JFish
Well-known member
I have been planning my first western elk hunt for a year and a half. My obsession for this adventure started after watching Meateater and seeing so many backpack hunts and hunting adventures. I started consuming content on YouTube and quickly found Randy’s videos as well. I stopped hunting about 10 years ago after loosing access. I also stopped watching hunting shows because of the commercialization and unrealistic hunt experiences. To be honest I had a disdain for the hunting industry and really hadn’t been interested in anything hunting related for a long time. It was a breath of fresh air to find shows like Fresh Tracks, where both successful and unsuccessful hunts were shown and the focus of the show was not on selling you the latest greatest widget. These shows got me back into hunting immediately. I dusted off the flintlock and went hunting the last couple days of the late season 2018. The following year I had archery equipment and hunted my first white tail bow season. It also sparked my interest in hunting out west, specifically an archery backpack elk hunt.
For the last year and a half I have been piecemealing gear together and learning how to use it. I began turning my car camping trips into car camping out of my backpack and learning how to camp, hunt and fish with much less gear. I did a backpack car camping trip during rifle deer season to test out gear and find out how cold I could comfortably sleep. I have talked ad naseum about this trip to friends, family, coworkers and have slipped it into every conversation I’ve had with strangers. (Never know when someone might have some info). I invited dozens of people and after several people flaked out I was lucky to have a good friend agree to go with me. I started to focus on fitness and dropped 25lbs. I made excel spreadsheets and weighed everything. I’ve packed, repacked and gotten rid of redundant things out of my backpack 4 times in the last week. I have obsessed and looked forward to this trip for a long time.
I have 7 days until my trip begins. Although it was circling the drain due to a covid exposure, I’m back on track after a negative test. My expectations are that I will have a great time on a brand new experience. The goal is to either hear a bugle, see an elk from a far, rip some questionable bugles of my own, and if all else fails get some pictures of great scenery. This forum has helped me immensely. I have searched, read and learned so many invaluable things that would have otherwise left me much lower on the learning curve. Thank you to all that answered my questions and to anyone that contributed info on this forum.
Hopefully I don’t get the runs.
For the last year and a half I have been piecemealing gear together and learning how to use it. I began turning my car camping trips into car camping out of my backpack and learning how to camp, hunt and fish with much less gear. I did a backpack car camping trip during rifle deer season to test out gear and find out how cold I could comfortably sleep. I have talked ad naseum about this trip to friends, family, coworkers and have slipped it into every conversation I’ve had with strangers. (Never know when someone might have some info). I invited dozens of people and after several people flaked out I was lucky to have a good friend agree to go with me. I started to focus on fitness and dropped 25lbs. I made excel spreadsheets and weighed everything. I’ve packed, repacked and gotten rid of redundant things out of my backpack 4 times in the last week. I have obsessed and looked forward to this trip for a long time.
I have 7 days until my trip begins. Although it was circling the drain due to a covid exposure, I’m back on track after a negative test. My expectations are that I will have a great time on a brand new experience. The goal is to either hear a bugle, see an elk from a far, rip some questionable bugles of my own, and if all else fails get some pictures of great scenery. This forum has helped me immensely. I have searched, read and learned so many invaluable things that would have otherwise left me much lower on the learning curve. Thank you to all that answered my questions and to anyone that contributed info on this forum.
Hopefully I don’t get the runs.
