Before heading in ask yourselves what your #1 priority is: killing an elk or the backcountry experience. If it is killing an elk, you may want to stay close to the vehicle and stay mobile.
If you are after the backcountry experience skip the spike camp and hunt with your camp on your back. It is very liberating and rewarding to find the elk and follow them, camping wherever they lead you at the end of the day.
My other instant thought was to have those young bucks hunt back that way with you one day and help pack your gear for you.
Are you sure nobody is back there so you know the effort and loss of time will be worth it?
Give yourself 2 days to get an elk out at the 2nd place just in case you drop one far out and need to get back to leave.
I like a few comforts at spike camp, but some things are just ridiculous that guys bring. Comforts for me are prioritized as #1 Good food #2 Things for helping you sleep and keeping you dry #3 Everything else a distant 3rd.
Bring some good food like sausage and cheese and bury it in the ground and it'll last your entire spike trip. Bring a pad to sleep on. Bring an 8x10 foot tarp. It doubles as rain cover and is nice for meat processing.
Beyond that, don't sweat it.
If there's two of you, don't bring redundant stuff. You need one water filter and a pot to boil with or tabs as a backup, not two water filters. You don't need more than 2 head lamps and a ton of extra batteries. You don't need two kill kits. You don't need two tents. Etc etc.
With only a few miles in, if the SHTF, you just walk out without a pack and get what you need. You don't have to bring the kitchen sink, you're not going in 20 miles on a sheep hunt.
Two guys can do a spike camp for 5 days with no more than 45 lbs on their back, not counting bows, no problem. I've done it with far less.
One way to keep your pack light, is to set yourself a wt, like 45 lbs, then pull everything out and cut things by the least needed till you're at your target weight. You'll find you didn't need the stuff you take out.
I have been told by some that if we setup a spike camp, the fire, smells, talking, movement, etc will drive the Elk out and contaminate the area for any Elk.
The other issues are, we will go in with possibly 2 to 3 tarps (no tent), maybe a ground pad, possibly each have a sleeping bag and that's about it. We would like to sleep out there for one to two nights. Having never done that, I'm unsure if the reward may out weigh the risks? This will be in mid September. Any thoughts, advice? Thanks!
Mule Power- We think a like, Take advantage of young blood, My son is 18 and he and Blake have been going to Colorado with me sense they were 14. Blake is in boot camp this year so he wont be joining us. A couple years ago I arrowed a rag horn and he ran down the mountain and died in a drainage the Devil himself wouldn't enter. When we stared cutting him up the started flowing and nuts started swelling and those boys wanted to know who could hall the most and the fastest, they packed it out as fast as we could cut. Having young boys and girls in camp is a win win! Loon
A good way to position the tarp is with a few feet of it on the ground, then folded heading up over the bottom part that's lying on the ground at a 35-45 degree angle from the ground, with the outside against the wind. All 4 corners are tied with paracord to trees so you need the right spot. The inside angle/corner is best secured the opposite way to keep your structure patent. The inside corner can be secured with two large rocks, but it's better to tie them the opposite way that your corners are tied to trees. You can also use tent stakes. This keeps you dry and blocks the wind a little. You sleep on top of the tarp in the inside corner, inside your created lean-to.
Make sure the open part of your tarp is not facing uphill.
If it rains or snows, you will not be having fun.
There's lots of stories about people having elk within yards of where they sleep. I prefer to be a mile away from where I feel the elk are, but that's just my opinion.
Unless you enjoy smelly, semi-naked guy hamster piles, I would recommend that you not be cavalier about your shelter.
Don't make the inaugural run of your shelter on your trip. Don't assume that your gear is as you left it or secure, if someone else is in camp.
With the gear available now, you can pack a lightweight, Tent, sleeping pad and bag. And get a good nights sleep out there. The better you sleep the better you hunt.
Tent hammoc? They seem to be the flavor of the month for hikers these days. Starting to see more and more varieties/selections of them from tent/hammoc manufacturers.
Thicker so your bag won't touch the ground and VERY comfortable. Rolls up nice and small and not heavy at all.