Friend bailed on our upcoming New Mexico mule deer trip

[silasd]

One approach is to get up into a campground that is relatively well-off the beaten path but that you can drive to and just camp one night next to your vehicle. That way you can always get inside your car/truck if needed. Do that once then stretch it to 2-3 nights. Then backpack in a few hundred yards and camp one night. A couple hundred yards makes all the difference but your are not far from a safe haven if necessary. Build up your distance and duration until you are ok with being several miles from the trailhead and on your own. It also lets you really test out your campong setup in terms of what works and what doesn't and what is essential vs. what is nice to have. I've paired a good 8 lbs of gear out of my pack taking these trial runs.

Thanks - I did a dry run with a buddy a few weeks ago. Tested out the gear, brought the dog, was near the truck. It's definitely doable. The big takeaway from that trip was the need to strip weight off the pack.

 

[Alpine01]

Thanks - I did a dry run with a buddy a few weeks ago. Tested out the gear, brought the dog, was near the truck. It's definitely doable. The big takeaway from that trip was the need to strip weight off the pack.

Probably the best lesson learned. It has taken me several trips to really hone the pack list down to the optimum between necessity and minimum comfort.

 

[silasd]

Probably the best lesson learned. It has taken me several trips to really hone the pack list down to the optimum between necessity and minimum comfort.

I'm going to strip out what I think isn't essential but cheat and throw it in the truck. I'm tricking myself into letting go of the three "yeah but what if" emergency fire starting kits!

 

[DonkeyMan]

I drew the New Mexico 21 any antlered deer tag this year, any input would be appreciated, sounded like this thread was based on a hunt in that unit a few years back.

 

[Popapurpadurp]

I drew the New Mexico 21 any antlered deer tag this year, any input would be appreciated, sounded like this thread was based on a hunt in that unit a few years back.

Were you ever successful in this unit? I pulled a rifle tag for November