Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Drop Camp Pack List

I have been elk hunting many times, but never on a drop camp. Does anyone have a good list of must need things to bring? we will be at about 10,500-11,000. They provide Tent, Firewood, Stove in Tent, cots and water. Does anyone have any extra bit of advise? I have camped and climbed mountains before but that is totally different from this.

Thanks

Does the cot include an insulated pad? GOOD insulation? It can get pretty cold at night at those elevations and a cot is colder than the ground.

I have done the drop camp thing a few times, awesome trip if the outfitter gets you in a good location.
I am assuming you will be going horseback? If so, are you limited to how much you can pack in terms of personal gear? In my experiences, outfitters wanted to keep it to what would fit in the panniers of one pack animal. You could take more but you would pay for additional pack animals.

Dry bags like these, http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...dex&indexId=cat601233&hasJS=true
are a great way to pack your clothes, sleeping bag, etc and I believe the large, 13X32, will fit most panniers but check with your outfitter.

Enjoy your trip!

Is that all???? Ask the outfitter for an exact list of precisely what he is furnishing. Get it in writing!

If that's all, then you will need a lot of "stuff."

How many are going to be in camp??

How long are you going to be in camp?

If he supplies food, what types, amounts, etc.?

Is the food to be cooked on top of the tent's wood stove (a royal pain in the butt!), or is a two burner, etc., gas or propane stove supplied? If not, take one and fuel.

Coleman lanterns and fuel?

Take a folding table on which to prepare food, and cook.

Pots and pans and cooking implements? Forks, spoons, knives, plates, etc.? Drinking cups, etc.? Paper towels.

Dishwashing soap, scrubber, drying towels.

Coffee pot? Pot for boiling water to clean utensils?

Providing water for you?? How? Nearby creek or spring? Take a couple of collapsible buckets for carrying water and boil it in a large pot for cooking and drinking.

Firewood?? How much?? You'd not catch me out there without a good axe, couple of files, a good 30" bow saw and extra blades.

Take Rope. A bunch. Multiple uses.

Take several of those roll up folding chairs. No fun standing up eating, trying to relax after a hard day's hunt, etc., etc.

A good First Aid kit, and the knowledge of how to use it.

Before leaving home, make an explicit menu, consulting with your hunting buds BEFORE buying food, so you know exactly what all will have for breakfast, lunch-in-daypacks, and dinner. Take that menu with you so you can reference it each day. None of that confusion of "Well boys, what the hell are we gonna have for dinner tonight?"

Buy your groceries and amounts in accordance with the menu and list.

As others suggested, take a good foam pad for each cot.

Just my thoughts. I've been on seven outfitted elk hunts, one horseback drop camp, plus many other hunts in the backcountry of several States where I drove my truck to the end-of-road, set up my equipment and hunted from my base camp with my partners. The above is based on my experiences.

Might be some other things but first, find out exactly what your outfitter is furnishing!

L.W.

First question to ask outfitter. What is the weight limitation per hunter for pack in goods?

Most drop camps furnish a cook stove besides the wood stove, but not food

I'd figure 35-45 lbs per hunter for gear for a 5-6 day hunt.

Food should be able to be packed on two animals for 4 guys,including a cooler or so.

The one we are going on the limit is 70 Lbs. per person.

The outfitter provides Wood, propane stove, heater, pots, pans, utensils, Shower, Latrine, cots, water and a map of the surrounding area.

2-way radio for contacting them to pack meat out.


JM.

We get 175 pounds per hunter. They will come by once a day with extra water to check in. We may go ahead and get an extra mule or 2. They are only $100 per mule. I am at that age now where I will pay a little extra for some creature comforts.

LeanWolf,

They are only suppling the stuff i mentioned. I have thought of most of the things on your list. There is only 2 of us, so we will need more things. Usually they are 4 man camps so the community stuff is spread out between the 4 hunters. I think they might give us some extra mules because of this. Both of us don't care either way, we are taking whatever we want and will pay extra if needed. I just enjoy being in the mountains.

Do you take a mummy bag for sleeping or a larger bag with extra blankets? It sure is more comfortable than being in those small mummy bags.

LeanWolf,

They are only suppling the stuff i mentioned. I have thought of most of the things on your list. There is only 2 of us, so we will need more things. Usually they are 4 man camps so the community stuff is spread out between the 4 hunters. I think they might give us some extra mules because of this. Both of us don't care either way, we are taking whatever we want and will pay extra if needed. I just enjoy being in the mountains.

Do you take a mummy bag for sleeping or a larger bag with extra blankets? It sure is more comfortable than being in those small mummy bags.

O.P., I can't stand mummy bags. I have a rectangular sleeping bag, prime northern goose down, rated to -20* F. Outside diamater is 86" x 42". I assure you, sleeping comfort is great. It's larger than usual and heavier, but that is why the good Lord invented mules and horses: to carry elk hunters' stuff.

Although I have a full flannel liner in it, I always take a couple of wool blankets with the bag, and have used them a couple of times when it got down to -18* F., at 10,500 feet in s.w. Colo., n.e. of Durango.

I put one wool blanket under me between the bag and mattress, and the other one can go over the bag if I need it.

On one particular hunt in Utah one Fall, it was unusually warm although it cooled down somewhat at night. Inside the bag would have been too warm so I slept on top of the bag and had the two wool blankets over me. Worked just fine.

BTW, make sure you have on your list toilet paper, a good pointed type shovel, and your topo maps of the area you'll hunt.

Hope you have a great time and kill an elk.

L.W.

Take some udder cream for your sore nards from that saddle.........

If you really want to be nice to the outfitter, pack your personal gear in 2 matched duffel(s) and have the weight balanced between them.

There are times to talk, and there are times to listen, listen up real well if there is any information offered about their full-service camps, elk habits, hunter pressure and local trends.

Drop-camps are not always in the best hunting areas on the Outfitters permit, if fact I will almost always guarantee their not. Sneak some well crafted questions in there.