Must haves for a backpack elk hunt

[P Y Buck]

Merino wool base layers are a must as too. Check out Badlands merino wool base layers. They have 2 weights of it.

 

[Mosby]

Sunblock. You can get burned quick at altitude.

 

[hobbes]

I'd start with an elk tag.

 

[Flatland Newbie]

following

 

[Pwells10]

Baby wipes....100% the best thing

 

[trophyhill]

No worries thank you both it would be solo I have a tent, a pack, a sleep system, cookware, and a stove. I plan on taking mtn houses also have a msr pump style water filter and a gps I have most of the essentials I believe but I will do some more research and narrow it down. I’ve heard there’s no better way to know what you need than to do a few back packing trips and seeing what you REALLY need. It will be my first solo backpacking trip


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You have a great start and well on your way.

 

[manitou1]

ONx. Oops, I see you have the chip.

 

[Huge_tacticles]

Very good info in these forums!

 

[camelcluch]

A Benadryl pen or a few tecnu wipes are god sent when the mosquitos are bad.

 

[805Bowhunter]

 

[SBAHunts]

a couple of airplane liquor bottles to celebrate the kill

 

[Madpiper]

Make sure you get out to test your systems before your hunting trip; lots to be gleaned by trying out your gear prior to hunting. Knowing your gear works, leaves more time to focus on hunting.

 

[Rsully661]

Bow w/ arrows and a spot Hogg wise guy!!


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[Ryan Avery]

Matt is right. Rokslide is a gear-driven website(which I love). But a couple of topics that are not hit on enough. Mental toughness, yeah is brought up a lot but all BS aside its essential. Woodsmanship... it's a dying skillset. Last but not least, have everything squared away at home. Guilts a bitch on the mountain.

 

[FlyGuy]

Last but not least, have everything squared away at home. Guilts a bitch on the mountain.

Ryan really nailed it with this one. I don’t think I’ve seen it put quite this way before, but so right.

Leaving your wife behind to manage the kids/house/etc while you are off “doing your own thing” for 1-2 weeks always causes tension around our house. (This year I’ve got 2x two week hunts, so it’s twice as bad). Get things squared away as best you can before heading out, then leave it behind. Don’t let thoughts of guilt for being “selfish” on that trip and not spending that time with family instead start to creep into your head. It will probably start around day 4 while you are kicking rocks after a blown stalk. Thinking about that stuff too much and you will be back in the truck headed home, but regretting your decision before you even get there.






You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Newtosavage]

You guys make me appreciate my wife even more. Never spent a single day feeling guilty, but I have gone home a day or two earlier than expected just because I missed her.

 

[Ryan Avery]

You guys make me appreciate my wife even more. Never spent a single day feeling guilty, but I have gone home a day or two earlier than expected just because I missed her.

Didn't come from my wife. It came from inside my own head. I started backpack hunting long before it was cool mostly solo. If you give yourself an easy out you will take it. Having everything locked down at home. Wife, kids, your job will keep you focused on hunting. I spent 88 days hunting/scouting last year, 40 ish nights with camp on my back. Zero guilt, in my early days I would have had some feelings of guilt. Having your head in the right place is just as important as the gear you bring on a backpack hunt.

 

[Newtosavage]

We all do this for our own reasons I suppose.

I've hunted long enough and hard enough (or not) over the last four decades that I feel I've more than earned the right do whatever I feel like doing. If I am satisfied with my hunt and miss my wife more than I want to kill an animal, then I go home. That's only happened once, but it didn't bother me in the least. My point was in agreement with yours, that knowing things will be taken care of at home is an important part of your hunt planning.

People should do what makes them happy. This isn't a contest and nobody is handing out trophies for who put in the most work, hunted the hardest or stayed the longest. If you enjoy what you're doing, then do it. If not, then do something else. It's not a complicated formula.

Sometimes I think some guys are so worried about what others will think about their effort, that it sucks the fun out of their hunt. This is supposed to be fun. Try not to forget that.

 

[Ryan Avery]

We all do this for our own reasons I suppose.

I've hunted long enough and hard enough (or not) over the last four decades that I feel I've more than earned the right do whatever I feel like doing. If I am satisfied with my hunt and miss my wife more than I want to kill an animal, then I go home. That's only happened once, but it didn't bother me in the least. My point was in agreement with yours, that knowing things will be taken care of at home is an important part of your hunt planning.

People should do what makes them happy. This isn't a contest and nobody is handing out trophies for who put in the most work, hunted the hardest or stayed the longest. If you enjoy what you're doing, then do it. If not, then do something else. It's not a complicated formula.

Sometimes I think some guys are so worried about what others will think about their effort, that it sucks the fun out of their hunt. This is supposed to be fun. Try not to forget that.

Getting way off topic, but you are right. I wonder all the time if Social Media, forums, hell the Internet didn't exist. We'd have a lot less 'hunters'

 

[Newtosavage]

Probably so, but then that brings up the whole catch .22 situation where we "say" we need more people to support hunting (presumably by becoming hunters?) but then we also say we don't want more hunters in the field. LOL We are a salty bunch like that!

Tying this back on topic...

Something to think about is how and when you're going to check in with home. My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years now, and have both spent weeks (in some cases months) apart during that time, so a few weeks is nothing we haven't done before many times. I try to call her every couple of days if it's not a huge inconvenience, but have gone 4-5 days between just text messages too. She would prefer more often, but she never gives me grief about it either.

Of course my perfect scenario would be to have her up there with me, but she's a HS teacher, so that's not likely to happen. I give her as much information as I can before I leave, give her an update when I get there, and at that point try and give her a reasonable idea of how often she will hear from me.

My least favorite spot that I've hunted the past 5 years was within sight of a pass on a state highway. It never occurred to me before that hunt that the pass would be loaded with cell phone repeaters. I had 5 bars no matter where I went that hunt, and honestly I didn't like that at all. I made sure my next spot was in a pretty good cell phone black hole, and only came out to a ridge by the closest town every 3 days or so to talk to my wife.

So this is something to take into consideration. You won't always know what kind of cell coverage you're going to have until you get there, so be sure to set those expectations ahead of time.