How to pick between basecamp or spike camp?

[cnelk]

Put down the Newberg Koolaid and find something else to drink

 

[mtnbound]

For learning an area, I am big fan of a basecamp. It is much more comfortable. And then each morning, you drive 0-5 miles and hunt for the day. It lets you comfortably explore a fairly large area.

But once you find a spot, how do choose between basecamp and spike camp? I heard Randy Newberg say something like "under 3 miles in, he will return to basecamp". Seems reasonable.

I have done a spike camp when I found an area about 2 miles from the road that I wanted for explore for a few days. It was nice to have a fairly comfortable camp pretty close to my hunting spots.

How do others choose?

I typically always have a base camp that I work out of. If I leave BC on foot, I often start hunting almost immediately because, over the years, I have run into animals not far out of BC, or during archery elk, and I have often heard bulls bugling at night, so I have a good idea where to go.

On foot, I typically try to limit my mileage to under 4 miles, but it's more about the effort to get back to BC than the distance. I always carry a tarp shelter and a lightweight bivy bag, and if I feel it's too much effort to return to BC, I will make a hasty shelter or sleep under a tree for the night and return to BC the next day. I always have 4k calories of food with me aswell so food is not a concern.

If I leave on my motorcycle, quad, or truck, I travel for several miles before parking it and continuing on foot. Again, I try to keep my distance under 4 miles, but it's about the effort, not the distance, to get back to my vehicle.

Typically, I don't spike camp much during archery or rifle season as I prefer to do more of a backpack hunt loop for a few days, then return to my vehicle or BC, but if I decide to spike camp out for a few days, I tend to stay within 2 miles of spike camp.

For late-season, I am more likely to use a combination of base camp and spike camp, but current and future weather and conditions dictate my distances from BC or spike camp.