nedarb2
02-16-2015, 08:51 PM
Well, its my turn for one of these threads :mrgreen: i dont write stories well, so i hope you can all follow along as my thoughts jump all over the place writing this...
I have been dreaming of the time when i would be able to go for a north rockies hunt, like i have seen so many others do and post pictures of on this site. I am relatively new to hunting (doing it about 5 years now), but grew up in the outdoors and saltwater fishing. I now hunt 30-50 days/year for blacktail deer, black bear, upland birds, and waterfowl. I always try to get out and try new tactics, go to new places, and go after new game. I am the guy that will hike, or atv and then hike into remote places on the island, hunt for 1-3 days, then hike out. 90% of hunting is done past gates or rough sections where most people stop.
Me and my hunting partner (we are 24 right now) have been saying for the last 3-4 years that this year we would go for it and make the trip happen. My buddy cannot go, so before Christmas i planted the seed with another friend, and got the green light from him in January that he would come along. He has hunted sheep before successfully.
When you start getting into the details of one of these hunts, it really starts to get expensive! I had about 2/3 of my gear already from hiking over the years. I do not have a spotting scope (friend coming along has a zeiss), and i need to purchase a tent and sleeping pad. I also need to get some minor things like new long johns, a few more pairs of socks, etc. I am doing this hunt without replacing (or replacing as little as possible) the gear i already own. I already know some things are not the best, but for financial reasons and a long life and hopefully many more sheep hunts ahead, i will pick things up in the coming year(s).
We are jetboating into basecamp with Kevin @ River Jet on August 21. Leaving the Island on August 19. (Missing some prime fishing time this year..) We jetboat out on Sept 4. Hopefully get home on the night of Sept 5, or Sept 6. 2 day drive up. Non-stop on the way home.
The idea: boat into basecamp on river. Hike into sheep country from there (it is 1 day hike from basecamp to sheep camp). Spend 5-7 days in sheep camp. Return to basecamp when successful, or to re-stock supplies.
If returning to basecamp unsuccessful, we will restock and go back up for sheep if we feel like we are on the right track/seeing animals but maybe nothing legal yet. If for some reason the first sheep excursion just goes south, we will stay in basecamp and hunt elk, moose, and goat.
I am in ok shape. I work on my feet and am active all day, have an athletic build. About 1.5 years ago i slipped/crushed a disc in my back. That pretty much put me on my a$$ until about 3 months ago. I still go to physio weekly for my back. You will notice on my gear list i have pain meds, these are just-in-case pills to get me off the mountain. Of course having this injury i needed to know if my back would take the weight of a pack and training to lead up to the hunt. For the last month it has done totally fine, so i have to go on that basis to move forward and stay on track to be in shape for August.
Last month i started to go to the gym at 4am 3x a week for about an hour and a half.
I have been, and will continue to do 1 hike each weekend. Each hike, i increase the weight in my pack, try out my gear (old and new), and wear different clothing combinations. During the month of june i will replace 1 gym session with a 2nd hike (2 days in gym, 2 hikes a week), in July i will do 3x gym 3 x hikes (at 70-80% pack weight), and in august until we leave i will do 3-4x hikes with full pack weight, and 1-2x gym.
Anyways, heres the gear list for "sheep camp" I plan to weigh each item as i pack and maintain a ledger of my gear for the coming years and see where i should be investing as finances allow. Please critique gear and training plan or anything else if you feel like it:
Stone Sheep Pack List, 5-6 Days
Worn:
Smartwool Socks, PHd Outdoor
Mammut Brecon High GTX boots (leather over goretex, well broken in)
Icebreaker Marino Boxers, 200 weight
Sitka Timberline Pants, Moss Color
Columbia Omniheat Light Base layer long sleeve / Helley Hansen Warm Ice-Crew
Synthetic (polyester) t-shirt
-Top Layer? Jacket?
Ball Cap
Badlands Bino Case, with:
Viper/Diamondback Bino’s
Leupold lens pen
2xspare shell
Snacks (granola bar / fruit leather/hard candy
Lens Pen
1 extra set AA batteries
2 days emergency prescription meds & pain killers
SPOT Gen 2 Messenger (hung off backpack, new lithium batteries, contact list & subscription up to date)
Garmin Oregon 450 GPS (hung off backpack, new lithium batteries)
Garmin Wireless Temperature Sensor (hung off backpack, new battery)
camera (hung off backpack, new battery)
Kershaw Leek Pocket Knife
Timex Expedition Wrist Watch (with alarm features)
Gloves
2xHiking Poles
Revo polarized sunglasses
Pack:
Mystery Ranch 6500, with 2 waist belt pockets, Coyote Brown Color
Pack cover
Sleep System:
Tent
Sleeping Pad
MEC Mirage Sleeping Bag, Long, -5C
Wigwam Lite hiker Socks
Merino Long johns
T-MAX Heat Thermal Fleece Shirt, Heavy Weight
Food & Water: all food in ziplock bags organized by day, kept in dry bag
MSR 4L Dromlite Water Bladder, with hydration kit and 3-in-1 cap
6xFood Kit (hiking candy/snacks, fruit leather, tuna spread, drink crystals, Emergen-C, lunch, dehydrated dinner, 2500 calories/day minimum)
Fish/Salmon oil omega 3 pills
Salt & Pepper Packs (for fresh Sheep)
Titanium Spork
Cooking Pot
Stove
1 x large fuel canister
Water Treatment Pills
6 days prescription medication (in water tight container)
6 days pain killers (in water tight container)
1L nalgene bottle, wrapped in duct tape
Clothing (in addition to what is being worn & slept in, everything kept in dry bag):
Socks x 3 (2xSmartwool PhD Outdoor, 1xSmartwool Lite Hiker med. weight) – sleeping pair of socks are also clean if needed + pair being worn.
2x wigwam sock liner (wear only if hotspots show up)
Long johns
jacket (if not being worn already)
Rain pants
Sweater
Light Weight Hiking Pants (zip-off)
1 x synthetic T-Shirt
1 x mec polar fleece thermal, light weight
Gore-Tex Mec Gaiters???
1 Pair Crocs, for stream crossing
Optics:
binos worn, partner has Zeiss 85mm spotting scope, tripod
Shooting Gear:
Browning X-Bolt (30-06) Synthetic/Stainless, X-bolt 1 piece rings, Leupold VX-2 Canadian 3-9x40 Scope
Gun clip
12 rounds hornady superformance 150gr gmx (2 in bino case, 4 in gun clip, 2 in timberline pants, 4 in pack lid – easily accessible)
T15 wrench (for scope)
XXmm allen key (for gun/trigger)
laminated copy of bullet ballistics
Kill Kit:
100ft para-chord
havalon knife
6 blades
2x game bags
Salt - 2lbs (another 2 lbs at base)
6ft fishing line
Misc:
headlamp (new batteries)
tooth brush & paste
first aid kit
2xlighter
extra AAA Batteries (lithium). 1 set for headlamp
extra AA Batteries (lithium). 2 sets for gps
Spare boot lace
Spare pack buckle
6x zap-straps (3 small 3 med)
2x Toilet Paper (vacuum packed for space)
Gold bond Powder???(shower in a bottle)
1 pack baby wipes
Ball-point pen
Pack of cards???
½ roll electrical tape (for over gun barrel and misc. equipment patching if needed)
siltarp
fire starter
2x heavy duty garbage bags
I have been dreaming of the time when i would be able to go for a north rockies hunt, like i have seen so many others do and post pictures of on this site. I am relatively new to hunting (doing it about 5 years now), but grew up in the outdoors and saltwater fishing. I now hunt 30-50 days/year for blacktail deer, black bear, upland birds, and waterfowl. I always try to get out and try new tactics, go to new places, and go after new game. I am the guy that will hike, or atv and then hike into remote places on the island, hunt for 1-3 days, then hike out. 90% of hunting is done past gates or rough sections where most people stop.
Me and my hunting partner (we are 24 right now) have been saying for the last 3-4 years that this year we would go for it and make the trip happen. My buddy cannot go, so before Christmas i planted the seed with another friend, and got the green light from him in January that he would come along. He has hunted sheep before successfully.
When you start getting into the details of one of these hunts, it really starts to get expensive! I had about 2/3 of my gear already from hiking over the years. I do not have a spotting scope (friend coming along has a zeiss), and i need to purchase a tent and sleeping pad. I also need to get some minor things like new long johns, a few more pairs of socks, etc. I am doing this hunt without replacing (or replacing as little as possible) the gear i already own. I already know some things are not the best, but for financial reasons and a long life and hopefully many more sheep hunts ahead, i will pick things up in the coming year(s).
We are jetboating into basecamp with Kevin @ River Jet on August 21. Leaving the Island on August 19. (Missing some prime fishing time this year..) We jetboat out on Sept 4. Hopefully get home on the night of Sept 5, or Sept 6. 2 day drive up. Non-stop on the way home.
The idea: boat into basecamp on river. Hike into sheep country from there (it is 1 day hike from basecamp to sheep camp). Spend 5-7 days in sheep camp. Return to basecamp when successful, or to re-stock supplies.
If returning to basecamp unsuccessful, we will restock and go back up for sheep if we feel like we are on the right track/seeing animals but maybe nothing legal yet. If for some reason the first sheep excursion just goes south, we will stay in basecamp and hunt elk, moose, and goat.
I am in ok shape. I work on my feet and am active all day, have an athletic build. About 1.5 years ago i slipped/crushed a disc in my back. That pretty much put me on my a$$ until about 3 months ago. I still go to physio weekly for my back. You will notice on my gear list i have pain meds, these are just-in-case pills to get me off the mountain. Of course having this injury i needed to know if my back would take the weight of a pack and training to lead up to the hunt. For the last month it has done totally fine, so i have to go on that basis to move forward and stay on track to be in shape for August.
Last month i started to go to the gym at 4am 3x a week for about an hour and a half.
I have been, and will continue to do 1 hike each weekend. Each hike, i increase the weight in my pack, try out my gear (old and new), and wear different clothing combinations. During the month of june i will replace 1 gym session with a 2nd hike (2 days in gym, 2 hikes a week), in July i will do 3x gym 3 x hikes (at 70-80% pack weight), and in august until we leave i will do 3-4x hikes with full pack weight, and 1-2x gym.
Anyways, heres the gear list for "sheep camp" I plan to weigh each item as i pack and maintain a ledger of my gear for the coming years and see where i should be investing as finances allow. Please critique gear and training plan or anything else if you feel like it:
Stone Sheep Pack List, 5-6 Days
Worn:
Smartwool Socks, PHd Outdoor
Mammut Brecon High GTX boots (leather over goretex, well broken in)
Icebreaker Marino Boxers, 200 weight
Sitka Timberline Pants, Moss Color
Columbia Omniheat Light Base layer long sleeve / Helley Hansen Warm Ice-Crew
Synthetic (polyester) t-shirt
-Top Layer? Jacket?
Ball Cap
Badlands Bino Case, with:
Viper/Diamondback Bino’s
Leupold lens pen
2xspare shell
Snacks (granola bar / fruit leather/hard candy
Lens Pen
1 extra set AA batteries
2 days emergency prescription meds & pain killers
SPOT Gen 2 Messenger (hung off backpack, new lithium batteries, contact list & subscription up to date)
Garmin Oregon 450 GPS (hung off backpack, new lithium batteries)
Garmin Wireless Temperature Sensor (hung off backpack, new battery)
camera (hung off backpack, new battery)
Kershaw Leek Pocket Knife
Timex Expedition Wrist Watch (with alarm features)
Gloves
2xHiking Poles
Revo polarized sunglasses
Pack:
Mystery Ranch 6500, with 2 waist belt pockets, Coyote Brown Color
Pack cover
Sleep System:
Tent
Sleeping Pad
MEC Mirage Sleeping Bag, Long, -5C
Wigwam Lite hiker Socks
Merino Long johns
T-MAX Heat Thermal Fleece Shirt, Heavy Weight
Food & Water: all food in ziplock bags organized by day, kept in dry bag
MSR 4L Dromlite Water Bladder, with hydration kit and 3-in-1 cap
6xFood Kit (hiking candy/snacks, fruit leather, tuna spread, drink crystals, Emergen-C, lunch, dehydrated dinner, 2500 calories/day minimum)
Fish/Salmon oil omega 3 pills
Salt & Pepper Packs (for fresh Sheep)
Titanium Spork
Cooking Pot
Stove
1 x large fuel canister
Water Treatment Pills
6 days prescription medication (in water tight container)
6 days pain killers (in water tight container)
1L nalgene bottle, wrapped in duct tape
Clothing (in addition to what is being worn & slept in, everything kept in dry bag):
Socks x 3 (2xSmartwool PhD Outdoor, 1xSmartwool Lite Hiker med. weight) – sleeping pair of socks are also clean if needed + pair being worn.
2x wigwam sock liner (wear only if hotspots show up)
Long johns
jacket (if not being worn already)
Rain pants
Sweater
Light Weight Hiking Pants (zip-off)
1 x synthetic T-Shirt
1 x mec polar fleece thermal, light weight
Gore-Tex Mec Gaiters???
1 Pair Crocs, for stream crossing
Optics:
binos worn, partner has Zeiss 85mm spotting scope, tripod
Shooting Gear:
Browning X-Bolt (30-06) Synthetic/Stainless, X-bolt 1 piece rings, Leupold VX-2 Canadian 3-9x40 Scope
Gun clip
12 rounds hornady superformance 150gr gmx (2 in bino case, 4 in gun clip, 2 in timberline pants, 4 in pack lid – easily accessible)
T15 wrench (for scope)
XXmm allen key (for gun/trigger)
laminated copy of bullet ballistics
Kill Kit:
100ft para-chord
havalon knife
6 blades
2x game bags
Salt - 2lbs (another 2 lbs at base)
6ft fishing line
Misc:
headlamp (new batteries)
tooth brush & paste
first aid kit
2xlighter
extra AAA Batteries (lithium). 1 set for headlamp
extra AA Batteries (lithium). 2 sets for gps
Spare boot lace
Spare pack buckle
6x zap-straps (3 small 3 med)
2x Toilet Paper (vacuum packed for space)
Gold bond Powder???(shower in a bottle)
1 pack baby wipes
Ball-point pen
Pack of cards???
½ roll electrical tape (for over gun barrel and misc. equipment patching if needed)
siltarp
fire starter
2x heavy duty garbage bags