Creating a Traditional Elk Camp: Where The Heart Of The Hunt Is Found

by Jack Ballard

Overview

Creating a Traditional Elk Camp is the definitive guide to planning and building a traditional elk-hunting camp that is comfortable, functional, and safe. Author Jack Ballard's thirty years of experience provides practical advice on everything required for an extended hunting trip. Subjects covered include how to construct a sturdy tent, propane vs. wood for heating, water usage, the use of electricity in camp, and bear proofing. Endorsed by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Creating a Traditional Elk Camp is the standard reference on the subject.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461748946
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2006
Series:	Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

For nearly thirty years, a wall tent in Montana's Snowcrest Mountains has been Jack Ballard's favorite home away from home. A third-generation Montana native of homesteader's stock, Jack grew up on a ranch west of Three Forks, hunting mule deer, antelope, and elk.
In 1992 his first published photo appeared in the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's fledgling Bugle magazine. The next year, Rocky Mountain Game & Fish magazine carried his first article. Since then, Jack's articles and photos have appeared in over thirty regional and national magazines, including American Hunter, Petersen's Hunting, Sports Afield, Northwest Fly Fishing, Colorado Outdoors, Deer & Deer Hunting, and Montana magazine. His photos have been published in numerous books—including titles from the Smithsonian Press and the Heinemann Library—calendars, and magazines. Jack has received multiple awards for his writing and photography from the Outdoor Writers Association of America and other professional organizations.
While developing his writing career, Jack lectured in philosophy, religion, ethics, and education at Montana State University–Billings. He holds two master's degrees and is an accomplished public speaker, entertaining students, conference attendees, and recreation/conservation groups with his compelling narratives.
In addition to western big-game hunting, Jack also writes about fishing, camping, canoeing, cross-country skiing, wildlife, and conservation. When not wandering the backcountry, he hangs his hat in Billings, Montana.
To see more of Jack's work, visit www.jackballard.com. Contact him directly by e-mail: [e-mail].

Read an Excerpt

A half-mile before cresting the rise that opens into a broad, long clearing, I catch a whiff of smoke in the twisting thermals that curl down the trail. The smoke, I know, is rising lazily from stovepipes poking from the tents that house my family's elk camp.
The sun disappeared nearly an hour ago, but I haven't reached for my flashlight until now -- I know this trail well enough to navigate in the dim light of the fading glow on the western horizon. Casting the beam of my light here and there, I look for the smoke. The smell is there, distinct and sharp in the crisp evening air. But try as I might, I can't see the hazy-blue emissions creating the odor.
Moving on, my pace quickens. The scent of the smoke has brought to mind an enticing picture of what lies ahead. In ten minutes' time I'll be at camp in the meadow. I'll pull back the tent flap and leave behind the intensifying chill for an atmosphere as warm and inviting as my living room back home. From a warm seat, I'll pull my feet from damp boots and turn my toes toward the wood stove in the corner. Some kind soul will succor me with a cup of steaming cocoa, or a glass of wine. Then I'll regale my companions with a tale of the day's hunt. Afterward we'll eat dinner. And later I'll nestle into a cozy bed of flannel and fall fast asleep.
The structure that makes such comfort possible at an 8,000-foot elevation, deep in the mountains of southwestern Montana, is a canvas wall tent. Some of the finest nights of my life have passed within the creamy canvas of such shelters. Fond memories, a few reaching nearly three decades into the recesses of my mind, come to mind when I catch the pungent odor of treated canvas. Images of my deceased father and uncle, laughing, hunting, or lounging about camp appear, kindly suggested by the smell of a tent.
Wall tents are the heart of a traditional elk hunting camp for good reason. They're sturdier than nylon family camping tents. Properly pitched, they'll shrug a heavy snow load that would collapse a nylon tent supported by thin aluminum poles. What's more, nearly all wall tents are designed and constructed with a heating source in mind. They safely accommodate a wood burning stove or propane heater, and the canvas provides a surprising degree of insulation. Long before recreational elk hunters latched onto wall tents for their camps, prospectors, settlers, and soldiers passed entire winters behind canvas.

Table of Contents

(1) Wall Tents and Accessories(2) Selecting a Campsite
(3) Pitching a Wall Tent
(4) Heating the Camp
(5) The Comforts of Home
(6) Lighting the Camp
(7) The Camp Kitchen
(8) Water Requirements
(9) Handling Extreme Weather
(10) Camping in Bear Country