Wanted: Creek Crossers!

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NorthStar
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Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby NorthStar » Tue Nov 16, 2021 8:33 am

I have been having success with both seeing/killing deer and getting away from the pressure on public land by simply crossing a creek. By creek, I am referring to a small river that is normally no deeper than 4 feet. I am new to this and I am sure there is a better way to do it than finding the super obvious spot to cross or even getting soaking wet like I did last weekend!

What gear do you bring with you to ensure a successful and safe creek crossing? How do you pack this gear? Are there any tips or tricks you have learned from your experiences?


“The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby sdonx » Tue Nov 16, 2021 9:09 am

I use a light pair of hip waders which have Tingley boots which are wicked light.
Friggin cannot find them, not sure if I lent them out and forgot. I am crossing a creek later this week. I think I will use trashbags. ;)
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justdirtyfun
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Tue Nov 16, 2021 2:49 pm

I used stocking foot waders and oversized boots from Goodwill once this year.
Didn't seem like a bad weight penalty.
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby G-Patt » Wed Nov 17, 2021 4:52 am

I use a light pair of Tidewe hipwaders. Just ditch them close to the creek crossing after using them and pick them up on the way back. These are the ones I use: https://www.tidewe.com/collections/wade ... -and-women
On my deathbed, I will receive total consciousness. So I have that going for me, which is nice!
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby sdonx » Wed Nov 17, 2021 5:08 am

G-Patt wrote:I use a light pair of Tidewe hipwaders. Just ditch them close to the creek crossing after using them and pick them up on the way back. These are the ones I use: https://www.tidewe.com/collections/wade ... -and-women


Wow for forty bucks I just bought a pair.
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby Maverick1 » Wed Nov 17, 2021 6:24 am

Typically use hip boots. Have only encountered one situation where they didn’t work. And then I used a long log to pole vault over. Wearing backpack. Used pull up rope to pull bow over after the fact. Not recommended.

In a pinch - when the water was deeper than my 18” tall rubber boots - I have used black garbage bags. Done this a number of times. Works great!
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby sdonx » Wed Nov 17, 2021 6:29 am

I've tried running too, the water always beats me to the bottom of my boots before I get to the other side.
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NorthStar
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby NorthStar » Wed Nov 17, 2021 7:24 am

I never even thought about garbage bags! But hip waders would be great if I could just hide them at the crossing point.
“The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby MNarrow » Wed Nov 17, 2021 7:39 am

Next season I'm going to be trying crossing water and the plan is to bring hip boots and stash them on the other side and put the leather hunting boots back on (I despise rubber boots and feet always get cold/damp in them).
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby Maverick1 » Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:12 am

NorthStar wrote:I never even thought about garbage bags! But hip waders would be great if I could just hide them at the crossing point.



Yup, they do work great. Two garbage bags folded up fit inside of a sandwich sized ziploc bag. Use the plastic garbage bags with drawstring closures. Put foot into garbage bag, cinch drawstrings closed and hold onto the drawstring. This keeps the garbage bags from falling down. One hand holds both sets of drawstrings, the other hand holds my bow. Once you are on the other side of the creek/river/water way, just stuff the garbage bags under a log or in the grass so they don’t blow away. Use them in the same fashion on the trip back out. Throw away at the end of the day.

I figured this out on a hunt once - hiked in deep and realized I forgot my hip boots for the one and only crossing point. Improvised. Been using this approach for years now on spots where there is a single crossing taller than my rubber boots or where it is the only spot I’d need to wear rubber boots.
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No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.
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NorthStar
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby NorthStar » Wed Nov 17, 2021 8:59 am

Maverick1 wrote:
NorthStar wrote:I never even thought about garbage bags! But hip waders would be great if I could just hide them at the crossing point.



Yup, they do work great. Two garbage bags folded up fit inside of a sandwich sized ziploc bag. Use the plastic garbage bags with drawstring closures. Put foot into garbage bag, cinch drawstrings closed and hold onto the drawstring. This keeps the garbage bags from falling down. One hand holds both sets of drawstrings, the other hand holds my bow. Once you are on the other side of the creek/river/water way, just stuff the garbage bags under a log or in the grass so they don’t blow away. Use them in the same fashion on the trip back out. Throw away at the end of the day.

I figured this out on a hunt once - hiked in deep and realized I forgot my hip boots for the one and only crossing point. Improvised. Been using this approach for years now on spots where there is a single crossing taller than my rubber boots or where it is the only spot I’d need to wear rubber boots.


Absolutely brilliant! I am definitely going to try this method!

Now, what about creative ideas to get your deer across?? I tried my jet sled, I ended up soaking wet and almost lost my deer as the sled filled up with water! I thought I heard these sleds float somewhere on this forum…
“The lazy do not roast any game, but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭12:27‬ ‭NIV‬‬
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby Ognennyy » Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:17 am

I've done the garbage bag trick as well, only I use the thickest (13 mil I think) contractor bags that were available at the hardware store. I use them for other things anyway, and I have one pair I've used for a few wider stream crossings over the years. They do indeed pack down small, it's just a great solution.

For bringing a deer back across.... bring like half again as much rope as you think you'd need to span the stream, this way you're covered. Tie up the deer, tie the rope to your belt loop, cross the stream back to the original side. Or if the current is going to be an issue then tie the rope to your shoulder or something and throw over a branch near the deer, to keep it out of the water.

When you reach the other side - and this is important - position yourself right on the upstream side of a stout tree, or stump, or other such object with good mass to it that won't go anywhere. Drag the deer into the water and pull him across. If the current takes the deer you can immediately jump to the safety object of which you're standing upstream and wrap the rope around it, or otherwise use the object as an anchor. At least this way the deer won't be lost downstream and you can work on figuring out how to get him the rest of the way across (an ascender could be handy for this).
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby Maverick1 » Wed Nov 17, 2021 9:48 am

NorthStar wrote:
Maverick1 wrote:
NorthStar wrote:I never even thought about garbage bags! But hip waders would be great if I could just hide them at the crossing point.



Yup, they do work great. Two garbage bags folded up fit inside of a sandwich sized ziploc bag. Use the plastic garbage bags with drawstring closures. Put foot into garbage bag, cinch drawstrings closed and hold onto the drawstring. This keeps the garbage bags from falling down. One hand holds both sets of drawstrings, the other hand holds my bow. Once you are on the other side of the creek/river/water way, just stuff the garbage bags under a log or in the grass so they don’t blow away. Use them in the same fashion on the trip back out. Throw away at the end of the day.

I figured this out on a hunt once - hiked in deep and realized I forgot my hip boots for the one and only crossing point. Improvised. Been using this approach for years now on spots where there is a single crossing taller than my rubber boots or where it is the only spot I’d need to wear rubber boots.


Absolutely brilliant! I am definitely going to try this method!

Now, what about creative ideas to get your deer across?? I tried my jet sled, I ended up soaking wet and almost lost my deer as the sled filled up with water! I thought I heard these sleds float somewhere on this forum…


Getting the deer across? I either float it across (if the current is not very strong) or I quarter it up and backpack it out. Kind of depends on if I'm dragging it out (float it in the water) or backpacking it out (quartering it up). Lately I have been quartering my deer using the gutless method and backpacking them out, but that's mostly because I've been shooting them a ways from the vehicle.

When I've floated them across, I've grabbed a leg and just walked with it through the creek, or used a rope and pulled it across. Both work, neither is ideal. (Grabbing a leg was kind of a pain - the deer kept hitting the back of my legs and made me feel like I was going to trip. One time, I did trip - and the air temperature was 11 degrees. A full boot of water, soaked pants, 11 degree air temperature, and a half-mile drag was not much fun. Also, dragging a deer creates a wake, which causes waves - I've had these waves come up over the top of my boots before, too. On the flip side, pulling a deer across the creek using paracord wasn't ideal, either. Tiny diameter cord, not as easy as it sounds, even with an adult doe.)

If you are concerned about the current when floating them across - I would use an attachment point on the other side of the water way, along with a niteize camjam (the larger, metal one, so you can use 550 paracord) or a ropeman-type device to keep the deer from floating away in between pulls on the rope. (The ropeman would require much more space in your pack due to the larger diameter rope required than the camjam using paracord, for sure.)
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No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby KRONIIK » Wed Nov 17, 2021 12:57 pm

I take a 3/8" or 1/2" rope about 2-1/2 times in length, the width of the creek.
Drag deer right up to creek bank, tie a three-foot length of stout cord to antlers, creating a short loop.
Clip a large, smooth-edged climbing caribiner onto that loop and run the long rope through it, taking BOTH ends of the loose rope across with you leaving the deer there for the time being.
Securely tie off one end of that rope to a tree or root at the top of the bank and grab ahold of the other end.

Then start pulling.

That rigging will give you a 2-1 mechanical advantage toward pulling it across and up the bank once it's across the water.
(Getting it up that bank is often the hardest part, at least on the steep banks where I hunt.)
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Re: Wanted: Creek Crossers!

Unread postby Dewey » Wed Nov 17, 2021 2:06 pm

Just do it. Dump your boots out and wring the water out of your socks and pants after you cross. It’s only water and the cold is only temporary.

Whenever I wear hip boots I seem to almost always end up in waist deep water. Never has stopped me from going where I need to go.


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