If we get drawn for this New Mexico hunt I think we'll be back packing in. Looks like it will be 5-7 day hunt for us, drive included. Anyone here hike in a few miles to get away from the crowds?
I'm interested in hearing about ultra-light weight sleeping bags/shelter, packs and frames, and foot wear.
Jim,
Years ago I did most allmost all of my hunting that way. Hunted a fair amount in NM back then. Today you are going to find it a challange to find a spot that's very far from some form of 4 wheel drive access, anywhere in NM - except on a few private lands and limited access areas.
Today, I think I would favor backpacking with a minimal camp and just stopping to camp wherever I was at the end of each day. That will maxamize your amount of hunting hours - no time loss returning to a camp. Water will be your biggest problem in doing this. Plan your hunt accordingly.
Hope that helps.
Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow
Don't discount the effort required for managing downed game. If it's Aug-Sept it's going to be real warm by mid morning. I use an external frame pack. This way I can dump my gear and get right on to packing meat out. Remember a Bull will likely be 5 trips out minimum, if your in 3 miles your looking at 30 miles of hiking loaded.
Excellent thread,guys.Been looking into conducting something similar,so,good tips are anxiously awaited.
Great point Sean. External frame packs are all I've ever owned or used. I totally forgot that most backpacks are now internal frames. Never liked that concept much - for a hunting pack. As one gets old, he sometimes forget what it is others might not be aware of. Hope that's not an indicator of impending "old timers disease"!
Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow
What Unit are you hoping to draw? Will you get time to scout before the hunt? 5-7 days doesn't give you much time if you include travel,scouting,hunting and packing meat from an elk from "way back". (That can be a day or more itself) Hopefully you know how to take an Elk apart using the gutless method.
I agree with Ed on doing it as bivy hunt to optimize your time. Get Cameron Haines Backcountry Bowhunting book and research all the ultralight backpacking sites fro equipment and test drive anything you choose before the actual hunt. Good Luck on the draw.
Another interesting thing you could research is some OLD camping books. I have one (I THINK it is called simply "Wilderness Camping", but can't get to it to check that for sure) by Bradford Anger and Townsend Whelen. In there is a detailed listing of what equipment and supplies they carried for a 2 week trip wilderness backpack trip. This is back before such things as freeze dried food too. The total pack weight was 35 pounds - including the old wood-and-canvas pack board! Guy were 'harder' back then than most are today, but it shows you what is possible to do. Many very good - and often forgotten - tips are to be found in some of those very old books. We often waste a lot of time relearning what our forebearers knew.
For what it's worth, I still enjoy such 'minimal camping' far more than I do a fully appointed luxury camp.
Ed
TGMM Family of the Bow
One thing you might do is contact a local packer and contract him to pack out your elk.
I backpacked for griz bears in AK for a couple of years and with all the stuff you need to take in, recall it has to come out-along with teh animal you harvest.
Water is a problem in the Fall out here in the west-if you can't find it, you have to pack it.
This is an archery Mule deer hunt in January. Area 2B and C. I just recieved that book by Cameron Hanes and it is very informative.
Hopefull if we get drawn we can make a trip out this summer to get a lay of the land. One week isn't much time. Thanks for all the pointers guys.
Check out the Kifaru website. They are a company dedicated to backpack hunting with heated tipi's, internal frame backpacks, sleeping bags and soon to be released clothing.
www.kifaru.net (http://www.kifaru.net)
Ken,
Looked at the kifaru website. VERY cool stuff! I added to my favorites and will probably make a purchase for my next wilderness trip. Thanks for the heads up.
Best advice I have for you is to get in great shape. Carrying 45-50 lbs can get real old in a hurry. If you hunt with your camp on your back it can take a toll on you especially in rough country. My advice would be to scout a good area and find a reliable water source and pack to that spot. Then you can hunt from there. If it is unproductive it is very fast and easy to move camp. Good luck, sounds like it will be a fun hunt.
Yeap, don't forget, when you're way back, the elk or deer has to come out too.
Imagine yourself loaded down looking at a tree in front of you straight up, and telling yourself you'll walk to that tree and take a break. That tree being 4 steps in front of you!
This was my last load out. Elk head, along with a boned out hind quarter, and front shoulder. I got the elk out in two trips, and their were moments I thought about crying. I may have......
The reason the head is still attached was for CWD testing, what a pain!
(http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a34/chadlewis/IMAG0034.jpg)
Let me preface this by saying the following: I'm a big fan of backcountry elk hunts and do it as frequently as I can manage. I think there is a "magical" barrier somewhere in the 3-4 mile range that signifies a reduction in hunting pressure. Finally, I don't want to come off as being negative, but...
If you're only trying to get "a few" miles in, why do you need to pack in a camp? I ask because I routinely hike between 3 and 5 miles in the dark to get where I need (or want) to be at dawn. I find that a comfortable, well equiped base camp is well worth the 5 miles in and out. Generally, I'm going to cover the miles anyway so you might as well be returning to a cooler full of good eats.
If you're talking about 10 miles in, no question that a camp on you're back will save you effort. But it sounded to me like you were only thinking of 3 or 4 miles in from a tailhead.
Around here, if you go very far in, you find yourself coming out the other side!
I guess it depends on what area we get (IF) I should say.
There are LOTS of gas well roads in some areas. I'd hate to hike in 5 miles, set up our bivy and have a 4x4 drive up 1/2 a mile away. I think good scouting trip would help avoid this. I've been looking at google earth trying to find areas that are farther from roads that look promising.
It looks like in some areas we can get more than 5 miles off the road. The elevation looks like it's around 5000 to 7500 feet average. The hunt is in January and the cold is going to be an issue too.
YES!
I love to backpack in. Haven't gotten into hard core bivy hunting yet, but plan on it. I have many times packed in 3-4 miles with about a 50lb pack. I will voice the opposite opinion of bowfiend. I would much rather have a short hike each morning into elk or deer than have to cover that same mileage each morning and evening to come back to a "truck" camp. Just a different opinion on what a "comfortable" camp is I guess.
Lots of ideas for lightweight backpacking on the internet. Just have to adapt some of the ideas to hunting.
Nathan
Horne Shooter- I bought my first piece of Kifaru gear back around 2002. Since I've added in a few more items and I can say that the gear is worth the money. Handmade in the USA and built very well. Patrick, the owner, spends 150-200 nights afield testing/camping/hunting with his gear to ensure his products work as claimed.
razorsharptokill- Is it safe to assume you will have snow on the ground? I don't know much about NM, but one of the first things that popped into my mind logistically was water. More specifically, drinking water...
I have hunted unit 2 in January several times. snow can be very crunchy and it can be very cold.
Have done alot of backpack hunts and dont know if would try it in unit 2 in january. we set up a base camp and hiked in during the day then back out at night. you will see lots of trucks as the oil and gas pumpers have to travel even the roads that are closed to hunters. We also saw hunters when we hiked in over 4 miles. good luck get a good sleeping bag.its cold.
Keep your pack going in to 35-40 lbs total (tops), leave the cool gadgets, 2nd pair of boots, extra clothes, etc behind. They say you pack your insecurities. You don't need to spend a lot on ultralight gear. And like bowfiend said, you might consider day trips, don't know the terrain there but 3-4 miles isn't much. And don't write-off internal frame packs, used externals for years and am now sold on my internal frame, have hauled 80-110 lbs a number of times (MEAT !) with it and was way more comfortable than my internal frame. And have a good time !
All you need to know is in Cameron Haines Book "Guide To Backcountry Bowhunting" It is a complete guide with gear tips and an entire list. Expect about a 50lb pack and start getting in shape now.
I plan to pack in for about 2 1/2 days at a time. It just takes too much energy to worry about getting back to camp and then having to get back up and hike in 3 or 4 miles in the morning. It is better to stay out there, wake up and hunt.
Good luck with the draw. If you don't have a pack, bivy sack, etc., you have your work cut out for you.
I am getting ready to go on a South Central DIY spring bear hunt, back packing in. Should be fun!
(http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d197/biggriz61/bearhunt003.jpg)
Hey I recognize that bear!!! Hope you nock down a good one Chuck!!
Wow! Some great advice here. Thank you guys!
Hey Ethan! Where have you been? We should plan a back pack deer hunt.... (and get some salmon)... are you interested?
Hey Chuck, your "bear spray" looks like a .480? Is that a heavy chunk to carry, or is it OK? I got into a really light weight titanium rig, but it's kind of a bull to shoot.
Jim, I think you are getting some good advice and, in the end, it's going to be up to you to determine the level of hunt that you're willing to undertake. Good luck with it - it's going to be a blast.
I pack into a couple of areas and it's only 3 miles from my base camp/truck. I just like not having to get up so darn early to get into elk. Do that 3 mile walk twice a day for a few days and see how those feet feel!ha
You can put together a reasonable kit including a decent internal frame hunting pack for under $600. The best piece of equipment is the bag. You can find solo bivy tents under $200, but I would not spend cheap money on a sleeping bag. I keep an external pack at the truck, haul out my backstraps with my bivy set-up (and horns if I'm lucky), then come back for the heavy stuff with a proper frame pack. I buy MREs form Ameriqual http://www.readymeal.com/, then break them down into daily rations. My brother's SF meals are made by the same company. If the boys in the berets eat them they're good enough for me!
I haven't used a packer yet, but there is a new place in the Flattops I want to try next year, and I'm thinking a drop camp will be the ticket (8 miles...not big enough to tote all the crap I'd like to take). Read Cameron's book. Nice info there! HAVE FUN! Once you do it you'll be hooked on going light and deep into the backcountry.
How would you plan differently from an extended period of hiking on the AT(Appalachian Trail)? I have done week long hiking trips on the AT and wonder what would be necessary to change as far as gear and other considerations.
bowfiend- it's a Ruger Redhawk 454 Casaul, yep it is heavy. I have been hiking the hillside trails around my house with my pack as training lately. ( 18-20 inches of snow the last few days has not helped) so I strapped the side arm on for extra weight in my pack right now as I have not loaded my food for the trip yet. Everything else is in there, tent, sleeping bag, stove, fuel, pot cup,spork, rain gear, etc. havn't weighed it yet, I am guesssing about 50 pounds without the handgun.
This would make a good "how to" for back country hunt/camp. I'm about half way through the book and I'm very intruiged about this style of hunting.
Last year I packed in 10 miles. I stripped my pack down to the bare min. It weighed around 35 lb with the external frame. Took just a tarp no bivie. I agree to get the best sleeping bag you can a cold night is the worst.
Where I was there are plenty of lakes and streams with brookies so I took a fly rod instead of a ton of food.
I would stress that you would be supprized how little you need.
Mitch
If you're hunting in 2-B or C forget about packing in. The only area that can be hunted that way is the Rosa portion of 2-B only because they shut the main gate for the winter. There are so many gas field roads you can't walk over 2 miles without hitting one. The areas on the maps that don't have roads are big steep canyons you don't want to be in.
We drew the 2-C hunt this last Jan. If I can help drop me a PM.
I do backpack hunt the Leopold Wilderness in 16-B for elk. My partner is an ex-Okie who has ultralight packing down to a science.
Razor,
I don't think the hunt you put in is exactly what you are looking for...
It is the best mule deer hunt in NM, but, especially in 2B, from what I know, you are going to have a hard time finding ANY area without roads. It is smack dab in their oil and gas fields.
Next year put in for the Pecos Wilderness 44/45 for a way back.
You do know the odds of drawing that 2B or 2C January hunt, right? Best be looking at a January hunt next door in AZ if you really want to hunt Muleys.
Didn't read all the posts...I see I am a little late with my revalation ;)
Hey Chuck, heck yeah I'm interested!! Don't know when I'll be able to get back up there again though. But I'll mark it in my "planner"!
Talondale- BP hunting isn't much different than backpacking in general, you just have to be prepared to pack the meat out. I'm setup to bring all my gear for a 1-3 night trip AND a boned out whitetail out in one shot.
ttt