How to route find in the dark

[Hectocotylus]

I'm thinking about going up to a hunting spot this fall during day light hours and sitting until dark.  The problem is that I would be 1500 vertical feet above where the road is and there is no paths to speak of.  The hill is all treed.  Any tips for getting out the same way I went in once it is dark? I don't have a GPS . I need to get back to my bicycle since it is a long ways away from vehicle traffic...
  Your tips are appreciated.

[Bob33]

Get a GPS.

[7mag.]

Flag your trail on the way in, in the daylight with reflective ribbon, then use a headlamp on the way out.

[jackelope]

Either of those 2 are solid suggestions.

[MtnMuley]

Compass is about your only other option after the two previous replies. I'd just invest in one of the simple little GPS's which are under $100

[Ridgeratt]

Compass is about your only other option after the two previous replies. I'd just invest in one of the simple little GPS's which are under $100

This is the guy to listen to! Learn to use a compass first and then use a GPS as a back up. Also the Cell phone stuff a lot of places don't have coverage.

Last resort is Bread crumbs! The other option is a huge ball of string. Ran into a thread line a few years ago that went for ever.

[KFhunter]

http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Specialties-Reflective-Trail-Tacks/dp/B0043H4LEC

Maybe hang an LED lantern at the end of the trail of tacks on top of your 1500 foot climb, one you can see a long ways off with long run time just leave it on all day long. 
Once you get to the lantern use it to follow the tacks down through the trees to the truck.

Some of the ones on Amazon run for 6 days or more.  That would be better than a GPS and headlamp, GPS I'm always zig zagging and guessing.  No disputing the glowing tacks.
I always have a roll of ribbon in my pack.

[Hectocotylus]

http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Specialties-Reflective-Trail-Tacks/dp/B0043H4LEC

Maybe hang an LED lantern at the end of the trail of tacks on top of your 1500 foot climb, one you can see a long ways off with long run time just leave it on all day long. 
Once you get to the lantern use it to follow the tacks down through the trees to the truck.

Some of the ones on Amazon run for 6 days or more.  That would be better than a GPS and headlamp, GPS I'm always zig zagging and guessing.  No disputing the glowing tacks.

cool idea on those tacks. Not a bad plan


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[Ridgeratt]

http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Specialties-Reflective-Trail-Tacks/dp/B0043H4LEC

Maybe hang an LED lantern at the end of the trail of tacks on top of your 1500 foot climb, one you can see a long ways off with long run time just leave it on all day long. 
Once you get to the lantern use it to follow the tacks down through the trees to the truck.

Some of the ones on Amazon run for 6 days or more.  That would be better than a GPS and headlamp, GPS I'm always zig zagging and guessing.  No disputing the glowing tacks.
I always have a roll of ribbon in my pack.

Just make sure you use twice as many tacks as you think!! Seems what looks like a good distance in the light might be harder to find in the dark and line of sight changes. Or I have been told.

[JM]

Compass is about your only other option after the two previous replies. I'd just invest in one of the simple little GPS's which are under $100

This is the guy to listen to! Learn to use a compass first and then use a GPS as a back up. Also the Cell phone stuff a lot of places don't have coverage.

Last resort is Bread crumbs! The other option is a huge ball of string. Ran into a thread line a few years ago that went for ever.

You don't need cell coverage to use your phone. Pull up Google maps and find where you plan on hunting but don't zoom in too close. Then when you want to see where you are just open the Google maps app and turn on your gps. The blue dot is you. You're even able to zoom in and out if you have. I've never tried this with an iPhone though

I do this all the time when I'm in the backcountry.

[Wazukie]

Tacks would be my choice.  They light up bright when you hit them with the light.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[jackelope]

Hell if you have a smartphone just get the onXmaps app or the Gaia GPS app. Either one will do you right for $4 a month.

[WAnoob]

Flag your trail on the way in, in the daylight with reflective ribbon, then use a headlamp on the way out.

  mark your way up with that or surveyor's tape and pull it down on your way out.

[buglebrush]

Hell if you have a smartphone just get the onXmaps app or the Gaia GPS app. Either one will do you right for $4 a month.

This.  I hunt hard until dark, and only then do I start hiking out.  Never a worry with my phone and extra battery pack along.  Make sure you download your map before leaving service though.  I sure wouldn't mark any sort of trail      Had an absolute honey hole get destroyed last year because the only other person hunting it decided to make a horse trail into it.      Met several new people who said they cut this trail and followed it up into the little hidden bowl.     Seriously!!!!  Why would you mark a trail straight into your secret spot?  We are completely paranoid about people knowing where we hike in.  I will park at a gated road or something that goes off in the opposite direction that I am actually hunting, or have my wife drop me off.   

[7mmfan]

Scout the area and spend enough time in it that you become familiar with the landscape and terrain. Even if its all treed, if you spend enough time on the ground, you should be able to ID familiar landmarks and terrain features. I walk in in the dark and hunt until dark usually, and only one time did I have a problem finding my way back to exactly where I started, and that was because fog obscured my landmarks.

I will admit that I do like using my phone with a google earth overlay to get a feel for my surrounding area. Its free and as long as I preserve my battery, its a nice, inexpensive security feature to have on you. Haven't needed it yet, but know it will come in handy some day.