Balancing sleep with time hunting

[HighUintas]

I'm wondering what most guys are doing regarding balancing hours of sleep vs staying in the woods until legal shooting light is done, especially when you have a long hike in/out.

I have a couple of places where it's a 1-1.5hr hike from vehicle to spot in woods I like to sit at sunrise/sunset. This time of year, it means I have to get up at 4am or earlier to be there on time. If I want to stay until I can't shoot, that means I wouldn't get back to my tent until 10:15 or so and wouldn't be sleeping until 11-11:30. If I'm hunting for more than a couple days, 4-5 hrs sleep a night doesn't work well for me as I move constantly through the day outside of sitting for a few hours.

What do you guys do? Nap in middle of the day? Deal with sleep deprivation? You do just fine on 4 hours of sleep? Do you start hiking out early enough to get to sleep earlier?

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Naps are your friend. I actually throw a lightweight hammock in my pack for the mid day naps.

 

[CorbLand]

I hate early archery season due to this. I do not function well on no sleep. I generally try to take naps mid day and every couple days, I take a night off and catch up on sleep.

 

[khunter]

I'm wondering what most guys are doing regarding balancing hours of sleep vs staying in the woods until legal shooting light is done, especially when you have a long hike in/out.

I have a couple of places where it's a 1-1.5hr hike from vehicle to spot in woods I like to sit at sunrise/sunset. This time of year, it means I have to get up at 4am or earlier to be there on time. If I want to stay until I can't shoot, that means I wouldn't get back to my tent until 10:15 or so and wouldn't be sleeping until 11-11:30. If I'm hunting for more than a couple days, 4-5 hrs sleep a night doesn't work well for me as I move constantly through the day outside of sitting for a few hours.

What do you guys do? Nap in middle of the day? Deal with sleep deprivation? You do just fine on 4 hours of sleep? Do you start hiking out early enough to get to sleep earlier?

I do not hike out earlier that is for sure.

no need to return to camp mid day for September seasons if that is what OP is asking about. I wonder why you are not already napping during the day out there which would make your wuestion moot. Nothing beats a nap on the mountain.

Have almost never returned to camp midday only to hike back in same afternoon. I hunt till I run out of active elk options then position wherever makes sense and take a good nap on slow days where I am not too busy getting somewhere to hunt or actively stalking/calling elk.

For Sept elk, guys are NUTS if they are mostly not hunting midday when on elk. easy enough to get a great nap as well while out amongst the elk. “Camp” hold no appeal to me at all so just never jonesing to be “at camp”.

 

[TaperPin]

More sleep and less rushing around during meals is the main selling point of backpack hunting.

Still, we often sleep at home and get up really early, or a trailhead camp just makes sense hunting all sides of a big drainage. Don’t eat at camp/home - save camp time for sleeping. Nap when you need to - I’ve hunted with guys that pack their sleeping pad for mid-day siestas. Don’t fiddle dink around the fire telling stories until 10:00. If you need more sleep think about what’s more productive, early morning or late evening. I always see more mountain animals early, but antelope hunting early isn’t as important as the last part of the day after you’ve glassed and followed a big animal or two. We’re definitely the most sleep deprived during antelope season.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Early archery can be rough for sleep for sure. A good middle of the day nap is King. I never leave early or arrive late.

 

[BBob]

Nap in middle of the day?

Yes. It doesn't always happen but it's definitely on the daily agenda.

 

[Skerhunter]

What I have found works for me is having a very comfortable place to get good sleep, good meals and being efficient.

Prepping daily food bags and taking premade food for supper makes a huge difference. I can get back to camp at 10:30 and be in bed by 10:45 with my pack loaded/coffee prepped for the AM.

Personally I would rather hike an extra 5+ miles every day just to get a better nights sleep and eat a ton of real food.

 

[waspocrew]

Definitely recommend the mid day nap. During prime time, I wouldn’t want to be hiking out early to make it back to camp.

 

[elkliver]

MId-day nap... otherwise tough it out. Its a limited opportunity time period, make the best of it while you can otherwise in January you will be kicking yourself wishing you had hunted harder

 

[Poser]

It tough and there is no easy solution.

1. Eat dinner while you are out hunting. May or may not be practical depending on the situation. I also don't want to eat a heavy meal and then climb 1100 feet in .8 miles. So, kind of depends, but sometimes it is an option.

2. Start rehydrating your meal just before you start biking back to camp. It will be ready as soon as you get back, reducing time spent awake. Also, really long rehydrations in the hour or hour+ range tend to make most meals even better.

3. Sleep closer to where you are hunting or on your glassing point. I often face the dilemma of hiking 1.5-2 hours vs. camping. Heavier pack, but you can wake up 15 minutes before glassing light and be behind some optics with a cup off coffee vs hiking 1.5 hours in the dark. I'm slow to get going in the morning and don't like to be rushed. and then, of course, you partener will invariably have to take a dump at the most inconvenient moment. Its nice to eliminate that, but not always practical. You will definitely get more sleep, often by as much as 3-4 hours, which is huge.

 

[Mish-pop]

I do not do well on little sleep after a few days. Nap if able but no matter what that 4th morning is a bear to get up and I know I will have to sleep in. At that point I have an idea where some bedding areas are and will glass into them from a distance when I get out.

 

[def90]

Uppers...

 

[rclouse79]

I am better at getting up early to be at my area by first light. I could use some improvement on staying out until last light when I am sleeping at the truck. I like having a lightweight sleep system with me so I can stay out if the hike back to the rig is substantial.

 

[insanelupus]

What do you guys do? Nap in middle of the day? Deal with sleep deprivation? You do just fine on 4 hours of sleep? Do you start hiking out early enough to get to sleep earlier?

D. All the above, depends on the day.

 

[Dave_]

Im not a great mid-day napper. Also at least where I hunt, If you know where elk are going to be mid-day getting there early early am is overrated because they are usually in transition as soon as the sun comes up. Also I like hunting all day, Ive shot most of my bulls around bedding between 10 and 2, and hunt the transition areas right at sunrise and sunset. So if I feel drained, I'd rather sleep in for another hour than leave the field early.

I also only make quick meals with NO dish cleaning. When I get back to camp I get my backpack ready and pack my lunch for the next day so i dont have to do it in the am. warm up / scarf down a pre-made burrito and pass out.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[LeftyWilbury]

i try my best to shoot stuff in the morning. i don't like tracking things at night, or butchering all night to a headlamp. and for all the times i've gotten up early and hoofed it up a mountain to freeze my ass off sitting at sunup, 85% of all the animals i've shot have been between 10-11am.

naps are good though. i support midday siestas.

 

[Dos Perros]

I just sleep when I get home.

 

[highcountrymuley]

Not a great mid day napper here either, but I will try it this year. I usually hit a wall about day 4 cuz I'm trying to find a new spot midday - hiking around while it's hot out. I usually take an easier day around day 5 to recharge. I ll hunt the a.m. and stay close to camp and still hunt the evening.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

I am packing a foam pad to go under my Xtherm this year to try and get better sleep in the mountains. It's definitely easier if you can camp closer to where you're going to hunt. When it really sucks is if you're climbing 1000' every morning.