Caribou Gear

Idaho 2019 (Re)cap

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Tiredofthebickering

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I haven't left yet, but will be hitting the road by 6pm EST tomorrow! The purpose of this thread is to firstly say "THANK YOU!" to so many people that have helped me prepare and study for this year. No matter how the actual hunt goes, I've gained so much help from many people around here that 2019 is already considered a success. I'm confident that, should we find some elk, we'll be able to position ourselves to at least chase them around for a while if not get in close enough for a shot.

The other reason for this thread is do a kind of follow along for the trip: driving up, hunting (if we have service), and the drive back. We likely have one of the furthest drives of anyone that lives in the lower 48 and I figured it might be useful for others considering making the trip to see how it goes for us, good or otherwise lol. We're coming from south Florida, near Ft. Lauderdale.

Our plan for the trip is briefly summarized below:

  • My dad, sister, and I will kiss our families goodbye and hit the road about 6pm EST tomorrow 09/18. We are taking my dad's GMC Sierra which a canopy so we can stuff all of our stuff in the bed of the truck. We're planning to go with a base camp and hike out every morning so we have a fair bit of stuff but tried to keep it reasonable.
  • We are driving straight through to our destination over 36 - 40 hours in 6 hour driving shifts. This should work out to +/- 2 gas stops during each shift.
    • My sister is driving from 6pm to 12am while my dad is riding in the passenger seat to keep her company and keep her awake. I'm going to stuff some earplugs in and do my best to sleep during this time.
    • Around 12am my dad will take over driving until 6am. I'll move to the passenger seat while my sister heads to the back seat to try and get some sleep.
    • Around 6am I'll take over driving with my sister in the passenger seat and dad in the back until 12pm.
    • Around 12pm the whole rotation will start over again.
  • Assuming no major delays, we'll arrive to our camping location between 6am and 10am EST (4am to 8am local time) on Friday 09/19.
    • Our first priority will be to setup camp completely. It should take no more than an hour or two, depending on our level of exhaustion and the dark.
    • Secondarily will be to rest up and let our bodies start to adjust to the altitude. Our current elevation is +/- sea level and we'll be camping around 8,000'.
    • Thirdly, if we're rested up, is to head out for an easy evening hike/hunt. The unit is open already so we'll always have our bows with us but our primary goal will be just to get up top and sit and glass on Friday.
  • We have set aside Friday night 09/19 through Friday morning 09/27 for hunting. If we're successful (enough) we can always leave early.
    • We have 3 elk tags and 3 deer tags between us. Our plan to chase elk with any deer being a happy extra. If we fill one elk tag we'll be stoked as none of us have ever killed an elk (neither my sister or I have ever killed a deer with a bow either). 2 elk, or 1 deer and 1 elk would probably be enough to convince us to leave early and have an easier drive home over a couple days.
  • We'll pack up camp from wherever we ended up (we have several spots saved in OnX in case plan A doesn't work out) Friday afternoon and hit the road no later than 6pm local time with the same driving shifts all the way back home.
  • Again, assuming no major delays, we should arrive home between 6am and 10am EST on Sunday 09/29.
  • All in all we'll be gone just over 10 days with a total of +/- 72 - 80 hours of driving.
I'll update as we get started and throughout the hunt if we have service. If not, I certainly owe a few guys a write up on the results when I get back. Thanks again everybody!
 
ajricketts said:
I haven't left yet, but will be hitting the road by 6pm EST tomorrow! The purpose of this thread is to firstly say "THANK YOU!" to so many people that have helped me prepare and study for this year. No matter how the actual hunt goes, I've gained so much help from many people around here that 2019 is already considered a success. I'm confident that, should we find some elk, we'll be able to position ourselves to at least chase them around for a while if not get in close enough for a shot.

The other reason for this thread is do a kind of follow along for the trip: driving up, hunting (if we have service), and the drive back. We likely have one of the furthest drives of anyone that lives in the lower 48 and I figured it might be useful for others considering making the trip to see how it goes for us, good or otherwise lol. We're coming from south Florida, near Ft. Lauderdale.

Our plan for the trip is briefly summarized below:

  • My dad, sister, and I will kiss our families goodbye and hit the road about 6pm EST tomorrow 09/18. We are taking my dad's GMC Sierra which a canopy so we can stuff all of our stuff in the bed of the truck. We're planning to go with a base camp and hike out every morning so we have a fair bit of stuff but tried to keep it reasonable.
  • We are driving straight through to our destination over 36 - 40 hours in 6 hour driving shifts. This should work out to +/- 2 gas stops during each shift.
    • My sister is driving from 6pm to 12am while my dad is riding in the passenger seat to keep her company and keep her awake. I'm going to stuff some earplugs in and do my best to sleep during this time.
    • Around 12am my dad will take over driving until 6am. I'll move to the passenger seat while my sister heads to the back seat to try and get some sleep.
    • Around 6am I'll take over driving with my sister in the passenger seat and dad in the back until 12pm.
    • Around 12pm the whole rotation will start over again.
  • Assuming no major delays, we'll arrive to our camping location between 6am and 10am EST (4am to 8am local time) on Friday 09/19.
    • Our first priority will be to setup camp completely. It should take no more than an hour or two, depending on our level of exhaustion and the dark.
    • Secondarily will be to rest up and let our bodies start to adjust to the altitude. Our current elevation is +/- sea level and we'll be camping around 8,000'.
    • Thirdly, if we're rested up, is to head out for an easy evening hike/hunt. The unit is open already so we'll always have our bows with us but our primary goal will be just to get up top and sit and glass on Friday.
  • We have set aside Friday night 09/19 through Friday morning 09/27 for hunting. If we're successful (enough) we can always leave early.
    • We have 3 elk tags and 3 deer tags between us. Our plan to chase elk with any deer being a happy extra. If we fill one elk tag we'll be stoked as none of us have ever killed an elk (neither my sister or I have ever killed a deer with a bow either). 2 elk, or 1 deer and 1 elk would probably be enough to convince us to leave early and have an easier drive home over a couple days.
  • We'll pack up camp from wherever we ended up (we have several spots saved in OnX in case plan A doesn't work out) Friday afternoon and hit the road no later than 6pm local time with the same driving shifts all the way back home.
  • Again, assuming no major delays, we should arrive home between 6am and 10am EST on Sunday 09/29.
  • All in all we'll be gone just over 10 days with a total of +/- 72 - 80 hours of driving.
I'll update as we get started and throughout the hunt if we have service. If not, I certainly owe a few guys a write up on the results when I get back. Thanks again everybody!
Click to expand...


Drive safe, we are just a few hours north of you and hunt in Colorado and New Mexico. It is a hump!!! You will be tired from just sitting and staring at nothing. Love bugs are in full swing, so you have those nasty splatters to deal with. We leave for New Mexico in four weeks from tomorrow. Good luck and be safe!
 
Well, the first hiccup has happened. I almost waited writing the original post for this reason but obviously opted not to wait. My sister has to cancel.

She had to have a biopsy recently due to finding an abnormal lump. Everything is fine (Praise God!) but the biopsy site got infected. She's been battling a staph infection for a short stretch; she's on her second set of antibiotics because the first didn't help. We've been playing it by ear hoping that it would start getting better day by day but she finally had to make the call to bow out today. She can't even pull her bow back right now and doesn't think she'll be well enough to hunt. Of course the hiking at elevation and being tucked back in the woods aware from readily available medical care wouldn't be good either.

So, now the driving situation has changed a bit:
  • We're still going to leave at 6pm tomorrow and take 6 hour shifts. I'm going to start driving while dad will take over at midnight. I've neglected to mention previously that dad works overnight shift right now so the nighttime driving is actually easier on him.
  • We're going to push forward for 24 hours rotating driving and passenger/sleeping. We figured that we'll both be well rested enough that the other sleeping won't be a worry. Plus neither one of us has ever had trouble staying awake at the wheel.
  • After 24 hours or so we'll be around Lincoln, NE. We'll grab a hotel for the night and trip to crash into bed early so we can hit the road early again.
  • Hopefully we'll be on the road by 5am or so and reach our camping area around 4-6pm local time. The only priority will be setting up camp and getting rest to start hunting in the morning.
All in all we'll be about 12 hours behind our original schedule which is certainly not too bad. The really tough bit will be on the way home when we're tired from the week of hunting. Lord willing we'll have some early success so we can hit the road earlier. Either way, we've likely lost a half day or so of hunting at the end of the trip.
 
When a kid, we lived in Africa, and my mom often declared that her middle name was "flexible". Your plan has already changed for the first time, and perhaps won't need altering again, but if I was a betting man I would say that your flexibility index will be challenged again and again.

I believe that your attitude will make your trip a grand success, and wish you and your father a great adventure (and I join with you in thankfulness that your sister heals quickly).
 
Good luck on your hunt and travels, and I hope your sister recovers soon.

I was archery hunting pronghorn this weekend in almost 90 degree heat, but the weather is shifting and it's starting to feel like fall. I see forecasts for possible snow in the high country in parts of central Idaho starting tomorrow. Your timing might be good.
 
wllm1313 said:
Does everything in there bring you joy?
Click to expand...

Some brings me joy, other things bring peace, and others yet are just comfort lol.

We got snowed out in Idaho on a deer hunt in 2016 (literally collapsed our tent in the middle of the night) so we're probably being a little over cautious with a couple things. Also, we had a lot of things packed for 3 already (two double high, queen size, air mattresses for example) that we didn't bother unpacking.
 
Please keep a journal and you will discover that you did not need a good bit of the things you packed. Do not wait until next year to recall, do it while it is fresh in your mind and eyes view. We cut our load down extensively after our first year. We really over packed on food items more than anything else since we were truck camping for the most part.
 
Scarey said:
Good luck and happy hunting. Hope you have a successful hunt. Before I moved to Idaho, I hunted it 5 times over the last 10 years.
Click to expand...

I've told my wife before that there is a distinct possibility that we move, at least closer, to better hunting over the next +/- 5 years.
 
plumber1969 said:
Please keep a journal and you will discover that you did not need a good bit of the things you packed. Do not wait until next year to recall, do it while it is fresh in your mind and eyes view. We cut our load down extensively after our first year. We really over packed on food items more than anything else since we were truck camping for the most part.
Click to expand...

That's definitely a great plan.

We have a tendency to over pack in general, but especially on food. Believe it or not, we tried to pare down this year already but didn't make a ton of progress as you can tell. We're running a base camp that we're hoping to hike out of every day so we definitely brought extra we might not have just as creature comforts. And we also have yet to really start buying things specifically for this style of hunting, opting instead to use what we have. An example there is my 8 person tent that takes up a lot of space rather than a small 3-4 person.
 
FOOD/WATER

For anyone else following along looking for information, here is our food plan. Water will be 2 liter+ water bladders refilled at camp or with a filter in the mountains as needed.
  • Breakfast (at camp)
    • Instant oatmeal & Instant Coffee
    • We did splurge on good creamer because, well, we wanted to and weren't packing it around everywhere lol.
  • Lunch (in our pack)
    • Various snacks including vienna sausage (just can't get rid of that one), tuna salad, trail mix, fig bars, and apples.
    • We could definitely shave weight/space here in the future. But we could shave a lot MORE weight off of our bodies before worrying about that lol.
  • Dinner (at camp)
    • Randy Newberg Dinner Plan (TM) 😁
      • Our wives have been cooking up delicious meals over the last several months that we've been vacuum sealing. They will be reheated in boiling water at camp before bed.
      • Examples: ground deer with cheese tortellini, deer meatloaf, chicken lasagna, etc.
  • Extras
    • We're each carrying 2 Mountain House meals in our packs just in case we end up spending a night away from camp.
    • I carry a small water purifier as well in case it's needed.
    • Various celebratory items if we're successful: summer sausage from my deer last year, butter and onion for a fresh venison meal, and seasoning salt.
 
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