The year 2015 was lining up to be an awesome hunting year for me. I had drawn multiple out of state tags and had plans to be in the high country for almost the entire two months of the archery hunting seasons. My first planned hunt was Nevada. As anyone who has hunted the Nevada backcountry during the early archery season knows the weather can be hot and dry. Well, this year was no different. With little water, hot dry weather and hiking all day up huge mountains you find yourself dehydrated really quickly.
I ended up hiking over sixty miles in just under five days in all kinds of weather but mostly hot and dry. Temps ranged from 30 degrees in the mornings to 85 plus degrees during the majority of each day. Within the month that followed my Nevada hunt, I would travel to Southern Utah and also Colorado to chase Muleys. The weather in Southern Utah was similar to Nevada and Colorado was warm but not quite as severe.
My last hunt took place in Idaho at the end of October and it was the exact opposite weather I experienced on my earlier hunts. It was cold, wet, foggy, rainy and snowy all at once. I took a beating up high in the brutal elements for a week.
Our base camp was on the river around 2500 feet, whereas our spike camp was around 6000 feet in elevation. Temperatures on the river were mild and we thought it would be a good week up there for us. Man was I wrong. Just a thousand feet up and we were in a new climate zone. The wind picked up and the fog and rain rolled in. By the time we made it to spike camp the rain had turned to snow. We hunted around 8000 feet and the weather just seemed to never give us a break. Despite it all, we were able to find a couple of breaks throughout the day and find some success.
The reason why I wanted to outline my year of hunting and more specifically these two hunts is because of the extreme weather conditions that I put my body through. The one piece of equipment that went with me on all of these hunts, and that I never leave on a hunt without, was my LipZipz lip balm. It may seem like a small, insignificant item to worry about, but with the abuse my body was taking from the elements it was my best friend. The UV protection and moisturizing effect saved me in Nevada when the sun was beating down on me all day and I was running low on water. It was equally effective when the wind and snow was fighting to crack and dry up my lips.
Overall this small sometimes overlooked item is one of the most important during my hunts. LipZipz offers three different flavors Peppermint, Pina Colada, and Mixed Berry. Peppermint is my favorite but I have used all of them and they are all great. They are currently in the process of creating an unscented flavor that I’m sure will be my go-to for hunting. Don’t let dry, chapped or sunburned lips ruin your time in the backcountry. You buy it, hook it to your binocular case and never worry about where you put it or losing it. It’s always there for you through all of your hunts. Thanks LipZipz for the awesome product and for saving my lips during hunting season.
