Spike out camp from spike camp

[mtnwrunner]

So, you've already packed 7 or so miles to your spike camp with your backpacking outfit. Now this would be in October so the weather could be nice or it could be somewhat nasty. You want to hunt remote basin that is oh, lets say a couple of miles away and you decide that you need to spend the night so you can shoot that muley first thing in the morning. Better to stay there than hump it back to your spike camp...................
I've got some ideas on gear but thought I'd pose the question for everyones thoughts. Now, I, like most everyone else, would try and keep things light so you would have to take gear with you that would be somewhat comfortable as in I don't really want to stay the night in a compactor bag....................
I'm toying with the idea of making my regular sleep system a half bag along with a quilt. That way, I'd always have my half bag with me and could use that along with a puffy which I also always carry. And I use my half bag to get in if it gets cold and I just want to sit somewhere and watch a hillside. Your quilt would be back at your spike camp along with your tent and pad being you had not really planned to stay out. I'm not sure yet on what I would use as a ground pad but I always have a short glassing pad that I use so that could be used for your torso or butt. And if the weather was really bad, I wouldn't be planning on staying the night---hump it back to camp. In a nutshell, a bivy system that is somewhat comfortable. Anyone done this or planned on something like this??

Randy

 

[5MilesBack]

My opinion is this: Whatever I'm hauling 7 miles into the backcountry for my spike camp..........IS my minimalistic setup, and that's what I'm using. So if I'm going to hunt a basin 2 miles from there, why is my spike camp 2 miles from there? I'd take it with me and set it up there. I'm not hauling around two camps worth of stuff........especially in October.

 

[charvey9]

Rather than adding additional gear to spike out, you might just be better off investing in a good ultralight waterproof bivy, bag, and pad that you can take with you when you leave camp. That's what I do when I plan to spike out. My system with 20 degree bag comes in at roughly 39oz. Like you, I also carry my puffy gear in later season so that can be used as part of the sleep system.

You could add a little more versatility with the addition of a small tarp, and then could use just a DWR bivy and save some weight over the waterproof bivy. Figure the net weight gain would be about 5 to 7oz with the tarp option.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Every time I leave camp my bivy, sleeping bag and three days food is in my pack. No jet boil or mountain house, I can live off the basics for a few days.

 

[TJ]

My opinion is this: Whatever I'm hauling 7 miles into the backcountry for my spike camp..........IS my minimalistic setup, and that's what I'm using. So if I'm going to hunt a basin 2 miles from there, why is my spike camp 2 miles from there? I'd take it with me and set it up there. I'm not hauling around two camps worth of stuff........especially in October.

I have to agree with this^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If I am going to take a sleep system with me I might as well stuff in the rest and go.

 

[Matt W.]

What bivy are you guys running?

 

[charvey9]

I've got a couple.

Mountain Laurel Designs eVent Soul bivy for my completely waterproof/weatherproof option at 13oz.

Ti Goat Kestrel bivy at 6oz for sleeping under a tarp/tent.

 

[Yellowknife]

My opinion is this: Whatever I'm hauling 7 miles into the backcountry for my spike camp..........IS my minimalistic setup, and that's what I'm using. So if I'm going to hunt a basin 2 miles from there, why is my spike camp 2 miles from there? I'd take it with me and set it up there. I'm not hauling around two camps worth of stuff........especially in October.

This is generally my system to date. Usually my camp is light enough that I just stash any excess food & fuel, pack the bag and tent and move. There is very little difference between a bivy camp and a minimal tent camp weight wise, and I'd rather not carry both on the main haul. Plus I have an adversity to carrying multiple items if one will do.

Alternatively if the base camp isn't that mobile for some reason, or I just "might" be spending the night, then just the sleeping bag + tarp or bivy comes along. However, those are usually items that are part of my camp and survival kit, so still zero duplication of gear. Sheep hunting for instance, the sleeping bag pretty much stays with me all time. Also used it to bivy under a tree on Kodiak this spring when we wanted to wait out some weather overnight





A pot on the fire and it was easy living.




In your case... why not just carry the quilt for all uses? Why add the half bag? The weight and space difference between the two can't be much.

 

[Poser]

Every time I leave camp my bivy, sleeping bag and three days food is in my pack. No jet boil or mountain house, I can live off the basics for a few days.

Hot coffee isn't a basic?

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Hot coffee isn't a basic?

That depends, I carry a titanium French press. It can be put right on the fire and makes a great cup of coffee but if I'm bivying out because I put a nice ram to bed I'm not lighting a fire in the morning.

 

[Beendare]

I'm with 5miles....why not just move camp?

I've done horseback drop camps in the backcountry where i spiked out from there as it was very rough country off trail that I didn't want to travel in the dark in both directions. no way i use a bivy anymore- not when i have a 2.2# tarptent. I would use a tarp before a bivy.....

 

[mtnwrunner]

I'm with 5miles....why not just move camp?

I've done horseback drop camps in the backcountry where i spiked out from there as it was very rough country off trail that I didn't want to travel in the dark in both directions. no way i use a bivy anymore- not when i have a 2.2# tarptent. I would use a tarp before a bivy.....

Well, because a lot of times, I'll go after something just before dark. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't. If I am PLANNING on a particular location, sure, I'll pack up my camp and go which is usually what I do. It seems that the high country mulies don't operate on my schedule. So, I am exploring the option of gear to keep me somewhat comfortable if I don't make it back to spike camp. And sure, I can always take my gear or what I think I may need to stay out but sometimes I just don't know. The bivy/tarp/quilt or half bag option with a puffy is intriguing---I was just curious of what others may do or have done. Like I said, I don't really want to spike out in a trash bag---I'd rather carry a few more pounds to be safe and comfortable. Hey, I'm old...............

Randy

 

[Rizzy]

I'd rather carry a few more pounds to be safe and comfortable. Hey, I'm old...............

Randy

That's it, right there.

I just carry camp on my back as much as possible. After it get's dark and I'm in an area I hadn't planned on being in or field dressing an animal, it's worth it. Total versatility

 

[tttoadman]

I am figuring this out also. I have a copper spur that I consider my base camp. I am committed to carrying a complete system to spike out safely for a couple days.
- Six Moons Gatewood Cape(put 24" guylines on it to get more room under it)
- Omni Raven bivy(just got this)
- I will load up my sleeping bag.
- I will load up my sleeping pad.

I struggle with the thought of the redundancy of the tent and tarp. I never really thought about stashing some of the food. I guess it isn't any different to hang it in a tree than to hang it in the copper spur. This is the first year I have ever tried anything floorless, or a bivy. I am slow to change, so I will just figure it out as I go.

 

[5MilesBack]

I have a copper spur that I consider my base camp.

My base camp is a 14x16 canvas wall tent with all the luxuries.

 

[Mad Mountain Mike]

Randy at 47 I'm no spring chicken and like you I don't leave camp with the intent on bivying out. If I'm planning on moving I take my camp with me but I don't pack it up and carry it everyday. When I stated earlier that I always take my sleeping bag, bivy and 3 days food is for last light decisions when it doesn't make sense to return to camp in the dark or when low clouds move in and visibility is nothing. Wether it's hunting or weather related surviving the night is the goal, I can go without some creature comforts for a day or two.
I used to use Tyvek and just fold it over, now I have a Tigoat Ptarmigan bivy. I've spent nights under heavy timber and also under out cropped rocks in this set up. Some nights less comfortable than others but basically wake up unscathed. Sometimes a little hardship makes your camp seem like a palace when you get back to it.

 

[Archerm]

Over the years I have changed my opinion on this. Used to be I would have a base then a bivy to spike out. Not anymore. Now days I move my camp mainly because if the animals have moved a few miles from the area they were they will probably stay there for a while. Of course my camp and pack weight is less than it used to be and this helps. Last year I didn't have to move but the year before I moved camp three different times in two weeks. I don't have any problems heading back to camp after hunting all day and moving the camp a few miles that night. In fact I prefer moving it at night.
That being said I have been known to stay over night and just made a small lean to or just slept under a tree using a space blanket. I always carry enough food for two days.

 

[Beendare]

Ok Randy, gotcha.

Seems like you are talking more like survival type kit.

I've been stuck out 2x in the past due to being in some really rough country off trial...and the other it was just pouring rain in buckets. I always have a bit of survival stuff in those cases and in the archery seasons a guy can stay somewhat comfortable out overnight with an insulation layer [puffy jacket] a good poncho or lightweight tarp and the ability to light a fire. [though tough in pouring rain in the dark] Pine boughs make for a comfortable bed/nest..and even give you a little insulation.

The 2 times i got stuck were many years ago and partially due to those little mag lights that only go 1 1/2 hrs then just go black...now we have those really good headlamps that last a long time... Headlamp, lighter, poncho or tarp, insulation layer, firestarter, knife- can get you through a lot. Add a small saw, snacks, and you live like a king! Anyone that has actually had to use a spaceblanket for overnight knows thats not the way to go.

Some nights if a guy was stuck out in early archery would be downright pleasant....those usually aren't the nights it happens! Grin

 

[mtnwrunner]

Ok Randy, gotcha.

Seems like you are talking more like survival type kit.

I've been stuck out 2x in the past due to being in some really rough country off trial...and the other it was just pouring rain in buckets. I always have a bit of survival stuff in those cases and in the archery seasons a guy can stay somewhat comfortable out overnight with an insulation layer [puffy jacket] a good poncho or lightweight tarp and the ability to light a fire. [though tough in pouring rain in the dark] Pine boughs make for a comfortable bed/nest..and even give you a little insulation.

The 2 times i got stuck were many years ago and partially due to those little mag lights that only go 1 1/2 hrs then just go black...now we have those really good headlamps that last a long time... Headlamp, lighter, poncho or tarp, insulation layer, firestarter, knife- can get you through a lot. Add a small saw, snacks, and you live like a king! Anyone that has actually had to use a spaceblanket for overnight knows thats not the way to go.

Some nights if a guy was stuck out in early archery would be downright pleasant....those usually aren't the nights it happens! Grin

Yup, I guess that is what it actually would be. More of an "advanced" survival kit. I have carried a space blanket for oh, like 45 years of hunting and have never used one and I really never want to. I usually just hump back to camp if I strayed away to far but when I get back sometimes at 2 or 4 in the morning, one may as well stayed.
Here is a photo at midnight of humping up an 1500 avalanche chute after shooting a mulie just before dark at the bottom of a canyon. By the time we had boned him out and packed up and out, bedtime back at spike camp was about 0300. As we were hiking out, we were discussing gear and what we wished we would have had to just stay there.

Randy

 

[AK Troutbum]

I've considered carrying a little cuben tarp in my survival kit. I already carry a SOL bivy in it and I always carry puffy pants and jacket. My thinking was that I could include, something like a 8'x10' tarp, stakes, and cordage (always carry cordage in my kill kit anyway) for only a 10 oz. or so wt. penalty. I think that even in the worst conditions a little ultralightweight tarp could improve your situation a lot.
My last goat hunt, last year, my buddy had shot a goat about 2 miles from our spike camp. It was in the early evening and we ended up just hauling ass back to our camp breaking down, packing up, and then hauling ass back to the kill site. We set up camp in a very heavy blow with a lot of rain and snow mix. By the time we were done and started working on cleaning the animal, it was about 11 o'clock or so at night and was early morning ( 0100 or so) by the time we climbed into our quilts. This got me thinking, had I just had a small tarp with me and some mini groundhog stakes, (I had everything else I needed) we could've just stayed right there then. We could've had the animal cleaned and then just relaxed and not had to do all that running around into the wee hours of the morning.