first backpack hunt

[macka]

well i finally got around to taking my new backpack out for a walk(thanks shane) and decided to head to a property that i wanted to see what the game numbers were like in the winter. I usually hunt the goats on this place in the sumer time and hunt them off the springs where i can get a viechel to and usualy see 300+ a day. I parked the ute as far back into the hills as i could get and dropped down into the valley below. I had to get down in between a few cliffs and decided i wanst going to be coming back up this way! It was only a bit over a km and i was where i wanted to be and i found a nice spot to set up camp.

Half way down i found a fenceline following a lot nicer ridge to walk allong and followed it down into the creek.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010222-2.jpg

After camp was set up i was a little dissapointed as i had only seen about 6 nannies and kids so far but i geared up and started walking along the big valley with the springs. I covered the whole area that i woould usually have seen hundreds in and my total count by the time i had got back was only 30 and not a billy as yet.

Here's my camp for the night
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010231-1.jpg

I did find a really good set of horns which would have been shoot and left by a rifle. The razor back ridge in the background is the hill i climbed straight up on day 2 as my camp is at the base of it and there's no easy way up this one, thats why i have never ventured any further than the gully i guess.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010229-1.jpg

It depended on game numbers to how long i was going to stay back there and on day 2 i clumbed straight up the big steep ridge behind camp and when i crested the other side i spooked a mob of billies right in front of me. They took off to parts unknown and i sat there and glassed over the many hills in front of me. There were goats everywhere in the distance but that was to far away and another two steep valeys to cross to get to them so i just hunted allong the ridge i was on.

an eagle kept an eye on me nearly all day, he must be used to hunters coming back here.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010223.jpg

I stalked a mob a little further on because i thought i saw a decent billy but when i got closer they were all small and wasnt worth the extra hill climb. but on my way there i found this guy. Its a yellow footed rock wallaby they are endangered and you only find them in a couple spots throughout the flinders and gawler ranges.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010219-1.jpg

That about summed up my hunt. I walked allong the creek to get back to camp and because there was no game close by i decided to pack up camp. I had to go an easier way out with my pack and ended up walking 7km to get back to the viechel and i was well and truely buggered by the time i got there!

Here is a pic from the top of the steep ridge behind camp i climbed up on day 2 looking back across the valley with the springs. The ute is parked on top of the hill far right.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b255/Mackadebowhunter/P1010235-1.jpg


just a couple questions to you more experianced backpackers when you backpack out into the hills do you take a daypack with you as well for hunting from your camp or just use your big pack after its unloaded? I jammed a bum bag for my camera and a small day pack in there but there must be a better way.

The bivy was ok but i dont go much on the condensation part of it. Think i might get a small tent before i do it again.

it was a learning experiance thats for sure and not i have a better understanding on what i will need for next time. Sorry to bore you all with no kills just thought i would share my little adventure.

Macka

[Mozza]

Good stuff Macka
That sure looks like a bastard of a hill to climb
awesome country too

[Clemo]

Great work as usual Macka. Awesome picks.

[ozzyshane]

Macca glad you put the pack to use that is some of the nicest country you are in .
macca for short trips a good tarp is good anought dont take the biviy since i got my water proof sleeping bag the biviy is just getting dusty in the shed.

The second opition is a hammock setup that is what im useing now they take a bit of work but are the best.
Thanks Shane

[Piggy]

Thanks for sharing Macca another great adventure.

Cheers

Paul

[MICK_]

Great pics mate nice work.

[kal_mike]

Cool trip. I normally take a day pack on these type of trips I have a swazi one that rolls up small and fits under the lid of my pack.

[HareSplitter]

haha, so glad i didnt tag, lol those freaking hills!!:o
nice stuff anyway,
im yet to use my pack, but its big enough to last atleast a week+ and it zips down to a small day pack (about the same size as your lil camo one) hopefully show you sometime soon ;),
hav a good 1 mate

[Bowdy]

Top stuff Macka,
Bad luck on the goats, but some great experience in those hills.
Macka the Eberlestock pack is all I use on a hunt, I just take off the spike duffel (use it as a pillow) and tighten all the compression straps down and use it as a day pack.
Everyone had their own liking for bits of gear, but I am not a bivy fan.
I would much rather a backpacking tent and there are some good ones on the market now that weight in at just over half a kilo, which is as much as a tarp and bivy bag anyway, plus you have better protection for yourself and your gear and more room to move in a tent, but each to their own.
Hope that helps:)
Grant.

[gundy]

As usual, great stuff mate. Thanks again.

[Bowfly]

Ripper Macca I love these type of trip reports. Game or no game I still enjoyed the whole story and like you said a lot can be learnt from a trip like this one, good to sort out a bit of fine tuning with the pack gear.
Thanks Mate
Rod

[Antarcher]

Sick trip once again Macka. You raly do have access to some beautiful and unique country. Will be great to see how backpack adventures develop.

[adam]

Heck yeah thats a great little adventure mate, more to come.

[ENGLISH]

Looks like a good trip macka,its good to tie hunting and camping toghter.and the rewards better when you know youve put in the hard yards to achive them .
nice pics to i love the camp photos.
cheers
mark.

[Paul R]

Nice one Macka.
That sure is some BIG beautiful country to hunt there mate, hopefully you get on to some good billys next time.

[macka]

thanks for the comments and advice guys really helpful :D I think i will go with a good 2 man tent next time as you could pack all your gear in there out the cold. Was not a fan of my bow covered in ice when i woke up lol.

For food i just had some noodles and dehidrated vegies and mash. Did the job. I carried a small billy and metal cup for cooking food in and a heap of musli bars.

What do you guys do to the water you collect before you drink/use it for food? I grabbed a few of those tablets that kill the nasties but i was wondering if you can get small purafiers or something of the sort?

I will be getting out for longer backpack hunt for sure when i get the time again. I was going to take the compound on this trip but i managed to bust the serving on my bow so thats in Adelaide atm getting re-done.

I am going out tomorrow to try out a new property for the day hope to have some pics to share.

Macka

[rory]

Sweet mate, kills a plenty next outing!!! :)

[robvic]

ANother great report and photos macca, well done.

[JIT27]

re the water collection when i go hiking on overnight trips and soon a 11 day in tassie. The people i hike with and myself just use micro-pure tabs, not a purifier. mainly because where we hike the water is clear not cloudy or muddy, but we still need to kill the bugs.

[hunt or be hunted]

And i thought the hills out here were big! top stuff mate your a damn keen hunter.




Dan.

[Yowzers!!]

That was a great story Macka. Those picks were cool too Thats some awesome looking country.Glad to see some dudes still do the hard yards. Hey ya should try a alice pack frame. I did a 60km pack march in thailand with a 60kg pack and 10.15kg machine gun plus 3kg body webbing and some other crap. I used the alice pack frame and mounted an ozcam wilderness pack to the frame. If your gonna do some serious kms/ hard walk with a pack ya gotta load it properly to, put the really heavy stuff nearer ya back dont have one side heavier than the other. Load evenly . Also don't be scared to modify your gear to save on space and weight. If its weeks, chop your toothbrush in half, squeeze half the role of paste out and duct tape it up so it stays rolled up, little things make a difference. I used to be able to have a shave out of a cam taped tupperware container that used to also hold my toothbrush paste and painkillers, malaria pills and doxycyclin pills, and it was smaller than the size of the palm of my hand, for four weeks. Use duct tape to keep things like rainjackets cloths etc rolled up and packed tightly. A day packs a must. Hey the australian army water bottles have a cup that fits around them and ya can use it for everything from cooking a "trainsmash" to having a shave.

[Roverwolf]

Fantastic story mate, I've always wanted to do something similar but was always daunted by what to take/not what to take etc etc. Will definitely consider it in the future!

[jindydiver]

Thanks for sharing Macca. Sure is beautiful country you spend your free time in :)

[maxy]

Nice one Macca,

big country your in, maybe next time you'll get a couple more ridges over and into the goats!

I have tried both tarps, bivy's and tents and have settled on a small two man hiking tent. Tarps are OK if you are fairly sure the weather will be fine, but you cant beat the security of a tent if things turn wet, cold and nasty. A good tent can raise the temp by as much as 5 degree's i have been told and if your wet and cold its nice to get out of the wind and weather.

Because most of my hike hunting is a hike in and then based from the one spot for a few days, i take a daypack and use that to hunt with each day. Yeah it takes up a bit more room, but sure beats carrying the bigger bag around every day. I can fit mine inside my hiking pack, Paul chooses to tie his on the outside.

Water is you biggest drama in hike hunting i rekon, especially if its scarce and you have to cary plenty in. I have tried the little tablets and a filter system, but most of the time we just drink straight from the springs. A bit risky i guess but have bever been crook in the area we hunt. If i had the cash i would go with a small flter system, but pretty expensive.

Maxy

[macka]

cheers maxy and yowzers, Sounds like the tent is the go. This time of year there seems to be water back there everywhere in rock pools in the creeks so if i use the tablets and just strained the water through a cloth or something to keep the tadpoles and water beetles out of it it should be fine. I carried 8L of water in this trip because i wasn't sure of the water situation. It would be a lot more comfortable walk without that extra weight lol.

I'm keen as to get out and do another one but wont have the time for the next couple months, have a darwin trip in september as well as maybe getting up the cape end of october if i'm lucky.

Macka

[Yowzers!!]

Hey Macka,
for ya water get yourself a milbank filter, ( some disposal stores still sell them I think, yet the taxpayers have funded mine to this day haha, i still have mine) filter it through that, then boil it or treat it with puri tabs. Thats where one of those steel cups that fits round ya water bottle comes in handy. I did that all over south east asia training and on operations and never got sick from drinking water. Also, ya gotta use ya common sense to a degree obviously. Don't try and filter complete garbage/mud/algae unless its down to life or death.
Also dude, take it from someone who has had severe gastro with no readily available treatment for a few days at least. If you get it properly and you were by yourself in some really hard country, you might not get back out. An epirbs a good investment for what you sound like your doing.
If ya gonna dump your pack for the day, my rule is to have at least two litres in ya day pack, and don't part with ya daypack. Also if ya doin a really hard hike and loosing a crap load of fluids, get yourself some electrolight sachets to mix as needed with your water otherwise you'll start doing steady eddy impersonations when you run out of electrolytes.
Hikin in by yourselfs a pretty awesome feeling hey!