I was thinking about taking a pack and hiking in several miles setting up or leaving enough to get by for five days maybe a week. And just heading out from there for my daily hunts. It seems like a great idea to get out past the road hunters. Only issue is if a guy gets one then I quess I will have to pay the price. Does anyone have any comments or tips on spike camps or anything else I might want to know about them. I will be hunting out in washington st. for Elk deer etc.

Well dude if your out in the thick gnarly black forest bring some Wonder bread and a Bic butane cause thats where your most likely gonna have your dinner.

advice, ya do it!!

one thing i like, i got one of them little straws that filters water, sorta feels like sucking a milkshake through a straw. anyway, one of those makes it pretty easy to find water. one of those little 20 ounce bottles with the filter is great too.

for food, i like mres. taste isnt always the best, but a lot of calories, ya dont have to pack as much food.

other than that, no real advice except the obvious. have a great hunt.

Thanks huntnmuleys that is a good idea.

Better be good at staying down wind.

Bring lots of food and chocolate covered doughnuts.

I was going to do that last year except taking a quad in instead of hiking(can't hike due to knee problem,not laziness!).That also would solve the problem of getting a deer out of the woods.Don't know if that is an option for you though,just a thought.Anyway whatever you do...have a great hunt!!

Yeah I like the quad idea but the public land where I hunt most trails do not allow quads except for the orv trails. My goal is to get away from the majority. Quad would be great though.

I hear ya !!! I also hunt public land and am suprized every year by how many lazy hunters there are.Guys driving arcoss fields in 4x4's with big block V8 growling....do they really expect to see anything!! Constant traffic on the back roads,windows down,heads hangin out......no wonder the rest of us (majority) have to endure the stereotypes non-hunters have about us.

Amen XTP that is nothing but the truth thanks for responding.

"Spike camping" is my preferred style of hunting (and I hunt WA also).

Much of what you need depends on the situation. Can you make a fairly easy run for more supplies? If not you will need a fairly stout amount of gear for 5+ days.

Early season water is the biggest factor. I always have a filter, but some areas just have little available, and others have plenty.

Storing gear is not as easy as it sounds, esp. if you will pack it in any length of time before you hunt. Rodents and bears can get into almost anything unless its damn near bullet proof.

What kind of weather do you need to prep for? Where I hunt cold is not usually a factor, but wet certainly is.
In really wet weather even a serious tent and storage is no fun at best and a soggy miserable mess at worst.

I figure I can handle almost any conditions on a bivouac for 1 or 2 nights. After that if things are miserable and wet and I'm suffering from lack of rest I start looking for more amenities, even if that means the seat or back of the truck.

You have to have some plan on getting meat out. I usually have help and/or a game cart.

It is a great way to hunt. Just pick a good area so you don't run into more hunters coming from some other access point than there were where you left from.