Packing camp in

[knowsnothing]

Hey guys, trying a new area for a DIY elk hunt in Colorado. Hoping to pack about 2 miles in and hopefully find someone with horses looking for side cash to pack us in. Have a few leads there but planning for the what if. We originally were thinking just spend the day and take several trips, but one of my customers says he packs in all the time using sleds. Rigs it up and hooks it to the pack. Claims it works slick even in the high back country. Just wondering if anyone else has done this or has any other tricks from experience? Area is wilderness so game carts are out.

[Cheetah]

Sleds might work if the trail isn't rough or steep. Also depends on the altitude and if you are in decent shape. Best plan might be to sort your gear so you are doing 1-2 night spike camps with your vehicle as the base camp. That way you can shift areas if needed rather than being stuck with no horses and too much gear to haul back to the truck.

[Scoot]

I posted my bivy set up a while ago- the link is below. There are lots of options regarding this, but it largely comes down to how much comfort do you need in camp? If you need great food, a big camp chair, and lots of cushy nicieties, doing a bivy or bivy-type setup probably isn't for you. If you can get by without these things, or like me, enjoy skipping all of the unneeded garbage, bivy hunting might be the perfect fit. One thing to think about too, is what the heck are you going to do if you plan on making multiple trips just to haul all your gear in, then you shoot an elk or two??? This would be a nightmare- a bunch of trips to haul all your gear back out and even more trips to haul an elk out. By the sounds of it, the camp trips would be around two miles and the elk trips would probably be more. Sounds like a recipe for failure to me...

My bivy setup allows me to haul my entire camp on my back, and carry a small load of meat out in my first trip back to the truck. After that, I carry a frame pack and a large fanny pack- this lets me carry water and some other needed items, but to be geared for heavy loads of meat, cape, and horns.

My suggestion is this- if you need a nice, comfy spike camp, either look into a drop camp or figure out a way to hire a horse ride in. If you can live without a lot of luxuries, look into bivy hunting. Do a search on the topic and you'll find more than you could ever imagine on the topic... One thing bivy hunting has definitely taught me- I really don't need a whole lot of things I was convinced I needed.

Bivy gear

[knowsnothing]

Thanks guys. Last time we had horses pack us in but that is never locked in until we get there. I will search that as you addressed my main concern. I wanted to have a two mile head start and one elk would not present an issue, but with 4 hunters there is always the what if factor. We were not going in with chase chairs, but were planning a wall tent and stove. Other than that stripped down hunt. Thanks for the tip and I will search that out..