Spike Camp: Stacked Like Cordwood
 

This was our first year for our using a “spike” camp and led directly or indirectly to a series of new experiences. The idea was to have a temporary (jerry rigged and done on a shoestring) shelter (with heat) down in the midst of our hunting area that we could use as a refuge if it was a bitter cold opening day -- a place to thaw out, and as a place where those who did not yet have their elk at the end of day one could spend the night and thus spare themselves the 4 mile hike out and then the 4 mile hike back in within 10 hours thus making the follow up day of hunting more doable. The plan was that there would not be much more than 2 or 3 over night guests. I had stocked it with 2 therma rests and 2 sleeping bags of my own for community use and anyone additional could bring their own bag. Well, the best laid plans of mice and men…..

As the first day unfolded most of our elk were shot much later than usual and by the time we got them quartered and hung in trees to cool it was getting late and after taking stock of things we decided the five us would all stay overnight in the spike camp and those with meat to pack would leave the next morning and those without would go “back on stand” in pursuit of the wily elk. Five men and two sleeping bags hmmm, time to improvise a little here…. Might require just a little “cowboying up.”

First came food, we had stocked the spike camp with groceries that were either ready to eat “as is” (including lots of elk jerky) and soups and drinks that only required hot water and were self contained -- no dishes. It is amazing how good things taste when you’ve been worked hard and it’s cold and you are hungry! With dinner done we emptied out the tent (9’x11’ dome).

We laid all the rifles at the far end of the tent away from the heater and carefully stacked and padded them. We laid the two thermarests cross ways of the direction we intended to sleep, one at butt level and one at shoulder blade level. Then we bedded four of us down shoulder to shoulder (all out door clothing still on – coats and all). We unzipped the two sleeping bags and laid them crossways across the top of us. Next we took the three military ponchos and covered that. Next we took two canvas pannier top covers and used those as our “bedspread”. What about the fifth man? Wel,l with the tent being 9’ there was just enough room for him to sleep cross ways at our feet. For blankets he used the saddle blankets from the horses plus there was enough pannier top cover to cover him up also.

My oldest son put himself in charge of running the propane “buddy heater” by Mr. Heater. Normally, if everyone had their own sleeping bag we would just let the tent “go cold” that was not an option that night. Buddy Heaters have an oxygen sensor that shuts the system down if it senses the environment is short of oxygen, the problem is they are erratic (to the safe side) above 7,000’ so it would run for about a quarter hour – and then shut down, then tent would cool in a half an hour and then he would restart it or someone would ask for it. It did make for a long night, BUT it was warm and it was restful (enough). It did make it easy for everyone to get up and there we were – right in the thick of prime elk country!

Two hunters went back to hunting and were on stand an hour before sunrise. The other three and the pack horse with the 6x6 bull on board headed for the main camp as the sun broke the eastern horizon. Didn’t make very good time on the way out, especially in the last mile since as we approached the trailhead, we were stopped by everyone we met which was quite okay but I couldn’t help but think, “You boys should have been on stand 3 hours ago and a lot further away from the road! We’ll be using a spike camp set up next year and of course we will have to “improve” on it --- the problem is then it doesn' t all fit on one horse.

Here is a snap shot right after we kicked everyone out of the tent after eating and before getting ready to call it a night:



Here is a snap shot took of us all bedded down under the pannier top covers, it was pitch black, he just held the camera up and shot it with the flash on -- kinda funny.



Two days later, here is another shot of the whole camp loaded onto one horse before we put the top cover on and then lash roped it down. [top cover and lash rope are on the ground lower left of photo]



Any thoughts? What do you use for a spike camp set up and still keep it easily transportable (pros and cons)?

EKM

RE: Stacked Like Cordwood
 

We have not used a spike camp as of yet. Our camp is situated a ways in at 10,400 feet so we are right in the middle of the elk anyway. However, With out a doubt, I will be puting up a spike camp of sorts next year during bow season at only a few feet below timber line so that I can catch the big trophy bulls heading over the saddles into the next drainage, which faces North - Northwest, to keep cool.

On the last day of the archery season this year my 10 year old son was with me and we were hiking our way up to one of the saddles. We began smelling elk a few hundred feet below timber line. As we SLOWLY stalked our way up the mountain I knew we were getting closer to the elk. Well we got to the top of the saddle and just over the ridge a few hundred feet down there were FIVE different bulls bugeling at each other and none of them were more than 200 yards from each other and all of them sounded like large bulls. THey all were sounding off with deep, long, growling bugles and finishing off with chuckles. Being the last day we were going to be there and the fact that my son was with me I didn' t want to decend over the ridge to attempe to get one. He had to get to school and so did I the next morning. We never did get to see them but we sure did get pumped listening to them for two hours non stop.

I Know exactly where the spike camp will be next year. Well above the elk waiting for the big boys to come up to me. That sure will save me many thousands of vertical feet hiking up and back down each day.

RE: Stacked Like Cordwood
 

You now have photos, sorry for the delay!

EKM

RE: Stacked Like Cordwood
 

The areas that we hunt are usually accessable by vehicle. Even in the Ruby Mountains where we hunt, we can get up to 9000 feet or so by vehicle. It may only be 2 miles or so back to the vehicle or another road to get picked up so there is no need to set up a predetermined spike camp. We have only hunted deer as of yet, because we haven' t drawn any elk tags. Most of the area that the elk inhabit is BLM public land, and doesn' t go much above 8500 feet at the peaks. This is all sagebrush, and PJ stands. The only reason that we may need a " spike camp" is if we were to bag an animal late in the day and farther than about a mile or so away from the roads. We would just pitch a leantoo shelter of some sort with our military ponchos, build a fire, and keep warm that way over night with the animal- my dad has done this once in Wyoming with a spike elk- and wait until morning when it would be safer to work on getting the animal out. My dad and I do not have a problem with this. He was in the military and did cold weather training. He taught a wilderness survival class when I was in the boyscouts (and still does today). When it was my turn to learn, there were 4 of us doing it. We did it in February, there was about 6 inches of snow, we had to spend the whole night out without interaction with each other. I went the whole night without a sleeping back and was able to keep my fire going the whole night- at the age of 14. If I were forced to stay out overnight, I would definately build a fire and stay awake, no matter how tired I was. We usually each carry an MRE for emergency use, as well as other snacks and such between meals during the day.
We do have a pretty good set-up for the main camp though. We have a 12x14x5' wall tent. We take a 16' tarp and drape over the first 4' or so of the tent and then out front to make a shelter for the cooking area and storage area. I worked out pretty good. We had it up for about 3 weeks straight last year. This made it nice, as we were about 40 miles by dirt road from the nearest town. I had work and school, and my dad was on vacation, so he just came into town one day, stayed at home, and then left again the next morning. We have a Miller 3500 watt generator/welder and a military light set to keep things lit up. The stove is surplus military and warms that tent up in a few minutes.
I will post pics as soon as I find them, probably at my parents house, so I' ll check today.

Here is the pic of our camp last year.
I had to crop it some, bu I will put fome full size pics on my website soon.

RE: Spike Camp: Stacked Like Cordwood
 

I had one email (I don' t know why) asking me what we would have done if there were six hunters instead of five in the spike camp -- what would we have done then?

Easy, we would have given one of the two opened up/spread out sleeping bags to one of our group and they would have slept in the vestibule of the tent (dry, just no heat) and the rest of us would have gotten along with a bit less covers, but still would have had the heater. The person in the mummy bag all to themselves in the vestibule probably would have had the most comfortable nights sleep of the group since it didn' t get below 25 degrees.

EKM

RE: Spike Camp: Stacked Like Cordwood
 

EKM,
sounds like even though you were all packed in, you all still had an enjoyable hunt. I' ve never been elk hunting before, so i cant say that ive had that experience before. I am hoping that i can someday. congrats on the elk.