First off, what an adventure! Our group of six guys (two dads and four cousins) ventured west from central PA to CO for a 3rd rifle elk/mule deer hunt. This was the first western hunt for three of us, first mule deer hunt for all of us, and the first DIY rifle elk hunt for all of us. We had some old intel on the area we were hunting from some friends, but were otherwise going in unfamiliar with the surroundings. Before the trip I posted a thread asking for everyone's best basecamp tips and tricks, and the Rokslide community came up big! Pages of useful information and past experiences were shared, many of which made our trip much more enjoyable and efficient.
Here is a link to that thread if anyone is interested in what was shared: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/wanted-your-top-5-base-camp-tips-or-hacks.373375/
I wanted to pay it back by sharing what suggestions we utilized and worked best for us. I really had little to no complaints about our basecamp experience:
We utilized a 16'x20' Davis wall tent that we found on Craigslist, complete with a wood stove, rain fly and extended porch area. We paired this with a 12'x12' heavy duty pop-up canopy that served as the cook area. We fit 6 cots, a folding table and the stove in the wall tent, with a little room for some camp chairs to kick up our feet in the evening. In the canopy we had three folding tables, a couple of coolers, a cook kit and a generator.
Hunt recap to follow below!
Here is a link to that thread if anyone is interested in what was shared: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/wanted-your-top-5-base-camp-tips-or-hacks.373375/
I wanted to pay it back by sharing what suggestions we utilized and worked best for us. I really had little to no complaints about our basecamp experience:
We utilized a 16'x20' Davis wall tent that we found on Craigslist, complete with a wood stove, rain fly and extended porch area. We paired this with a 12'x12' heavy duty pop-up canopy that served as the cook area. We fit 6 cots, a folding table and the stove in the wall tent, with a little room for some camp chairs to kick up our feet in the evening. In the canopy we had three folding tables, a couple of coolers, a cook kit and a generator.
- The tent
- Six cots was a squeeze, but we made it work. It definitely helped to have a separate cook area away from the living space.
- Mouse traps were a frequently recommended tip. We set a couple on each side of the tent and caught two mice during the week.
- Various lengths of paracord worked great for a clothes line and for lashing up a meat pole (spoiler alert!).
- Hanging shoe storage worked great for keeping small items handy and off the ground.
- Camp crocs are heavenly after a day of hiking around in heavy boots.
- Definitely bring more than one heavy duty hammer. A wall tent with a fly comes with dozens of stakes, and having two hammers for two hammerers is way better than one.
- A luxury we had was a power station (200W) with a solar panel (100W) to charge it during the day. The power station was able to charge multiple devices in the evenings and run a string of LED lights that did a great job of illuminating the wall tent.
- The wood stove
- Duraflame logs worked great to extend the fire as long as possible into the night. I would not recommend burning two at once though. We tried it and the stove got scary hot.
- We brought a small heat activated fan for on top of the stove. It didn't seem to move much air, and it made a loud rattling noise when the stove was really hot. I don't think we'd use one next time.
- Our spark arrester got clogged halfway through the trip, significantly reducing airflow to the fire. You definitely want to keep an eye on those throughout the week.
- A frequent suggestion was to bring an old guy to stoke the fire in the middle of the night. Unfortunately the bladders of our senior members held out just as long as the young guys, so that theory went out the window. There was generally a mass exodus from the sleeping bags a few hours before the alarms went off to empty bladders and refuel the fire.
- The latrine
- After sorting through everyone's recommendations, we utilized a folding bedside commode with a pop-up blind. The commode was perfect, as it was cheap, light-weight, sturdy, and it folded up nicely for transport. Here is a link for what we used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001HP7AQE?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&th=1
- We dug as large a hole as we could without the commode falling in, which allowed us to only have to relocate the toilet once during the trip. Not bad for six guys living on camp food.
- We sprinkled some lime after each use and smell was a non-issue.
- Dude wipes (or equivalent) are essential. Both for the toilet and for freshening up in the evening.
- The kitchen
- We all packed waaaay too much food. This is a better problem than too little, but we would definitely pack less next time. Everyone went home with extra trail mix, jerky, protein bars, etc.
- Another luxury we had was a propane powered generator, which wasn't very noisy, and microwave for heating up dinner. This saved a lot of time preparing dinner and reduced the amount of clean up needed.
- We all took turns preparing a dinner to share with the group, pre-packaging and freezing individual portions ahead of time. Everything was delicious, and the microwave made it easy to have everyone's food ready as they got back to camp.
- Cup noodles were a popular lunch. Just add hot water (or pop it in the microwave), and you had a warm, filling lunch ready to go. Plus you could burn the cups when you were done.
- We used paper supplies for all of the meals. We burned as much as we could to reduce the amount of trash, although that probably contributed to the clogging of the spark arrester.
- We made the last minute decision to get some flats of bottled water before we headed up the mountain, and they made it really easy to grab for some quick hydration. It also allowed us to conserve the water we brought in jugs for cooking and cleaning.
- A personal opinion: My butthole sandwiches made for a tough chew, and were quickly unappetizing. I'm going need to find a different solution for my midday meal.
- Miscellaneous
- Having a battery powered tire pump paid off big time when one of our trailer tires developed a slow leak.
- There was dust EVERYWHERE. It had been a very mild and dry fall in the area we were in, and we didn't anticipate how dusty it would be and how much it would cover and infiltrate everything. We might have to bring a tennis racket next time to beat the tent before we pack it up.
- Getting to camp a day early was huge for our group of lowlanders. I never thought I would get so winded and light headed setting up a tent. I definitely needed a day or so to get acclimated to the 9,500' of elevation we were camping at. Thankfully nobody got serious altitude sickness.
Hunt recap to follow below!
