Elk Camp

[C17loadclear]

Hey guys,

I put this in the Elk section but this could apply to any camp. I was wondering how you guys set up your base camp? I am talking setting up for more than a week and the issues that come with it.

For example, how about latrine and shower set up? Separate tent for cooking? Obtaining water/ice??

I am looking at coming out west this year with a couple of other guys to do an archery Elk hunt and have an area picked out but it has been 20 years since I had a "deer" camp.

I have the sleeping tent/cot issue nailed down but it is all the little things that I am afraid I am going to miss.

Just looking for ideas since it has been so long and thought this is the best place for that.

Thanks!!

 

[cedahm]

Hey guys,

I put this in the Elk section but this could apply to any camp. I was wondering how you guys set up your base camp? I am talking setting up for more than a week and the issues that come with it.

For example, how about latrine and shower set up? Separate tent for cooking? Obtaining water/ice??

I am looking at coming out west this year with a couple of other guys to do an archery Elk hunt and have an area picked out but it has been 20 years since I had a "deer" camp.

For >1 week camps, if you're within striking distance (<= 1 hour) of a town or even a gas station, It's good to have a 'camp day' in the middle - hunt the morning, back to camp to fix/replenish/clean for a few hours. Someone runs to town for ice, candy bars, paper towels, beer, etc and everyone else tightens all the lines and shores up all the gear while they're gone. The high end roto-molded coolers will keep jugs of water frozen for about a week, but we still get a town run in.

We don't do a full cook tent, but just a tarped area over the stove and cooking gear. If you had more than say 4 folks in camp, or you have the chance of pretty extreme weather/bugs, a fully enclosed area might be called for.

Note - If you're hunting in grizzly/brown bear country, the cooking game changes. We float fish AK every other year for 10 days and are absolutely insane about keeping the cooking setup and any clothes/gear that has contacted the smell of food over in a screen tent as far from sleeping quarters as physically possible. At home in CO, I worry more about mice and such getting into food than I do bears.


Latrine-wise, depending on the number of folks in camp, this can be as simple as a folding seat and a shovel, or as complicated as the chemical deals enclosed by a tent/tarp. We go the former route (but we also aren't usually out for more than 4-5 days straight). Certain areas may have regulations requiring chemical toilets or packing out your solid waste, although not super common in less-traveled hunting areas.

In earlier seasons, the Sun shower bags get the job done if there's any sunlight at all, but it's not going to be like a multi-head rain shower. I have been looking hard @ one of these for our rafting trips (mostly for my wife and brother-in-law, both of whom want a shower much more quickly than I do): http://zodi.com/

Beyond that, for longer trips, I'll make sure to have plenty of books/podcasts loaded on my ipad, and either small game arrows/shotgun/22/fishing rods to break up the intensity of chasing big game. Grouse never taste better than roasted over a campfire

 

[JohnCushman]

I've got a Zodi shower set up that runs off of the 1 pound green propane bottles and a shower shelter to go with it. It works pretty well and it's nice to have a warm soap shower every couple days. I use anti bacterial wipes every day and a warm water pan bath in my tent every couple days, but when I'm out for a significant amount of time or have multiple people in camp, I bring the zodi for a good real shower every few days, especially in archery season.

 

[sagebrush]

The best I can go is 9 days without a trip to town. I cook main dishes for dinner at home and freeze them in meal size portions. I use two 150 quart coolers, a kitchen cooler with 8 one gallon jugs of frozen water and one we call "the freezer". The freezer has 8 gallon jugs and 80 pounds of ice cubes with a tub in the center for frozen food storage. The second week in camp, I take the gallon jugs out of the freezer and replace the kitchen jugs with these. The third week, I put the tub in the kitchen cooler and buy ice on the food run for it.

I bought a Zodi shower and found it to be woefully lacking. I put a 5 gallon bucket on a tripod and use the pump and shower head from the Zodi. I heat water in a turkey fryer for showers and washing dishes. The water goes on as soon as we get back to camp for the night. By the time dinner is over we have enough hot water and usually have to mix in about 1/3 cold water to keep from scalding the jewels in the shower.

Another item I found to make camp more comfortable and to save on tent floor wear, I bring 3/8 plywood sheets cut to fit the tent floor and pitch the tent over the plywood. Makes for a nice solid floor to walk on and keeps the cots and chairs from sinking into the ground (which always seem to happen after a couple days). Only takes 3 inches of space in the bed of my truck or on the trailer and I park the Rhino on it while towing.

I do cooking and sleeping in one tent and put the shower in the vestibule. I use a shovel for the potty but when the wife is along (or one of my buddies that had an unfortunate experience when the snow got icy), I bring a Luggable Loo and Double Dootie bags.

 

[C17loadclear]

Great ideas!! Especially the plywood and turkey fryer idea.

We used to use the solar shower deal and add water that had been in the fire as needed. Sucked when we wouldn't see the sun for a week...

Thanks guys...

 

[hank4elk]

I use the Sagebrush set-up for food& cooler.Perishable food is in smaller Coleman.
Plus the plywood that I keep in my truck bed for a table,just add portable/folding sawhorses.Comes in handy pulling a whole elk into the bed at times.
The extras for tent as Sagebrush mentioned are an excellent idea.
I like a tarp cover for kitchen camp. Tent for sleeping or in the campershell in real bad situations.
I've used a Sunny shower for many years along with MSR bladders.
A pot of boiling water goes a long way when you do the TPA way! lol
A river/lake or creek nearby is a luxury...I'm in NM. I'm also hunting within 3 hrs of home now. Usually.

 

[HSi-ESi]

For toliet options I have one of these: http://www.eco-safe.net/ It works fine, easy to clean and comes with a hose to pump at any RV dump site. Some rivers require you to carry waste with you - and this works much better than a 5 gallon bucket. Cushman might need a bigger tank though.

We also setup a canopy for cooking under. It gives enough protection from the weather. We'll bring a standup Camp-chef stove and use a table similar to these: https://www.rei.com/product/895598/rei-camp-adjustable-roll-table

Those are a couple of things not mentioned above.

 

[sagebrush]

You can watch me set mine up by myself on this video. The last couple minutes show the interior set up. Since I was alone, I didn't set up the vestibule and just showered in the main cabin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BilTZrT4yN8

 

[glass eye]

I camp like a Spartan, set up and take down in 5 minutes. These pics were from a 22 day hunt. If I don't like an area I can move like the breeze.

 

[hank4elk]

Nice and simple like that is my usual GE.
I also like the mobility factor.
Last year I was 7 days in the rain on my elk hunt and used the big Coleman stove and a tarp area. Fire pit, the works. Sunny shower never got warm.
Felt like I was in No Cal hunting blacktails.

 

[C17loadclear]

Hey Hank4elk,

Where did you hunt blacktails in CA...Those are my old stomping grounds. We had an awesome setup up just south of bear valley(D5)...Did not appreciate it until I moved to NC...I sure do miss the National Forrest...

 

[hank4elk]

Mostly on coast,but I got a couple inland more. I hunted D5 twice.
I had a buddy with a ranch by the Gualala River that was great. Lotta pigs too.Salmon & steelhead were backup.
I mostly hunted A & D7.
I did get one Tule cow finally on another buddies ranch near La Panza.LO tag.
My only CA elk,never drew a tag in 40 yrs. Left 9 points behind.

 

[JohnCushman]

I bought a Zodi shower and found it to be woefully lacking. I put a 5 gallon bucket on a tripod and use the pump and shower head from the Zodi. I heat water in a turkey fryer for showers and washing dishes. The water goes on as soon as we get back to camp for the night. By the time dinner is over we have enough hot water and usually have to mix in about 1/3 cold water to keep from scalding the jewels in the shower.

What didn't you like about the Zodi? Granted, it's not like a hotel shower back in town, but the water is warm enough to not shrivel the boys. I've taken showers in mine in May and in November in the snow and never had an issue with the water being too cold to where I was uncomfortable. Drying off was a different issue...lol I think I need to put a buddy heater in the shower shelter from now on. I think if I was to do it again, I'd get the 2 burner unit, but so far, the single has done me and my friends ok. It is always nice to get that shower in town or back home, though But, it is nice to not stink bad enough to the point that you can at least get a hug from your wife when you get home from a couple week long trip.

 

[sagebrush]

The problem I have with the Zodi is the pump is too weak to pull the water through the heater and over your head and its hard to regulate the water temp (mostly too cold). My wife likes her shower really hot. We always ask if the water in the turkey pot is hot or "Bonny hot". Bucket on a tripod, problem solved.

 

[esracerx]

When we go we have 5-6 guys. We have 2 kodiak tents. A bit of a pain to set up, but a very nice canvas tent for the money. We have an area we put one of those awning canopy tents and thats where we cook and bs after the hunt. As far as a latrine, we use the woods a couple hundred yards from camp.

But the shower. Ain't nothing better than a shower. I'm a welder by trade so I made a trailer for the ATV. I know, some debate on whether they're necessary but its nice to have. In front of the ATV I mounted a 125 gallon water tank. I piped that into a 12v water pump. I have a solar charger for the battery. The water then goes into an eccotemp on demand water heater with the shower head inside a cabelas shower tent.

https://www.eccotemp.com/eccotemp-l5-portable-tankless-water-heater/

 

[esracerx]

The problem I have with the Zodi is the pump is too weak to pull the water through the heater and over your head and its hard to regulate the water temp (mostly too cold). My wife likes her shower really hot. We always ask if the water in the turkey pot is hot or "Bonny hot". Bucket on a tripod, problem solved.

Had the same problem with the Zodi. Plus you gotta light it. We used a 12 volt pump rather than the supplied pump. But then we were having the gas filter get clogged. Found the eccotemp a million times better. Adjust flow, and heat, battery pilot. even 3 different settings on the shower head.