Who are the Trackers- Of the Electronic Kind

[OregonSteeler]

Who here tracks their routes and miles during their elk and/or deer hunts? If so, what do you do with the info and what do you use to track?

I've tracked my routes and mileage before, but don't really use that info to much of an advantage. Trying to weight the battery drawdown of your phone or GPS vs. advantages of the tracked info.

 

[aquanologist]

I share my tracks with my wife on the Inreach for "safety" and to ensure I'm still married when I get home. If I look back at them, it's just for curiosity.

Two years ago my buddy and I forgot to start the track and on our hike out decided to drop off a ridge in a more direct route to the truck. Ended up in a controlled slide through snow covered blow down in the dark. We were lucky to have ankles and I'm still amazed neither of us got hurt. If we had the tracker on, we would've stayed on the ridge another 300 yards and had a much easier/safer walk out. That was enough to convince me.

Last year I dropped my wind checker and followed my track about 500 yards to find it. So tracking has it's uses.

 

[bsnedeker]

I only use tracks when I'm driving into (and sometimes out) of an area. That way I know what roads are good when I'm coming out...it's hit or miss up here in MT.

I think the whole idea of tracking miles and elevation while you are elk hunting is more of an ego thing for guys...."I put in 135 miles and 20K' in elevation and didn't get an elk, but at least I worked hard!"

 

[5MilesBack]

I generally don't, but a few years ago I did just to see how many miles I was putting on for the season. Ended up averaging around 10 miles each day for 22 days, which seems about right.

 

[P Carter]

I track using my GPS watch. It's fun - I like to see the total miles, elevation gain, etc. It's a good safety backup - I mark key spots (saddle, etc.) that will enable me to backtrack/navigate if my inreach/phone goes down. It's also a useful tool. I'll send others the GPS track if I'm about to head back to the area to assist if I ever need SAR. I also upload the tracks to google earth so I can review over the offseason. I go back and mark each time I saw an elk, heard one bugle, etc. Over time, you can start to see the patterns emerge -- they tend to be in this sort of terrain, at these times, etc. That is fun, and can also help find new spots - just look for other areas with the same characteristics. I've also been surprised at some of the "micro-areas" that I've missed - looking at my tracks, I tend to do large loops and, even after hunting a general "spot" for years, there are still some specific areas that I've never ventured into. And, of course, it's a good way to relive the experiences -- "Oh yeah, that is where I missed that spike at 12 yards my first year of hunting because my bottom cam rested on some deadfall and I panicked."

 

[Crowmangler]

I use the tracker in OnX. Hunting alone and covering several miles on public land. It sure helps getting back to camp safely & efficiently, especially after dark. Last year coming back during a snow storm it was worth its weight in gold. I couldn't see shit but those little dashed lines led me straight back on a string

 

[dacd4134]

I use the tracker in OnX. Hunting alone and covering several miles on public land. It sure helps getting back to camp safely & efficiently, especially after dark. Last year coming back during a snow storm it was worth its weight in gold. I couldn't see shit but those little dashed lines led me straight back on a string

I like the OnX tracker, but man it burns battery (at least on my phone). I use my InReach (66i) for tracking and it lasts a lot longer. The only downside is not having some of my marked spots and track on the same map.

 

[wapitibob]

I track each hunt in onx. After the hunt I back them up and copy to Google earth.

 

[OregonSteeler]

I track each hunt in onx. After the hunt I back them up and copy to Google earth.

Never knew you could download the tracks to Google E? Can you please explain how to do that?
UPDATE: Nevermind, figured it out. Pretty cool to do that!