SPIKE IT!...Camp set ups....

[Terry Green]

I know I sure don't get enough of these in a year....but Spike camps sure are a lot of fun to bow hunt out of.

I thought it would be an interesting thread for those that are real experienced in setting up camps at the tips in choosing a site, what to look for and what to look out for, fire placement, lay of the land, door direction, 'kitchen' set ups, types of tents for types of camps, and general camp gear set ups.  Hopefully this thread will make camp more functional and enjoyable for those that like to hunt out of camp.

This thread does not have to pertain just to spike camps, longer term wilderness camps, weekend camping out of the truck, or even public campsites.......lets see what we can learn...and pics are welcome!!!

[vermonster13]

Always have the tent upwind of the latrine regardless of how far away you are, especially with the way this bunch eats on hunts.

[Roughcountry]

Your camp should be on the downwind fringe of the country you intend on hunting. The bigger your camp the more attention to this detail.

You should have a plan on how to hunt your ground with the least disturbance.

Great idea Terry.

[Sneakypete]

The first time I ever went deer hunting, at 14, I walked before daylight to a grassy clearing I'd scouted well before hand ... only to find a big hunter camp smack in the middle of it. Same today and worse, esp. among the motorized crowd, who seem to want to drive right up to the game. Elk have been shown at the Starkey research area in OR to run from the sound of motors at 2000 yards, so I'd recommend at least a mile from camp to hunt area if you're motorized, at least half a mile if on foot or horseback. Think about game travel routes, nocturnal feeding areas, etc. Camp strategically to avoid being your own worst enemy. Hunting is walking!

[IB]

What Robin said small and Down wind

 

[fflintlock]

When I camped and hunted, I would just take a 8x8 peice of treated canvas and some rope and make a lean too or a plow point type shelter,(some times referred to as a diamond wedge. It was easy, fast and real portable. I have at times made brush camps too.
 I usally take at least 1 wool blanket rolled up in the canvas and I have a haversack I throw a small copper boiler and a small fry pan in, with a bag of coffee, raw cane suger, cornmeal, salt, peppercorns, boiled beef, cured hog jawl, dried fruits, parched corn and jerky. (The beef is boiled in water and vinager and will last a very long time) !
 I like to find a good place up on a flat some where above a stream. I boil water,(am thinking on getting a purifier though). I'll set camp at least a couple hundred yards from where I expect to hunt. If I can find a "reflecter" rock that's a bonus, or a blow down root ball. With a small camp, I have'nt see where it spooks the game away. I was cuddled up in between a couple of rocks one day, built a small fire tring to get warm and had a deer sneek up on me and peeked over the rocks to see what was going on, we scared the heck out of each other too !
 I build a "star fire" at the end of my canvas and hang a peice of rope from the pole or what ever, with some hooks I made to hang meat on to cook. You can let it hang half a day and it'll be fine. With the star fire your getting more heat then flame and the wood last a lot longer as well.
 It's been a few years since I've done that. When I get back to the Atlanta area, I'm gonna start again, it's been way to long.
 Last time was about 5 0r 6 years ago, at Pine Log WMA here in Georgia, on a hog hunt. There was 10 of us, we walked about 4 miles back in there and set up for 3 days. We had a good time. I showed them how to prepare bobcat for table fare. No, they don't taste like chicken, they taste like what they eat, that one evidently ate a bunch of rabbits LOL!!

[Roughcountry]

Vance, whars yer pony tied?    Better send that pic to Curtis, it'll make his teeth chatter.

I like to camp a little away from streams or water sorces. The streams won't let you hear well and camping to close to a spring keeps the critters from water. Down wind from the water if at all possible and when your getting water come in from a side so's you don't leave a ton of man scent at the waterhole.

I'm getting to where I like a more comfortable camp than in years past, guess that mean's I'm getting soft or old or both.

[JStark]

These are great.  As I'm new to trad. still, it's good to see techniques that go all the way to the camp!  I'll definitely be trying out some of fflintlock's ideas come this Summer.

[John/Alaska]

Generally spike camps tend to be fairly primitve with a tent being a luxury as compared to a base camp. Here is a picture that I took last fall at a quick based camp that we (SIL & 2 grandsons) set up for a couple of nights about 35 miles up the chisana.

It was high and it was dry and was set up in the dark when we ran out of daylight. But it was comfortable to hunt out.
 

But then we found that we had company in the area. This bear trail was about 15 feet from camp.
 

We tend to like to be near a source of water and either along side or back in the trees. There was no time to really clear a site on this trip so we just took what we could get. Also like a source of firewood near by.

[fflintlock]

Man, I'll bet them kids had a blast, did'nt they ?
 I know I would have. I've always wanted to go to Alaska, never made it, yet.

[hormoan]

Yup downwind of where I'm hunting, if walking in. Opening of the \\leanto\\teepee\\tent facing east Indians knew well. Close to water source if possiable, and sheltered by hills\\trees. Just don't like being under trees though. When those storms go to trying to tearing down the camp. I perfer not to be under any trees! Or close enough they can reach me curled up\\hiding in my sleeping bag! Its great to camp next to a cord of firewoodcut and split& dryed. Never happened yet! Man I like a BIG FIRE AT NIGHT! NOTHING BETTER!

          Dang now I'm ready to go!

                      Brent

                       Brent

[tippit]

Base camp for winter dog sledding trip.  Balsa branch floor and plenty of dead black spruce for fire wood.  That big red thing at end of sled is me     Doc
 
 

[OconeeDan]

Throw a few Hot Hands hand warmers in the bag at night if you are cold!
Dan

[John Havard]

When hunting in the mountains you want your spike camp located such that you simply roll out of the sleeping bag and start glassing.  Setting up a spike camp in a location from which you still need to hike in order to begin hunting defeats the purpose.  Don't waste any of the best hunting time hiking to or from a hunting location.  Place your spike camp in an advantageous spotting location.  

Proximity to water, either in the form of snow or running water, is a must for choosing a location.  Situating the tent in a location with some/good wind protection is also beneficial.

I've had Dall rams feeding all around my tent upon waking the next morning.  Moose wander freely and are hard/impossible to pattern, so the wind is of little concern to them.

Finally, invest in a good tent.  Enduring a bad night of intense wind in a sub-standard tent can make an extra few hundred dollars spent on a top-quality mountaineering tent seem like the best investment in the world.

[IB]

All Right Jeff, You got some SAND        

Sweet stuff right there      

[Terry Green]

Good stuff guys......gotta be more.....lets here it!

[Missouri Sherpa]

www.tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=036446;p=0

I like to hunt elk in the high country.  I don't have the wind and legs to climb a couple thousand feet every morning and evening like I used to so I like to place my camp just below timberline.  I do not like to camp above timberline on the tundra because of the lightning that is prevalent up there.  I don't like to camp under trees if I can find a flat spot somewhere else.  Once on a mule deer hunt in Wyoming I camped under a cottonwood tree, nice and shady with lots of leaves.  We had over a foot of snow in an early season blizzard and I woke to the ground shaking from a 10 inch diameter limb falling next to my tent.  I don't camp where old standing quakies or dead pine trees can be pushed over in a big wind.  I like to be within a couple hundred feet of water and prefer to be in an area with abundant firewood.  Firewood is easy to come by in most places but not everywhere. I am already getting ready for an August antelope hunt and a couple of trips to the elk mountains this fall.

[Plumbob]

I like to keep my camp out of any draw, on a bench tends to be warmer and dryer.

Also when setting wall tents and leaving them for any length of time, pull all 4 sides up and leave them up. Bears tend to go in the door but not out it. Your tent will last longer.

[Terry Green]

One more time......TTT

[Billy]

How about camping/hunting out of a canoe ?? Any body got thoughts on that??

not a theft attempt,just wondering how you'd do it for a nite or two?