Solo Backpacking - how far off the road?

[lbasilon85]

How far off the road is the maximum for you guys when you are alone? Also, do you pick up and move camp every morning if you havent seen anything in the current area?

 

[jmez]

Depends on the area, terrain and where the elk are located. One spot we hunt in MT is just under 5 miles to where we camp. From the truck it is pretty much uphill on a good trail until we get to the campsite. Coming out is an easy, unobstructed walk. I wouldn't camp 5 miles in if it involved a lot of steep up and down with deadfall etc.

CO where we hunt it is about 1.5 miles and most of that is straight up through a lot of deadfall, not trail. That is plenty far in that type of terrain. Another area in the same unit we go about 3 miles, gradual uphill on an established trail.

I don't move camp every morning. If I move my camp it is back to the truck and I move to a completely different area. If I were hunting a new unit and didn't know where I was going to find the elk then I would truck camp until I found them. Then I would carry in a spike camp. No reason to carry all that weight and set everything up if there are no elk in the area. Walk in light and check it out first.

 

[juan trueno]

3 miles from the truck is about as far as I want to pack one solo- as my personal rule of thumb. 3 miles means I can usually be done that day or only have one load the next morning and means the meat/ carcass never goes more than a couple few hours unattended

If i find myself feeling like I need to get 5
Miles or more in there it usually means I need to take another look at the map and get smarter.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Similar to the above posts. I didn't realize what hazardous conditions I was putting myself into until i packed out a few animals in the 1.5 to 2 mile mark through steep or downfall laden terrain in the dark. I quickly realized that I had been fooling myself by hunting 4+ miles from the truck and glad I never got anything down that far back while alone. Now I make certain to have pack animal support if I'm more than a few miles.

Keeping camp very mobile and the ability to pack up quickly and move is a huge advantage to me. I try not to get too cozy or attached to a good campsite in case I find reason to move suddenly.

 

[204guy]

There are so many more variables to consider than simple distance, that your question is completely open ended. Elevation gain/loss, trail or not, deadfall, boulders, temps, time available, physical ability, bear concerns, etc.

 

[BrentLaBere]

Great points have been made. Terrain is the biggest factor and then weather/time. Ive had a 5 mile pack out that was easier than a . 7 mile pack out.
I dont move camp in the morning or evening. Typically a mid day task. The reason for me is I dont normally hunt in the middle of the day.

 

[TripleJ]

There are so many more variables to consider than simple distance, that your question is completely open ended. Elevation gain/loss, trail or not, deadfall, boulders, temps, time available, physical ability, bear concerns, etc.

Spot on. It's amazing how far 1/2 mile can seem with a full pack on, when it's straight up hill and you're crawling on your hands and knees though tunnels in the brush and climbing under/over logs, ie. the coast range of Oregon. Trail miles vs. cross-country miles = big difference.

 

[GregB]

I hunt by myself so for elk 3-4 miles depending on terrain and weather.

 

[NJDiverDan]

I like to keep it 2-3 miles from where I can get a truck or ATV to. Now, that may not be the trail head I started from, but figure I can move after the 1st load.

On moving camp, typically I do not like to hunt with camp on my back, so if I find the area dead, I will move mid day to try to find sign. Set camp, hunt a day or 2, if still no active elk, repeat.

 

[cnelk]

I have all the gear and stuff to do the solo / 3+ mile pack-in 'thing'.

But I keep running into elk and killing them less than a mile from my truck.
Maybe its because all the guys going deep?

 

[*zap*]

 

[530Chukar]

A buddy and I did 8 miles in Colorado this year. Might as well been solo as we killed two bulls opening morning. Had them both out by 3 pm on the third day of the season. The temperature is going to be your big limiting factor. If it’s freezing at night and not too warm during the day you can take several days to pack out.

When packing that far in you’ll have to think about how many miles you can do in a day and have a plan for it. We brought both elk out to the 5 mile mark the first day, then went back for camp and then took camp back to the trailhead. The following day we had to cover 20 miles to get the elk out from that 5 mile mark.

Also the further in you are the more of the elk you’re going to have to pack out at once. Just buckle down and take half at a time if you can.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[trophyhill]

I've been camping 3 miles from my truck and may hunt another mile in, but that's pushing it! I've packed elk out from that distance, and I'm not gonna lie, it's tough!

 

[chindits]

Well it’s all been pretty much said. It’s not a distance measurement but a time measurement. It’s also not written in stone. So a warm bow season it might be an hour. A fourth rifle season could be two hours but snow usually makes that unnecessary. You should consider another measurement also and that’s the distance from harvest site to camp. That’s where my most severe terrain is and it might take a couple hours to pack one moderate load of meat safely to camp.

On moving camp, I usually hunt elk where I know there are elk so it’s not necessary. The one season I had no elk the hard part was convincing myself there are bears everywhere and no elk, the easy part is backpacking 40 pounds to a new location.

 

[chindits]

Just remember that you as a solobackpack hunter, and you can not afford to make a single injury causing mistake. I think packing that second to last load of meat from harvest to camp is the most dangerous thing I do during a hunt. It will be dark, the terrain unforgiving, you will be tired and you will be thinking all about the one last load you still have to do. For some reason the very last load never seems that bad. Once it’s all in camp it’s pretty safe trail packing so nothing more than a ruck march.

 

[1shotgear]

I always go were the elk are weather its 500 yards off the road or 30 miles off the road. But with this I always have my gps and it has a sos signal on it incase I get into trouble. I also try to spot camp until I find were the elk are held up and then I will switch over to just a day load in my pack and leave the rest in the tent.

 

[11boo]

A guy in my camp killed a really nice 6x, 500 yards off a dirt road. You just never know.

 

[LongWayAround]

I had three days worth of gear in my backpack when I tagged out this year. From the truck was 700 yards to the elk.

 

[Beendare]

A bunch of you guys nailed it on all of the factors.

About the only thing to add is I've packed one 6 miles before.........and I won't be doing that again!

Walking one out with horses...12 miles is a walk in the park compared to 1/4 of that with it on your back.

 

[Jbehredt]

I had three days worth of gear in my backpack when I tagged out this year. From the truck was 700 yards to the elk.

Took the short way around that time.