posted
Everybody is welcome to add to this. I am interested in learning too. I would like to see other setups and what other people do also.
I think the more input we have on what others do and the equipment they use the better. The more information and insight the better. It will not only help others but also show them this is very doable.
We will all be helping each other and seeing alternative methods and equipment and that would be great.
I believe that once others that are very interested to try this, see many others doing it it will make them less apprehensive to try it themselves.
The idea that this thread may give someone else the confidence to try, makes me feel real good about it, because that is the reason I started it.
So Wayne, jump in and let it rip. Any others that do DIY please also join in with your insights and equipment.
This thread wasn't meant to be about me, it is meant to be for us!
-------------------- TGMM Family of the bow. Posts: 2730 | From: NewJersey | Registered: Jul 2006
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I just thought I would add a little about the food I take. I think I am a little extravagant on the food... but maybe someone here will see something they like.
Breakfast: I usually eat quaker instant oats. With the variety of flavors (apples & cinnamon, maple & brown sugar, peaches & cream, etc.) I don't get tired of them. I also have a hot cocoa as I'm not a coffee drinker. Breakfast bars could add more variety if you don't like oats. Oats really stick with me as they are a slow digesting carb.
Lunch: I love Peanut Butter, bacon and honey on tortilla shells. I use tyson pre-cooked bacon and make up my sandwiches ahead of time, sealing them in plastic wrap or in a zip-lock bag. Sometimes I do like you Gil and just have a Pure Protein bar and some jerky or trail mix. Oberto's BBQ Pork jerky from Sam's Club is the best, tenderest and tastiest jerky that I have found. If I'm real hungry and the hunting is slow during the day... I may have a hot meal. Either a MH or Ramen Noodles with chicken or tuna added. The Ramen Noodles are bad for you (very high sodium) so I use 1/2 of a flavor packet and then add tyson chicken (from the foil pack).
Suppers: I usually have a MH meal and like most all their entrees. Sometimes I'll switch out and have the Ramen noodles with chicken or tuna. I'll also have Instant Potatoes at times. Those come in several varieties such as; buttery, garlic, and loaded.
Snacks: Jerky (Oberto's BBQ Pork), trail mix (my own mix of peanuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower nuts and Reeses pieces), Pure Protein bars, Nature Valley protein bars, etc.
I rebag my MH meals in a 1 quart double lock zip lock bag (along with the preservation pack) and mark what entree it is. Then I take in a couple of the original mylar MH packages to use as "bowls". I also use the freezer bag inside the MH mylar bag for my ramen noodles and chicken.
Maybe I'm too organized, but I also like to bag each days food (Breakfast, lunch, snacks and supper) in a 1 gallon double lock zip-lock bag. The one in the pic below weighs about 1.2 lbs. That way I can just throw in my backpack the number of days I'm staying out and I'm ready to go.
By the way. I park my camper near the TH and make 2 or 3 trips into a "basecamp" and stash my food and gear. I put the food in bags suspended between trees and about 10' off the ground. Once my "basecamp" is stocked... I hunt from there on 2-5 day bivy hunts. If/When the basecamp gets low on food, I hike back out and resupply.
I'm retired and basically take the whole season off.
Pics coming up of some of the food... including a "one day of meals bag"... (hanging on the bow rack).
-------------------- 64" Toelke Whip 54@28 1 John 3:1 Posts: 769 | From: Rockport West Virginia | Registered: Jan 2009
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I forgot to mention my drink flavorings. I use tang (transferred to a double zip-lock bag) and gatorade packets. I add these to my water bladders after using both disinfection tabs and the tablets to remove the taste (to remove the residual chemical after disinfection).
I use filters (Katadyne) on occasion, but generally have very clear stream water to begin with. As stated previously, I use 2 water bladders while hunting... to cut down on trips to water.
-------------------- 64" Toelke Whip 54@28 1 John 3:1 Posts: 769 | From: Rockport West Virginia | Registered: Jan 2009
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One thing I havent seen mentioned yet is a little roll of fishing line and a few small panther martins or the like. Lots of brookies in some of the mountain creeks and they are very aggresive, will hit anything shiney. A nice fresh fish supper is dang good after a few days in and the gear neede weighs hardly anything.
-------------------- >>>---TGMM, Family of the Bow---> Posts: 1264 | From: Colorado | Registered: Apr 2009
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Here is my cooking system. It's an Optimus Crux stove and 4 oz. fuel canister. This will cook my hot meals/drinks for 4 or 5 days. I use the larger 8 oz. fuel canisters in our base camp. The pot allows me to boil 2 cups of water in a very short period of time.
The billfold is to show how small the unit is.
Note that the fuel canister fits inside the pot.
-------------------- 64" Toelke Whip 54@28 1 John 3:1 Posts: 769 | From: Rockport West Virginia | Registered: Jan 2009
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Once again this is a great post but don't get too carried away with kissing your hunting partner. I've alwys heard that one kiss is a sign of love and affection; two marks the beginning of an affair. Posts: 3057 | From: Texas | Registered: Jan 2004
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Well I am just about ready to start up the thread again.
In addition to hunting elk we try to take some grouse and we bring in a light fishing rod and some flies. We also bring in tin foil to cook it instead of a frying pan.
You can see the fishing pole on my partner's backpack.
Once the elk is down this is what we do to bone out the elk. This is real good for Colorado hunters, since it goes over the necessity of what has to be taken and ensuring that you leave evidence of sex.
Here is how to bone one out without gutting it and even getting out the fillet minion from the outside.
If you look at this picture, these alpine meadows are like a sponge. They are soft like muskeg but much wetter.
Here are the boots we used. I used the Lowa Bamffs and my hunting partner used the Rockies. You can see I now have a pair of Rockies.
The first thing I did when I got back was buy a pair of these boots. I got them over the Internet for $89 free shipping from Dicks.
I paid about $280 for the Lowas.
The Lowas were great for hiking. They were super comfortable. They had great ankle support. They were not waterproof. My feet were wet and cold for 11 days of hunting. The day we had snow I had frostbite on one of my toes. I even melted the boots around the campfire trying to warm my feet and dry the boots.
My partner walked through wetter terrain for more days than I did and his boots were bone dry. I have been wearing my Rockies for a long time now and they are comfortable, light, warm, waterproof and have great ankle support too.
The Rockies are the boots we both will be wearing this year.
In addition to boots I brought two pairs of Marino Wool socks and two pairs of silk socks to wear under the wool socks. We both do this and neither one of us had any blisters in 11 days of a lot of walking.
-------------------- TGMM Family of the bow. Posts: 2730 | From: NewJersey | Registered: Jul 2006
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