are no longer a single thing.
Sorry for not getting back sooner John, busy weekend!! I use an Eagle's nest system, great comfort, especially when it's hot! Here's the URL for them: http://www.eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com/
It weighs a little more than a bivy setup, but provides a lot more comfort for me. Setup is a breeze with the slap straps, but I did change out the carabiners to the lightest weight Metolius carabiners. I use a shaped z-rest pad which I cut down a little less at the head and feet, but kept adequate width in it so it would help prevent compression of the down bag on the sides. I've not had the opportunity to use it in bad weather, but the bug netting is great. I found that I needed a pillow, , but a meat bag stuffed with spare clothes works fine, both for my head and under my knees. I wouldn't backpack in winter: Curt's gotta be right about it, since it would allow the sides of a bag to be pressed in and reduce the loft accordingly. I've done a fair amount of high-altitude mountaineering, and those days of frostbite are long over! You don't need to haul the kitchen sink, but hey-it's a vacation, no matter how you cut it! I'll also pack in a little Platypus full of good scotch, a couple of cigars, and some luxury chocolate to munch on. I use a Schuh mega pack, and don't use a hydration bladder-too much work to get any fluid out of it. A Nalgene bottle with built-in measure, freeze dried meals and energy drink/bars,and since I don't find a lot of decent freeze-dried veggies, I dehydrate my own. . The pack weighs in between 22-28lbs, depending on the duration, but everything works well, but I try to get everything to do at least two, maybe three things.
Great stories guys!
www.hennessyhammock.com/ (http://www.hennessyhammock.com/)
Great stories and information. Bowfiend I was right there with you, what a rush. thanks for taking me along :archer:
Great story Levi...and all the rest of you guys too. Very cool thread.
I'll second or third the vote for a hennessy hammock...if you will be where there are trees to tie it to, you won't bother with a normal tent set-up ever again, imho.