What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

Okay, not trying to come off like a complete newbie here, I'm just really getting pumped up for my upcoming Wyoming Wilderness Elk hunt and am going through the list of stuff that I'm going to be packing. We will be staying in a travel trailer pulled 40 miles off pavement to start and packing out daily from there,generally driving a short distance to a trail head each morning.

I've hunted a lot growing up, but it was always unorganized and sometimes we had what we needed, but a lot of times we just made due with what we had. Now that I have to drive 1,000+ miles to go on an elk hunt instead of less than 100 miles I'm trying to be a little more organized.

I'm planning on using a fanny pack and a daypack with the shoulder straps that latch together and a waist strap. The daypack has a removable internal frame and will hopefully double as a meat pack on the first trip out and then my friend has some pack frames to haul the hindquarters out with.

Of course I will have my 7mm Rem Mag with 160gr Winchester Supreme loaded with Accubonds. I'll have 3 rounds in the clip and 4 rounds in the Butler Creek Alaskan Magnum shoulder sling. I'll have my Nikon Monarch 10x42 Binoculars with a crooked horn strap system and I will have a bear spray canister holstered (this area isserious grizzly territory).

I like to use a fanny pack and day pack and put things in the fanny pack that I need to get to without having to take my pack off my back. In my fanny pack I'll have my Gerber knife and sharpener, range finder, gps, hoochie mama cow call, head lamp and a few snacks.

In my back pack I'll have my shooting sticks strapped to the side, my first aid kit with ibuprofen, antihistamne and decongestents (I can get allergeries), bandaids, antiseptic and some guaze. I'll have some athletic tape, duct tape, 50' of nylon rope, my leatherman, some zip ties, extra pair of merino wool socks, a couple bungee cords, 2 AA batteries, an extra headlamp, TP in a ziploc bag, matches and a lighter in a ziploc bag, and some baby wipes in a ziploc bag. I'll also have 2 heavy duty trash bags anda couplemeat sacks. I'll have my 2 literhydration bladderfull of water and will carry my lunch in the backpack along with some emergency snacks (snickers bar &some granola).

I can't decide if I want to mess witha FRS 2 way radio on the trail or not and whether I need an extra knife or sharpener in the pack. I have the leatherman, but without a sharpener also I would be out of luck on skinning an elk with a leatherman if I lost my good knife. I'm planning on checking the weather on the radio and deciding whether to pack my rain gear in the backpack or wear it or leave it at camp.

My friend has a nice little cannon camera so I don't think I'm going to bring my big Nikon DSLR and don't know if I should by a little camera for this trip or not. I need to get one at some point because I never seem to have my DSLR with me because it is too big to haul around.

Back at camp I'll have a rubbermaid tub with extra ammo, butcher knife set, a bunch of AA batteries, Walker Game earphones, decent spotting scope, tripod, and video camera.

For clothing I've got 7 pair of merino wool socks, just my 1 pair of GoreTex hunting boots that I've got broken in well and one big camo jacket, 3 pairs of jeans, 1 pair of camo pants, 4 long sleeve shirts, 2 long sleeve underarmor shirts, 5 T-shirts, camo rain gear (jacket and pants), flourescent orange vest, 2 baseball caps (one is orange) and 1 flourescent orange stocking cap and 1 pair of light gloves. The season opens on September 20th and I just can't see myself packing long johns and heavy winter stuff. I realize I should have an extra pair of boots but I don't see buying a new pair this late in the ballgame as doing much good now. I'll have my running shoes as an emergency backup.

I didn't list out the food, but with the travel trailer as base camp we plan on eating pretty well.

My friend is bringing some scent killer spray andbunch of other stuff. This will be his 6th year in a row to hunt this particular spot and he knows it pretty well and has shot 4 elk out of this spot in the last 5 years. He will have the bugle and a cow call and will be packed pretty well from past experience with hiking with him but this will be the first time hunting with him.

So, with that list of stuff what would you add to or take away? I realize I'll be going early, for the benefit of others who will be going later in the year, what would you add to the list for late season hunting?

Thanks in advance.

Nathan

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

H20, compass, GPS, first aid kit, tp....

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

Water, Bic lighter, TP, basic first aid, spare ammo (couple rounds), small rope, knife and snacks, orange marking tape, area map, cell phone

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

Western MA,that stuff was in there somewhere I saw it,well maybe not the compass.:D

Nathan,
Sounds like you have plenty of stuff.I carry 2 knives and a saw(it's good for cutting the pelvic and the brisket).I carry a stone and a steel.I always carry 20 rounds of what ever I'm shooting in my pack(can come in handy if needed).
Might want to get a pair of camp shoes and throw apair of long underwear in(never know),also might want to toss in a mid-weight coat or sweatshirt.
From what I read you sound pretty well stocked up.
Good Luck
BBJ

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

The only reason I would carry my cell phone would be for the camera feature as there will not be any coverage where I'll be. I've read where they can ping your cell phone to try to locate you if you are lost, but it has to be on and I'm not sure how long the batteries would last with it constantly searching for a tower.

I'll throw inmy compass, it could be useful if my gps died and it is light and compact.

I guess I could throw in some marker tape. I've always been hesitant to use marker tape, it seems like littering to me. I've always just used a shirt or something else to mark things like where an animal is down at and never been uncertain enough about my whereabouts to think about using marking tape for potentially getting lost or anything. If the gps is working it should eliminate any need for marking tape. Anyone else have thoughts on marking tape?

I thought about the saw or a hatchet, but I've really gotten used to skinning and quartering everything without gutting it, so there is no need to split the pelvic bone. This works great for deer and I've done it with about a 300lb hog with no problems by myself, but not sure if it will work as easy on an elk. Where I will be hunting there will be no possible way to get the elk out whole so it will have to be quartered out at some point so I was planning on skipping the field dressing step. I realize an elk will be harder to move around, but you would have to deal with that whether you were field dressing it or quartering it. As many pigs as I've killed and butchered in the last year, I've gotten pretty good at getting to the joints and only using a knife during the entire process.

I've really thought this out and my pack is going to be pretty light even with all the stuff listed. I'm guessing my total pack weight to be around 20lbs including the pack. The heaviest item is the 2 liters of water. It weighs about as much as everything else combined. I thought about going light and just bringing the fanny pack each day but if I get an elk then that means an extra tripback to the trailhead to getthe backpack to carry out the first load of meat and fromtalking with my friend time is of the essence when getting the meat out before the grizzlies move in.

I've lost 15lbs in the last month working out and watching what I eat so I'm thinking I should be okay. The area I'm going to be hunting only varies about 1,500' in elevation and tops out at just over 7,000' so that shouldn't be too physically demanding compared to the hikes I went on this summer with 3,500' climbs to over 9,000' although those wore me out and made me realize I needed to get in shape before going hunting.

BBJ, I do have long johns on my list and I'll add a few sweatshirts to the list as well. I have a couple camo sweatshirts that I would have probably brought anyway. I feel silly even making this post, but I thought it might help me in case I've forgotten something and it might help someone planning a trip in the future sometime if they read this post.

Thanks for the input so far.

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

Nathan, Always carry rain gear in the mountains of western Wyoming in spring,summer and fall. An extra insulating layer is a necessity as well. When it rains the temp drops pretty fast. We have a saying here- "If you don't like the weather wait ten minutes." Weather reports are pretty useless. Carry two canisters of bear spray. I live here. Teton Valley,ID. now Teton Cty., WY before here.

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

This is what I will be carrying this year in myday pack when Elk Hunting.

2 knifes, folding saw, gerber hatchett, water filter, hydration bladder, 50 ft rope(for hanging meat) 4 lightweight game bags, 25ft parachute cord, mac daddy bugle and hoochie mama cow call, digital camera, gps, compass match holder, map, 2 granola bars and a couple other snacks, tp, 2 bic lighters, small roll of electrical tape, leatherman, first aid kit, space blanket and small rain poncho, radio, spare batteries, headlamp and micro led light, 3 small glow sticks for marking trail at night, sunglasses, fleece gloves, I think that is most of my kit, more or less depending on the distance I plan on being away from base camp.

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

i would second the extra layer of clothing. i went out yesterday after my deer and it snowed on me yesterday morning. the weather out here changes constantly. by noon yesterday it was hot again, by evening the rain had started, the wind was blowing and it was cold.

i still would bring a saw even if you dont think you will need it. i bring the kind that has the bone saw on one side and wood saw on the other. you never know when a saw will come in handy even if it isnt used on your elk.

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

FYI-Jeans will cause you problems in the rain or just plain sweat. Look for synthetic pants & shirt or under wear

RE: What's in your daypack? What's back at camp?
 

Oh Nathan I wasn't making fun of ya,just rib'in ya bit.

I once listed what I had in my pack on here and some guy pipped up and said "What no Kitchen sink" I tend to over supply and pack myself.I have to biy small packs cause if it's not full I'm forgetting something.LOL
Last year my Day Pack weighed in at 47lbs(MY DAY PACK!!!!).So this year I bought a Badlands fanny pack HOPING I won't go over bored.
Here is a list of things that are ALWAYS in my pack.
2 knives(1 folding,1 fixed),gerber saw and hatchet,20 round of ammo, compass, Flint/steel,firesticks,matches, TP,small stone and steel,100 ft parachute cord,50 ft poly rope,Algeen bottle,snacks,a packet of hot beverage,extra gloves,socks,stocking hat,gamebags,2 big Glad bags,space blanket,first aid kid,misc emergencies supplies,leaterman,sewing kit,flashlight,head lamp and lastly my lunch.
Good Luck
BBJ
oh 1 more thing I have a small bottle of iodine pills for emergency water needs