Meal Logistics While Elk Hunting

[Rocky_Start]

Hi all. New to the site and planning my first elk hunt in Colorado this year. Question is eating logistics when camped out deep in the backcountry where bears are a possibility. I've thought through a few ways to do this but would welcome the insights of experienced elk hunters here. Perhaps this is a silly question but the only way to learn is to be humble so here goes...

I know you shouldn't have food in your tent and have heard some guys hang it up a tree 50-100 yards away from camp. I'm curious about the logistics involved. Do guys get up at 5AM, hike out to their food with some water and a stove and then make & eat breakfast in the dark woods before heading out? Do they take it back to their tent and make it there (seems to defeat the purpose)? Do they pick it up while heading out for the day and eat it once they get to a glassing spot (seems like a lot to carry your stove and extra water with you all day + risk of creating more scents)? Similarly for dinner - do guys stop at their treed up food bag on the way back to camp and cook and eat in the dark before heading to bed in your tent?

Look forward to peoples' thoughts, wisecracks and opinions. And thanks

 

[ChrisAU]

We did a couple things that made us not worry about bears last year and our food and I’d like more experienced people to say if they’d be comfortable or not doing this.

1) We don’t bring homemade anything. Everything we bring is sealed from a factory somewhere and gives off little to no scent. Then a days food is in a zip loc, and every zip loc goes in a dry bag. Haven’t bothered to hang it, didn’t have any issues.

2) we only eat hot meals at night. No time to waste in the morning. First guy ready to go may or may not make some coffee for the group.

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

In the dry bag hung up 100 yards away is all of my food, toothbrush, toothpaste, spoon, and coffee cup. The stove is near camp, but I only boil water in it so I don't think it is a big deal. I don't eat breakfast at camp, however I do drink coffee. In the morning I'll take down the dry bag and grab my breakfast and lunch for the day. In my breakfast bag is the single serve of coffee. I'll drink my coffee and take the trash with me in the breakfast bag. I eat breakfast at a glassing spot in the morning, or not at all. It is a dry breakfast. As is lunch. For dinner put my breakfast and lunch bag back into the dry bag and grab my freeze dried meal. I'll eat the freeze dried meal and put the trash back into the dry bag and hang it up in the tree.

Repeat process as needed

 

[GregB]

To be honest I've never hung food while backpacking in. Each days food is in gallon zip locks and I just leave it in the shelter. If it was grizzly country I would hang it but I don't worry much about black bears.

 

[cnelk]

Buy a bear tag.
The best bear repellent there is.
Seriously

 

[87TT]

My experience with bears is they seem to be more of a problem where A) they aren't hunted. B) where they have become used to people and people having food IE campgrounds, parks, heavily used areas like busy trails and such. C) where people haver been feeding them . That said, I don't sleep with my food. If I think I'm in one of the areas above, I may hang it close by with a noise maker such as a pan and spoon tied to it to wake me up so I can discourage them with a warning shot.

 

[Rocky_Start]

Awesome feedback guys. Thanks so much.

Had planned on doing mountain house scramble in the AM along with coffee before heading out but sounds like most of you lean towards dry b-fast which makes a lot of sense. Imagine you’re more hungry to start spotting game than chowing down.

Any calorie dense dry and fast breakfast you guys recommend?

 

[sotallytober]

I thought i would do mountian house every day for dinner forget that, hot meals are the way to go for dinner. ended up vaccum sealing food from the supermarket hot bar and freezing. they stay frozen with some dry ice in a cooler for about 5-7 days, and i heated them up at night in some simmering water. not the answer you were searching for but i figured i would mention it in case you spent any time back at the truck for the night.

 

[ChrisAU]

Awesome feedback guys. Thanks so much.

Had planned on doing mountain house scramble in the AM along with coffee before heading out but sounds like most of you lean towards dry b-fast which makes a lot of sense. Imagine you’re more hungry to start spotting game than chowing down.

Any calorie dense dry and fast breakfast you guys recommend?

I stuff down a Gatorade fuel bar and maybe a honey stinger waffle while waiting on my hunting partner, hiking to a glassing spot, or while waiting on the sun to come up at my glassing spot. 370 quick and easy calories that gets me by until mid day when it’s snack mode on whatever else I have in that days food bag.

Gatorade Prime Fuel Bar, Honey Oat, 45g of carbs, 5g of protein per bar (12 Count) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BGQ1M9Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_j3qoDbSMA71TN

Honey Stinger Organic Waffle,... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004F1LNDI?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

[Poser]

Not in Grizz country and bears aren’t so problematic in the Backcountry here in SW CO. I do hang food, but usually not far from camp. I get up, drop the bag, boil water for breakfast and coffee, eat in camp, and get going. I’ll brew up another cup of coffee at the glassing spot.

 

[trophyhill]

I hang mine about 50-75 yards from the tent. Knock on wood. Never had an issue. I also make sure I take out any snacks in my pack and hang anything thats touched food. Including Mt House emptys, wrappers etc. And haul it out. Very important to do that. I hate finding others rubbish in the Backcountry!

 

[jmez]

I always hang mine. In BB country we just hang it right next to camp. We eat s hot breakfast every morning. It doesn't interfere with hunting, just get up 20 min earlier.

Every days food is in a gallon ziplock bag in a dry sack. Get up, let the bag down and grab a bag take the mountain House out and leave in the dry bag. Eat breakfast throw the ziplock in pack for rest of day. Keep trash in the ziplock.

We cook/ eat right in camp when not in grizzly country.

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

 

[spike camp]

20 seasons in black bear county, and I’ve come to the conclusion, they’re just not that much of an issue.

We see bears, or bear sign every year near our different camps, but never had an encounter with one.

Keep camp clean, hang food and trash within 50 yards and you’ll be fine.

You definitely will want to be doing minimal stuff at 4:30 am, so just plan ahead.
I love a hot breakfast and coffee, but when Elk hunting out of a tent....I generally skip both and just deal.

 

[Marble]

I do back packers pantry granola for breakfast each morning (670 calories). Just needs water. Two instant starbucks via in hot water. With hot chocolate packet.

Lunch is almost always small meals while moving.

Dinner is a back packer pantry dinner, sometimes with a grouse or squirl if there is big ones around.

If im gone from camp all day, I hang food in tree...sometimes.

I'm not worried about getting attacked by a bear, more worried about losing my food.

 

[BrokenArrow]

I do exactly what poser does above. Funny that over the years we’ve both adopted the same principles here around SW CO.
I do bring a double plastic grocery bag for trash and hang it outside of and together with my food in a sil-type dry bag. Just throw a line up in any old tree about 20’ up.

The only carnage I’ve ever had is with my elk quarters! Hang that shit.
One quarter was next to my tent while I went for another. In 1 hours time it was found and hauled about 100 away. Some loose meat loss. Could have been the whole thing if I had been gone longer.
Another instance was in the middle of the night. Epic Big bull packout in unit 76 and we were spent. Passed out with the quarters between us instead of hanging it. Thought we’d be safe. Literally had a hind bag taken from right between us and we didn’t even wake up. Found it the next morning 70 yards away.
That, my friend, will never happen again! Funny what we get away with when we’re young and dumb

 

[5MilesBack]

I thought i would do mountian house every day for dinner forget that, hot meals are the way to go for dinner.

Were you eating the MH cold? I prefer my MH "hot", so it is a hot dinner.

In 35+ years of elk hunting, I can count on one hand how many bears I've seen. And my thumb doesn't count.

 

[Btaylor]

Were you eating the MH cold? I prefer my MH "hot", so it is a hot dinner.

In 35+ years of elk hunting, I can count on one hand how many bears I've seen. And my thumb doesn't count.

That's surprising. I have had encounters on 2 of my 3 elk hunts. Guess I should start getting that $100 sheet of bear repellent. LOL

 

[EastMont]

Its important to note where about you will be hunting. Is this black bear or grizzly country? All the answers above are fine for black bears, rodents are usually more of a reason to hang a food bag when not around grizzilies. I've had a skunk or similar animal ruin my bags.

When I hunt wyo/MT a clean camp is essential (and required). Instead of having a camp and a place to hang your food, or cook- change your thinking a bit. I have a place where I cook, hang my bag, hang out, and have a fire pit. THEN I pick a far off spot for my tent. So instead of picking your "camp" out near the fire ring- I pick my cook/hangout spot- then go wandering for my sleeping area 80+ yards from there. Does that make sense?

No food/toothpaste/soap leaves the hangout area. That way I can be "messy" in one area and not worry about it in my sleeping area.

I high line my stock near my tent as well. Away from the food/hangout.

 

[cnelk]

I would be more concerned about having a rodent chew my bowstring

 

[Ram94]

We usually don’t worry too much about bears but that’s with horses in camp at all times. Will be backpacking in this year and will need to be taking more precautions. Lots of good information above!