WY Elk hunt (freezing my a$$ in WY)

[Slackdaddy]

Arrived in WY 7:00AM on the 26th to accompany my Daughter and son in law on their resident Elk hunting,, DIY hunt in The Medicine Bow range, Savage Run Wilderness..
My Son also drove up and joined us. SIL had Cow/Calf/Bull tag.
Daughter and SIL slept in a small wall tent,, Son and I each in our hammocks,,, Yes, that was mistake #1
Thursday was chance of flurries from noon to 1:00 PM,,, it snowed sideways all day up in the mountains,, 10,000 feet.
We dropped down to 7500-800 to set up camp,, I had my hammock set up with 2 underquilts , a winter tarp, and 2 top quilts.
The wind was steady 40 MPH over night and 15 deg,, questioning my sanity,,
SIL up at 5:00 AM and drove 20 minutes back up to 10,000 feet and went on a death march,,
We were on the tracks of ~6 Elk and closing,, we came upon fresh turds still warm and soft, and piss that had not froze,, we came over a small rise in the forest and saw orange about 100 yards off,, 4 guys in a SXS,, they said they just came around the corner and scattered 6 cows.
Back down to camp at noon as my daughter and son were showing up,, afternoon hunt was uneventful.

Conditions went to crap fast,, snow started earlier than forecast,, got dumped on,, forecast changed in Sat morning, now going to snow through Sunday.
We broke camp later Sat and wisely got out and back to Cheyenne for showers, dinner and cards.

I didn't take a ton of pictures,, as I was to busy trying to survive 10 degrees and whiteout conditions in the middle of a designated wilderness area,,,,
1st pic is thurdays conditions, the day it was NOT supposed to snow,, 2nd pic is my hammock set up,, 3rd is my son taking his down,,

I did really good hiking 10+ miles a day at 10,000+ feet,,, but thinking East Coast hunting is more inline with my age.

 

[joppaj]

This the trip that you were considering a new rifle for a few months back?

 

[Archeryrob]

You need one of those foldable wood stoves and a tent with a flue hole for it. You can stay warm walking and hunting but sleeping in the cold, nope!

 

[Slackdaddy]

This the trip that you were considering a new rifle for a few months back?

I put in for an Oct Cow only hunt in this area, and did not get drawn.
My Daughter and Son In Law get a Cow/Calf/Bull tag as WY residents.
I was tagging along and soaking up the sunshine

 

[ChrisD]

Wow, we were in Cheyenne the morning of 10/26. Stopped and had breakfast, then headed north on 25. The temperature steadily dropped through the day and the snow came on pretty hard for sure. Stayed in Casper that night on our way to Idaho. It was cold and snowy. Friday morning we had 6 on the vehicle thermometer. Drove up I25, west on I90 to Missoula MT, then over the Bitterroot mountains in that snow. Not a fun ride.

 

[slsc98]

Y‘all are LIVIN’ !!!!!!!

 

[Slackdaddy]

You need one of those foldable wood stoves and a tent with a flue hole for it. You can stay warm walking and hunting but sleeping in the cold, nope!

Oh,,, You mean like my Daughter and Son in law slept in ?? LOL
My son and I wanted to try out our hammocks with our winter gear,, he had bona fide 0 deg gear for his hammock (under quilt, top quilt, incubator cover, winter tarp. I cobbled together some of my 30 deg gear for my hammock,,, all snibbling aside I was not cold and actually quite toasty on the 15-20 deg night.

Thur night with the 40 mph winds and gusty over 50,, he had to shut the stove down,, it was back drafting into the tent.

This fella here got into hammocks about 2 years before me and has a ton of great info for winter hanging. Like him, I make most of my gear.

 

[mauser58]

My son and his friend go each year. They drive two separate trucks and take a lot. They just got back from their hunt recently. They have two huge Kodiak cabin like tents made to use a wood burning stove they take and flue pipe. They also have a portable shower and several cook stoves. Cots to get off of ground and extreme cold sleeping bags. Yeah you need to be prepared. They stay for a week

 

[Slackdaddy]

Wow, we were in Cheyenne the morning of 10/26. Stopped and had breakfast, then headed north on 25. The temperature steadily dropped through the day and the snow came on pretty hard for sure. Stayed in Casper that night on our way to Idaho. It was cold and snowy. Friday morning we had 6 on the vehicle thermometer. Drove up I25, west on I90 to Missoula MT, then over the Bitterroot mountains in that snow. Not a fun ride.

yeah,,, we were probably within 100 miles of each other at one point that AM

 

[davsco]

f yeah it gets COLD out there! I went elk hunting in NW Colo 18, 19 and 2020 and somehow each time they had record lows.

good luck!!

 

[Slackdaddy]

My son and his friend go each year. They drive two separate trucks and take a lot. They just got back from their hunt recently. They have two huge Kodiak cabin like tents made to use a wood burning stove they take and flue pipe. They also have a portable shower and several cook stoves. Cots to get off of ground and extreme cold sleeping bags. Yeah you need to be prepared. They stay for a week

I am thinking about a small wall tent specifically for a hammock,, I am a minimalist at heart,, but need a little elbow room. Showers not happening.
They have a small wall tent with small stove. and We did eat in there,, but it was very cramped.
We need to be somewhat mobile,, 2,222,313 acres and the herds could be in many different areas.
I am sure their (mine) gear will evolve over the years,, only 2nd year they are chasing Elk.

 

[Slackdaddy]

f yeah it gets COLD out there! I went elk hunting in NW Colo 18, 19 and 2020 and somehow each time they had record lows.

good luck!!

Global warming

 

[davsco]

Global warming

we drove a LONG way to a hotel each nite and back again way too early in the morning. honestly not sure how anyone can camp in other than a tent with some sort of stove. without a heat source, EVERYTHING would have been frozen solid - water, food of any type etc.

 

[Slackdaddy]

we drove a LONG way to a hotel each nite and back again way too early in the morning. honestly not sure how anyone can camp in other than a tent with some sort of stove. without a heat source, EVERYTHING would have been frozen solid - water, food of any type etc.

The 1st night the winds were to strong and son-in-law had to put the stove out,, the water jugs froze, only water we had is what was in our thermoses.
Most of our food was mountain house freeze dried,, we melted snow in the jet boil for them.
This was more of a minimalist, on the go type trip.
Thankfully, they only live 1 hour away,,
They are still figuring it out,, we are already planning next year. Going to do a lot different,, pack lighter and be more mobile.

 

[ESMDHokie77]

I was in the wind river range 4 years ago in late October. Subzero windchills. What a crazy experience that was, bagged a cow on day 4 of 6.

Going back again someday in late SEPTEMBER during the rut.

What an awesome region of the country to experience!

 

[Slackdaddy]

I was in the wind river range 4 years ago in late October. Subzero windchills. What a crazy experience that was, bagged a cow on day 4 of 6.

Going back again someday in late SEPTEMBER during the rut.

What an awesome region of the country to experience!

The "scale" of it is off the charts compared to east coast hunting, Temps, distance, weight of the game, etc,, take east coast numbers and multiply by 10-20.

 

[lazarus]

You need one of those foldable wood stoves and a tent with a flue hole for it. You can stay warm walking and hunting but sleeping in the cold, nope!

That was my thought. Especially in a hammock. My limited hammock camping experience is no matter what you put under you, it'll compress. Hammocks are not for me once it drops below about 40F.

A decent inflatable foam pad will insulate you better from the ground in a tent with generally better heat retention and resistance to wind. At least that in my personal opinion.

Anyway, I am fine at 40 camping into the teens without a stove. A good 0F sleeping bag, or even 20F bag with a good blanket or two on top and a good sleeping pad do just fine. Once it is windy and staring single digits in the face, nope, need a wood stove or go indoors. I am sure I'd survive, but I'd be miserable AF in those conditions, no matter the sleeping bag or blankets I was using.

 

[lazarus]

The 1st night the winds were to strong and son-in-law had to put the stove out,, the water jugs froze, only water we had is what was in our thermoses.
Most of our food was mountain house freeze dried,, we melted snow in the jet boil for them.
This was more of a minimalist, on the go type trip.
Thankfully, they only live 1 hour away,,
They are still figuring it out,, we are already planning next year. Going to do a lot different,, pack lighter and be more mobile.

Something I am thinking of doing at some point is converting my 2006 Honda odyssey to a camper van. Depending on my relationship status at the time, either single sleeper or dual sleeper. One of those small Chinese diesel heaters would keep it habitable to pretty cold temperatures with minimal insulation. Unless really bitter cold, it wouldn't take much fuel to keep it around 40F, which is plenty comfortable. And minimalist setup for sure! Of course, you can't take a van spike camp hunting.

 

[Slackdaddy]

Something I am thinking of doing at some point is converting my 2006 Honda odyssey to a camper van. Depending on my relationship status at the time, either single sleeper or dual sleeper. One of those small Chinese diesel heaters would keep it habitable to pretty cold temperatures with minimal insulation. Unless really bitter cold, it wouldn't take much fuel to keep it around 40F, which is plenty comfortable. And minimalist setup for sure! Of course, you can't take a van spike camp hunting.

My brother and his wife are avid mountain bikers and climbers,, they converted a Honda Odyssey and really seam to like it,, they spend upto a week in it out west.

 

[Slackdaddy]

That was my thought. Especially in a hammock. My limited hammock camping experience is no matter what you put under you, it'll compress. Hammocks are not for me once it drops below about 40F.

A decent inflatable foam pad will insulate you better from the ground in a tent with generally better heat retention and resistance to wind. At least that in my personal opinion.

Anyway, I am fine at 40 camping into the teens without a stove. A good 0F sleeping bag, or even 20F bag with a good blanket or two on top and a good sleeping pad do just fine. Once it is windy and staring single digits in the face, nope, need a wood stove or go indoors. I am sure I'd survive, but I'd be miserable AF in those conditions, no matter the sleeping bag or blankets I was using.

Anything you put in a hammock and lay on will compress and give little to no insulation factor,, They is why we run under quilts that attach to the underside of the hammock,, like a big "pamper diaper". I have underquilts from 50 deg to 30 deg rating. My son ran with a single 0 deg under quilt,, I ran a 40 deg and 30 deg doubled up.
Many guys are going down to neg 20-30 in hammocks,, I am drawing the line at 0 deg.