Extreme weather (late season) backpack hunting?

schoolhousegrizz · Dec 8, 2022

I catch myself mainly wanting to backpack hunt these days. Just curious as to how late (or early, spring bear) in the year, the general location, and the elevation of where you were hunting, what species? How cold, windy, deep was the snow, etc. How was the hunting, what gear were you really glad you had.

As always, please please please post pics!

TerynItUp · Dec 8, 2022

I’ll share my only experience with deep snow and being packed in with backcountry gear. It was early September 2020 and Southern CO got hammered with a freak snow storm. Went to bed with snow coming down and woke up to somewhere between 24-30” of
snow. We probably would have rode it out but we had a string of 6 horses and 3 mules that would have had a hard time finding feed.

Even though we had horses, we still packed light like we were backpacking and tried to limit ourselves to 45-60lbs each.

All was good except for one thing, our tent. I’ve heard rave reviews about the floorless tipis so I might be the exception. We were in a Seek Outside Redcliff. We didn’t get much sleep because as the snow was piling up, the tent wouldn’t shed it on its own and the center pole was under a ton of weight. To fix it, we kept having to knock off the snow from the inside but it would just slide down and the tent got smaller and smaller as the night went on. We eventually took turns getting our rain gear on (to stay dry) and going outside to clear snow from the bottom of the tent. It got impossible to get it all but we did the best we could. Not sure any tent could have done better but if heavy snow is a possibility, you’ll want a better system than the one we had. You’d be miserable doing what we did for more than one night.

elks96 · Dec 8, 2022

Not hunting but have done several trips in the past into the woods in winter and used snow caves to sleep in. A good sleeping bag clothes and small candles to heat the snow cave. A tarp shelter to block wind and snow for congress…

I don’t think there is a better warm sleeping arrangement than a snow cave in the deeper snow…

JPickett · Dec 8, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I’ll share my only experience with deep snow and being packed in with backcountry gear. It was early September 2020 and Southern CO got hammered with a freak snow storm. Went to bed with snow coming down and woke up to somewhere between 24-30” of
snow. We probably would have rode it out but we had a string of 6 horses and 3 mules that would have had a hard time finding feed.

Even though we had horses, we still packed light like we were backpacking and tried to limit ourselves to 45-60lbs each.

All was good except for one thing, our tent. I’ve heard rave reviews about the floorless tipis so I might be the exception. We were in a Seek Outside Redcliff. We didn’t get much sleep because as the snow was piling up, the tent wouldn’t shed it on its own and the center pole was under a ton of weight. To fix it, we kept having to knock off the snow from the inside but it would just slide down and the tent got smaller and smaller as the night went on. We eventually took turns getting our rain gear on (to stay dry) and going outside to clear snow from the bottom of the tent. It got impossible to get it all but we did the best we could. Not sure any tent could have done better but if heavy snow is a possibility, you’ll want a better system than the one we had. You’d be miserable doing what we did for more than one night. View attachment 96229 View attachment 96233 View attachment 96235 View attachment 96234 View attachment 96246 View attachment 96247 View attachment 96245

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why in the world didn't you have the stove for that thing? i love my seek outside but its the 4 man not the redcliff. way more room in a true teepee. i never go without my stove even early fall. being able to dry out is priceless in both money and pack weight

TerynItUp · Dec 8, 2022

JPickett said:
why in the world didn't you have the stove for that thing? i love my seek outside but its the 4 man not the redcliff. way more room in a true teepee. i never go without my stove even early fall. being able to dry out is priceless in both money and pack weight

Fire restrictions.

Deerlove · Dec 8, 2022

Two things are a must got to stay dry got to have a good insulated mattress does you no good to put in an uninsulated pad on snow .

schoolhousegrizz · Dec 8, 2022

TerynItUp said:
I’ll share my only experience with deep snow and being packed in with backcountry gear. It was early September 2020 and Southern CO got hammered with a freak snow storm. Went to bed with snow coming down and woke up to somewhere between 24-30” of
snow. We probably would have rode it out but we had a string of 6 horses and 3 mules that would have had a hard time finding feed.

Even though we had horses, we still packed light like we were backpacking and tried to limit ourselves to 45-60lbs each.

All was good except for one thing, our tent. I’ve heard rave reviews about the floorless tipis so I might be the exception. We were in a Seek Outside Redcliff. We didn’t get much sleep because as the snow was piling up, the tent wouldn’t shed it on its own and the center pole was under a ton of weight. To fix it, we kept having to knock off the snow from the inside but it would just slide down and the tent got smaller and smaller as the night went on. We eventually took turns getting our rain gear on (to stay dry) and going outside to clear snow from the bottom of the tent. It got impossible to get it all but we did the best we could. Not sure any tent could have done better but if heavy snow is a possibility, you’ll want a better system than the one we had. You’d be miserable doing what we did for more than one night. View attachment 96229 View attachment 96233 View attachment 96235 View attachment 96234 View attachment 96246 View attachment 96247 View attachment 96245

View attachment 96248

I will say I am not impressed with the seek outside teepees when there are strong winds. We were up all night on a bear hunt holding the side of the tent down and holding the middle pole up.

Deepcolor · Dec 8, 2022

I spent 6 days in the Frank hunting deer in mid November. We left the truck wearing shorts and T shirts and ended the day in a full on blizzard. The deer hunting was pretty poor but it was a fun adventure.

A few things I am glad I had.

A waterproof and seamed sealed tent.

A big stove so we could get longer burn time.

A decent sized saw sure helped cutting so much fire wood.

A solid hunting partner makes those hunts way better also. Nobody wants a whiner or lazy partner when things go sideways.

schoolhousegrizz · Dec 8, 2022

So cool! Keep the pictures coming

Blank · Dec 8, 2022

Couple of late cow hunts when we were young and dumb. Back then, North Face was the best. VE24 four season tent, NF Bigfoot -20 bags, and NF down booties when you get hunting boots off. Hunt slow on snowshoes or XC skis, don't sweat, new dry clothes as soon as you get back. Lots of carbs, calories, and hot tea with sugar! We used to be good in dry powder snow to -20, for up to 3 days

JPickett · Dec 8, 2022

TerynItUp said:
Fire restrictions.

In a stove?

SS! · Dec 8, 2022

elks96 said:
Not hunting but have done several trips in the past into the woods in winter and used snow caves to sleep in. A good sleeping bag clothes and small candles to heat the snow cave. A tarp shelter to block wind and snow for congress…

I don’t think there is a better warm sleeping arrangement than a snow cave in the deeper snow…

File this one under stupid chit people post on the internet.

JPickett · Dec 8, 2022

schoolhousegrizz said:
I will say I am not impressed with the seek outside teepees when there are strong winds. We were up all night on a bear hunt holding the side of the tent down and holding the middle pole up.

I e had mine in winds I was pretty sure would take the trees around me down. Teepee held fine. Gotta have it pitched good but Ive rode out some nasty stuff in mine dry and warm

jims · Dec 8, 2022

I've weathered the storm inside the back of my pickup topper with layers upon layers of clothes and several sleeping bags while my truck got pounded by wind, snow, and gravel in Wyo. Super glad I wasn't tent camping!

TerynItUp · Dec 8, 2022

JPickett said:
In a stove?

Yep, there is an exception for liquid fuels or LPG but even stoves were prohibited.

elks96 · Dec 8, 2022

SS! said:
File this one under stupid chit people post on the internet.

How so? It is actually not bad. I used to do 3-5 Igor trips into the mountains on cross country skis, or snowshoes with a couple others in College. The snow caves with a decent pad and a small candle were warm and worked well.

It has been 15 years since I did a camp trip like it, but for a time I would make 4-5 trips a year. The coldest night we slept out were -20 to -30 F. Inside out caves we managed to keep our caves on that trip right around 5 degrees…

My first trip was when I was 15 with my Explorers (scout) trip.

schoolhousegrizz · Dec 8, 2022

JPickett said:
I e had mine in winds I was pretty sure would take the trees around me down. Teepee held fine. Gotta have it pitched good but Ive rode out some nasty stuff in mine dry and warm

Did you have the standard stakes? I ordered some of the heavy duty stakes. I also have about a hundred feet of Paracord between all the guy-outs, which helped tremendously last time. I think with those heavy duty stakes and about six to eight guy outs tied off you should be pretty safe. Last time I was hunting in the back country I was glad to have my hilleberg tent when the wind kicked up, 0 worries.

HunterHarry · Dec 8, 2022

I've camped in a pup tent in 17 below zero in Alaska.
I don't ever want to do it again.

schoolhousegrizz · Dec 8, 2022

HunterHarry said:
I've camped in a pup tent in 17 below zero in Alaska.
I don't ever want to do it again.

Snow too?

jims · Dec 9, 2022

I can understand snow caves and a candle but not sure if I would want to spend hours cutting snd gathering wood when it’s -10 degrees and the wind is howling with a stove. I am pretty pooped at the end of the day and the last thing I want to do is collect wood, start a fire with mostly wet wood, and keep a stinky fire burning. Sleep is to precious and I would rather spend daylight hours hunting. I also don’t like smelling like a smokestack! A propane/gas stove works pretty well.

Everyone has their own ideas for backpacking equipment and styles. I know a lot of guys swear by teepees and stoves. I can also understand where a snow cave could potentially save someone’s life!

I use a hilleberg 4 season tent that is bomber proof in high wind plus deep snow. The great thing about my 4 season hilleberg is I can also use just the fly and poles in more favorable conditions for ultra light backpacking. I’ve used just the fly on fairly early season Alaska trips, early bighorn sheep and elk/deer hunts in Colo, Wyo, and Utah, etc

I’m not getting any younger and try my best to avoid backpacking in blizzards by picking and choosing hunts where I don’t need to do this. My truck plus topper suits me fine and acts as a mobile camp for late season hunts. I’m guaranteed to stay high and dry with a decent night’s sleep!

2morechains · Dec 9, 2022

Late-season backpack hunting is just about my favorite thing in the world. A hot tent is almost a requirement here in western MT. I

schoolhousegrizz · Dec 9, 2022

Is that a seek outside teepee? Any tricks you have to make it hold up in strong winds and heavy snow? Looks like you have a couple guy lines.

Phantom Hunter · Dec 9, 2022

Back in 94 my buddies and I horse packed into the South San Juan wilderness. We went in light without proper wilderness tents. Got hammered with 4 1/2 feet of snow at 11,500 foot elevation. Was a true survival situation. Got out three days later. We spent our 1995 hunting dollars on a proper tent and stove. Never want to go through that situation again. Now that we are old we try to only hunt in areas we can bug out of if need be.

TerynItUp · Dec 9, 2022

Back in 94 my buddies and I horse packed into the South San Juan wilderness. We went in light without proper wilderness tents. Got hammered with 4 1/2 feet of snow at 11,500 foot elevation. Was a true survival situation. Got out three days later. We spent our 1995 hunting dollars on a proper tent and stove. Never want to go through that situation again. Now that we are old we try to only hunt in areas we can bug out of if need be.
The storm I posted above was in the South
San Juan too. Gnarly how fast it changed.

2morechains · Dec 9, 2022

schoolhousegrizz said:
Is that a seek outside teepee? Any tricks you have to make it hold up in strong winds and heavy snow? Looks like you have a couple guy lines.

No its a Luxe. I guy the **** out of it and try to pick sheltered spots but I've had a few sleepless nights. Their aluminum pole failed me this fall under a heavy snow load. Now I'm a find a tree and cut it to size kinda guy.

Deerlove · Dec 9, 2022

2morechains said:
Late-season backpack hunting is just about my favorite thing in the world. A hot tent is almost a requirement here in western MT. I

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What stove were you using good or bad?

schoolhousegrizz · Dec 9, 2022

Deepcolor said:
I spent 6 days in the Frank hunting deer in mid November. We left the truck wearing shorts and T shirts and ended the day in a full on blizzard. The deer hunting was pretty poor but it was a fun adventure.

A few things I am glad I had.

A waterproof and seamed sealed tent.

A big stove so we could get longer burn time.

A decent sized saw sure helped cutting so much fire wood.

A solid hunting partner makes those hunts way better also. Nobody wants a whiner or lazy partner when things go sideways.

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Your stove looks a little heavier duty than a titanium backpacking stove. What is that that you're using?

Phantom Hunter · Dec 9, 2022

That country along the NM border and north in into the South San Juan in indeed gnarly when it comes to early snow storms! The depth that the snow pack reaches in late winter along the Toltec railroad is amazing.

JPickett · Dec 9, 2022

Carbon fiber pole. I use the red aluminum stakes, thinknthere ground hogs or something. And make sure it’s pitched good. Nothing too tricky

Deepcolor · Dec 9, 2022

schoolhousegrizz said:
Your stove looks a little heavier duty than a titanium backpacking stove. What is that that you're using?

Knico Trekker, it’s not a backpacker model.

SS! · Dec 9, 2022

JPickett said:
Carbon fiber pole. I use the red aluminum stakes, thinknthere ground hogs or something. And make sure it’s pitched good. Nothing too tricky

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That is one poorly pitched tent. You must be 4’ tall or sleep with your feet sticking out the tent

JPickett · Dec 9, 2022

Did pretty good for 2’ of snow overnight. Warm and dry, that’s kinda all that matters

2morechains · Dec 11, 2022

Deerlove said:
What stove were you using good or bad?

Wild Wild West. Its a little heavy but it burns hot and packs down relatively small.

Deercy · Dec 11, 2022

This was actually a very comfortable camp. Temp hit -6 that night. I spent some incredibly miserable nights in the same conditions and area camping in a limelight and cheap bag. I'm only in my 40s but I'm too old to do that again.