Rookie CO Elk hunter - random observations/changes after 1st DIY/OTC hunt

[fwafwow]

My buddy and I were unsuccessful in CO units xx and xxx, but we had a great time and we are already planning for 2020. Here's a list of things I would do differently, things that were more important than I expected, etc. Because we took a break mid-trip in Steamboat, I was able to change some of these during the trip.

1. Possibly change my backpack - my MR Metcalf fits great, but I hate the access to it - especially with the water bladder. The new Exo has much better access. Good news is that my hunting buddy is working building on a new backpack after comparing a bunch in the market and hopefully it will be ready by next season.
2. Don't get obsessed with being lightweight
   • my stove (BSR at 25 grams) was super light, but it took forever to heat up water. Was able to swap out for much heavier, but way better, Jetboil. 100 seconds to boil 2 cups of water, vs. 5-10 minutes.
   • I cut out lanyards and replaced with really thin cordage - stupid. Stuff got tangled repeatedly
3. Food:
   • I had way too much food and wasn't nearly as hungry as I expected - perhaps due to altitude
   • I packed by the day, but going forward would pack by type so that it's easier to get to what I like
   • Some stuff that tastes great at home (Heather's Choice dinners) can be very heavy on your stomach at altitude - IMHO. The spaghetti was WAY too acidic and neither me nor my buddy could stomach it. We ended up buying ramen noodles - not the best for you, but way easier to get down.
4. Beetle kill - wow. We underestimated how impassable "trails" could make getting deep very difficult. (We thought the trails would be the easy part, and that after that there might be some effort.) . The USFS in Steamboat (we went by in person) was NOT helpful (the lady at the front desk was a complete b**ch). I am sympathetic to the USFS not having the budget, or personnel, to keep up with the dead trees on the trail, but how about letting the public know? The link to the Roaring Fork TH in Unit 14, for example, doesn't mention *anything* about how hard it is to go up the trail. We finally figured out that the USDA is responsible for spraying, and they have a map. https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprd3828619.jpg
5. Water:
   • I love my bladder for drinking while I'm walking, but it's a pain to refill. Maybe a different pack would help, especially if there was a clear external pouch so you can see how much is left.
   • I added 2 one liter Smartwater bottles to the exterior of my pack. One with plain water, mainly to use to boil water for food (as it was easier getting water from the bottle than from the bladder for that purpose), and one to which I added powdered electrolytes.
   • I liked my Sawyer Squeeze, but we had to get water at one point from a pretty sketchy stream (see attached). I was glad that I had Aquatabs as backups, as we added them to the filtered water.
   • Include alcohol wipes in my water filtration kit. Maybe I'm clumsy, or paranoid, but I kept worrying that I was having dirty water get in contact with my clean water bag, and using these to wipe down the outside of my filter, etc. gave me some comfort.
6. I will start using saline nasal spray and chapstick as soon as I arrive. Not sure if it is the dry air or altitude, but I was surprised how much CO messed up my sinuses and lips. Might sound crazy, but I'm still paying for the sinus problems more than a week after the trip.

 

[Biminabe]

Thanks for posting and awesome job for getting out there and cutting your teeth. Great to see someone giving to the forum vs trying to take (all the "help me... I dont want your honey hole, but...." threads)

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+1

 

[Htachie Dawg]

Almost the same as my list of things I learned. All true for me

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Those Sawyers are good filters. I have filtered similar looking stagnant cattle pond water with them.

 

[wyosam]

Lips and sinuses are primarily hydration. Protect lips from the sun using chapstick with sunblock, but 99% of the problem is being constantly dehydrated. The air in the mountain west is very dry, and you're exerting yourself all day. It takes WAY more water a day than you'd think. Its probably a big component in food tolerance, too. Good luck next year!

 

[Mturney]

Look into the sawyer quick connect fittings. They tie into your hose so you dont have to access your bladder. If I am in a hurry I dont even take off my pack to refill.

 

[5MilesBack]

I lost 12 pounds just the last week of the season from lack of appetite and exertion. And that was from a truck camp where I had hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ ribs, fried chicken, and a few other things. Sometimes I'm just not hungry up there. Lost a total of about 20lbs for the season which is about my average. It will take the next 11 months to get it all back. I would guess that most guys take more food than they will actually eat up there.

The beetlekill........I actually gave a buddy crap this year because he went in with his chainsaw this summer and cleared some trails. I told him "now everyone will access it". I prefer them to not look like trails at all. Most the time I don't use trails anyway.

For the water bladder, as mentioned get the quick connects/disconnects for whatever brand you have. Then fill directly through your drink tube. I don't even have to take my Camelbak out to fill it.......just pull the bite valve and snap in the filter tube and fill it.

 

[Txbownut]

Good recap. Thanks.

 

[Wacko]

I would say water, water, water.....

When you come to dry elevation like Colorado, get here a couple days early. Water, vitamin C, and more water.

Dehydration and elevation affect every one different. Based on your lack of appetite, I would also say you were dehydrated. Figure out how to make it so you drink more. Carry more if you have to!

I don’t like to use bladders. Hard to tell how much you have gone through - or not gone through. I mostly use bottles to be able to monitor what I have. Yes - I take a bunch....

Food.....find something you WILL eat. Sometimes crap just sounds good...bring it so you eat. Or, it will sap your energy, make you not as involved, and effect your overall ability to “hunt”.

Last I will tell you this....it took me a long time to learn “elk are where you find them”. If you aren’t seeing elk, move. If you aren’t seeing elk, move again.... They will move further, and NOT be in areas sometimes for weeks at a time...move until you find them. Tag unit limitations of course....

 

[Grant K]

Don't be obsessed with lightweight is good advice, but there is some nuance to that....don't sweat bringing the stuff that actually matters (good food you will actually eat, an efficient stove, A sleeping system you can actually sleep in) but cut out all the crap most people carry that you don't need, (if you have to think about it for more than 2 seconds you probably don't need it) in the end most people will probably actually have a lighter pack if they followed this advice..

As far as food, if you're not eating you are getting slower and not recovering, if you are covering ground like you should be it's almost impossible to eat enough, bring real food that you will eat, even if it weighs more, and consider adding meal replacement powder/drinks on top of what you are eating to keep up with what you are burning... being somewhat fat adapted is good, but regardless, if you are bringing/eating less food you are likely going to be running at a reduced compacity after a couple days.

 

[coloyooper]

And that was from a truck camp where I had hamburgers, hot dogs, BBQ ribs, fried chicken, and a few other things.

I need to hunt with you next year!

 

[Btaylor]

I need to hunt with you next year!

Right?

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

If you wanna get rid of that metcalf quick I know someone who is lookin

 

[fwafwow]

Ha! I will probably hold onto it until my friend's new pack comes to market.

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[5MilesBack]

As far as food, if you're not eating you are getting slower and not recovering, if you are bringing/eating less food you are likely going to be running at a reduced compacity after a couple days.

I hear this a lot........but by the end of the season when I'm at my most calorie deficit state......I'm always running strong. Just push through the finish line.

BTW.........I love Ridgeway and the surrounding area.

 

[Mi_fiveo]

Couldn’t agree more with the saline spray and chapstick. I use both daily on Colorado hunts. The air is unbelievably dry.


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[Mn Sawtooth]

I was thinking some of the same things like getting rid of my BRS stove it is a nice lightweight system with a titanium pot but I agree it seemed like it took a long time to boil water and used a lot of fuel compared to at home here in MN. But is it a big deal to wait a few extra minutes for water? I use a Exo 3500 and was also thinking about getting rid of my bladder I do have a disconnect to refill but it seems like it takes up room on the inside. I am thinking 2 smart water bottles too.

 

[11boo]

The quick disconnect bladder refill mod is the way. I hunt from a base camp and keep a 7 L bladder up high in a tree full of clean water. My 3L pack bladder gets refilled in 30 seconds.

 

[AaronMColeman]

I live in Wyoming at 8000' and hunt within 20 miles of my house for the most part, and the dry lips and razor blades in the nose never go away It's dry dry dry here. But, to be honest, I don't drink much more water than I did living other places. The dry and the "acute mountain sickness" can be a real problem for people who show up one day and hunt the next. Before I lived here it would take be about 3 days to get used to it. Altitude takes a long time, but the headaches and general crappy feeling from "acute mountain sickness" would take a few days to go away.

 

[cnelk]

"4. Beetle kill - wow. We underestimated how impassable "trails" could make getting deep very difficult."

***

You got a real lesson there. We've been dealing with beetle kill for years.

This fall, we hiked thu an area with blow downs for a bout 1/4 mi. - just to get to another area to hunt. Its so bad, I put up reflector tape just so we can find our way thru it in the dark.

One day my buddy decided to count how many trees we climbed over to get thru it.

74 blow down trees we go over - one way - in 1/4 mi.