Free: Contests & Raffles.
40rds?? You can't have any confidence in your shooting ability. Wow. Thats a lot weight right there.
The first year I hiked into areas in the dark and left after dark. I carried a bare frame pack with some rope, hatchet, knife, gps, camelbak, compass, map, first aid kit, rifle, 40 rounds and a jacket.
horses wall tent woodstove food beer!!!
I've never found full beers, but I've found half melted cans in fire pits. I was always amazed folks were willing to pack them that far, and yet still too lazy to pack out the trash. But then I also find it ironic finding Power bar and Cliff bar wrapers along hiking trails. Its way easier to pack a small platypus bag of your choice of spirit. More bang for the weight also.Of the 4 deer we've taken on the High Buck, the younger ones boned out at 60 and the larger older ones were about 80 pounds. It would be a good idea to hunt 2 guys, planning on 1 deer. Instead of PB and J you could do PB and Bacon for more calories. As far as "food, water, tents, clothing, ect.."Food: I take a bit over a pound a day of food looking for calories and some flavor/texture. You could go all freeze dried and be light, but it would suck. Food is great comfort and can keep spirits up when weather is bad. Example: A roll of bagels, ziplock of almond butter, couple packs of tuna sandwich spread, Mt house meal per diner, few packs of Idahoan instant spuds, several Cliff bars per day, a big bag of trail mix, jerky, gel energy shots, crystal light or other drink mixes, bag of dried fruit, several of the mustard and mayo pouches from the deli, small bottle of olive oil, small shaker of pepper spice blend, ect... I devide all my stuff into per day portions. It helps keep me on schedule with calorie intake. I cook my stuff with the Jetboil titanium. I used the standard Jetboil for years also.Water: I carry a filter, a big (few gallon) Platypus bag, 1 2 liter pouch, 1, 1.8 liter blader, and a small ~ 20 oz pouch for mixed drinks. Depending on where I know water is I might go in with more or less water. I always have the bladder full ( I drink it each day) and may carry and extra liter in the 2 liter pouch for cooking dinner/breakfast. I use the big bag and 2 liter pouch for transporting water from the source to camp. This allows me to do a few days between water runs if camp isnt neer water.Tents: We use the Mega-light, or the TiGoat 6 man TP. Basicaly you need light weight, with room for gear and cooking when your socked in with sleet and rain. I also carry a UL bivey and tarp as part of my day/spike/emergency gear.Clothing: I use the Kuiu attack pants, or Sitka ascent pants, a marino base layer, fleece mid layer jacket, primaloft puff jacket, and a water proof shell top and bottom. I bring 2 base tops, several pairs of socks and skivies, wool gloves, beanie, gaitors, stiff waterproof hiking boots, ect. The weather will swing from freezing at night to 70 and sunny mid afternoon with some rain, snow, and sleet thrown in for good measure. You need enough to be warm and dry sitting stationary while glassing in a snow flurry, but also need to be able to strip down to a T-shirt and pants for hot hiking.Sleeping: I use a Neo air pad, 40° synthetic bag, Sea to summit bag liner, and UL bivey. I can use it all for below freezing stuff or leave out the bivey or liner for warmer stuff. I dont take any cotton or down. Stuff gets wet and its hard to dry on a mountain at tree line in September. I always have rain gear top and bottom. I've never yet made a high hunt without rain. I dont wear an insulating bottom layer. Pants and rain pants are all I've ever needed, YMMV. Gaitors are a must for me. The brush is always soaked with dew in the mornings or rain. Waterproof boots are a must. Wet frozen boots in the morning suck. Bring a few LED head lamps and batteries. The new super bright ones are nice for finding trails and your way in the dark. First aid kit, fire starting stuff, GPS, locator beacon, cell phone, hygene gear, knife, 550 cord, game bags, bino's, spotter ect.................Seems my pack is always right around 50 pounds going in, often 80+ on the way out. Get in shape, it makes the trip much more fun when its not a death march.
Do you use the floor with your mega-light? Have you had it in high winds? snow? heavy rain?
