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Camping Gear

Old 11-16-2011, 01:38 PM
  #11  
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Muley, Everything looks great, if you can drive to where you are camping I would go with a tent with the stove option. Heat is always nice when a winter storm comes up over the mountains.
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Old 11-16-2011, 03:48 PM
  #12  
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I won't be backpacking, so i'm not concerned with weight, but I have to think of space. I have a short wheelbase Jeep Wrangler. I need to fit all the camping gear, hunting gear, and my dog in it. Plus have some room for meat if I get an elk.

I'll use the gear for some mountain fly fishing trips too, but it will be in the summer.


I checked the weather for that area during the ML season this year. The lows were 20-40 degrees. I can handle that ok with just a tent and sleeping bag. Knowing my dog. He'll be snuggled right against me. That will be my heater.
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Old 11-16-2011, 03:55 PM
  #13  
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Just because I wear pink slippers in my hunting shack does not mean I haven't done alot of camping.

I hunted for many years in CO for Elk and Mule Deer. We camped between 10,000 and 10,500 feet. And you are absolutely right. I have seen 3 feet of snow one year, and then 80* hunting the next year. So I understand your point.

We normally stayed anywhere from 8-14 days at a time. The first week for scouting and fishing, and the second week for hunting.

IMO I would not even consider a Geodesic type tent for a hunt.

We spent some money and bought a good quality, heavy duty canvas wall tent. And boy I am glad we did. I want a tent I can stand up and walk around in. Something with some real room. And I would not even consider camping at 10,000 feet without a camp wood stove inside the tent.

I can remember a few hunts where every single stitch of clothing we had was soaking wet. The hunts were miserable.

Then the next year we bought the wall tent. And we were hunting in 2 feet of snow. Al my clothes were nice and dry. Plenty of heat. Plenty of room in the tent. The hunt was a pure pleasure. Not a wet nightmare.

This is just an opinion. But I would not consider anything less than a good comfortable wall canvas tent with a stove. Tom.
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Old 11-16-2011, 04:12 PM
  #14  
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That's just not practical for me. I'm going to be alone a lot of times. I'm going with Jon next year, but who knows after that?

Plus my fishing trips will be alone. There's also deer hunts.

This is all new for me. I've only hunted with my dad until the 80's, and after that i've always been alone. I'm an independent cuss, and I like to be self sufficient. A wall tent and stove doesn't fit into that. Even if it does sound comfortable.

I've been cold and wet before.
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Old 11-16-2011, 04:19 PM
  #15  
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Hopefully i'll be snuggled in a camper with a nice heater running at night
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Old 11-16-2011, 04:27 PM
  #16  
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Good luck getting that camper to where i'm going.
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Old 11-16-2011, 04:30 PM
  #17  
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For us an Elk hunt is a vacation. Normally a full two week vacation. Plus you also need to remember that we are over 1,000 miles away from home. So we have to make sure we are set up very well.

I can understand if you live close, and can simply go home.

Maybe we look at elk hunting from a different perspective. For me it was always a very enjoyable experience. Whether I shot an elk or not. I just enjoyed watching it snow 2 feet in 24 hours at 10,500 feet.

So I guess you could say I was a bit awe struck at hunting in the "REAL" mountains. So I just like to be sure of a certain amount of comfort. And just became use to it. Tom.
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Old 11-16-2011, 04:43 PM
  #18  
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This is a vacation for me too. I'm putting everything into this hunt. It might be my only hunt for next year. I've always got up at 3am, and drove to my hunting areas. I could do it in this hunt too. It's only 40min away, but I don't want that. I plan on staying there for the whole hunt.

I don't need to get there early. I'll have it scouted out by the time ML season starts. I'll get there the afternoon before the first day of the season.

This is another thing I didn't mention. I don't plan on setting up camp in one area, and staying there for the whole hunt. It's a huge area, and has lots of good areas to hunt. If one area doesn't work out, or if too many hunters are in the area. I'll move right away. So, I need to stay pretty mobile with an easy to setup camp.

Sort of like backpacking in a Jeep.
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Old 11-16-2011, 04:48 PM
  #19  
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I did a lot of camping in my life. Too much I think sometimes. Since space and weight is not a factor the cot is OK.. otherwise I would say, loose the cot and save some space. Those ground pads are real comfortable if you take the rocks out from under you. And a super warm sleeping bag might not sound necessary, but believe me.. when you get cold, you'd give up your gun for a good warm sleeping bag. I would take the extra warm one and then a good blanket. So if the temps are real warm, just use the blanket, but as it cools at night, that extra warm sleeping bag will sure be good.

I use a canvas sleeping bag with a flannel liner and of course its insulated. Its made so that if you don't want to put up a tent, you can just use the bag. Its nice and comfortable in there. I've camped in -30 below and even though the bag was rated for extreme cold, I had a wool blanket inside with me, my wool socks on, and was still cold. Just because it says -40 below, it will be comfortable at O degrees as well.

That is a nice tent. And a good tent is the key to comfort. When I went with friends we had a canvas wall tent with a little wood stove in it. 8x12 foot that we could stand in, and play cards in. But when I went alone I had a two man mountain tent that has a floor in it, and it was very comfortable for myself and my large labrador retriever. That tent should be real comfortable, except when it rains all day and you sit in it all day in the damp and cold.

I have a friend that uses an extra large ground blind for his tent. He's kind of crazy but he says it keeps the rain and snow off him and most important, the wind. He then uses a ground pad and a real good sleeping bag. He camps all the time in that goofy blind of his.
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Old 11-16-2011, 04:51 PM
  #20  
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Yeah thats another thing muley, how early should i get up there?
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