East to West Part III: Putting It All Together

robby denning · Jan 16, 2016

Rokslider Tye Abell is back for the final in his series: East to West. In Part III, Tye puts it all together and shows the effectiveness of his methods in his 2015 Wyoming backcountry hunt.

Here is Part III: East to West Part III: Putting It All Together

If you missed Part I: East to West: Planning Your First Backpack Hunt

or Part II: East to West Part II: Preparation Hunts

DaveC · Jan 17, 2016

Great series. As someone who came to hunting long after backpacking I certainly endorse learning them separately before putting the two together. I'd also add that having someone with you was a wise move for a first time backpack hunter. If hunting and backpacking are two distinct things to master, being solo in the woods is a third, and doing all three at the same time for the first time would be a big ask of anyone.

Eagle · Jan 17, 2016

DaveC said:
Great series. As someone who came to hunting long after backpacking I certainly endorse learning them separately before putting the two together. I'd also add that having someone with you was a wise move for a first time backpack hunter. If hunting and backpacking are two distinct things to master, being solo in the woods is a third, and doing all three at the same time for the first time would be a big ask of anyone.

Thanks Dave. I'd agree that going solo would have added an additional element of difficulty, at a minimum, a second trip in to get the camp I'd left behind would have been needed. The cougar tracks around the water hole found right after arriving at camp would have been a larger concern as well had I been alone.

I hope those considering a hunt in the backcountry for the first time have found this series helpful. If there's anything that was left out or any questions you had from the first two parts that you still have after reading this last article, let me know and I'll help however I can.

Peterson3030 · Jan 19, 2016

Nice deer! I've always been a hunter and back packer but I didn't combine the two activities until about 3 years ago. It pretty much occupies all of my time.

xcutter · Jan 22, 2016

Enjoyed reading your article on planning a western hunt. Very informative and helpful. Quick question though. How do you read a burn or meadow area on a map or Google earth? I'm trying to use the tactics you described and I don't want to find something that looks good to me and it might be a thicket or something.

I appreciate any help.

Eagle · Jan 22, 2016

xcutter said:
Enjoyed reading your article on planning a western hunt. Very informative and helpful. Quick question though. How do you read a burn or meadow area on a map or Google earth? I'm trying to use the tactics you described and I don't want to find something that looks good to me and it might be a thicket or something.

I appreciate any help.

Burns are going to be difficult to determine as it will mainly depend on the age of the burned area and how recent the satellite imagery is in relation to when the burn occurred. That said, if you see a large swath of trees that are downed and some still standing with brown/black earth below them, that's a pretty good indication of a burn. Your best bet would probably be to go here http://wildfire.cr.usgs.gov/firehistory/data.html and look around on that website and see what you can find for the area you are interested in.

For meadows, any open area surrounded by green is likely to be a meadow in the high country, unless of course it's a lake.

PA-R · Feb 10, 2016

Lots of good info, thanks.

Ragged Horn · Mar 13, 2016

Thanks for taking the time out to write this. It's helpful and gives confidence to those venturing west this season.

Regards,

RH

Marshmstr · Mar 13, 2016

Great story!

Eagle · Mar 13, 2016

Ragged Horn said:
Thanks for taking the time out to write this. It's helpful and gives confidence to those venturing west this season.

Regards,

RH

Thank you for the feedback, good luck this fall.

40watt · Jun 28, 2016

I really want to read these, but the links seem to be broken.

robby denning · Jun 28, 2016

40watt said:
I really want to read these, but the links seem to be broken.

40Watt, thanks for the heads up on the broken links. Happened when we updated the site. I think I fixed them. Enjoy

40watt · Jun 28, 2016

Thank you!
Very good read.
Also, very pertinent to my situation, except that my education will be accelerated and my learning curve steep.
At forty, I decided despite having no partners or mentors, that no one could stop me from being a hunter.
If I could hunt the backcountry this year, honestly I would.
It would be inadvisable, probably crazy, and definitely stupid...but no one is going to stop me.
Unfortunately I will not be able to collect even the minimum of gear that would be required to have a safe and hopefully successful trip by this season.
So I will collect gear, train physically, train with both rifle and bow, work on my field craft, and test my skills on what little public land Oklahoma has to offer, and stalk whitetail.
By the following season I plan to bow hunt elk in Colorado and Pronghorn in Wyoming with the rifle.
Yes, my chances at success are not great.
But success to me is being alone in the backcountry for a minimum of a week. I will enjoy my surroundings, in solitude most likely. I will not quit. I will make it home to the kids, and if I am incredibly fortunate, I will suffer through a long, hard, and lonely pack out.

I'm certain most everyone thinks I've lost my mind, but truthfully I need the challenge, and I know that I can do it.
My experience is zero and starts now.
But at 40 years old, I don't believe I can afford to put it off.

40watt · Jun 28, 2016

And that belongs in the FNG forum. Sorry!

robby denning · Jun 29, 2016

no problem posting it here too as it goes right along with the theme of the article. Good luck on your quest, I'm sure you'll do fine. Just post any questions up on Rokslide you might have as there's lots of helpful people on here who can shorten you learning curve. I'd also suggest you don't need a mountain of gear nor have to start with the very best either. I'm still running a 25 year old Kelty backpack as I decided that my money was better invested in optics and other gear first. I'll upgrade when I get the chance but for now, if the choice is to wait or go, I'm going!

Good to have you on Rokslide.

40watt · Jun 29, 2016

Thank you for the welcome!
Of course I have a million questions, but I recognize that I don't know what I don't know.
I don't want to be THAT guy, so I'm studying, reading, and listening to every podcast I can find.

So thanks to everyone like yourself that contributes your experience and knowledge.

East to West Part III: Putting It All Together

robby denning

Administrator

DaveC

WKR

Eagle

WKR

Peterson3030

FNG

xcutter

WKR

Eagle

WKR

PA-R

Lil-Rokslider

Ragged Horn

FNG

Marshmstr

Lil-Rokslider

Eagle

WKR

40watt

FNG

robby denning

Administrator

40watt

FNG

40watt

FNG

robby denning

Administrator

40watt

FNG

Similar threads

Latest posts

Featured Video

Stats

Latest Articles