I surprised no one mention OXYGEN, with a smile of course.......

I am sure you have them but I always use those sock liners (not sure of their proper name). They are made of polypropelene and are quite thin. They help with the rubbing that causes "hot spots"and wicking of moisture that can cause a blister problem.

I second the baby wipes and toilet paper. I actually have a folding chair that has a hole cut out of the middle for a "commode" or should I say throne?Of course that is only used at camp.

One of the challenges is that it can be in the 80's or 90's during the day and freeze at night depending on the altittude you camp, so layers are a must. Cotton works in the heat of the day but it is an anathema any other time.

A good pair of gaiters can be handy if you have a heavy frost. They can preventmoister from seeping in the top of your water proof boots .

I have a solar shower...some years you get to use it others it gets buried by the snows... A shower is a luxury.

A good wind indicator in some sort of powder form is handy...

Take lots of extra batteries, one can't have too many, especially with a supposed shelf life of seven years.... I know I don't have to tell you this, you are a great photographer anyway, but take lots of pictures!!! One of these days we will be too old and feeble to chase wapaiti, pictures will help ease the pain .

Perhaps with the exception of location (there has to be a reasonable number of animals to go after), ones physical and mental conditioning is one of the most important features of a do it yourself elk hunt. Lombardi knew what he was talking about when he said "Fatigue makes cowards of us all". A guy can have the best gear, can shoot the eyes out of a gnat at 50 yards, and can possess all of the right stuff in his back pack; but if he can't muster the strength to climb that next ridge where the elk are he betterenjoy the thrill of justcamping.

....Now go gett'em and bring us back some great pictures and a story....we love that stuff you know!!!

The most important thing seems to have been forgotten. I'll check back later to see if anyone comes up with it.

I stand corrected! Antler Eater just posted it up! Wind Dectector!

Man - some of you guys sure do travel heavy. I thought my wife was bad...

Greg - one thing that you didn't mention was your showering mechanism. If you're outside, and only have access to a propane stove - you can heat a pot of water from a streamand use these bags to get a really good shower. They sell them at any Gander/Cabelas/Dikks Sporting Goods... If I don't get two showers a day,especially in hunting season - I feel like a stink factory.



EDIT: AE just posted about the shower... I can't function without bathing... If I've gotta stand naked at the edge of an icy cold stream, and go "Polar Bear Club" - I'll do it. I'm a little bit OCD when it comes to bathing. LOL

Dang I just wrote up a long diatribe on all the things I bring elk hunting and I lost it when I hit OK!

I'll summarize:
parachute cord - lightweight and very strong for spreading elk legs and tieing off to trees for gutting and hanging quarters later.

SHARP knives - gutting an elk isa major chore, sharpening when your hands are gunked up is not fun.

Large sealable plastic bags - for all the loose meat you'll have after you're done.

can of black pepper - cover any exposed meat that you may have to leave (while you pack other pieces out) and hang high in a tree. Keeps the birds off.

Don't take your fitness lightly.. you want to be as fit as you've ever been!

Good Luck!

Sorry to hear that fishman... one trick is to hit the "preview" button after having written a long post, THEN hit the "send" button... Yep, you can bet I've learned some of the little tricks of this forum after almost eight years or whatever it is now.

I had neglected to mention it until it was brought up, but I've got those little Windtrackers... best I've found so far. I used to use that baby powder-like stuff in the squeeze bottles, but it disappears after a few yards into thin air. These little Windtracker things float forever and you can watch them ride the thermals... Pretty cool.

Besides stuff mentioned,

small mirror (a compact is fine)
decent first aid kit

And personally, if happen to go again, I'd rent a satelite phone.

Where do you get them "wind trackers" ?

Not that hunting the wind makes any sense.

Well then Greg, i guess the last thing that we all want to give you isLUCK!

We ALL hope you come home with some new world record bull!

Good luck man!

Bawanajim, Cabela's has them. For some reason, Bass Pro doesn't.

They come in white and a flo orange in case you're in snow... I just got the orange so I wouldn't have to worry about anything. You pull out an extremely small puff of cotton-like material, and you can watch it forever as it floats through the woods. I bet one (cost of like $7 or so) would last you YEARS.