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This year on our CO 2nd season OTC hunt we planned to hunt from a spike camp the first 2 or 3 days to put us in a better area. Not having hunted from a spike camp before and not having the necessary gear I had to researched and purchased a few pieces of gear. Here's my take on a few of the pieces that I used (some new some not).

Sleep system – My bag I have used for years and has always kept me warm was my Northface ElkHorn (long)rated @ 0F, after seeing and feeling what other were using on this trip, the Elkhorn has been on its last backpack hunt with me, this is one item that will be upgraded before nxt yr. There are much better options available for a backpack hunt that the Elkhorn, it is heavier and packs bulkier that many others. For padding I used a Big Agnes Q-Core SLX, it’s a keeper, but we were on a slight incline and my bag wanted to slide down a bit.

Tent – KUIU Mountain Star 2P, love this tent, light weight, easy setup, double entry, double vestibules have room for backpack, boots, rifle,… I didn’t purchase the Kuiu ground cover, I order a piece of Polycryo from Gossamergear it was much less expensive than the Kuiu and lighter than Tyvek which is where I was going before finding the Polycryo. I was worried about folding it back up after use to a decent size but it folding back up very nicely. My son and I both slept in this tent, its not a ball room, but we managed to sleep pretty well.

Food – I varied from the norm here some, not wanting to get loaded up on sodium. I started looking for alternatives, did some reading and experimenting and then decided to make my own. I dehydrated different meals that my son and I ate. Taco soup, spaghetti with meat sauce, white chicken chili, venison stew, and pasta fajioli (Olive Garden copy) all made here at the house then dehydrated and vacuum packed with a mini desiccant pack (“Do Not Eat” packet). Breakfast was oatmeal with craisins, lunch was PB & J on flat bread. Definitely will repeat this process in the future. Also I give 5 stars to HeathersChoice Packaroos.. love these, I tried Heather’s Buckwheat breakfast one morning also… Meh, not my taste.

Cook System – MSR Windburner 1L , this is a great cooker, it is very fast and very efficient, so you don’t have to carry much fuel. Some of the others in camp had a “rocket” style system, they burnt a lot more fuel and it took more time to heat the water. One negative is this cooker does not have a built in igniter. Another guy (fellow 24hcf member bwinters) in camp had a similar sized Jetboil cooker with a built in igniter, every cooker of this style should have an igniter.

Clothing base layers and mid layers – I used the FirstLite merino pieces for the base layers and love them, good stuff, I will be buying more at certain opportunities. I also had KUIU mid layer Down layers (both tops and bottoms) ready, but with the weather we had I just didn’t need it, but wow it is amazingly light weight.

GPS – I used my 5yr old Garmin Legend HCx with some free hi res maps (downloaded on-line). It is and has been very reliable and rock solid. But I also tried OnXmaps on my phone (Galaxy 5S), I’m not yet a power user and not using all of the features but I really like the ability to see my location on a zoomed in satellite image. It uses the phone’s GPS while the phone is in “airplane” mode. I’m not ready to toss my Garmin yet, but OnXmaps will certainly accompany me next time.

BTW - The young man in the photo below is my son with his first ever elk (a 5x5) that he took on this hunt, I was so happy for him on his harvest that I barely contained my tears of joy.
[Linked Image]


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Originally Posted by claybreaker

BTW - The young man in the photo below is my son with his first ever elk (a 5x5) that he took on this hunt, I was so happy for him on his harvest that I barely contained my tears of joy.
[Linked Image]


Nice!! Congrats to you and your son, I bet you're both hooked now.

And good on you for rolling your own dehydrated food. One of these days, I'm gonna give that a go.

How did you dry it?



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Smokepole,
It wasn't our first hunt, only our first backpack (spike camp) hunt. We had always hunted from a camp with truck access before. This was my 5th elk hunt, and my son's 3rd (I think) and we are still learning more each year. But I got a late start on elk hunting and I'm afraid my best physical years are behind me.

Nesco FD-75A on amazon.. about $60. Does a great job on jerky too. Plenty of resources out there on how to do it (prep, temps, time). It's not hard, but it does take some time... but I like knowing what I'm eating and how it's going to taste. This unit comes with the solid sheets and mesh sheets needed for soup like foods. I did the marinara for the spaghetti separate from the noodles... look up dehydrating "bark" or "leather". Also did the venison burger separate from the marinara sauce, I used the sauce (Newman's) right from the jar on to the dehydrating sheet.

Most meals need about 15 to 20 minutes to re-hydrate.

If you need links to resources let me know I will shoot you some.

Give it a try, good luck,



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Originally Posted by claybreaker
Smokepole,It wasn't our first hunt, only our first backpack (spike camp) hunt.


Yep, that's what I meant--hooked on backpack hunting.

Thanks for the tips, I'm making my Christmas list.



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Great info thanks! I have been rethinking food for the backcountry and may give this a try. What does a home pasta meal weigh once dehydrated and packed? Compared to Mtn Home for example.

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I can attest that sitting in camp and watching him eat real food while I age mtn house was tough. His food was way better than mine.

Im with CB - I'm proud of CBs son. Hes been elk hunting and has put in the time and effort - he earned his elk. I couldn't wait to give that boy a hug. Hopefully he'll keep hunting with the old guys.......


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Originally Posted by prm
Great info thanks! I have been rethinking food for the backcountry and may give this a try. What does a home pasta meal weigh once dehydrated and packed? Compared to Mtn Home for example.


Here's my spaghetti and sauce
[Linked Image]
We cooked the noodles then dehydrated because they will re-hydrated quicker. This also allow you to get a better feel for the serving size. I also dehydrated the sauce separately and placed the noodles between the sauce "bark" or "leather" (as some refer to it) in the bag. This keeps the sharp edges of the noodles from puncturing the bag (lesson learned). We also used thin noodles so they would re-hydrate faster.

And the meat... my son and I split one of these meat pack during one meal, but size varied just based on how much I stuck on the bag.
[Linked Image]

There no reason one couldn't mix everything together and then dehydrate. But I wanted the meat separate so we could have the option to have it available for a different meal.

I can't help much on the how much the MH weights. Maybe someone else can bring that in.

Enjoy,


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I just weighed 4 remaining packs of dehydrated food I have.

Mtn house Spaghetti - 4.9 oz
Mtn house Sweat/sour pork - 3.4 oz
Good to Go Marinara with Penne - 4.2 oz
GTG Risotto - 4.3 oz

I ate a bit of CBs spaghetti and it was better than the Mtn house. The other bonus is that you don't the sodium load that most of the commercial foods add.


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Originally Posted by bwinters
I ate a bit of CBs spaghetti and it was better than the Mtn house.


CBs?



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claybreaker's


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Originally Posted by EdM
claybreaker's


Dang, I thought there was a new brand out there....



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There is CBs - but it's really expensive 😁


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Hmmm....I'm out of work right now frown (after 20yrs with the company).

I think the guy in the "grip & grin" will let me eat some elk this winter.

Last edited by claybreaker; 11/21/16.

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Thanks!

Do you re-hydrate them in the bags you seal them?

Or, if you have a good reference for how this is done shoot it to me. Save you from me pinging you with questions!

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prm,
Yes, I try to seal the bags high and cut it high on the edge when reopening, this allows plenty of room for the water. This also allows you give it a little squeeze or two to move the water around while it is re-hydrating.

I made a couple of these
[Linked Image]
to place the bag in to help retain the heat, this is important as you may need to wait 15 or 20 minutes on some meals, when the temps are cold. These were made with a $7 sun shade from Walmart and some high quality duct tape from Home Depot. I had plenty of material remaining... (I still owe bwinters one that I said I would make for him). I eat the meal direct from the bag with a long handled spoon (or fork) from REI. using the same bag also minimizes clean up and waste (i.e. weight).

More questions? Ping away, happy to help.






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Nice, you could probably sell those.



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Originally Posted by smokepole
Nice, you could probably sell those.


Somebody already does, or at least one very similar for $5.95. I might consider it, if I don't find some employment in the coming months, but right now its still hunting season (big grin). I did buy the thicker double layer material to make mine smile


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