Coupleing a hunting or fishing trip with overlanding

[Cascade Wanderer]

I've started doing this more often, as I have more time avail to me now.

Last fall I took five days to cover the distance from central Washington state to eastern Wyoming for a mule deer & pronghorn hunt. Camped along the way, poked around a bit, planned on doing some fly fishing, but that didn't work out. Photographed some wildlife. Toured a battlefield. I have actually driven to my hunting area in one long day, almost 1,000 miles, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking my time, and exploring remote roads & new places.

This spring, I took almost a month. Drove 2200 miles from Washington to Fairbanks. Parked the Jeep there. Took a "bush plane" to a remote camp in the arctic. Lived there in a backpacking tent for nine days. Hunted grizzly and wolf. Then drove home, 2400+ miles, through the Yukon and British Columbia. Camped most nights on my trip up and back, and did some hiking & photography along the way.

Any of you other hunters/fishermen doing this kind of thing? It sure adds to the trip!

Regards, Guy

 

[MR. ED]

That's awesome. I like to combine fishing and shooting while I'm out and about too. I would love to do a 6 week trip up around the PNW.

 

[Dalko43]

I combine the two activities, as much as I can. Here in the densely-forested east however (especially the Adirondacks), you really have to get out of your vehicle and off the main roads to find where the animals are....not that you don't do that out west as well, but I guess my point is I spend more of my time on foot in the deep woods when I'm hunting, and less time driving around.

I do spend quite a bit of time exploring new roads and trailheads during the preseason scouting trips in order to figure out where I want to hunt and camp, so I do spend quite a bit of time in my vehicle prior to hunting season. Once hunting season starts however, I know where I want to hunt and thus I'm mostly out on foot. I'll have to find some pictures to post up; you don't get the same grand landscape shots you get out west, but the terrain out here is still beautiful in its own way.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

During elk season I will cover about 1100 miles of pavement and dirt roads, 200+ miles on foot, and this year I have an ATV to use that will see some miles where the Montero doesn't fit.

 

[krax]

I guess I'm a bit confused. Coupling? Combining? I don't think they're separate activities that you're choosing to combine rather it's that hunting and fishing are things you enjoy while "overlanding" (I don't love the word as a verb.). You were already "overlanding" the whole time, just as some folks dive deep into photography, philanthropy, and wildlife projects on their trips.

Maybe I'm way off, or maybe we all just define "overland" differently, but if you're not stopping to hike, hunt, photograph, fish, shop, build a school, study sea turtles, or otherwise experience the places you're in, then you're just driving around and camping and that can be a bit dull.

I think you're doing it right.

 

[Dalko43]

I guess I'm a bit confused. Coupling? Combining? I don't think they're separate activities that you're choosing to combine rather it's that hunting and fishing are things you enjoy while "overlanding"

This is probably true, especially for those who hunt out west and in the remote parts of Canada. People in those places have been using their vehicles to explore, find and get to remote hunting spots since the automobile (and snowmobile) was invented. Up until recently, they didn't call it 'overlanding' rather it was car camping and something that was necessary in order to get to the hunting location.

Here in the east, hunting is generally a stand or still type affair and people generally know the exact spot where they'll be hunting well before the season begins. The terrain and vegetation is so dense here, that driving around looking for positions or animals and spot-and-stalk techniques are generally a waste of time. So if you're not out of your vehicle and in the woods, you're probably not going to have a successful season. The exception to that rule would be hound hunting, which is still a prevalent practice in the northeast US and Ontario, and predator hunting and trapping; those folks are always exploring the backroads to get into different areas of the woods.

All that said, I have found myself searching out and exploring many old dirt roads over the past few summers to find better, more secluded hunting spots. I wouldn't necessarily call it 'overlanding,' but my 4runner gets pretty dirty in the weeks leading up to the fall hunting season

 

[Cascade Wanderer]

Ha, I totally messed up the spelling of coupling and probably should have used "combine" anyway.

Didn't mean driving around looking for animals - no, typically I hunt on foot.

Last fall was such a great season with elk, black bear, mule deer and antelope! Hunted two states; Washington and Wyoming. I live in Washington, and have been hunting in Wyoming off and on for 17 years. There is some mighty interesting country in between those two places, and it's been fun getting to know that "in between" country. Idaho, Montana, Wyoming... Beautiful! Great camping and can be some excellent fishing along the way, as well as just interesting places to visit.

Then this spring, did my "hunt of a lifetime" - a trip to Alaska for arctic grizzly & wolf. Wow! Great trip, great hunt! Drove up and back, 2200 miles up, nearly 2500 miles home.

It's that trip to and from the hunt area or the river/lake I'll be fishing. More and more often I'm turning that into some kind of an interesting journey, usually involving a few nights of camping along the way. Some hiking. Just generally poking around, instead of merely making it a big ol' road trip.

Once game is down - there may be a bit more urgency to get back home to the freezer, but the trip out to my hunting area - that's getting to be quite fun anymore.

Regards, Guy

 

[realwarrior]

I'll be hunting Idaho and possible Washington this year (Disabled Vet tags) and will have my overlanding rig in tow

 

[Explorerinil]

I do not travel far and hunt, I do all my hunting locally, because I have easy access and it’s cheaper. I do plan on a mule deer or elk hunt in the next few years. Although I always travel with rods, reels and fly equipment. That tube in the pic is full of rods.

 

[steelhd]

Hunting and fishing is the reason for my "overlanding".

 

[Cascade Wanderer]

Mule deer and elk are in my "backyard" so to speak. They are my local hunts.

I surely do enjoy taking some time on my longer drives to and from Wyoming or elsewhere for hunting or fishing, to poke around, do some camping, exploring.

Regards, Guy

 

[rgallant]

Don't hunt but I fish, some days I do not get much further that 10- 20 km, stop at every lake and likely spot on a river and toss a line

 

[02rangeredge]

Out of curiosity, how are you guys transporting your haul on these trips? Large coolers? Fridge/freezers? Fully processed or just larger chunks to further breakdown later?

 

[steelhd]

Out of curiosity, how are you guys transporting your haul on these trips? Large coolers? Fridge/freezers? Fully processed or just larger chunks to further breakdown later?

Over a long distance or during warm weather? In a cooler boned with ice. Keep the meat dry. Dry ice if tyou can find it and newspaper on top is good. In very cold weather? Skinned in game bags.

 

[02rangeredge]

Over a long distance or during warm weather? In a cooler boned with ice. Keep the meat dry. Dry ice if tyou can find it and newspaper on top is good. In very cold weather? Skinned in game bags.

thanks, really I just meant whenever you're on one of these trips, whatever time of year it might be, I worked for the DNR as a seasonal employee this past deer season. I was stationed in michigans central lower peninsula and I had a truck of 8 deer come it that were just gutted and packed with snow for about a 7 hr drive down from the kill location. which is all well and good if you can do it but it was almost 60 they day they drove down and thats warmer than I want to haul meat in an uncovered truck bed