How far before you spike?

[Thess87]

Just for conversation. If your getting into elk in a spot how far will you hike every morning and evening to get to them before you spike alittle closer?
Farther then four miles by the Second morning I really like to cut the distance alittle.

 

[Indian Summer]

It’s not just about distance. My spike camp is only 2 miles from base camp.... but it’s all up.

 

[Poser]

Anything longer than an hour and I’m moving closer.

 

[Riflehuntr19]

2-3 miles unless it’s an easy trail.

 

[Wrench]

Distance means less to me than time. I have some places that are nearly impenetrable brush. To go a mile takes a LONG time.

To me, spike has to make sense. If I camp on a ridge I risk blowing everything under me out by morning. If I camp in the bottom, its all uphill.

For me, I like to be typically downwind of what I think is good habitats and if I have to hoof over an hour or more, I'm either reconsidering my attack plan or looking for a closer place to crash.....but it's got to be low risk.

If you have little water and go to that source for yourself......youll screw it up in short order.

 

[Billy Goat]

It's a time frame thing, not distance. Might not be all that far, if it's a first thing in the morning and hour hike, if it's a mid day area probably closer to two.

Just consider you need to haul spike out too

 

[Riflehuntr19]

Distance means less to me than time. I have some places that are nearly impenetrable brush. To go a mile takes a LONG time.

To me, spike has to make sense. If I camp on a ridge I risk blowing everything under me out by morning. If I camp in the bottom, its all uphill.

For me, I like to be typically downwind of what I think is good habitats and if I have to hoof over an hour or more, I'm either reconsidering my attack plan or looking for a closer place to crash.....but it's got to be low risk.

If you have little water and go to that source for yourself......youll screw it up in short order.

Some great points to consider here.

 

[Thess87]

Yeah I agree with everything said. I have one spot that normally holds elk and takes me a few days to kill or run them out of there and the hike isn’t crazy but takes about an hour and a half. It gets very monotonous walking same trail in and out for several days.

 

[Wrench]

Yeah I agree with everything said. I have one spot that normally holds elk and takes me a few days to kill or run them out of there and the hike isn’t crazy but takes about an hour and a half. It gets very monotonous walking same trail in and out for several days.

Last year I was doing this and early into my hike I swore I heard a guy pipe off near my truck. I figured he was trying to slow me down....so i dismissed it. That night I jumped a bull and cows 30 yards from my truck. I'm sure they were there all day.

 

[hobbes]

The area that I most often hike into and set up camp is only a little over 2 miles if I do half trail then bust up a steep climb through the timber. Its that last 3/4 of a mile where I gain 1200 feet that I hate to do, especially in the dark. The last couple years I've went in on trail the whole way, but that's bumping up against 4 miles. I can hunt the area for a day hunt but to be there at first light is rough more than a couple days in a row. The elk are often past that, so as stated above, it really comes down to time and energy exerted to get to the elk.

 

[FLAK]

Its about energy conservation too. Dont kill yourself in the commute. This becomes more understandable as you age.

 

[Spike elk]

For this old man about 30-45 minutes. A big ridge divides our camp from the area that we hunt. We drop down into a basin on the back side about 1/2 mile and 600 feet down. You young bucks would probably run right up the hill in 15 minutes. I stop to enjoy the view every 10 minutes or so, even if it is dark.

 

[Dfields6]

Thank you.....Great information for a newbie!