Getting away from your truck

[DirtFarmer]

Wanting to hear from guys that know how to get out there and put boots on the ground. Most of my hunting is parking a truck in the morning darkness on a logging road waiting for day break. Getting impatient throughout the day and walking along road sides occasionally stepping off a few feet into the bush (all the while wishing I was hiking a ridge line or glassing a secluded bowl). My questions is about gaining confidence and knowledge about getting off the roads and into where the animals are. I know the quick answer is “get a gps app and walk into the bush” or “the animals are on the roads!”. Looking for more of a convo about the wilderness, how to or if you follow game trails and gaining the confidence of being in the woods without that nagging worry of getting lost.


thanks for the read,


Dirt

[geologist]

Learn how to use a GPS and compass/topographic map 1:20000.

Once you are comfortable orienteering you can venture out into the bush.

[stoneramhunter]

Wanting to hear from guys that know how to get out there and put boots on the ground. Most of my hunting is parking a truck in the morning darkness on a logging road waiting for day break. Getting impatient throughout the day and walking along road sides occasionally stepping off a few feet into the bush (all the while wishing I was hiking a ridge line or glassing a secluded bowl). My questions is about gaining confidence and knowledge about getting off the roads and into where the animals are. I know the quick answer is “get a gps app and walk into the bush” or “the animals are on the roads!”. Looking for more of a convo about the wilderness, how to or if you follow game trails and gaining the confidence of being in the woods without that nagging worry of getting lost.


thanks for the read,


Dirt

Hi
I would suggest spending time with someone that has the skills to be in the back country and soak up what knowledge you can. Its a shorter path to confidence in my opinion. Also dont completely rely on a gps or other electronic devices learn how to use a compass and map.

Best of luck hunting

[mike31154]

Map, compass, gps & know how to use them, not much more to say. Perhaps find a knowledgeable partner for a couple outings. I have to admit I usually rely on the gps & have gotten close to being lost once or twice. Here's a gps screenshot of a pretty good hike I took some years ago. I bumped 2 Whitetail does not 50 meters away from the truck after I headed up an abandoned trail. The FSR shown has since been punched farther up the mountainside & there's a sizeable cutblock. I didn't spy another ungulate on my entire hike up & back down. In my limited experience, I've seen more deer close to the road than during my hikes in to the thick stuff.

The up is shown, down would have been a slightly different route.

[Bustercluck]

What are you hunting? And where do you live?

Most mountains are easier to navigate than flats. You should be able to look at topi maps/Google earth and get an idea of the lay of the land and where you want to go. Take a look at the drainages. The natural thing is small creeks run downhill, join bigger creeks and then onto rivers. As long as you don’t cross a peak and go uphill you should be able to find your way back. Most main logging roads tend to follow valley bottoms(rivers) as well and the Spurs go up into more remote spots. So park your truck at a small creek that leads into a bowl you want to explore, follow the creek up and pretty much any creek you follow up will bring you back.

On the island near the ocean, pretty much every logging road leads to a dump. Follow the natural lay of the roads and you’ll come to somewhere where they’re dumping loads of logs.

If you’re in the alpine you’ll notice other things like the south facing slopes are green and the north facing slopes are more rocky. Pick out landmarks like peaks for reference of where you are.

Be prepared to spend the night. My day bag has a tarp, food and the means of making a fire.

Hang ribbon trails.


There’s more, but I don’t tend to walk around looking for animals. I tend to target where I think they will be and go there. Sometimes I wander around, but not really something I do to find animals.

[Husky7mm]

Use satellite imagery on your phone and carry a battery charger. Get GPS apps that you can open and use when your off line. If you hunt mountains Get a sport watch with an altimeter on it, and remember the elevation you parked at. You can run that line if you get a bit disoriented. Landmark the terrain, the big dead trees, the peaks and valleys around you. Look behind you when your hiking cause it will look different on egress. Pay mind to where the sun is throughout the day.

Get on google earth and burn the area you hunt into your memory, you will be shocked at what you see and learn with your eyes.

Carry a compass for back up, especially in the more flat country. Hike reclaimed logging roads, its a “trail” you can return on. Always bring your pack with water, lighters, food, emergency blanket, first aid no matter how short you think your hike may be.

Good luck, happy hunting.

[browningboy]

Why would you want to leave the truck? Going for a hike in the bush is one thing that we do but when hunting why would anyone want to pack a moose out 2 valleys over, like you asking for an injury?

[DJK]

I research my chosen area before I even get into the truck; Google Earth, iHunter (with topo map of my area downloaded so I can use it off line). I make note of certain landmarks, usually FSR's, cut blocks, cut lines, topography. I'll have at least 2 areas researched as I won't know the wind or hunter pressure (I'm on crown land) until I get out there. GPS, battery charger, compass, food/fire/water, trail ribbon in my day pack. Haven't been on a camping hunt in years, hoping to bolt together an elk adventure for 2023.

[Harvest the Land]

Wanting to hear from guys that know how to get out there and put boots on the ground. Most of my hunting is parking a truck in the morning darkness on a logging road waiting for day break. Getting impatient throughout the day and walking along road sides occasionally stepping off a few feet into the bush (all the while wishing I was hiking a ridge line or glassing a secluded bowl). My questions is about gaining confidence and knowledge about getting off the roads and into where the animals are. I know the quick answer is “get a gps app and walk into the bush” or “the animals are on the roads!”. Looking for more of a convo about the wilderness, how to or if you follow game trails and gaining the confidence of being in the woods without that nagging worry of getting lost.


thanks for the read,


Dirt

All great advice here. I am in a similar situation as you where I can only hunt weekends and use my truck and camper as a base camp. But I almost never walk the roads - only if it will save me time getting to where I need to go. 9.9 times out of 10, where I park my truck is where I start hunting from - i.e. I just start bushwacking it from there. A good idea is to take a general bearing with your compass and point in in the direction you're planning on heading and then you know as a rough guide to take the opposite bearing to get back to the road. Doesn't take long to find game trails and sign once in the timber.

What I think it comes down too is really knowing the area/areas you hunt inside and out. That is the main way to build up confidence in the area you're hunting and not worrying about getting lost. Creeks/rivers are great markers to help guide you, as are power lines - look for things like this in the distance and use them to help guide you. I always carry a compass as backup and while I don't know how to use it as well as I'd like, I know enough to get me back to the road if necessary. If you want to do more exploring in the timber instead of the roads and you don't really know your area that well yet and you are a tad concerned about getting lost, then maybe consider waiting until it gets light out before leaving the truck, so you can see what everything looks like and orient yourself accordingly. Get to know your area(s) inside and out - then you will know different ways to get to where you need to go (in dark and light).

Looking at maps before hand is crucial too - that should be your first step. But that will only get you so far, because the maps (both satellite and topo) won't tell you just how much blowdown might be in the timber and that area might not be walkable, or there might be 100ft cliff inside the timber that the maps can't pickup etc. - that kind of info you will only learn by exploring. Also, that Ihunter app with the satellite imagery has really saved me a TON of time navigating too and from spots. Highly recommend. Good luck this fall!

[Harvest the Land]

Wanting to hear from guys that know how to get out there and put boots on the ground. Most of my hunting is parking a truck in the morning darkness on a logging road waiting for day break. Getting impatient throughout the day and walking along road sides occasionally stepping off a few feet into the bush (all the while wishing I was hiking a ridge line or glassing a secluded bowl). My questions is about gaining confidence and knowledge about getting off the roads and into where the animals are. I know the quick answer is “get a gps app and walk into the bush” or “the animals are on the roads!”. Looking for more of a convo about the wilderness, how to or if you follow game trails and gaining the confidence of being in the woods without that nagging worry of getting lost.


thanks for the read,


Dirt

There's some good tips in this video for navigating without a map