packed for racks

[high country]

well with the high buck coming on, I thought I would toss up a pic of what is in my pack for a 5 day journey into ___________ wilderness area. I extended the tripod as I know there are guys asking about ultra light tripods. mine is a carbon set of legs wearing a giottos head.....both were pretty cheap for what they are.  the tent is a black diamond betamid.....bout as light as you casn get and still have any protection and a zipper. big agnes rem pad.....way small and as long as it stays above 10* it is the most comfortable I have used yet. the bag is a 1/4 zip moonstone, a pain to get in and out of, but super light and compact. food is freeze dried and instant as I only boil water, the little primus stove is self igniting and pretty light, not ti light, but it is self igniting and paid for. I added my cannon hv 20 for some video this year, otherwise all the gear is proven to me. not a lot of extras, but plenty of what I need. I included a bug suit, and a pair of convertable pants so I get two for one there.

not pictured is baby wipes and wepon. other than that, this is it.

gonna guess 30ish pounds. the mystery ranch pack makes it dissapear pretty well.

[MichaelJ]

SWEET stuff man... I think I'll be going in with around 35 or so not including rifle...

I'll get a list up here shortly with mine... I just need to pick up a tripod...

Also, why the bug suit?  I've never run into bugs after the first week of september in the highcountry....

Michael

[high country]

michael, I normally don't get into many bugs either, but I feel this year has been more moist then years past, and I am going into uncharted waters, so I can always toss it if need be, now on the flip side if I bathe in deet I smell even worse and I run the risk of ruining some gear. the suit is more bulky, but the weight penalty is within a couple ounces, so I errored on the side of caution.

[high country]

you can see it in the second pic, it is right between my spare pants and shirt. it is about the size of a pair of socks and weighs about the same as my aqamira drops.

[Little Fish]

Youf load looks similar to what I'll be carrying. I think I'm around 35 lbs without rifle as well. What kind of shelter do you use? Also, what spotting scope is that and how do you like it?

[huntnphool]

We are changing our Montana elk routine this year and packing in for a couple days at a time rather than driving out from town each morning. I'm wondering what you guys are using for shelter, we are going to have to pack a small tent or two for the 4 of us, will add a little weight to the hike thats for sure and its not a short one either. Any suggestions?

[high country]

I run the betamid. it uses trekking poles for poles. two guys have plenty of room. it took a bit to talk myself into a floorless tent, but at such a weight savings it is great. I have a floor for it for when it is wet. the tent will fit in a pair of cargo pants pockets.....very small.

[MichaelJ]

I have that exact bug suit! lol it's actually really nice and breathes well, but it surprised me that the "effectiveness" of it relies on it "poofing" out away from your body so the skeeters can't get close to you.  I noticed that when glassing it was pulled tight against my shoulders that i got about 10 skeeter bites where it was tight.  They can still get their little suckers through the mesh unfortunately...

My brother took at trip this last weekend up to a lake north of Lake Wenatchee and said they didn't see a single bug...  It's been wet sure, but it's also been really cool... they woke up to a fresh frost too and I think they were only around 6500 feet.

I just went through my gear yesterday for about 2 hours packin it up and making a list of what I need to get...  Without any food or water (I plan to pack in about 2 liters and filter more at camp) I'm under or right at 30 lbs and that is WITH my rifle strapped to the pack...  Pretty good I'd say!  I also simulated having to load a full boned out deer and rack in the pack and I can fit EVERYTHING in the accessories pouches and strapped to the bottom of the pack leaving me the full 5500 cubic inches of pack space for boned out meat... I'm super stoked!

Michael

[cohoho]

We are changing our Montana elk routine this year and packing in for a couple days at a time rather than driving out from town each morning. I'm wondering what you guys are using for shelter, we are going to have to pack a small tent or two for the 4 of us, will add a little weight to the hike thats for sure and its not a short one either. Any suggestions?

Take a look at Hillberg Tents, space is a premium and weight is very minimal, cost is high but well worth it.  My bud has a couple different sized ones that we used, basically a tent within a tent.  The one we us for goat was the Nalla GT, under 7 lbs for a four season four person tent.... Too big for just two, but think four would be a bit tight... I think in the range of 900 bucks...  Or go with two Nalla 3 persons, huge room for two and gear...  I believe about 5 lbs each... Sometimes the company has a close out sales on last years models..

[PacificNWhunter]

Great post...looks like you got everything you need. I have never had the chance to try on a Miracle Ranch pack, but have heard nothing but good things about them. I'll try and post a pick soon of my set up for backcountry hunting. I'm down to 25-30 lbs without the rifle. But I go pretty bare. I've got it set up like MichaleJ where I can carry everything on the external on the weight out so the pack can be stuffed with game.

[Slider]

Look for a free standing tent.(one that stands up by itself) I have the SL1 here is the 2 man version.


http://www.rei.com/product/734065

[high country]

Youf load looks similar to what I'll be carrying. I think I'm around 35 lbs without rifle as well. What kind of shelter do you use? Also, what spotting scope is that and how do you like it?

that is an older leupold fixed 30 power gold ring. clarity is really pretty decent and the weight is killer. the waterproof thing is a big seller for me too.

[HornPorn]

I see you have walking sticks, are they nice to have? I've been thinking about getting some but did not Know if they would be more of a hassle. would one work or should I use two?

[Ridgerunner]

Use two walking sticks and you won't go back.

[high country]

I see you have walking sticks, are they nice to have? I've been thinking about getting some but did not Know if they would be more of a hassle. would one work or should I use two?

once your pack gains about 65lbs you would prolly be willing to pay $1,000,000,000 for a pair of poles.

I use two as they double as my tent poles for the betamid.

only you can say if one or two is right for you. mine are padded so i can use them as a bipod and not make noise.....they are good for all kinds of stuff.

[GreenHunter]

Thanks for sharing.  Couple of questions though.

What do you use for water purification?  Filter or tablets?

Do you have a small first aid kit?

[high country]

I ha

Thanks for sharing.  Couple of questions though.

What do you use for water purification?  Filter or tablets?

Do you have a small first aid kit?

I have a PUR hiker (katadyn) filter that I  normally use, and back it up with aquamira. this trip I am going on just aquamira and a coffee filter for the big stuff. I am going to be out for 6 days so gear needs to be trimmed a bit. I carry assorted pain relievers, anti diahreeals, suture, super glue, bandaids, neosporin, benadryl, q-tips , temparin tooth repair (needed once....priceless) and tear open fake tears. it all goes into a small plastic box just bigger than a deck of cards.

mostly I try hard to be ultra careful, afterall a sprained ankle could kill you in the wrong place.

[MichaelJ]

I finished packing all my stuff into my pack today to head out for three days tomorrrow on a scouting trip... here's my list off the top of my head.

Pack
4 2 person MH meals
4 packets instant oatmeal
3 poptarts
Small bag of trail mix
1 liter of water in Nalgene bottle
1 big gatorade
100 oz of water in my hydration bladder (not sure where I'll find water so I'm bringing a lot)
campstove and fuel
cookpan and plastic fork
toilet paper
contact solution and case
ENO hammock
small superlight tarp (if it rains)
camera
pack bugle, and misc elk calls
rivers west jacket
underarmor upper and lowers
two pairs socks
1 pair boxers
fleece top
Marmot Sawtooth sleeping bag
50' nylon rope
knife, sharpening stone
First need water filter
two glow sticks
small first aide kit
binos
fleece cap and baseball hat

Thats it!  with all the water I'm probably around 40 lbs... little heavy but the only stuff I could save more weight on would be to carry less water, get a smaller camera, a different water filter (or go with tabs), and one of those jetboil stoves that is all self contained saving me a little weight and lots of space instead of carrying a lightweight cook pan, and lighter clothing...  everything else is pretty much as light as you can get.  I guess I could go with a scapel and blades instead of the knife and stone.

I have no way to load pictures on my computer here at school or else I'd post a picture of my setup...

Michael

[Little Fish]

Thanks High Country. I'm thinking of getting a spotter, but haven't decide what or if I'm going to pick one up.

Regarding shelters I thought long and hard about what to get. Ended up getting a sweet deal on an MSR hubba hubba. This is a 2-man shelter with various setup options. I think it weighs about 4 lbs with everything...tent, rain fly, footprint, poles. There are a lot of good light shelters out there (tents, tarps, bug shelters etc). I recommend watching Craigslist until the right deal comes along or if you are buying a tarp just picking what you want and buying it since they are (relatively) inexpensive.

The biggest factors affecting my pack weight are water, rifle and pack. I've thought about buying an ultralight pack, but am not sure how it would hold up with a heavy load of meat. Regarding water...I pack 2 liters and plan on bringing an empty bladder to fill up at camp. My rifle weighs in at 9.25 lbs. When I'm rich I'm going to upgrade the rifle and shoot for something in the 6-6.5 lb range.

[high country]

i toss a coin between a few rifles but the ti 270 win always wins. it comes in at about 6.5 lbs all up and is a dream to hunt with. I would not want to go any lighter as this gun has no extra fat on it and shaving weight would mean shaving strength in my book.

as for water. a trick I came up with is to pack just enough to get you to more water. when you eat your mtn house meals they, once empty, become great water bladders. I will stash em on my route so I can grab some water on my way through. they are also sweet for putting in the bottom of your sleeping bag in the morning to warm the toes .........don't fall asleep though or your feet get wet...BTDT, except mine smelled like bacon and eggs.

[PacificNWhunter]

Here's my setup minus the food...I can list it out if you want. Usually I carry the rifle and wear the camo gear I have layed out, but everything you see loaded weighed just over 35 lbs.

1st pic, gear layed out
2nd pic, ready to be packed
3rd, done

[MichaelJ]

If I wore my clothes I would die of dehydration on the hike in...  I have 3 layers... underwear, light insulation (and jeans) and waterproof/windproof outer layer...  If I could get rid of my clothes being in my pack I'd probably weight in around 30-35 lbs with 2 liters of water...  The rifle and clothes adds about 10 lbs though!

Michael