Bubblehide
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How I wish I could. Right now I have the time, just not the money, I need top save what little I do have for my Sierra trip at the end of Oct.
- Thread starter mtnsammy
- Start date
How I wish I could. Right now I have the time, just not the money, I need top save what little I do have for my Sierra trip at the end of Oct.
Sniper Chuck
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Here's what we've been doing for camp food. Elk hunting is so demanding time wise you don't have time to prepare a full meal, hunt and sleep. Seal a meal bags. You can prepare your meal ahead of time, freeze it and at camp place the bag in boiling water for 5-10 minutes to heat. Pozole, chili, stew, lasagna, you name it, even spaghetti. Here's the tip on that; seal sauce and pasta separate. Pasta almost completely cooked with a pat of butter in the bag. Make sure there is no air left in any of the bags and you're good to go. I got hooked on a double bowl of instant oatmeal for breakfast and a sandwich or jerky in the pack for lunch. To me Elk hunting was too damned important to be sitting in camp cooking.
I hope everyone who gets out this season does well. Hunt hard and reap the rewards.
I hope everyone who gets out this season does well. Hunt hard and reap the rewards.
I agree Sniper Chuck. I also use Carboplex mixed into my Gatoraide. It is a great carb boost with slow sugars so it lasts several hours not 30 minutes. PBJ fruit trail mix jerky granolo bars all pack quick and easy. Dinner is the only cooked meal and even then I make bachelor stew with Hamster Helper Veggies and whatever I can find.
OK New Excursion stays home. No front hitch for the winch, minor damage to the front keeps me from installing a hitch now so I will take the ugly truck and I can put the quad in the bed while scouting. Several of the fire roads dead end with quad trails continuing. Last year there were several quads riding the trails right up to opening day. I am delayed another couple days as my Church needs some concrete poured. It couldn't hurt to help out God's home just before the hunt. First of the pics will be posted as I leave.
Anyone know where to hook up for water filling in Rifle or Meeker?? The truck is limited on weight for the mountains so I want to wait on the 100 gallons till I am on top of the hills.
OK New Excursion stays home. No front hitch for the winch, minor damage to the front keeps me from installing a hitch now so I will take the ugly truck and I can put the quad in the bed while scouting. Several of the fire roads dead end with quad trails continuing. Last year there were several quads riding the trails right up to opening day. I am delayed another couple days as my Church needs some concrete poured. It couldn't hurt to help out God's home just before the hunt. First of the pics will be posted as I leave.
Anyone know where to hook up for water filling in Rifle or Meeker?? The truck is limited on weight for the mountains so I want to wait on the 100 gallons till I am on top of the hills.
OK all loaded and ready. I am proud of myself the trailer is still more than half empty and nothing is in the truck. I have a lot but I did good. As soon as the finish is done on the concrete I am heading out. Not sure where wifi's are yet but I will post when I find them. Hopefully the local police won't get spooked as I prowl like a sex registrant looking for hot spots. I am sure I will find one or learn to post from my cell phone.
Beer is cold already so those in the area look me up and we can share some good stories. I will stay a few days after season too probably. Glad to meet those I have talked with look forward to meeting all.
Beer is cold already so those in the area look me up and we can share some good stories. I will stay a few days after season too probably. Glad to meet those I have talked with look forward to meeting all.
good lord..after a big day of 10 hours hikes, a MRE is the last thing i want to eat. i just cant handle the flavor..plus they seem to plug me up (TMI?
)for me, i precook everything. then i just warm it up back at camp. stews, rice dishes, and tamales..amazing how good a tamale will taste up at 9000 feet elevation. quick steam makes them taste like a i am standing next to a taco truck.
good luck OP..i am waiting for an update.
Concerete poured at the Church and now my back is blown. A few days in God's Land I will be up again. I take off first thing in am.
Gasbuddy is my friend for the drive. Plotted all the cheap stations from here to there.
Hands are shaking from the excitement. I am a week late leaving and everything did not get done before the trip. Too bad I hear the Elk and have the fever. Pain meds, booze, good eats and high spirits.
With the trailer I can use the small freezer. Pot Pies, Burritos, Ground beef all fit fine.
I found a good app for the phone that I can wifi for free with my laptop at camp. Camp is great for Phone Signal so I think I will be able to post from camp without goin into town. Next post in 2 days when I am set up.
Gasbuddy is my friend for the drive. Plotted all the cheap stations from here to there.
Hands are shaking from the excitement. I am a week late leaving and everything did not get done before the trip. Too bad I hear the Elk and have the fever. Pain meds, booze, good eats and high spirits.
With the trailer I can use the small freezer. Pot Pies, Burritos, Ground beef all fit fine.
I found a good app for the phone that I can wifi for free with my laptop at camp. Camp is great for Phone Signal so I think I will be able to post from camp without goin into town. Next post in 2 days when I am set up.
BassAssasin805
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Ill see you up there in 2 weeks!
Ill give you a shout when I am in town.
Ill give you a shout when I am in town.
Well I am here 2 miles closer to God and it looks like this is his back yard. Living in Big Bear I forget how beautiful other mountains can be. The Aspens are bright yellow and there are splashes or orange and purples across the hills. Weather is very scattered overcast and cold. It should help the elk moving early.I was afraid I would have a hard time finding a campsite. After 17 hours of driving I camped at Walmart in Rifle so I could find a nice spot in the daylight. Good thing there is also a RV Dump and water fill just around the corner from Walmart. At 130 in the morning I was all buzzed and could not sleep. I unloaded the quad and moved it to the truck.
Oh yeah here is #1. As I passed Barstow half way to Vegas I realized I had left my new superwide quad ramp at home. Called the wife and she found a Harbor Freight on the way in Vegas. I needed gas and lunch so it was not too much of a detour. Duhhh what else could go wrong. Here is #2. Wife calls back as I leave Vegas and tells me all your orange stuff is still hanging in the other bathroom…….double Duhhhhh. Well thank God for the Post Office. Wifey will ship it to me general delivery plenty of time for the hunt.More as I try to go to sleep it is now 2am and I am wide awake in the Walmart parking lot. Hmmmmm what to do……. Go shopping for the food.
I check the temp on the fridge and HERE is #3. Fridge died and is warm if not hot. OK so Walmart sell ice too and I have plenty of empty icechests for the elk meat. I am the only fool shopping like some speed freak at 3am. I get all my food to the registers and Here is #4. B of A decides someone is using my creditcards on a nationwide shopping spree and closes all of them. My wallet has $32. Arrrrrgggggg. I find an old credit card I haven’t used in decades and try it. Amazing it worked and I didn’t even think they were still around. Now I am tired and can sleep.
3hours later I am fired up and ready to go.Now I get into town and look around for anything that is familiar. Wait last time it was dark, hmmmmm. I close my eyes and just park. Right in front of the Post Office. I find laundry, banking, the POLICE!!!!! and several sporting goods stores all waiting for the hunters to arrive. Jackpot. I buy some new maps just incase and ask how the roads are this year. Maps were printed in 1987 with photo updating. Clerk at the hunting shop hated hunting and never goes up the roads.
Whatever.All loaded gassed up and heart racing 300BPM. I drive up the hill and park the trailer at the base of the trail. After unhooking I slowly drive up the amazing road. Almost like pavement. The last ½ mile gets a little rough but no problem. I go back get the trailer and it hits me. Last year I passed 30 to 40 campsites all filled with dozens of hunters. No one at all is up here??? I wonder and check my phone, yep it is the end of September and hunting starts in a couple of weeks. My choice of camps. Lack of sleep and no food since yesterday’s lunch I start to wear out. I clean up some, get the trailer level try to organize all the crap I brought. I fire up the generator as I find out #5. The battery lead from the truck is dead and the trailer batteries are almost dead too. No problem right? Nope generator has a hard time keeping up. 20 years old and maybe 20 hours of use. That’s ok I will use what I got. Oh yeah I bought a bunch of Microwave food…………..hmmmmm.
Later I will work on that. I fix the fridge, get the generator to at least charge the batteries for the night and it is nap time.Wow I slept a whole hour. I finish unpacking and setting everything up. Camp is good. I figure out I also bought all the food except milk and all the food I bought needs not just a microwave but also milk. OK so I go back into town for milk and eggs. It is now raining, sleeting, hailing……..smells like Heaven. I don’t want to hike or ride the quad in the rain just yet. The way things are going I would slip and fall ruining this great hunt. I pack my gear and go for a ride in my truck. I follow a few trails I remember and boy the rain tore them up. By the time I realize I should not be there I can only think of Henmar…….. OK I can get thru this.
The further I go the smaller the trail gets. My paint or lack of it is scraped from tip to stern. 2-4 inch branches are wacking the sides of the truck and now it is really raining. It is kinda like Mississippi mud. You can steer all you want but if there are no ruts you are going for a ride. Drove out in 4X4 low and going maybe 5MPH. long night but I did bring my inverter and plugged everything in for a full charge. Now I am back in camp, dry, warm, drinking Merlot and loving every minute.Last year I would have been to the Hospital with all of this but this hunt will be the best. Nothing will stop me from having fun in God’s backyard. My phone does not have enough signal to send pics so I will drive into town later this week for milk eggs and better cell reception. Wish I could share this better with everyone of you.
Oh yeah here is #1. As I passed Barstow half way to Vegas I realized I had left my new superwide quad ramp at home. Called the wife and she found a Harbor Freight on the way in Vegas. I needed gas and lunch so it was not too much of a detour. Duhhh what else could go wrong. Here is #2. Wife calls back as I leave Vegas and tells me all your orange stuff is still hanging in the other bathroom…….double Duhhhhh. Well thank God for the Post Office. Wifey will ship it to me general delivery plenty of time for the hunt.More as I try to go to sleep it is now 2am and I am wide awake in the Walmart parking lot. Hmmmmm what to do……. Go shopping for the food.
I check the temp on the fridge and HERE is #3. Fridge died and is warm if not hot. OK so Walmart sell ice too and I have plenty of empty icechests for the elk meat. I am the only fool shopping like some speed freak at 3am. I get all my food to the registers and Here is #4. B of A decides someone is using my creditcards on a nationwide shopping spree and closes all of them. My wallet has $32. Arrrrrgggggg. I find an old credit card I haven’t used in decades and try it. Amazing it worked and I didn’t even think they were still around. Now I am tired and can sleep.
3hours later I am fired up and ready to go.Now I get into town and look around for anything that is familiar. Wait last time it was dark, hmmmmm. I close my eyes and just park. Right in front of the Post Office. I find laundry, banking, the POLICE!!!!! and several sporting goods stores all waiting for the hunters to arrive. Jackpot. I buy some new maps just incase and ask how the roads are this year. Maps were printed in 1987 with photo updating. Clerk at the hunting shop hated hunting and never goes up the roads.
Whatever.All loaded gassed up and heart racing 300BPM. I drive up the hill and park the trailer at the base of the trail. After unhooking I slowly drive up the amazing road. Almost like pavement. The last ½ mile gets a little rough but no problem. I go back get the trailer and it hits me. Last year I passed 30 to 40 campsites all filled with dozens of hunters. No one at all is up here??? I wonder and check my phone, yep it is the end of September and hunting starts in a couple of weeks. My choice of camps. Lack of sleep and no food since yesterday’s lunch I start to wear out. I clean up some, get the trailer level try to organize all the crap I brought. I fire up the generator as I find out #5. The battery lead from the truck is dead and the trailer batteries are almost dead too. No problem right? Nope generator has a hard time keeping up. 20 years old and maybe 20 hours of use. That’s ok I will use what I got. Oh yeah I bought a bunch of Microwave food…………..hmmmmm.
Later I will work on that. I fix the fridge, get the generator to at least charge the batteries for the night and it is nap time.Wow I slept a whole hour. I finish unpacking and setting everything up. Camp is good. I figure out I also bought all the food except milk and all the food I bought needs not just a microwave but also milk. OK so I go back into town for milk and eggs. It is now raining, sleeting, hailing……..smells like Heaven. I don’t want to hike or ride the quad in the rain just yet. The way things are going I would slip and fall ruining this great hunt. I pack my gear and go for a ride in my truck. I follow a few trails I remember and boy the rain tore them up. By the time I realize I should not be there I can only think of Henmar…….. OK I can get thru this.
The further I go the smaller the trail gets. My paint or lack of it is scraped from tip to stern. 2-4 inch branches are wacking the sides of the truck and now it is really raining. It is kinda like Mississippi mud. You can steer all you want but if there are no ruts you are going for a ride. Drove out in 4X4 low and going maybe 5MPH. long night but I did bring my inverter and plugged everything in for a full charge. Now I am back in camp, dry, warm, drinking Merlot and loving every minute.Last year I would have been to the Hospital with all of this but this hunt will be the best. Nothing will stop me from having fun in God’s backyard. My phone does not have enough signal to send pics so I will drive into town later this week for milk eggs and better cell reception. Wish I could share this better with everyone of you.
Well living the dream gets better by the day. Spent the day on the quad looking at other trails and hunt areas. My GMU is large so I could waste a lot of time looking and not seeing. If day one hits and all the rifle fire is to the west I want to know what is there so I can look for the timer and the elk pressure zones.
Met 2 hunters finally, they are also from So Cal. They are living hard in a hotel until hunt day opens. They smelt like 2 old farts going to the mustang ranch. Good luck there. Forestry drove by and confirmed I am the only one here, all the better. I am enjoying God’s backyard.
The discussion of using cell phones for hunts is now done. My phone sucks here now. Ran to town for milk and eggs and the clerk told me Verizon thought their tower could be better used elsewhere and they took the only tower nearby. If I relied only on using ReconHunt or Cell GPS I would be in a bad place now. Fortunately I still read and navigate with maps and have my Garmin too. Now that I have located all the major landmarks I should be good. It would be nice to have the cell so I could post here and also talk with my wife but I will live.
Roads were hit hard with rains this last year. Quads and horses or boots to the ground. Hiking is tough on the trails as it is all 4-6 inch rocks in several places. Steep hills, long walks, wet slimy roads, forest smells great, every reason not to go by trails. Today I will hit the timber and see how the forest did this year.
Daily I find small issues to tackle. Minor inconveniences like I am sitting here typing using my truck to charge trailer batteries. Something killed them over night. I am going total dark tonight. I have enough propane I will forgo electrical uses and use propane and enjoy the dry trailer. Propane heat, propane light and bundle up at night. I only use heat when bathing so it is not that much. PEE Ewwww. OK I will bath more often when the hunters start to arrive.
God Bless and good luck to all the hunters on opening day.
Met 2 hunters finally, they are also from So Cal. They are living hard in a hotel until hunt day opens. They smelt like 2 old farts going to the mustang ranch. Good luck there. Forestry drove by and confirmed I am the only one here, all the better. I am enjoying God’s backyard.
The discussion of using cell phones for hunts is now done. My phone sucks here now. Ran to town for milk and eggs and the clerk told me Verizon thought their tower could be better used elsewhere and they took the only tower nearby. If I relied only on using ReconHunt or Cell GPS I would be in a bad place now. Fortunately I still read and navigate with maps and have my Garmin too. Now that I have located all the major landmarks I should be good. It would be nice to have the cell so I could post here and also talk with my wife but I will live.
Roads were hit hard with rains this last year. Quads and horses or boots to the ground. Hiking is tough on the trails as it is all 4-6 inch rocks in several places. Steep hills, long walks, wet slimy roads, forest smells great, every reason not to go by trails. Today I will hit the timber and see how the forest did this year.
Daily I find small issues to tackle. Minor inconveniences like I am sitting here typing using my truck to charge trailer batteries. Something killed them over night. I am going total dark tonight. I have enough propane I will forgo electrical uses and use propane and enjoy the dry trailer. Propane heat, propane light and bundle up at night. I only use heat when bathing so it is not that much. PEE Ewwww. OK I will bath more often when the hunters start to arrive.
God Bless and good luck to all the hunters on opening day.
hunterdoug
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great thread sammy, thanks for taking us along on your hunt, be safe and good luck.
iceman10058
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sounds like you have had a couple problems dad. just dont get hurt okay?
Well I found wifi so here are a few pics. No pics of elk yet but mornings have been busy with trailer repairs and the elk are hard to get at in the afternoons. Here is my first camp site and a couple pics of the views. Like I said God's Backyard is beautiful. Kinda hard to stay focused. From now till opening day I will be all boots to gravel hiking off the last 15 pounds. No more quads in my hunt zone as I do not want to spook the elk. There are 3-4 small groups of deer with 3-7 in each grouping. They are as friendly as the deer in Big Bear. They will walk right into camp or up to my truck. Soon they too will run at the site of any human.
The roads here are like the Cobble Stoned Roads in New England. Colorado uses Rocky Mountain Gravel instead. It is not for the weak at heart. Any loose fillings will fall out.
I found last years harvest site. Funny the bones are still there. I would think squirells and such would have had them done by now.
The roads here are like the Cobble Stoned Roads in New England. Colorado uses Rocky Mountain Gravel instead. It is not for the weak at heart. Any loose fillings will fall out.
I found last years harvest site. Funny the bones are still there. I would think squirells and such would have had them done by now.
Attachments
Today I hiked for about 3 hours. First in the morning I went to Church like all good hunters should. Thank God for giving us such and opportunity. Everyone there was happy the hunters were coming back so soon. Church was cute and very small. Possibly if it was crowded maybe 100-120 could fit inside. Met a bunch of the locals and found the secret coffee spot. Nope they won’t talk hunting with strangers.
So while hiking in God’s backyard I started my approach practicing with windicators keeping the wind to my face as I approached where the elk should be. I did such a good job I spooked 2 maybe 10 yards in front. Camera was too slow and they are large and fast. It sounded like the horses with Johnny Cash. The thunder of the hooves crashing thru the bush and breaking off branches made me feel like a giant stepping on villagers. OK so I will look more careful for the brown hides??? After hiking 3-8 miles?? I saw more tail ends running and would like to think I was following the same 2 elk. Probably not but I do know where I will sit at 4am day one.
So maybe a little lesson on elk signs? Ya gotta know your crap. Here are some pics showing different size and shapes. Bucks/males generally leave large clumps or at least in a single pile. The clumping has something to do with the difference in diet and when the cow or bull eat. Cows leave a trail of crap. Urine is easy to figure out. You can smell it quickly and if it is one solid stream you guessed it bull and splatter all over cow. This is important as if you are trailing to tell the cow from the bull is important. Also cows walk in a single line with a bull slightly aside them. Heavy tracks with single tracks alongside is a bull with his cows. Last bit of crap… I find scent is hard to cover by the middle of the day. I am normally sweating as deodorant is forbidden and I reek of hunter. I use the piles of crap by stepping in them and rubbing the boots well. If you pick up a piece and feel it bare handed it should be greenish, sticky or slightly glossy if it is fresh. If it is warm too you may have spooked the elk standing next to you wondering why you play in someone else’s poop. When done squeezing the poop rub it on your partners shoulder he probably needed scent control anyways. Tell him he is doing great. Dry and cracked is old greyish powdery too. Heavy dry piles still show the elk used the trail maybe something spooked them and they moved up another 15-20 feet to a new trail. Sloppy hunters relieving themselves on a big game trail tend to move the herds.
Now we all remember Kung Fu and the story of Rice Paper. “We must walk softly and leave no mark”. Well as the following pics show Rice Paper is for sissies. Try walking quietly here. It is a challenge with the drop of as much as 5-6 feet on the other side of the fallen trees and all the down and dead branches everywhere. We all love the rain days before the hunt to quiet down our heavy trodden boots. Better yet in the morning at “Ohh dark 30” when we are trying to set up our spot you cannot see the trees or the holes around where you walk. Flashlights too are forbidden. If you can see better so can the elk see you better too. Give a toddler a flashlight when they go to bed and have them come to you if they are scared. Yep you can see them from down the hallway coming.
If you can walk quietly here you are the man.
Well I am enjoying this hunt much with the sharing and comments from all of you. The last pic is of where I will be with the best chance of finding elk. Unless something really exciting happens before opening day this should be the last post. Tomorrow I will go in at 3am to try and get a pic of the elk moving. After that I do not want to spook them any more.
So while hiking in God’s backyard I started my approach practicing with windicators keeping the wind to my face as I approached where the elk should be. I did such a good job I spooked 2 maybe 10 yards in front. Camera was too slow and they are large and fast. It sounded like the horses with Johnny Cash. The thunder of the hooves crashing thru the bush and breaking off branches made me feel like a giant stepping on villagers. OK so I will look more careful for the brown hides??? After hiking 3-8 miles?? I saw more tail ends running and would like to think I was following the same 2 elk. Probably not but I do know where I will sit at 4am day one.
So maybe a little lesson on elk signs? Ya gotta know your crap. Here are some pics showing different size and shapes. Bucks/males generally leave large clumps or at least in a single pile. The clumping has something to do with the difference in diet and when the cow or bull eat. Cows leave a trail of crap. Urine is easy to figure out. You can smell it quickly and if it is one solid stream you guessed it bull and splatter all over cow. This is important as if you are trailing to tell the cow from the bull is important. Also cows walk in a single line with a bull slightly aside them. Heavy tracks with single tracks alongside is a bull with his cows. Last bit of crap… I find scent is hard to cover by the middle of the day. I am normally sweating as deodorant is forbidden and I reek of hunter. I use the piles of crap by stepping in them and rubbing the boots well. If you pick up a piece and feel it bare handed it should be greenish, sticky or slightly glossy if it is fresh. If it is warm too you may have spooked the elk standing next to you wondering why you play in someone else’s poop. When done squeezing the poop rub it on your partners shoulder he probably needed scent control anyways. Tell him he is doing great. Dry and cracked is old greyish powdery too. Heavy dry piles still show the elk used the trail maybe something spooked them and they moved up another 15-20 feet to a new trail. Sloppy hunters relieving themselves on a big game trail tend to move the herds.
Now we all remember Kung Fu and the story of Rice Paper. “We must walk softly and leave no mark”. Well as the following pics show Rice Paper is for sissies. Try walking quietly here. It is a challenge with the drop of as much as 5-6 feet on the other side of the fallen trees and all the down and dead branches everywhere. We all love the rain days before the hunt to quiet down our heavy trodden boots. Better yet in the morning at “Ohh dark 30” when we are trying to set up our spot you cannot see the trees or the holes around where you walk. Flashlights too are forbidden. If you can see better so can the elk see you better too. Give a toddler a flashlight when they go to bed and have them come to you if they are scared. Yep you can see them from down the hallway coming.
If you can walk quietly here you are the man.
Well I am enjoying this hunt much with the sharing and comments from all of you. The last pic is of where I will be with the best chance of finding elk. Unless something really exciting happens before opening day this should be the last post. Tomorrow I will go in at 3am to try and get a pic of the elk moving. After that I do not want to spook them any more.
