Backcountry Bedding

[Bull_Fighter]

Those of you that are planning a backcountry bivy, hiking, backpacking, spike camp excursion... What is your favorite choice for shelter?

The past few years I've been hunting solo in a hammock with a tarp above. This year my old man is coming along and need to decide Tarp or Tent? The tarp is a bit lighter but the tent gives a little more shelter from the elements. What's everyone using this year out in the elk woods?

 

[Navezgane]

Hammock is my preferred shelter, weather/temperature pending. I also have a bivy sack, 1&2 p tents for backpacking. If the forecast has even a chance of rain in it I bring my bivy, which is most of the time in the my local mountains.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Generally I find it much easier to maintain a positive mentality with a little extra comfort. If I'm really counting ounces I have a small 1 man tent (w/ a matching footprint if terrain is dicey) that weighs right around 2lbs I'll bring. If it's getting later in the year where rain and snow become more of an issue I'll bring a really light 2 man. with a vestibule. I've never hunted late enough where a tipi with stove would really be beneficial but the 4-man tut may be my next big purchase from Kifaru.


My bigger concern right now is finding a spot to camp that doesn't involve being in a gunning sight of pine-beetle killed trees. I'm one of those who learned from their dad, grandpa, great g-pa, etc.. and never pitch a tent in the way of widow makers or dead trees. Unfortunately the last few years in most of the western US this has been an issue. Am I just paranoid or what is everyone else doing?

 

[Speezer87]

I'd say avoid the widow makers. I've physically seen 4 trees fall in the middle of the woods in the past year. That's 4 more then I've ever seen in 25 years in the woods.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

I guess to elaborate a little further: how are people mitigating this hazard in an area where dead rotten trees are unavoidable? I've been to areas the last few years where no matter where you camped you could in theory be in harms way. Stepping off the estimated height of a tree into the center of a meadow and before long when you get out if ones crosshairs you have two more that just became an issue. Am I the only one in this boat or are others either braving the risk or possibly walking miles to a safe location?

 

[usmcvet]

I'm also a hammock hunter. Prior to that I used a Eureka Spitfire which performed well.
As for the widow makers, man I hate them. One year we set up a wall tent which I thought was in a good location, but when it was all set up and I noticed a huge widow maker hidden behind some trees. It was too much of a pain to move it but I had a hard time sleeping trip. It didn't help the year before during high winds widow makers dropped about three times during the night. Not sure there is any secret to avoid them. The higher the altitude I camp at the less I noticed the widow makers.

 

[Bull_Fighter]

I've been hammock camping in lightning the first night on the last 2 years of elk hunting, by myself. A falling tree or bolt of lightning down the tree I'm tied to definitely dominated my mind on those nights. Glad you guys brought up the widow makers. I'm sure they've crossed my mind before but I've never really paid much attention to setting up out of their way. Something I will definitely pay mind to this year.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

My issue is I've found a sweetheart of a basin which (due to access) doesn't see alot of use. It's in an OTC unit and is always my fall back if I don't draw any of my lottery tags, which this year I didn't. Every time I go there, there's elk.... and I've been pretty successful pulling bulls out of there (albeit not crazy good quality, afterall it is public). Unfortunately there's litterally no place to camp that's not in some way staring down the barrel of a dead/decaying tree. Western pine beetle has really done a number out there and in general this is a dense forest so I don't know how to mitigate this other than hiking out to the trailhead every night (6m). It's also in a wilderness so a chainsaw isn't an option.