Come along on a DIY elk hunt with me this year in Colorado. Pictures added

[wooddamon1]

   

[Gen273]

Thanks Gil,

I must have missed your post on the stoves, I will look the thread over again.

You have given me back country fever!

[Gil Verwey]

Charlie it is the last paragraph in the water post.

I hope I did give you the fever. Life is short, back country is fun.

[Bill Turner]

Gil:
Can't say enough good things about this thread. 60 pounds in 6 months is amazing weight loss. My hat is off to you my man. It is truly amazing what we can accomplish when we set our minds to it. Thanks for sharing. I'll anxiously await additional comments and pictures. God Bless and "Keep'Um Sharp".  

[Matty]

[stujay]

I keep checking back...lots of good info!  

[str8jct]

I just spent the last 1.5-2hrs catching up on this one.  Nice job Gil.

Need to read through this again...perhaps a dream can come true!

Thanks Gil.

[Gil Verwey]

Thanks guys.

I am waiting for a few items to arrive and then I will take pictures and describe the equipment I used. Also what we are doing to plan this years hunt. I have a contract with the outfitter and I am ready to sign it and ship it out.

Yesterday my hunting partner stopped by and he is fired up too.

This year I will be going in a little heavier since we have an outfitter packing us in on horseback. I will be bringing extra clothes and food. I will show what I bring when packing in and then what I am bringing in this year. This is to just give you an idea of equipment. Mine worked great but like everything else there are alternate makes and models.  

What we do is a little different than what some do. We don't hunt with our camp on our back all the time. We backpack into the area we intend to hunt. We pitch camp and hunt from that camp for several days. If that area doesn't pan out we move to preplanned alternate areas.

In the next few days I will have everything ready to go and will pick up the thread again.

[Mike Bolin]

awesome thread....thanks for sharing so far and look forward to more!

[Roadkill]

Awesome post!  Altitude is a killer, and i am in pretty good shape for being 64. When my knee heals from surgery last week i hope to out doing cardio.  We live at 5000 feet and hunt at 9000 .
 I did a DIY  griz hunt in Ak and had a moose tag.  Got up on a smallish bull, and declined.  It would have been like taking out a VW a piece at a time over muskeg.
DIY hunts are made by a partner that is compatible.  Miserable when your best friend turns....

[Gil Verwey]

I am very lucky in regard to a hunting partner. He genuinely is happier to see a hunter partner score than himself. He gets more excited when a hunting partner scores and he doesn't too. Plus he is a great woodsman and asset in camp. We both believe in letting the other guy hunt the way they want do what ever they want on these trips and we are each there to fully enjoy the experience. We both enjoy the outdoor experience and being there so hunting is just an added bonus.

If something happened to him or I, the other person would continue to this on our own, because we each love the experience of being remote in the outdoors, whether it is Colorado, Montana, Alaska, Ohio or Maine.

We are both lucky in that respect. Since I have had a great partner all these years I guess I have taken it for granted. I may have to give him two kisses this year in camp to make up for it. Ha!

[Tater]

Bump this one up to the top.

   I'm enjoying reading this thread good information for anybody who wants to DIY an Elk hunt.

 I DIY every year...  

[S C Mercer]

This ranks up there with one of the most informative and educational threads I have ever read here,, or the 'Wall.  Thanks so much for taking the time with this Gil.  I hope you are rewarded 10 fold on your upcoming hunt.  I will look forward to the 'rest of the story'.  ~Steve

[fnshtr]

Let's keep this one up guys. I will try to add some pics and specs on my bivy food in the next couple of days.

Thanks Gil for a great thread.

[Gil Verwey]

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!

[njloco]

Gil,

The way I have been reading it is, it is about us, with a lot of help from you and some others, this is some really good advice and pointers.

Thanks a lot for all of it!

[fnshtr]

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).

[fnshtr]

 

[fnshtr]

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.