Elk Hunting Checklist – Don’t Forget the Most Important Thing
When making your Elk hunting checklist, don’t forget the most important piece of equipment… water filtration. A person can only survive for a few days without water. That time is determined by climate, weather and altitude.
In extreme conditions, you may need to consume up to a gallon of water daily to survive. Elk hunting is demanding physically and the arid climate along with altitude make it necessary to have plenty of water on hand. You will need to produce water at camp and also on the go. Water can be boiled or treated in camp but you will need a good water filter for the field.
The cool clear water from mountain streams is very tempting to drink from but avoid doing that if at all possible. Even the clearest looking water can hold microscopic surprises that can ruin your hunt and health. So make SURE one is on your Elk hunting checklist.
I had been drinking from a spring next to our base camp for four years without any problems when it caught up with me. Cattle had used the spring area to graze on the tender shoots of grass that grew tall around the water source. Well, when cows eat they also relieve themselves, and as a result they contaminated my water.
I spent the next several days in camp with the chills and running at both ends. It took me months to get over the mistake that also cost me the rest of my hunt.
I once was tempted to drink from a spring that was coming out of the rocks but I didn’t. Later that afternoon, I found out that the water was coming from a pond above the spring with beaver living in it. That is where the term “”beaver fever”” came from.
Don’t take a chance… make sure a good water filter is on your Elk hunting checklist and that you use it!