Spike Camp Position

[LBES]

Hi Folks,

I'm interested to hear your thoughts on where to position spike camp relative to elk and relative to the terrain that I'm hunting? For example, I'm spiking out multiple nights in a row and will camp in a different spot each night based on where I end up at the end of the day. If I'm hunting a big drainage, with roughly 2000' - 2500' elevation between the ridge and the bottom, where on the hillside do I camp for the night? I'm concerned with having a little camp fire be 'too close' to the elk, but frankly I've seen elk throughout the area at all elevations (more so in lower elevations). How much effect does a little camp fire have on elk? The wind seems to blow down hill all day. I'm trying to avoid hiking long distances at night as the terrain is steep and dense. I somewhat expect elk to be a little higher in elevation in the evening, but I want to be lower in elevation in the mornings.

Thanks in advance.
Ben

 

[IdahoElk]

I found that in my area any human activity alarms the Elk,that means no campfires.
Try camping at the same elevation as the Elk but far enough away so you don't interfere with their normal activity.Thermals typically come down the mountain in the evening/early morning and up during the day,that's why you wouldn't want to have a camp directly above or below them.

 

[GotDraw?]

2 years ago, my brother and I were after a good sized herd bull and three nice satellites w/about 25 cows that were bedding on a bench tucked on the side of a steep ridge, they would move off it to feed in a meadow in the evening. We almost got on them the second night.

The next day, a hunter set his tent up lower in the drainage and started his comfy, homey fire. There were no elk in the entire drainage after that. You could sit on a ridge and watch the smoke waft the entire way up the valley. He might as well have whipped out his harmonica too. He probably had no idea what he had done.

Plays your cards, takes your chances...

 

[LBES]

2 years ago, my brother and I were after a good sized herd bull and three nice satellites w/about 25 cows that were bedding on a bench tucked on the side of a steep ridge, they would move off it to feed in a meadow in the evening. We almost got on them the second night.

The next day, a hunter set his tent up lower in the drainage and started his comfy, homey fire. There were no elk in the entire drainage after that. You could sit on a ridge and watch the smoke waft the entire way up the valley. He might as well have whipped out his harmonica too. He probably had no idea what he had done.

Plays your cards, takes your chances...

Yeah - exactly what I'm concerned about. It's not that I 'need' a fire, but it would be nice if we get one of those September snow storms. I don't want to take any chances. Still undecided on how to approach the hunt. The whole point of being mobile is to be close to the 'X' and not waste energy hiking back to a base camp daily. But trying to avoid a 1 hour hike off trail and a couple 1000' elevation through the thickest brush imaginable in the dark, both morning and night.

 

[gmajor]

Yeah - exactly what I'm concerned about. It's not that I 'need' a fire, but it would be nice if we get one of those September snow storms. I don't want to take any chances. Still undecided on how to approach the hunt. The whole point of being mobile is to be close to the 'X' and not waste energy hiking back to a base camp daily. But trying to avoid a 1 hour hike off trail and a couple 1000' elevation through the thickest brush imaginable in the dark, both morning and night.

It's a tough conundrum to be sure. I've blown them out myself with camp selections and felt like an absolute idiot. As much as I love packing in, sometimes I think it can be prudent to get up a little earlier and hike in from a bit farther out (such as a base camp). Of course there are buckets of variables at play here, but still.

 

[vthokee]

What about camping parallel to where you want to hunt them? Maybe leave you a 1/2 mile hike to get to where you want to hunt in the morning. Where I am going to be hunting I am pretty sure that they will be held up in this drainage that has cover,meadows, and water. If I could get parallel to them and then sneak in to glass in the morning and play the thermals and wind would camping like that work?