Three nights prior to opening day

Wow, so I was gone for almost a week and for some odd, unknown reason, didn't think about elk hunting at all. Mostly true. I must have had other things on my mind....

But I'm back now, and it is August 31st. I bought the H.S. Basic Scent Elimination System to treat my clothes and gear. It comes with unscented detergent, deodorant, dryer sheets, hand soap, and scent-elimination spray. It also came with a large ziplock-like bag that you're supposed to be able to put your clothes in to maintain their scent-free qualities. Now, I agree with many other people I've talked to and decided that a large, hard plastic rubbermaid container will be the best to store gear in...but figured I'd give this bag a try since I'm going to be packing all my clothes in. Yah, first thing, the stupid ziplock system failed like a broken zipper and with looking at it, I found it had two male ends. Nothing to zip into, so it's worthless. I put the clothes in there anyways and then double-bagged it in a large trash bag. Looks like I need to go to Walmart. Disappointing, but good to know. Also did some reading today and found out that baking soda is just as well as any dedicated scent-elimination product you can buy and you can buy a lot of unscented things like detergent, shampoo, soap, etc by just buying Arm and Hammer brand products and ivory soaps. So, a waste of money I suppose...but again, now I know.

But I did buy a LOT of baking soda and saturated these washed and dried clothes in it. I found the hammock to be a great platform for doing this, any soda that misses simply sifts through and falls on the ground...while not polluting your clothes with scent. I layed the clothes out and sprinkled them with soda and folded them up with this still on them. Then, when putting the clothes in a bag, I sprinkled more soda between layers. What I'm thinking though, is that perhaps a smaller container than what I'll store this stuff in would be handy. Here's the thought, put a lot of baking soda in this container and add an article of clothing, then shake this container like a tumbler you use to clean shell casings. The entire garmet will be covered in soda...then you open it, fold the clothes, and transfer it to a garbage sack. This will not only save soda, but give a better coverage. It's nice to use this stuff, because it'll just shake off and not effect the camo...any remaining soda will act as a scent absorber. So, I think it'll be enough for me.

I'm taking about half a quart of baking soda with me and will use that in the woods. I plan to hike into where I will camp in normal clothes and not touch the cleaned clothes until the morning. I will get up and strip...dust myself with baking soda and brush my teeth with it (nasty by the way)...then dress from there. It'll be cold and will probably really suck, but I'll give it a shot. I treated my boots with just baking soda and that spray stuff (rubbing alcohol I'm sure.) I'll use soda in the subsequent days of the hunt to powder my feet and boots to hopefully cover up any foot odor I will develop.

I washed everything I will possibly wear, including underwear and socks, cover, gloves, and something I didn't think of...my bino caddie. I figure I'll just pack the scent-elimination spray and give everything a good once over prior to going out. Still, I am definitely liking the idea of straight baking soda instead of all this fancy stuff. I figure I could wash my clothes in normal detergent to clean them, then just wash them again in baking soda to eliminate the detergent smell...and hang them outside to dry. By the way, you WILL use a LOT of soda, so get as big a container as you can of it. I'm thinking Cosco will be a good source because I'm going to be doing a lot of hunting this season.

I'm surprised at how nervous I'm getting about this whole adventure. Having never shot anything large with an arrow (grouse and ground squirrels don't count) I'm now really struggling with the idea of "am I ready?" Do I have my pins sighted in like I want them? Will I be good enough and stable enough to shoot an animal when presented an opportunity? Is my eye / range finding abilities accurate enough in the woods? What if I make a bad shot? yada yada. This is a pretty real business I'm getting into here and I'm now realizing the seriousness of it all. I'm confident with a rifle and a pistol for hunting because I've done it and had no doubts like this...strange. Nerves I suppose, I know I'm ready and I've practiced a lot in the woods and at home...just one of those things that will probably keep me from making a bad shot. In the end, it'll be a good thing I'm sure.

There's only so much I can worry about. I made my gear list tonight and am wondering how I'm going to get it all in the woods. Luckily my camp will only be about two miles or so from the truck so if need be, I can leave gear in the rig to pack in on Friday night prior to opening day, or go get it later...like water. I still need to get a five gallon water container to leave in the truck, this will be vital. Otherwise I have to hike at least five miles from CAMP just to get good water I can purify with iodine. But I know there are elk using that creek extensively, so I'm kind of paranoid about giardia...I'll only use that if I have to. Even with iodine, I'm nervous about having the craps for weeks...talk about a damper on work and hunting.

I'm getting better at realizing what I actually eat when out on extended camping trips. So I now have it down to this for two dinners and three days:

• 2 dehydrated meals
• 6 instant oatmeal packets
• 1 Raman noodle packet
• trail mix (1 quart)
• 3 MREs
• and I'll have a gallon of water with me at camp, unless I decide to make two trips in on Friday, whereas I will try to pack in at least 3 gallons to camp. This is a vital necessity that my last scouting excursion made me realize that the more I have the happier I'll be. Worth the extra trip.

Along with this I will bring a small backpacking stove for heating water for oatmeal, Raman, and tea. I have to take a small, small pot also...because I don't like the idea of just heating water in a 2 cup mug that I'm bringing...luckily the mug fits in the small pot along with tea and some of the oatmeal. I'm planning on eating an MRE a day at some point, and the dehydrated meals are there for a change of pace. I know I will want to load calories at some point, so the more the better. However, I'm planning on leaving the five gallons of water as well as much more food in the truck just in case I need it. Always a good plan to have a backup.

I've got all my crap strewn about the living room. I am waiting until tomorrow to pack it all up because I still want to treat my packs with scent-stuff and I wanted to be able to do a last minute double-check on gear. One other thing I'm getting paranoid about is the amount of rope I'm taking. I know I have enough and I know I'm smart enough to make what I have work. But still, rope is one of those things that you really can't have enough of. I have a tendency to overpack...but one of these days, when everything goes to hell in a hurry, I'm going to be glad I put in the extra effort to plan for contingencies. Like a coat. Hadn't planned on that...thinking it was going to be warm enough the whole time. But now I'm taking my camo coat and camo rain pants, just in case I need them.

Man I could use a bigger pack for this. A good thing to probably do is to take my normal, huge backpack to pack the camp in on, then return for the hunting pack which would already be packed and ready to go. But I'm stubborn and want this new pack to fit the bill...so will see where I end up tomorrow night with packing it. Already you know I'm planning on carrying my sleeping bag in my hands on the way in. I think this will provide enough room, but I'm not sure.

I'm excited to hear some bugles and see where my days take me. I'm hoping that on Friday night I'll be able to hear where the bulls are and then plan accordingly on exactly what to do from there. It has the potential to change the place I want to camp and my strategy for the following day. I wonder how much sleep I'll get that night. I'm also not sure if I mentioned in here that I can shoot a mule deer if the opportunity presents itself in the area I'm planning on hunting. If such a situation comes up, will I shoot the mule deer? Probably. Those critters are much larger than whitetails and I'd have no compunctions with filling my deer tag on one of them. Because, the unit adjacent to where I'll be hunting has a restriction on mule deer. Only 75 people out of about 3000 applicants get the privilege to do that...but I know they're all over in where I'll be because I saw those five big bucks and found many more tracks. It'd be like hunting a game preserve if I'm in the right place. I have the potential to nab a huge mule deer because the pressure is so low and they live to grow some very large racks. We'll see.

So talking of that got me thinking of transporting meat. Yes, I'll be moving it on my back to get to the truck. But I've heard that there gets to be a bit of heat in the bed while driving. SO, I found a pallet in my recently-moved neighbors carport which I will acquire tonight to put in the bed of the pickup. I figure that way there will be at least four inches of air that can circulate under quarters if I'm lucky. Every little bit helps right? And I am not going to pack in a small block and tackle my Dad gave me because I've had the experience of hanging moose quarters from a meat pole and could get it done solo. It helps to have two people, but to tell you the truth, I don't want to deal with that get-up if I don't have to. Oddly enough, I think (currently) that I'm strong enough to deal with the sections I'm planning on cutting. I'm not planning on quartering an elk the way you imagine by splitting the spine. I learned a neat method in Alaska that doesn't require any gutting until you get to the point of retrieving the tenderloins. Everything else comes off in manageable chunks first....then you gut it just to get those tenderloins and make it easier to pull the ribs off. And I am planning on reserving at least one side of ribs just so I can make traditional ribs when I get home with the meat still on the bones. We'll see how tired I am at the time I suppose, but I'm only planning on cutting the meat from between the ribs on one side to use as hamburger. But I've had caribou and moose ribs that boiled for a couple hours and then were barbecued for another hour...I'll tell you what...one of the most fun and best meals I've had.

It'll be a good party if I actually do get something this coming Labor Day weekend, but I'm not setting my sights too high. If I can get some elk relatively close and see how they react to calling, I'll be happy. Heck, if I see a bull while hunting I'll be pretty good. I was recounting a story the other day of a hunt I did a couple years ago during rifle season. I moved into this area when it was still too dark to shoot and actually spooked a herd of elk. They didn't run 50 yards because they weren't really sure what was making the noise (I walked into the middle of them) so they stopped and so did I. I knelt in the slushy snow and waited until the sun was up enough to see. Unfortunately, by the time the sun came up enough to shoot, the elk were long gone. They had drifted away like smoke in the dark...amazing for how big they are. BUT, while I was kneeling there in the dark getting cold and wet, I heard a pack of wolves light up the night with howls about two miles away. I was simply blown away! That was the first time I had heard wolves, which sound much different than coyotes by the way. I putzed around looking for the elk for a bit, but then ended up heading out for the day. In my mind I had already achieved more experience in that hunt than I ever anticipated. AND, on the way home, I passed my folks who had my dog with them...they were going on a drive. So we transferred the dog to my car and I took him to the duck refuge and we went on a walk. Turned out to be one of those days that just sticks in your mind...a perfect hunt. SO, if I can have some experiences like that...I will be one happy man.